8 Things You Didn't Know About Pen

Man, these are hard, after so many tags and just posts in general. But, I do enjoy them so. Thanks, grainofsand, for the tag!

1. Some people never really change. Me, I feel like I've changed, or at the very least evolved quite a bit, from who I used to be. I used to be way more uptight, impatient, and very much more reticent than I am now. In college, I stayed home on weekend nights to study and felt like I would fail out of school--or, omg, get a B--if I didn't. I was also quite volatile, at least on the inside, for a period of several years. Time and life fly by so fast, but I look back at who I was or considered myself to be just 5 years ago, and the difference astonishes me, much less 5 years before that. Who was that girl? I feel much more even-keel now. But then, who you are at each point in your life contributes to who you are now, so even if you're embarassed, it's probably not wise to completely disown that former self (poor, pitiful, clueless little bunny that s/he was).

2. I've only been to two other countries: England and France. I don't speak French, but spent 4 days in Paris and loved it to the point of feeling on fire. I was also drunk nearly the whole time.

3. In my life I want to visit: England again, France again, Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, Holland, Scotland, Ireland, maybe Russia, China if it's not going to be too scary, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, and Canada. At least. I love Epcot Center, but traveling around the world there just doesn't cut it. I'd like at least one of those trips to be a cruise, although possible seasickness/claustrophobia leaves me filled with trepidation. I want to see the cheesy tourist attractions in each place, but also stray off the beaten path. I need to go back and visit Chicago, and also see the Southwest. I would one day like to travel across the US in an RV with my husband, babies, and the dogs.

4. And I also have to visit mendacious in cali again because good grief, we haven't actually seen each other in nearly 3 years.

5. Straightening up the house, particularly putting away the toys and washing the dishes, makes me feel calmer, like I am systematically restoring order. I feel like this might be a little OCD, but not in an unhealthy way, because as previously discussed somewhere on this blog, I think we all need to feel in control, a little bit. It's just that some people try too hard, or channel that energy into the wrong things.

6. I've learned after so many years that because I lack a certain level of charisma, fundamentally, I am not or will not be particularly favored by any person or creature, like I won't ever be sought out and loved in that rockstar way. I don't mean that negatively, it just is what it is. So whenever K.Lo does seek me out specifically, I am genuinely surprised. Though I appreciate the moment, I try to hold back from feeling that flattered, because like everything else with kids, it will change. Someday she'll hate me, and the next she'll change her mind again, that's a certainty.

7. I like surprises, but in my mind I can't help guessing. And sometimes I just Need to Know before I can move on, so I can prepare myself, or maybe just motivate myself to continue, i.e. in the case of reading books. I also love giving gifts, part of which is the fun of surprising someone else--but I don't like when they guess about the present out loud. Because I'm such a bad liar, I know my face would give away any right answer, and then what's the fun in that. I feel foiled.

8. I love the show House Hunters on HGTV and can't stop watching it. My DVRroll would be currently empty if it weren't for these reruns. It's been on for a few years, and in the beginning, it was uber-cheesy, because the people looking at properties clearly had seen the places before and couldn't act their way out of a paper bag to pretend otherwise. And they always made the most mundane observations, like, "Wow, this is a nice, big room," endlessly. At the end of the show they staged a call between the realtor and the client to say whether their offer was accepted on the house, which (duh) it always was. So fantastic. Now the show is more polished, but just as fun. The best part is guessing which property they'll choose, for which I have an almost freakish talent. Although watching the show this frequently has adversely affected my record, it does make me feel better about my lack of luck in guessing boy or girl with new babies.