200 Things About Me

So you want to know 200 things about me? You must, because you're now staring at this page. Interesting or not, here they are. (BTW, I went with 200 because there is a lot of stuff about me!)

1. I am the oldest of my parents' 3 children.


2. I am 9 years older than my brother, and 11 years older than my sister.


3. I prayed EVERY night for a brother or a sister. I eventually got one of each. Prayer DOES work.


4. Mom's doctor thought she had Lupus and told her not to have any more kids.


5. That doctor retired, and her new doctor told her the old one was full of shit -- have more kids!


6. When my brother and sister were little, my parents would refer to us children as "Gina and the kids".


7. I once lived and went to school (college) in Puerto Rico.


8. I was there to get my Spanish credits in so I could graduate from college.


9. It was one big vacation, with a Caribbean cruise added for Spring Break. It was awesome.


10. I have many memories from that time in my life. I'm scrapbooking them now --  done!


11. I still keep in touch with one of my friends from PR, Brenda. She was from the U.S. Virgin Islands. She now lives in Texas.


12. I would move to PR and live there if my situation ever allows it.


13. I would live on the beach, on the southern part of the island.


14. I love to scrapbook my pictures.


15. I scrapbook with my very good friend, Donna.


16. We go to a scrapbook store and scrap from 4 PM to Midnight at least one Friday a month.


17. Yes, the store is open during that time. It's one of their promotions.


18. I've mostly finished my baby scrapbook -- it would be more appropriately titled my 'childhood' scrapbook.


19. It goes from my birth to the end of 2nd grade. I can't find the pics from 3rd grade.


20. That's probably because that's when my brother came along... and they forgot to take pics of me.


21. But that's OK, because I have WAY more pics than he does, and MEGA more pics than my sister does.


22. My dad taught me how to swear -- without even trying.


23. He's a machine repairman at a major auto maker factory. I learned from the best.


24. My fave swear words are motherbitch (from Bad Boys) and anything with the word ass. I am also quite fond of the word fuck and its many forms, and am quite schooled in how to use them.


25. I refer to West Virginia as West Vir-fuckin'-ginia because I haven't had much luck with driving in or around WV.


26. I have only been to the following states: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Florida, Missouri.  Added in 2005: Nevada and Arizona.  I hope to one day visit the rest.


27. I've also been to PR (as previously mentioned) and Canada. Montreal sucks ass. Especially driving through downtown... via directions from MapQuest... that aren't right.


28. Canada's actually very beautiful -- if you stay out of the French parts.


29. I don't speak a lick of French, which also means I can't read it. And that translates to the fact that ENGLISH speakers cannot read signs written in FRENCH.


30. And that means TROUBLE on the streets.


31. Niagara Falls is freakin' awesome.


32. I've been there twice -- once when I was on a high school band trip to Toronto in 1988, and again in the summer of 2003 with Jon.


33. Jon is my boyfriend of 8+ years. Update: As of 02/14/04, he is my FIANCÉ!  husband (as of 4/8/06 in Las Vegas and again on 6/24/06 in Clearwater Beach, Florida.


34. He's from Chicago. He still lives and works there.  He has since moved to Ohio.


35. He's half Cuban and half Japanese.


36. I'm 100% White Girl From the Suburbs.


37. We went to Niagara Falls on our way home from our friends' wedding in Montreal.


38. We spent an extra night at NF because it was so cool.


39. I've already scrapbooked those pics.


40. I lived in an apartment with a roommate from April 2002 - April 2003.


41. Actually, the roommate was only there from April 2002 - September 2002.


42. After about 2 months, she started acting like a child who didn't know how to pick up after herself or do chores around the apartment.


43. I had to do everything. I kicked her out on September 5th.


44. She moved out on September 11, 2002. I'll never forgive her for finalizing everything on the one year anniversary of 9-11.


45. It was difficult making ends meet without someone else to split the bills with. Jon was a tremendous help.


46. Our relationship was strengthened by that miserable time.


47. Aside from the money aspect, it wasn't miserable at all. I decided I enjoyed living alone with my cat, Lilo.


48. I haven't spoken to my ex-roommate since she moved out. Bitch.


49. She ruined my relationship with my cousin. We were all friends, but she worked with my cousin and fed her some serious bullshit. My cousin and I were the best of friends.


50. I didn't even get a chance to tell my side of the story. And believe me, I tried.


51. I've moved on, minus two friends (or people I thought were friends).


52. Recently, my cousin decided to talk to me again. She must have finally figured out that all that crap was total bullshit, and maybe there were reasons for certain things that happened.


53. I've accepted that our relationship will never be what it once was. I don't want it to be that way anyhow.


54. I do, however, want the air cleared.


55. I have grown considerably from this entire experience.


56. However, I'm still often not as mature as some people think I should be.


57. Of course, I'm professional and mature when I'm teaching.


58. But my time is just that -- MY TIME. And I will behave any way that I see fit.


59. I don't feel my age -- and I usually don't act it either. I feel like I'm 25 or so.


60. That's a good thing.


61. I'm back living at home with my parents.


62. It's not as bad as you might think.


63. As a teacher, I just cannot afford to live out on my own.


64. I need to get paid more.


65. It's pretty shitty if a teacher can't afford to live on her own in her own school's community.


66. I enjoy living in the same community I teach in... even if I do have to live with my parents.


67. I'm easy to track down with my personalized license plates: Ironic1.


68. Those plates are on a 2003 Blue Metallic Chevrolet Cavalier, named The Blue Meanie.


69. I love loved my Cavalier.  (I now love my 2006 Chevy HHR!)


70. It's It was my third one.


71. My first one was a 1998 and it was green.


72. My second was a 2001 and it was a dark blue.


73. My current Cav is by far my fave.


74. It really has some balls -- OK, 'get up and go', if you prefer.


75. And the blue is very perty.


76. Yes I like to misspell and mispronounce words.


77. In other words, I have a vocabulary that is all my own.


78. My friends, family, and boyfriend fiancé husband have finally learned how to translate it.


79. I try to be careful not to mispronounce and misspell words with my students.


80. I have VERY dry skin.


81. I hate winter because my skin gets super-dry.


82. I need St. Ives Vitamin E & A Skin Lotion to live.


83. I should own stock in that company.


84. I actually do own a tiny bit of stock -- in The Limited and Intimates -- both were part of the employee stock option from when I worked at Lane Bryant (which was a part of the Limited Brands).


85. I also need MINT Blistex (lip balm) to live.


86. I'm sure I'm addicted to that stuff. I'd rather be addicted to that stuff rather than cigarettes or alcohol or caffeine.


87. I've never tried any drugs, other than alcohol.


88. Once I hit 21, the appeal of alcohol disappeared.


89. I'll drink on occasion, but never to get drunk.


90. I prefer fruity drinks.


91. I HATE BEER.


92. I LOVE BAILEY'S IRISH CREAM. By itself, over rocks.


93. I'm also very fond of Amaretto Sours.


94. Bacardi Rum is some good shit.


95. I hate feeling sick after drinking too much.


96. I am a walking dictionary at school.


97. Many of my friends (other teachers) ask me how to spell words.


98. They also ask me to proofread many things.


99. My students also ask me how to spell words... just because they're too lazy to KNOW the spelling or to look it up.


100. The other teachers just don't have the time to look them up.


101. I'm very organized.


102. I can't stand clutter.


103. People are amazed at how organized my desk is (usually) at school.


104. I don't like to dust.


105. But I sure know when it's time.


106. I'm a perfectionist.


107. I'm hardest on myself.


108. I try not to push my perfectionism off onto other people.


109. They just have to understand that if I do it, it will be as damn close to perfect as I can get it.


110. It's sometimes hard to live with other people's idea of perfect, and I'm constantly working on that.


111. I've come a long way in that respect.


112. Of course, I have a few places where I don't let myself be such a damn perfectionist.


113. My computer desk is an organized mess. Sometimes I break down and straighten it up.


114. My closet is also an organized mess. It's too tiny to keep as organized as I'd like it.


115. My dresser tries to be organized, but it's a glorified catch-all.


116. My bookshelf is mega-organized, until you come to the bottom shelf. I just don't have the time or energy to keep it neat.


117. I got insurance approval for my weight-loss surgery on the first try due to my organization skills (well, and physical health problems). I had all my papers and info in order.


118. The surgeon's office was impressed.


119. So was I.


120. I love to play word games. Super TextTwist is my favorite.


121. I also enjoy Mah jongg, Boggle and Yahtzee. Yahoo's WordRacer is cool, too.


122. Board games like Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, Payday and Life are cool too.  Scattergories, too!


123. I don't have time to play board games.


124. Truth be told, I usually don't have anyone to play them with.


125. I also like a good game of One-Handed Solitaire.


126. I'd much rather be COLD than hot.


127. My reasoning is that I can put ON lots of clothes, but I can only take so much OFF.


128. I hate to sweat.


129. I love air conditioning and cool breezes.


130. I love St. Joseph's Children's Aspirin. The orange flavor brings back memories of my youth.


131. Orange-flavored things are good.


132. But cherry-flavored things are the best.


133. Strawberry is also up there.


134. I dislike 'fake' grape tastes.


135. So Grape Kool-Aid is not a fave.


136. Neither is grape-flavored bubble gum.


137. I HATE when a stray hair (from my head) ends up in my ass crack.


138. I can't stand how it tickles, and you can't seem to find the damn thing.


139. That's one downfall to having shoulder-length hair. Update: Although it's not shoulder-length anymore, the hairs STILL make their way to my ass crack to annoy the fuck outta me.


140. That hair of mine is dark blonde.


141. Some might call it light brown.


142. I prefer 'dark blonde'.


143. It's naturally curly, but not a tight curl.


144. Wavy might be a better word for it.


145. My favorite Bath & Body Works fragrance is Cucumber Melon.


146. I can't use all of their products due to my extremely dry and sensitive skin.


147. I do, however, love their shower gel -- in Cucumber Melon, of course.


148. I just found a new B&BW product that I love -- Skin Repair Healing Body Butter -- in Cucumber Melon, of course.


149. Right now, I smell like one big cucumber melon.


150. In fact, I think I smell pretty damn good.


151. I don't think that I have many friends.


152. But I'm sometimes reminded that I do, especially at Christmas when I open all the cards.


153. I'd rather have a handful of close and good friends than a gazillion friends/acquaintences like my brother has.


154. I do have a nice circle of friends, though. And not just ones I hear from once a year in a Christmas card.


155. I love my cat, Lilo as though she were my biological child.


156. She has taken on some of my personality.


157. She talks a lot.


158. She hates being hot.


159. She loves laying on COLD tile.


160. I drink water like it's going out of style.


161. That's a good thing. I actually crave it sometimes.


162. Once in a while, I feel like having a regular soda.


163. Vanilla Coke, Pepsi, and Cherry Coke are my faves.


164. I hate ice in my soda. It waters the soda down... I like full-flavored soda... that isn't flat. But now I have to drink less-carbonated soda so it doesn't hurt my tiny tummy. 


165. I actually call soda 'pop'.... but there are plenty of people out there who don't know what the heck pop is. I guess pop is a Midwestern thing.


166. I'm a non-practicing Catholic.


167. I attend church on holidays like Christmas and Easter, and any Catholic wedding or funeral.


168. No, the roof doesn't fall in on me when I'm in the church.


169. However, I am becoming fairly spiritual.


170. I try to pray each night and thank God for the beautiful day he's given me, along with everything else.


171. I feel better now that I'm more spiritual.


172. I like many different kinds of music.


173. I gravitate more towards rock, heavy metal and pop.  I can be occasionally caught listening to a wee bit of Hip-Hop and Country, but ssshhhhh!  Don't tell anyone!


174. I like too many bands and singers to list them all. Faves include Bon Jovi, Metallica, Aerosmith, Linkin Park, Nickelback....


175. I'm addicted to my TiVo.  TiVo is my bitch.


176. Shows I HAVE to watch (or record) are: 24, American Idol, Survivor, Friends, CSI (NOT Miami), ER.  Also, The Joe Schmo Show, Nip/Tuck, and Medium.


177. I HATE spiders immensely. They do not survive for long out in the open in my house.


178. My favorite color is blue. Red follows at a close second.  Pink has taken over my wardrobe.


179. I enjoy watching Pro Football. The Pittsburgh Steelers are my fave -- and I live in Cleveland Browns country.


180. Baseball is also a fave. The Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs are my teams.


181. I HATE watching golf and tennis on TV.


182. Therefore, I don't.


183. Basketball doesn't do anything for me, either.


184. I do love like WWE wrestling. That is, when HHH isn't blabbing on for-evah.


185. The Rock is my fave. There is no other.


186. However, I do like Rey Mysterio and RVD.  And maybe Edge.


187. Lita is my fave female wrestler.  I don't have a favorite female wrestler anymore.  Kinda fell out of watching it.


188. Trish Stratus is a close second.


189. I've been to quite a few WWE shows.


190. I HATE politics. I don't understand why it even exists.


191. I LOVE to read, read, read.


192. I prefer suspense and chick lit.


193. I will not read anything remotely political or science fiction.


194. I love the beach. Especially a clean one.


195. I love being tan, but not extremely tan.


196. My skin is 100% better (less dry) when I am tan.


197. I'm a Libra -- I was born in October.


198. I try to please everyone and I hate conflicts -- traits of a typical Libra.


199. I love plants and flowers, but I can't seem to keep any of them alive for long periods of time.


200. This wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be! (It's the required end-of list exclamation.)