50 Random Things About, Well, Me

1. My nickname, Kat, was created in high school by a friend (another nickname: Tigger), and was resurrected hundreds of miles away by a new co-worker.
2. I have green eyes, which may have something to do with the nickname.
3. One of the skeletons in the family closet is severe issues with body image. What we see in the mirror is often not how others see us.
4. Of my three sisters, my body type is vastly different—I am, technically speaking, the big one. I am made up of curves, which have varied in size in my 27 years.
5. Because of this variance and familial hang-up, I have tried several weight-loss programs. I am currently the smallest I’ve ever been.
6. The purpose for my weight loss? My sister’s wedding and The Banker and my plans to start a family in the future.
7. I’m conflicted on starting a family. I want to have children, but I’m nervous about letting my body go. I know, if all goes well, my body may very well balloon into a whale. But you know? It may just be worth it.
8. I want to have girls, but everyone I know has told me I’ll have boys. FYI: The Banker has a HUGE head. This worries me.
9. I’ve been told by my closest friends that I was intimidating and hard to get to know. This is just one of my many defenses.
10. During high school, even with The Banker, I was reluctant to put into writing the words “I love you.” I was afraid the words would come back and bite me if the relationship failed. Did I mention I’m guarded?
11. I’m a travel whore. There’s few countries I wouldn’t gladly visit.
12. My favorite experiences are seeing the world anew. This happens most often when I’m traveling, meeting someone new, or trying something new.
13. I have this deep-seated respect for life. I cried for hours when I accidentally ran over a squirrel.
14. If I could do what I want, I would join the Peace Corps or start a charity to save animals.
15. I received an ample education in journalism—some would say I graduated from the best journalism schools in the nation—but I don’t have the heart for hardcore, investigative journalism. It is one of my major failings. I cannot unabashedly stalk another without empathy.
16. I adore animals. I have three pets, and if I could, I would have more.
17. I come from a family of drinkers. My binky used to be dipped in after-dinner drinks to quiet me before bed. While I can go months without a drop, I can still drink many men under the table.
18. Another defense? My scathing tongue. I developed this trait in the unforgiving realm of public middle school. I am effective and ruthless. Often too much so.
19. Part of me is a snob and part of me is a good ol’ girl. A conflict of terms? Welcome to my life. I am a combination of polar opposites.
20. I’ve never lost anyone I love. This will soon change.
21. My favorite places in the world include New Zealand, Australia, and parts of Ireland.
22. I would love to live and raise a family abroad.
23. As the oldest child, I spent much of my life playing it safe, being the good daughter and responsible older sister. I sometimes wonder what I missed.
24. I have the world’s worst memory. I hate this about myself. Some memories I’ve blocked—cruel people during middle school, hard times during high school—but I wish I could remember things, nonetheless.
25. My first terribly embarrassing moment? I was in first grade and we were reading a story about a dog, a cat, and a horse. The teacher asked, “And why do we know this story is NOT true?” The rest of the class responded, “Because animals are talking.” I said out loud, “Maybe animals CAN talk but we just don’t know how to hear them.” I could feel all eyes on me and the distinct sense that what I’d said was wrong. My innocence began to crumble…
26. Attending a Catholic, all-girls high school changed me forever. I found a strength, independence, and free voice that has served me ever since. It’s not often that girls shout down the hall, “Anyone got a Tampon?” It changes your perspective.
27. There are days when I love dressing up in an ornate dress and heels for charity events and days when I hate it. I have to attend these type things a lot.
28. While I can give up wine for months on end, I fear giving up wine, sushi, junk food and the like for nine-plus months and then some.
29. I drive like an asshole. I love speed, (hence the sports car), and continue to drive like a Chicagoan, long after I’ve left the city.
30. When I was very, very young, I told my Mom I’d seen our cat, Smokey, run down the basement stairs weeks after he’d died.
31. I have American Indian in my heritage, which may explain the cheekbones—and the gypsy spirit.
32. My parents went against the fold, making enemies in our neighborhood of philanderers and hypocrites. This is part of the reason I want to move out of the suburbs.
33. Sister #1, while totally shy in front of those we know, can be so bizarrely brazen in front of strangers. I wish I had that strength.
34. Sister #2 has a natural talent for languages. I wish I had that ability. I don’t.
35. I have begun to see the signs of aging in my parents—the ever-increasing age coupled with a change in attitude, the sudden soft give of the skin of the cheek. It makes the 16-year-old in me panic.
36. I’ve always had this innate fear I’d die young. When my palm was read by a college Spanish teacher, she told me I’d live a long life. It didn’t put my hypochondriac mind at ease.
37. I hate crying in front of others. My Dad taught me it was a sign of weakness.
38. I’m a puker. It’s unfortunate, but it’s also the reason I rarely drink beyond my limit.
39. My once blond hair is slowly darkening, like my mother once negatively proclaimed it would. I’m fighting the urge to dye my tresses to the more universally attractive blond.
40. My hair is short, which looks better on me but is considered less attractive by most of male America. I try not to care. But part of me still does.
41. When I was little, my parents cut my hair short. I rebelled when I was old enough, but now it’s short again. I hate to admit they were right.
42. Whatever I do remember may be lost, not to mention what I don’t, if I turn out like my Mom’s Mom—Stricken with Alzheimer’s at too young of an age.
43. I once thought I was going to die. I was airlifted off an island off of the Australian coast with appendicitis/burst ovary/kidney stones. We never discovered what it was, but I’ll never forget the feeling that “this was it.”
44. I don’t like to wear lipstick. My lips are Angelina-Jolie full—so I feel like a stop sign when my lips are painted.
45. As a child, I almost drowned in the country-club pool—trapped under the body of a fat kid who jumped in on top of me. This is both terrifying and funny.
46. I sometimes wonder how my life might have turned out differently. Would I be living in New York? Would I have become a hardcore working woman? Would I be single?
47. I’m not tech-savvy. At all. I wish I were.
48. I covet the pretty things in life while part of me is disgusted by this tendency.
49. My Mom thinks my sisters and I aren’t the best housekeepers. It’s been too long for her to remember what it was like to hold down a fulltime job and play house.
50. In my humble opinion there are few things more enjoyable than big family dinners with great food, conversation, and wine. Followed by something peanut butter and chocolate.