5 Things Meme

So there's this thing going around, a meme if you will, which obligates me to share with you 5 things you didn’t know about me (but were afraid to ask). And *BAM* Tag. Mindy McAdams got me. So, I guess I'm it. Well, world, this is the unknown me:

GIRLS: My first crush was on Melissa Lee. I was in fourth grade, she was in fifth. She was a school safety patrol who's post was at the pencil machine at the end of my hall. She had these dark brown curls that fell over her forehead framing these big brown, puppy dog eyes and a huge smile. I'm convinced this is why I only have eyes for brunettes now.

THE FLAUTIST: In sixth grade I desperately wanted to play the drums like my dad, so I joined my school's band. My parents were divorced, and mom told me there's no way I was bringing a drum set into her house. I chose the next loudest instrument, the trombone, which she also vetoed. Trumpet, no mam. I refused to play clarinet because all the geek clarinet kids used to walk around school slobbering on their reeds and I didn't want to be associated with them. I was crushed, the only instrument left to play was the flute, and I got stuck with it for a whole year. My dad, seized the opportunity and told me if I was going to play the flute I was going to play like fuckin' Jethro Tull. I was the only sixth grader I know of who liked Ian Anderson better than Jordan Knight. And I'm still a huge Tull fan.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: I got kicked out of my house when I was 16 for bringing home a C on my report card. I've been fiercely independent and on my own ever since.

FUTBOL: I played soccer for about 13 years. My senior year of high school, I was playing on my school's team, a traveling team, and as a ringer for a local university's team. I was invited to train with the US U-21 team, and their Olympic Development Program. I could have had a walk-on scholarship to play at Auburn University, which I turned down to go to UF for their Journalism School. I stopped playing after photojournalism consumed me.

PICTURING YOU ALL IN YOUR UNDERWEAR DOESN'T HELP: I love roller coasters, driving fast, watching lightning storms, and venturing into the unknown, but I have a huge fear of public speaking. We're talking the sweaty palms, heart-racing, knees-knocking kinda fear, that doesn't subside until the torture is over with.

Because I can, I'LL TAG: Lisa Krantz, Nicole Fruge, Chris Detrick, Pete Kiehart and Ross Taylor.