At long last I am forcing myself to push law books, legal clinic obligations, family visits, weekend trips to Chicago, Phoenix, Naples, etc., trepidation, and fear of the unknown (or unskilled) out of the way to commence my inaugural blog post. Not to mention that the anticipated removal as a future contributor by Peter was just minutes away.
Luckily, facebook has once again saved the day. Instead of rolling my eyes at yet another Forward…well, “forwarded” in my direction, I honestly felt this one had merit. Douglas Quenqua of the New York Times even wrote about it on February 4th. He explains,
Here’s how it works: friends send you an e-mail message (or, on Facebook, “tag” you in a note posted to their profile) with 25 heartfelt observations about themselves — like “I named my son after a man I’ve never met” or “I once paid good money to see Whitesnake in concert” — along with instructions for you to follow suit. You are then expected to gin up your own clever list and foist it upon 25 people, including the friend who asked for it in the first place.
Unlike the chain letters of yesteryear, no money changes hands and no one is threatened with apocalyptic bad luck for refusing to comply. Yet the practice has spread so far and so fast that a Google search for “25 Random Things About Me” yields 35,700 pages of results, almost all of which seem to have been created in the last two weeks…. On Facebook, the apparent epicenter of the craze, nearly five million notes on people’s profiles have been created in the last week, and many of them are lists of ‘25 Random Things’.
Therefore, I am proud to bring to you…”25 Random Things About Me”. Hopefully we have that many readers.
1. I legally changed my name from Stephanie to Stessie when I was 18. And NO, I was not a teenage rebel. My mother was my attorney and encouraged me to permanently change it. Too bad Jourdie took the “unique name” introduction.
2. If I didn’t attend 7 years of post high school to become a lawyer, I would have loved to be a photographer or a travel planner. I still do both, but just for fun.
3. I absolutely love to travel and feel that it is the best way to expand your mind and challenge your opinions. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to 5 continents, 27 countries, and 42 states. I’d like to see the remaining 2, 168, and 6 respectively.
4. Some of my Dad’s extended family think I am unpatriotic because I like to travel so much. They also worship Rush Limbaugh. Enough said.
5. My childhood dream was to become an actress. I tried out for various local plays and in one performance was silent for 3 hours culminating in a dramatic scene where I drown in a fountain. Tragically, my child actress career came to a halt when I was asked to dye my hair brown for the part of Molly in the production “Annie”. I was so terrified at the age of 6 that my hair would never grow blonde again that I refused to take the part and abruptly ended my aspirations of becoming a star.
6. I may have not become a star, but I have experienced really random encounters with some famous individuals. Dancing with Heath Ledger in Australia, taking shots with Josh Hartnett at a Des Moines bar, asking Maria Shriver about her kids at Saks, and discussing scuba diving with Janet Reno on a plane are the highlights. Surprisingly, they are just people.
7. I have reoccurring dreams of my teeth falling out. An online dream interpreter (www.dreamhawk.com) suggests a loss, change, or death in my life. I am “rooting” for change.
8. One of my favorite movies is “The Man from Snowy River”. It was shot in Australia in 1982 (the year I was born) and Jim Craig may have been the reason I studied abroad in Perth, Australia my sophomore year in college.
9. The most amazing sporting event I have ever attended was a 2006 World Cup football (soccer) game in Munich. I’ve never seen such vivacity, patriotism, dedication, and equality among countries for a single sport. It definitely puts American sporting events to shame, except swimming of course.
10. I have a really big and close-knit family. I was embarrassed at the age of 13 when my mom told me she was pregnant with #5 because I had one of the largest families in town. I’m definitely ashamed of that bratty teenage girl in the 90’s because my family means more to me than anything in this world–even more than chocolate covered raisins!
11. My family has a problem with staying up all night when we are all together and thus being exhausted the next day. The act has been coined a “Bill Family Sit-around” and most mortals just can’t hang.
12. My family is also notorious for missing flights. The number fits on more than two hands. Miraculously, we have never paid for a subsequent flight and often enjoy our “extended stay” in various cities.
13. I would live on the West Coast if it wasn’t for my proximity to family and friends in the Midwest. The beauty of the landscape and general respect for the environment and varying cultures found in places like Portland, Seattle, and San Diego are extremely attractive to me. But the tradeoff is ultimately worth giving that dream up. Hopefully, I can always travel to these places.
14. My mom is my very best friend (there are close seconds). I can tell her pretty much anything.
15. I hate to admit it but I am a crier. Movie previews, stress, and a dirty look can sometimes set me off, even when I’m not that sad. I blame my mom.
16. I love dive bars. There is usually no one to impress and the ambiance is always a treat. And who doesn’t like Natty Light on tap for $1?
17. I am obsessed with hummus and could put it on just about anything. If they ever find out that the chickpea causes a fatal disease, I wouldn’t last long.
18. I am a quasi Boy Scout. Somehow I convinced the BSA to let me tag along on the high adventure trips in high school. Dog sledding and sleeping in a snow hut, canoeing, and learning to scuba dive for over a week were all made possible by the BSA.
19. I often get really angry that humans are destroying this planet by polluting, paving paradise for a parking lot, and overpopulating the earth (who needs quintuplets…seriously!?!) Saying that, I know I am a hypocrite who could do more to decrease my carbon footprint and I do want to have my own children someday.
20. I find that the more I learn the more I don’t know the answer. Hopefully I am not the only one who feels this way.
21. I use the thesaurus religiously. I honestly believe it earned me a few A’s in college.
22. I shamefully love sleeping in until 10 or 11 a.m. Especially in the rain. Sometimes I will set the alarm much earlier than necessary just to enjoy falling back asleep.
23. I love being surprised but I can’t stand not knowing what it is. I’m afraid of heights but I love flying, the tops of tall buildings, and sky diving. I want to become a lawyer but hate arguing. I’m basically a walking contradiction.
24. I have great respect for both of my grandfathers. One escaped the Holocaust as a child growing up in Austria and one was the kindest and least judgmental person I have ever met.
25. When Peter asked me to contribute to “The Captured Perspective” I was both apprehensive and excited. My goal is to contribute one blog posting per month, but once June and July BAR prep roll around I maystick to Constitutional Law topics or become MIA. But feel free to hit the real bars with me on August 1st.
And there we have it. Twenty-five facts I deemed interesting and pertinent to learning about me, Stessie Bill. Or I could be like most others according to Quenqua who use this activity as “…a creative way to indulge in social networking without coming off as needy or shamelessly self-absorbed.” You may disagree.
