I’ve been ruminating on this particular list for far too long; here it is in all of its unabashed glory:
1. When I was growing up, I hated having freckles; I envied girls that had pale skin without dots.
2. I love words. I love English words and I like finding out their counterparts in other languages—obscure languages like Serer-Sine (Senegal) and Aramaic.
3. I’m a language snob. I learned English as a Second Language at a fairly early age (I was fluent by age five) and haven’t stopped since. I speak five languages including American Sign Language.
4. I have watched Bouillon de Couture, but contrary to James Lipton, I cannot stand Bernard Pivot.
5. I’ve had a variety of schooling experiences: British school in Milan, public school in Texas, Italian school in NY.
6. I’m a US citizen, but only became one during Bill Clinton’s second term in office.
7. I love anything to do with the Civil Rights movement.
8. I’m also a lover of global history and great historical movements.
9. I lived in Houston, TX when I was in the 8th grade. I don’t remember much.
10. My mother danced on most of the stages in Italy as a classical ballerina. She danced on American stages as a classical-modern dancer. I’m very proud of that.
11. My father created his own job and worked for himself all his life. He didn’t want to be owned. That made for some interesting times.
12. I don’t consider jobs unless they have some component of creativity.
13. I graduated high school at 17, college at 20 and had a master’s degree by 22.
14. I have three degrees of Kevin Bacon; Kevin Bacon was in My Dog Skip as was Diane Lane. Diane Lane was in Under the Tuscan Sun, as was Mario Monicelli. Mario Monicelli is my great uncle.
15. I used to read Tarot cards for fun. I once did a spread for a friend in which I saw her mother dying. Her mother was diagnosed with Lupus soon after that reading and passed on a couple of years later. I began taking tarot readings very seriously and rarely read them after that.
16. I learned to play the piano without knowing how to read sheet music. My teachers would play the song once for me and I would imitate them. Once I learned to read music, I stopped playing.
17. I sang sacred music when I was younger and was a first soprano. I now sing pop music and am probably an alto.
18. I identify with Susan Sarandon’s character in The Witches of Eastwick. I identify with Susan Sarandon’s character in White Palace.. I identify with Susan Sarandon’s commitment to politics.
19. I have girl crush on Susan Sarandon.
20. I was part of a photoshoot for Vogue when I was a kid. My mom was told I had promise—I never took part in a professional photoshoot again.
21. I was on a diet most of my life—a rarely lost any significant amount of weight, actually came to gain more. Then I joined Weight Watchers.
22. I loved Sting for almost 25 years. I wanted to be his back-up singer, but knew that with my classically trained voice, I would never be that. I used to say that all I learned was because of Sting. Then I got over him.
23. I studied psychology in college because I wanted to know what synchronicity was, other than one of the albums of The Police. I ended up learning more about myself than I did about synchronicity or Jung or Sting.
24. When The Police split up, I wore black.
25. I traveled to more places by the age of 20 than I have in the last 18 years.
26. When I visited Egypt, I felt like I had been there before, including riding a horse in the desert. I never thought I used to be a pharaoh in a past life.
27. I work with technology, yet I am deathly afraid of sockets and plugs and I really don’t understand what a surge protector does.
28. I never had a Barbie collection because I used to cut off all of their hair and chew their toes off.
29. By age seven, I had concoted a rather complicated love story between Ken and G.I. Joe. I lived in a progressive household.
30. I would torture ants by placing them under glass, waiting to see if they would show signs of asphixiation. When they didn’t, I was wrapped by remorse and would set them free, only to “recapture them” minutes later.
31. When I was 10, my friend J. invented a game in which she would fart in my face and I had to guess the smell. I never would get the chance to fart in her face. As a result, I believe, I developed a very keen sense of smell.
32. Until my mid twenties, I wasn’t able to pee in public bathrooms.
33. I had pet birds and pet fish. They all died of “natural causes.”
34. At age nine, I found my friend J.’s father’s Playboys. I didn’t know what it was that we were looking at. I always thought that it would scar me. I’m still waiting for its effects. None to report so far.
35. I love all the James Bond films. I loved all the actors who played Bond, even George Lazenby.
36. I had my first espresso at age four. I continued having espresso for a week, then stopped. Started drinking coffee in my early twenties and haven’t really stopped since.
37. I had my first root canal at age 11.
38. I wrote my master’s thesis in long hand on yellow legal pads. I had a fear of computers and word processors; now, I teach other people how to use technology.
39. I learned how to use computers fairly late and I did just around the corner from the explosion of the ‘net. I’ve been online ever since.
40. I was one of the first east coast users of eWorld.
41. My first computer was a Mac Centra.
42. I had german measels and chickenpox at the same time; followed by the mumps.
43. I had a male nanny, Lalith, from Sri Lanka. He gave me my first Abba album. I think of him every time I listen to them.
44. A friend of my father’s used to call me fontanella (little fountain), because as a child when I cried, my tears use to “spring out” from my eyes like a fountain.
45. When I would vacation in Italy as a teen, I never said that I lived in the States because I didn’t want people to befriend me just for that reason.
46. I’m very, very good with accents. Very.
47. I went to an all-girls college; they went co-ed my sophomore year, but allowed men only in the theater and dance departments. In my junior year I wanted to be an actress.
48. I took a photography course in college. I wanted to do portraits. I took Erik Palladino‘s first headshots.
49. I auditioned for Moira Kelly.
50. I’m a world cup soccer fan, but I’ve never been to a live game.
51. My first big sporting event was a tennis match at Madison Square Garden with Ivan Lendl. My friend V. and I screamed as if we were at a rock concert.
52. My first rock concert was Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA tour. I was in Italy. I wasn’t an American citizen yet, but felt very American that night.
53. I still have perfect pitch.
54. I mostly read the NY Times for world news, arts, technology pages and the crossword puzzle. I can do Monday through Thursday in pen.
55. My favorite historical period is 1880-1970′s.
56. I eat M&Ms in pairs; if I find that I’ve had an odd number, I have to “correct it” by making it an even number.
57. All of my girlfriends who have gotten married have disappeared from my life (not in the death sense) except for two.
58. I like flowering plants.
59. I am only child and can often entertain myself for hours alone.
60. As a child I drank sparkling water, now I cannot stand it.
61. I feel embarrassed for people who are on reality television. I cannot watch them because I feel physical shame for them.
62. I have never seen Titanic.
63. I think Cinema Paradiso was overrated.
64. I consider myself an anti-conformist but when confronted with danger, I know I will conform.
65. I don’t believe in sexless marriages. Or marriages of convenience. I think they’re a waste of time.
66. I like multiples of 11.
67. When I was two, I ate dog poo. I remember it clearly.
68. Once, on vacation, I pretended to be some guy’s sister, including imitating his accent. We were able to keep the joke going for four days.
69. I didn’t have a prom; my graduating class was eight people.
70. I will randomly quote movies, when the occasion is appropriate, instead of coming up with my own dialogue.
71. I have blocked out most of my two years in Texas.
72. I went to a shrink for a little under two years. I dropped him when my sessions started being about his prostate cancer. He called me on September 10th, 2001 asking whether I was gonna go back to him. I never did.
73. I am beginning to recover from September 11th now.
74. I never met my maternal granddad, so when my paternal granddad passed, I was very sad, but I didn’t cry at his funeral. A year later, he “appeared” in a seance a friend of mine conducted, that’s when I cried.
75. I don’t like going to the movies in the afternoon.
76. I love books; so much so that they occupy the majority of boxes when I move.
77. I don’t understand why people have “fur children.”
78. I think Jean-Luc Picard was the best captain.
79. I don’t like movie remakes; if I can manage to see the original, I usually will like that better.
80. I never drink to get drunk.
81. I like thunderstorms, but they scare me.
82. My mother and I only fight in english; it’s more effective.
83. As much as I like technology and use it for everything, I still own and use a Filofax.
84. I don’t wear a watch.
85. I’m a fan of Bettie Page.
86. I don’t believe in gender-specific clothing. Like pink skirts for girls or blue shorts for boys. I think boys should be able to wear skirts if they want to.
87. I still think SCTV was funnier than Saturday Night Live.
88. Insects that are not in their natural habitat scare me.
89. I think the praying mantis is one of the scariest animals ever. Ever.
90. I love to play Scrabble® in English, Italian and French.
91. Almost every September, my neck starts hurting.
92. I’m not conceited, but people seem to love me at first sight and I usually don’t know why.
93. I immediately tend to analyse a movie often not being able to enjoy it. I have a hard time shutting the critic up.
94. I get fixated on words. Words like engorged, flatulence, myasma, cirrhosis and will often repeat them.
95. I didn’t know Twitty was a boy. I thought of him as genderless—I was crestfallen when I found out. Two years ago.
96. I’ve read all of Stephen King’s novels. Only during daylight.
97. I have a love/hate relationship with my breasts.
98. I have had my own bank account since age 10.
99. I have a very vivid imagination. If people recount stories, of any kind, I can picture things very vividly.
100. I spend too much time online and the more I try to stay offline, the more time I spend on it.
