25 things about me. Yes, I broke down and did it too.

I don't usually participate in meme's, but I happen to like this one. And it's a nice way to get back into the swing of blogging. I know, I've been silent far too long.

1) I've lived in at least 16 towns and 19 different addresses (by 'lived' I mean was my legal address, or the place where I slept at night & received mail for at least 2 months): Louisville KY, Bowling Green KY, Mission Viejo CA, Walhalla ND, Canton NY, Bradford PA, Wilson NY (x2), Cobh IRE (x2), Rochester NY (x2), Washington DC, Owenton NY, Baldwinsville NY, Owenton KY, Ypsilanti MI, Irvine CA, Moreau NY. And that's not counting the hotels I've 'lived' in since we became semi-nomadic. I can't even imagine what it would be like to live in the same place for a decade, let alone a lifetime. To me, home is wherever I'm sleeping that night.

2) I'm a bit obsessive about tracking our personal finances. That may not be healthy, but at least I know where all our money came from, is, and is going. Do you?

3) I was Salutatorian of my high school graduating class. That means I was #2. I got to give a speech at graduation and everything. Unfortunately, I had to do so with a fever of 100+ degrees and don't really remember much from the ceremony except sitting on stage clinging to my chair hoping I wouldn't pass out. Thank you mom for forcing me to get up, drink some soup, and go, even though I felt like I was dying!

4) I had an article published on the front page of the newspaper in 1st grade. The teacher had assigned us to write journals. I HATE writing in a journal, so I asked if I could write an essay instead. I wrote about how I was going to save the world when I grew up. She was so impressed, she sent it to the newspaper. The Union, Sun & Journal is so lame they actually printed it.

5) I can't swallow pills. I take them in a bite of food, or in peanut butter like a dog. I choke on any solid floating in liquid - so I also try to avoid ice in my drinks.

6) I'm terrified of fireworks and knives - two of Billy's favorite things.

7) I'm an excellent shot. Duck hunt is the only video game I was ever good at as a kid. I impressed the range supervisor at the gun shop in Huntsville Billy took me to. I kicked Billy's ass (and most of the rest of the group) during target practice at our gun safety course. I legally own a .22, but we're away so much I've only gotten to play with it once!

8) I adore food. Eating new foods might be my favorite part of travel. Swan, Ostrich, and Guinea Pig all very tasty :) But spaghetti is still my favorite. I could eat it every day. If I'm stuck alone at the house, I'll often make a huge pot and eat that all week.

9) I may be smart, but I am incredibly lazy. I respect hard work, but hate having to do it myself. To be perfectly honest, everything I've ever excelled at has come easy for me. If it's hard or going to be a lot of work, I try to find a way out of it.

10) I'm comfortable with public speaking or in social settings where I have some 'official' capacity - but normal social gatherings make me very anxious.

11) I've never taken any illegal drugs, or any tobacco product. I didn't even drink alcohol until the end of my freshman year at RIT. Six years later I'm still a 'light weight'.

12) Caffeine does not wake me up. Therefore I've never acquired a coffee habit (saving me a ton of $$). But if you're buying, I'll drink a caramel skim latte. On the rare occasion I'm in a coffee shop, I'll usually get myself an herbal tea. Or a hot cocoa. Cheaper and yummy.

13) I like helping people. In high school, that meant feeding and hanging out with drug addicts and drop outs. In college, I kept the drunks for hurting themselves at frat parties. Now, I have to content myself with answering forum posts. I work much harder as a volunteer than as an employee. Go figure.

14) By a normal standard - people you speak with and enjoy the company of regularly - I have no friends (other than my husband, and my Mom). Moving a lot, I learned to just leave people behind. It's not that I forget the people, but it doesn't occur to me to maintain the friendship when my life moves on. If you'd like to be in touch more, just let me know.

15) I was a devoted church-goer from 4th to 12th grade just so I could be in the choir. I did it again for a while after we got married and moved to our house. I finally decided to stop being a hypocrite, but I miss the singing a lot. If I ever stop traveling, I'll have to find a community group to sing with. Or at least start attending the Unitarian services when I'm in town.

16) While on the subject of music... I grew up playing the flute. I was even in a marching band for a year. I got bored with it in high school and tried the oboe, then the bassoon, then french horn (success! my brother's cute friend gave me lessons). I stuck with the horn for 2 years, then finally quit the band and just did chorus my senior year.

17) I had my heart stopped in the hospital. I had supra ventricular tachycardia. One day it got up over 200 beats per minute and stayed there. So the hospital injected me with stuff to make it stop and reset. I got to watch it flat-line on the monitor, which was pretty cool. But it feels like an elephant jumping on your chest. They actually had to do it twice - the first dose was more like 'pause' than 'reset'.

18) An electrocardiologist later went in and zapped a few cells in my heart so #17 wouldn't happen again. Ironically, I had my heart procedure done on Valentine's Day. Since my 18th birthday was the day before, signing in to the hospital was my first official act as an adult.

19) I got a level 4 buzz cut at the end of 9th grade. I went to summer camp and everyone assumed I was a cancer patient. I would shave my head again if it wouldn't make Billy so sad.

20) I strongly dislike the sensation of falling. I'm so terrified I can't go near the edge of a cliff. But I'm not afraid of hights. Stick me in a harness and I'd be happy to walk over the edge :)

21) I am not EVER having children. I absolutely can't stand kids. I didn't even like kids when I was a kid. So at least my side of the family isn't surprised. When meeting babies, everyone's all 'don't you want to hold him/her?' I just say 'No, I can't stand babies.' Is it rude, yes, but no one tries to make me hold the baby again.

22) I don't like weather. All weather - sunny, windy, cold, hot, snowing... But I do love the sound of the rain, if not the precipitation itself.

23) I was named after my grandfather (dad's dad Jack E. Licht). He died a month before I was born. Otherwise they would have named me Laura Louise Licht!

24) My Myers-Briggs type is ENTJ. It hasn't changed since I first took the test in 7th grade. But I'm a borderline Extrovert/Introvert. I like being around people for a while, but at some point a switch flips and I just want the world to leave me alone. I also tend to be annoyingly logical and bossy.

25) I don't believe in funerals. So if you die, don't be surprised that I don't show up.