Randoms

I'm titling this post "21 Random Facts About Jessica That No One Actually Wants to Read but Jessica Will Document Anyway."

Fact #1. This lion has seen me through the past 3 years. I got it as a gift from Mikayla in Hawaii (in Fall of 2007), then brought it to Utah, and it's been living in different college apartments ever since. So I took a picture with it. We're pals.

2. I sometimes narrate my life. And yes, I do realize how absolutely WEIRD this is. I don't know how I feel about actually admitting it, but there you go. I write my life, as I live it, from my head--in third person omniscient. As in, "She [Jessica] did not grasp why she chose to eat 3 Crunchy Taco Bell tacos (sans sour cream), half a sandwich, several Oreo cookies and Flipz, all in under ten minutes. She hadn't eaten anything else all day, and now her stomach was telling her something like, Really? I haven't eaten anything but crackers all day, and this is what you do to me?" Ha, so there is one ridiculously embarrassing, hopefully humorous fact. (By the way, that story is 100% fact. It happened 20 minutes ago and it was totally worth it.)

3. I love school. I like learning. In fact, I love it. I kind of want to get a Master's just so I can stay in school. Who wants to live in the post-school world, anyway?

4. I have a metal BB somewhere in my buttocks. I got shot by my brother's friend, and it went so far in the Dr's said they'd only take it out if it got infected. So my mom (yeah, embarrassment) and I cleaned the entry wound every day for a couple weeks. Voila. No infection, the BB stays.

5. I have watched approximately 18 girl friends get married since I entered college.

6. I was a bridesmaid in two of those weddings:)

7. I hate onions. So much. I wish I liked them--they're always ruining my food.

8. I like when people ask me how to spell words. Sometimes family members call me asking how to spell words, and for some stupid, geeky reason, it makes me feel good about myself. Even though I know this is a stupid skill, and also quite annoying to most people, and that spelling is arbitrary, I like feeling good at something--even if it's telling people where to put their apostrophes or how to spell words like "definitely."

9. I LOVE to travel. I've been really lucky to travel so much in my life, but I'm greedy. I can still think of so many places I want to see. (New Zealand, Greece, Australia, China, Egypt, Zimbabwe...)

10. I highly value spontaneity. Or maybe just rashness. Two years ago I woke up on Halloween with every intention of going to school. Then my sister called me in the morning and told me she was making Halloween pancakes, and that I should come home and carve pumpkins and skip class. So I did. And I loved it. I think I associate spontaneity with really living. I think in life we sometimes focus so much on the future that we don't enjoy our lives now. If you're always looking ahead, you'll miss the present. And the present might hold Halloween pancakes and pumpkin carving, and who wants to miss out on that?

11. I try to avoid my problems. It never works. But when I get stressed about something, my first reaction is to get so frustrated and emotional that I can't function, and then to shut down and try to push it out of my brain entirely. It's not very effective.

12. I'm slightly feminist. And I used to be almost entirely the opposite. I used to criticize girls pretty harshly for being girly. Stupid, I know. And some traces of that still remain, but ever since I met Mikayla in Hawaii I have had a streak of feminism. It's mostly annoying to myself and to other people around me, but I have tried and can't really change it. I'll stick up for women. Not for their "rights" to pursue careers and earn the same wages, basically to become like men--I hate that. We have men in this world; let's keep the women women. I stick up for women's rights to be feminine--to be mothers, to be people without jobs, to be somewhat emotional and yet still valid in society.

13. I love soundtracks. I love movies, and soundtracks enable me to relive them. So I like soundtracks. I also like soundtracks because I am one of those annoying people who has a band like Radiohead on my iPod, and only one song by them. Because hey, if I don't like the sound of the other songs, I don't want them on my iPod. I'll just listen to "15 Step" and be happy. I also like soundtracks because I like trying to imagine what the soundtrack that accompanied my life would have on it. I think if I had to choose one song to be on my life soundtrack at this point, it would be "Let Go" by Frou Frou. It just works.

14. I strongly dislike how people from my generation think they can "know" a person based on the kind of music they listen to. It's like some people think my soul is being revealed through the bands I've selected to be on my iPod. Yes, the type of music people listen to could be revealing, in a way, but not as much as people make it out to be. I mean, I listen to Mika. My brother-in-law will never live it down. But you know what, maybe I like Mika simply because it's happy music. Not because I've thought about it in accordance with the grand scheme of musical artistry. Or maybe I like Mika because it reminds me of my best friend. Or maybe it's just on my iPod and I haven't taken it off. Maybe I have the Chipmunks on my iPod because it reminds me of my childhood. So what! I am more than the music that happens to exist on my iPod. And I think you are more than your music, too. You should be flattered.

15. Chips are my favorite junk food. I could eat Cooler Ranch Doritos until I had canker sores. In fact, I think I have.

16. I can not conjure up a reason why any person besides myself would still be reading this list at number 16. Maybe no one is. Or maybe I hooked you after I told you that I narrate my life in 3rd person omniscient, and you've been hoping to learn some other freaky fact ever since.

17. I miss London. I keep looking at my pictures and wishing I could go back. Sigh.

18. I love Utah. I know some people might have a brain aneurism upon hearing that sentence, but it's true. This is my home, and I love it. Not saying it doesn't have its flaws, because every place does. But I still like Utah, the Murray area in particular.

19. I have a knack for wasting time. Give me a 3 hour time period with nothing to do, and I will fill it with absolutely nothing. It's a gift, what can I say?

20. I love my roommates. Each new year of college has felt like a different adventure for me, but I think this year has been my favorite so far. Thank goodness for a girl named M-A-N-D-Y.

21. I can imitate Tickle-Me-Elmo's entire laugh sequence. Bet you didn't see that one coming.