20 things only my best friends knew until now

1. I love writing lists of all kinds. Especially on the 1955 Royal mechanical typewriter I bought from a sweet, middle-aged couple in north Austin for $25 on craigslist a couple years ago. I left it back in the USA because it weighs about 40 pounds.

2. I brought 99 lbs. of baggage with me to Guatemala when I moved. I sorted through my possessions in phases before leaving, minimizing more each round. Books I thought I'd always want but realized I'd never read again. Un-cute clothes I had kept for years out of sentimentality. I did the same thing with facebook friends in September. Obsessively eliminated connections until I had under 100. Strangely, this makes me feel better about being addicted to facebook.

3. I started practicing yoga when I was in the 7th grade, in February 1993, in my bedroom with blue carpet, using Richard Hittleman's 28 Day Yoga Exercise Plan. I credit this stroke of good luck/karma for my apparent sanity and continued good posture.

4. I began keeping a journal at age 10 and dreamt of being the youngest novelist of all time. I started working on a novel eight years ago. The current version has been in progress since early 2007. Now I just don't want to be the oldest novelist of all time.

5. Imagine by John Lennon is my favorite song and It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite movie. Maybe they are cliche, but I love them all the same. I silently judge people who dislike the Beatles, are obese, or speak Spanish with bad accents. I try not to though. My pet peeve is people who reply to all, when "all" flat out don't need to read their response.

6. When I was a kid, I always felt chubby, even though I wasn't really. As an adult, I have a skewed positive self-image of being fit which tends to be shattered when I see myself in a photograph. Perhaps my mind is stuck in 2004, when I actually was fit. I need to lose at least 30 lbs. I intend to do so before turning 30 in 8 months. It's doable. I am psyching myself up for yogging... it's this new fad where you run around a lot.

7. I have gone on at least 50 ridiculously awful dates. Screw opposites. My friends and lovers should enjoy a majority of the activities I do: yoga, traveling internationally, meditation, hiking, sailing, writing, reading, swimming, smoking pot, indie films, rock music, and cooking. I'm not sure that I want to get married or have kids. Leaning toward no at the moment.

8. Watching water soaking into soil, spinach wilting, cats and dogs basking in the sun, and the sun sinking at dusk make me feel abnormally happy.

9. Montezuma's revenge or some similar gastronomical bug that I caught in Mexico led me to poop in my pants at age 27. Gross. I am hoping that doesn't happen here in Guate.

10. I have a fascination with cult mentality, stemming from dating a fundamentalist Christian years ago who has since been imprisoned for rampant pedophilia. I've read loads of books on topics like Morman fundamentalism, the Jonestown massacre and Charles Manson and have hopefully stored enough intriguing information to effectively rewrite part II of my novella manuscript in the coming weeks, in which the main character is born again.

11. I ran into my hilarious, short, stocky, Jewish ex-college-friend-or-something in a remote village in the foothills of the Himalayas in July 2008. He was the first person that I loved. We drank Australian beer at a Chinese restaurant and talked for four hours. We've had no contact since.

12. I spent ten days in a mental institution at age 24, for a lot of reasons. After battling the first five days and being strapped down and tranquilized at least twice, I gave up and was on my best behavior, which led to my hasty release.

13. I was a girly-girl. Took ballet, tap, jazz and gymnastics. Never played team sports, aside from two pointless "Little Dribblers" basketball camps in the early 90s. Perhaps this is why one of my greatest fears is being put on the spot in a softball or soccer game.

14. I have had more gay boyfriends than straight ones.

15. I abhor Sarah Palin and everything she represents, yet I can't help reading articles about her.

16. In elementary school, I would sit in my bunkbed and read in the dim light because I thought glasses were cool. I have had myopia since age 12. I don't think it's cool anymore.

17. I was in TAG (Talented and Gifted) math class growing up, but could never bring myself to care about pre-cal or trigonometry. I prefer things to be grouped in even numbers or multiples of five.

18. I used to wear high heels and make up. Those days are long gone.

19. Because I overdid it with studying and achieving from K-12, I have a bachelor of "science" in advertising from UT. I probably would have offed myself had I not quit that career when I did.

20. I love teaching, especially yoga and elementary school. While it feels like the ideal career for me, I acknowledge that professional/staff development meetings in the education are far more excruciating than any advertising client meeting I've attended.

This post was inspired by Yoko Ono.