100 things about me

The obligatory blogger list so you can get to know me better:

1. I’m 30.
2. And I’m OK with that.
3. Really.
4. I think I would be slightly less OK with that if I weren’t in a serious relationship.
5. That’s admittedly pathetic, but it’s the truth.
6. I hear a slight tick of the biological clock.
7. But not enough to go ahead and get knocked up.
8. I’d like to have 3 children if it’s in the stars.
9. All of my high school girlfriends got married waaaaay before I had my first serious boyfriend.
10. And I’m OK with that.
11. Really.
12. My parents’ divorce was final on my 3^rd birthday.
13. I grew up in a house with my father and his parents.
14. But I have an extremely close relationship with my mother.
15. Seriously, we have that weird thing where we literally feel each other’s pains even though we’re an ocean apart.
16. It’s freaky.
17. I have one older brother.
18. I didn’t know at the time, but now I realize that he shielded me from a lot of the chaos happening at the time of our parents’ divorce.
19. I’ve never thanked him.
20. My brother has created a lovely family despite our relationship role models, and I hope that I will too.
21. I miss my niece and nephew more than words could ever express.
22. I wish my family would visit me.
23. Oh, I live in southern Italy.
24. In my ancestors’ village.
25. It’s on a hilltop that is charming, quaint, and all those typical “small Italian village” adjectives.
26. It can also be annoying as all hell because nearly everyone is related.
27. And up in your business.
28. But I love it.
29. And I love my life with my fiancé, P, and doggie Luna.
30. Luna was a gift from P and is also called Luna Balloona.
31. Or Sboopers.
32. Or Luna Balloona Sboopiter Boppiter Boopiter.
33. I like nicknames.
34. I once had a dog named Maverick.
35. A.k.a. Mavericka-Rony-Ravy-Doodle-Noodle-Bug.
36. I never said I was normal.
37. I love P because he plays along with these silly names.
38. We have pet names for one another.
39. Yes, it’s disgusting.
40. No, I’m not going to tell you what they are.
41. But I will tell you that we address each other as “Amore” or “Amò.”
42. Yes, that, too, is disgusting.
43. We only use our proper names in moments of displeasure.
44. So far in making this list, I’ve only cried once, but smiled many times.
45. I’ve become a drop-of-the-hat crier.
46. I don’t know when it happened.
47. I used to make fun of my mother because she cried so easily watching movies.
48. Now I’m my mother.
49. And I’m OK with that.
50. Really.
51. I’m writing this list before I even have a blog.
52. But I promise it will appear in its original format (with any edits for age references) when I finally do take the plunge into the blogosphere.
53. I have a law degree.
54. But I don’t practice law.
55. I did pass 2 state bar exams on the first try, though.
56. So there.
57. I’ve never wanted to practice law.
58. I always wanted to be a writer.
59. I wish I would’ve had the courage to pursue it from the moment I arrived at Duke.
60. Ah yes, I graduated from Duke University (with honors, if you’re interested).
61. If you went to UNC, you know where you can go.
62. No, I still won’t wear crybaby blue.
63. Even though I don’t really follow what happens at my alma mater very much.
64. Except for the lacrosse rape scandal.
65. I can’t believe that made it into my 100 things about me.
66. I wish the Duke Gardens were still a walk away.
67. But the Ionian Sea ain’t half-bad either.
68. Before Duke, I was valedictorian of my high school class.
69. Which is cool to say and all, but it means precisely nothing.
70. Especially when your high school is in Podunk, PA.
71. Not that I don’t love The Region.
72. If you’re from there, you know what I’m talking about.
73. If you’re not, you’ll never get it.
74. Sorry der butt.
75. I lived in Philadelphia for five years.
76. I love the Phillies, the Eagles, cheesesteaks, the Art Museum, and the Italian Market.
77. The rest I could do without.
78. If I eat potato chips, I want a Hershey bar.
79. If I eat popcorn, I want red licorice.
80. I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but I’ve never tried peanut butter and pickle.
81. I’m saving that for when/if I’m pregnant.
82. I’m a pretty good cook.
83. I have a knack for knowing what a dish “needs.”
84. I’m also a pretty good baker.
85. It was almost guaranteed that I’d cook and bake well as both my mother and paternal grandmother are/were excellent cooks and bakers.
86. I read a real, real lot.
87. This is an odd hobby in Italy because it’s considered anti-social.
88. Reading has helped me learn Italian, as has watching crappy Italian television.
89. Italian television often simultaneously annoys, entertains, and offends me.
    
90. I came here knowing how to say only “ciao” and “buon giorno.”
91. P speaks no English (except for "how are you?" and "wow").
92. This was a big incentive to learn Italian.
93. I can now even speak the local dialect when pressed.
94. But I feel kinda silly doing so.
95. It’d be like a foreigner coming into The Region and asking if “Dey got dem dere haluski at da Ack-a-me.”
96. It’d just be weird.
97. I know I’ll never be considered a true paesana here.
98. And I’m OK with that.
99. Really.
100. Because I'll always be a Coal Cracker.