Navel Gazing

I was tagged in a meme over on facebook, and thought I might as well post the answers here as well.

25 Things About Me


1. It’s pronounced Chi-co-ne (short i, long o, long e). This is the correct Italian pronunciation, capisce?

2. Yes, I know it’s the same last name as Madonna, and no, to the best of my knowledge, we are not related. So store clerks, drunk dialers, and stalkers, please quit asking.

3. Depending on who you talk to, my brother and I either look totally alike or nothing alike. People whose brains categorize by facial structure say it’s obvious we are siblings. People who categorize by coloration say there’s no way my pasty white skin and red hair and his olive toned skin and chestnut brown hair came out of the same gene pool.

4. I have a love/hate relationship with my red hair. I was a very shy kid, and it drew a lot of unwanted attention, especially during the “Annie” years. Even as an adult, it still draws a lot of unwanted attention, but I’ve made peace with that, and mostly appreciate it for the gift that it is.

5. An ironic historical side note to #4 is that when I auditioned for our community theatre’s production of Annie, I didn’t get in! My voice and acting abilities were not strong enough to pull off the lead, and it would have been kind of awkward to have an extra red headed orphan in the orphanage. . .

6. I still feel guilty for the times I got my brother in trouble when we were younger, though he has long since forgiven and forgotten.

7. I know an inordinate amount of songs, with an especially large repertoire of hymns and show tunes.

8. Given #7, I am often providing my life with its own soundtrack, though I am not always aware of the fact that I am doing this.

9. Despite this incredible memory for lyrics, tunes, stories, and useless trivia, there are certain other details my brain just can’t hold on to. For example, I can’t tell you what I wore yesterday, except that the outfit is currently lying on the floor next to my hamper.

10. I have always had a vivid imagination and am easily amused by animated inanimate objects and anthropomorphized animals.

11. Given #10, I am a natural fan of The Muppets, Calvin and Hobbes, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, that MasterCard commercial where all the kitchen equipment has the night off, and other such highly imaginative entertainment.

12. I have been to nine countries: Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Holland, Canada, and Latvia. Some of these I have been to multiple times. I aspire to visit all 6 inhabited continents before I die.

13. An ironic historical side note to #11 – though I grew up in a border state, it was not until I was 24 that I first made it to Canada, and I was in living in Washington State at the time. In fact, the only part of Canada I’ve seen so far is British Columbia.

14. I’d like to visit all 50 states in my lifetime. So far I’ve been to 36. Still to go: Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. In fairness, while I’ve technically been to Colorado and Arizona, our band bus passed through them in the middle of the night on our way to California – I’d really like to see more of those states, in the light of day, beyond their interstate rest stops.

15. I am a sucker for a well-told epic tale. The one exception to this seems to be The Lord of the Rings saga – I’ve never been able to get into that.

16. I would like to learn Spanish for practical reasons, and Italian because it’s a beautiful language and it’s part of my heritage.

17. I can play the guitar, piano, trumpet, hand bells, and auxiliary percussion. I’d still like to learn the mandolin, violin, and trap set.

18. Few places on this earth make me feel more at home and at peace than the St. Croix River Valley.

19. When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up, mostly for the experience of zero g and the God’s-eye view of the earth. The Challenger explosion put something of a damper on those dreams, but not nearly as much as finding out how much hard math was involved. No amount of zero g flips or breathtaking views could be worth the conniptions trig and calculus would put my brain through.

20. Finding out all the g force training involved was also disheartening, because I absolutely detest throwing up. I would rather have an upper respiratory illness for two weeks than have the stomach flu for one day. I don’t do so well when others around me are sick like that either, so if you’re gonna hurl, please try not to do it in front of me.

21. I’m still kind of upset that my name is now forever and inextricably linked with the destruction of New Orleans and the height of insensitive governmental ineptitude.

22. Someday I hope to complete a Sunday New York Times crossword in pen.

23. I love cats, but I’m not a big fan of dogs. Dogs seem to sense this about me and consequently work even harder to win me over. Seriously, I can be in a room full of people, half of whom are genuine dog people, and the dog will still make a bee line for me.

24. I don’t really care for drinks you have to sip. This means I generally don’t drink a lot of hot beverages or alcohol.

25. Letterman, not Leno, but Stewart and Colbert trump both.