25 Random Things About Suz

So, there's this "craze" sweeping across Facebook called "25 Random Things." It's very simple, really: you write a note listing 25 random things about yourself.

Well, it should be no surprise that I got sucked up into this wave, because it's a list and I'm a sucker for lists. And because I enjoyed reading other people's lists and learning things about them, or remembering things I knew about them but forgot that I knew, or seeing things that we share in common and remembering why we're friends. So, here's my list.

1. I have the tip of a pencil embedded in my left hand from a misguided balloon-popping attempt in third grade.
2. I’ve fractured my left ankle twice—once on the playground (5th grade) and once at Girl Scout camp (6th grade). I’ve also sprained and twisted it numerous times, including one time in health class. Yep – not gym class as you might think, but health class. Lame, I know.
3. I was on the varsity badminton team all four years of high school and competed in the IHSA state tournament my junior year.
4. My stupid human trick is screeching like a monkey. Loudly and convincingly.
5. In the eighth grade all school assembly I was awarded the “Outstanding Home Ec Student” prize, which consisted of a basket full of cooking and sewing implements. If that doesn’t make you cool in the eyes of your peers, I’m not sure what does.
6. I come with knives.
7. My most-often-consumed beverage from Starbucks is a Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte. At Caribou it's a Lite White Sugar-Free Raspberry Mocha.
8. I won the all-school spelling bee in third grade but got out on the very first word in the district bee. I don’t remember what the word was, but I bet I could spell it now.
9. Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year.
10. My brother and I were born seven years and one day apart.
11. In second grade my family got a toy poodle. I named him Frisky. I would dress him up in clothes from my dolls and Pound Puppies; he was a good sport. In his later years, Frisky went blind, lost most of his teeth, and occasionally had seizures. He was a good dog, if a big sickly and neurotic.
12. I love cheese.
13. I’ve worked at Barnes & Noble since 2000.
14. I rode a camel in Morocco.
15. My favorite TV show is the Amazing Race. I have seen every episode of every season. Except the family season, which I stopped watching because it was dumb.
16. I possess the uncanny ability to hit the snooze button repeatedly for an hour or more without ever really waking up or realizing what I’m doing.
17. I played the viola for a year and a half (4th and 5th grade). My dog would howl every time I practiced at home.
18. As a kid I went through a phase during which I tried to convince my parents to let me add another middle name—Cinnamon (which would have made me Suzanne Kay Cinnamon—has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?). When denied, I named my favorite teddy bear Cinnamon instead.
19. Babies make me nervous.
20. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning is one of the most significant books I’ve read along my spiritual journey (outside of the Bible, of course).
21. Some work days the only person I see from 9-5 is the mail carrier.
22. As a kid I would get more excited about going to the stationery and office supply store than to the toy store.
23. Caedmon’s Call is right: “Love is different than you think.”
24. Winter makes me want to bake and make soup.
25. I miss my grandpa.

I would like to add a 26th thing, because I like the number 26 (I was born on the 26th) and because my fiance's list mentioned me three times, and I didn't mention him once in mine, and so here's the super special 26th thing about Suz: I have the best fiance in the world and I am eagerly anticipating the day I get to become his wife (which happens to be 247 days from today).