25 random (and boring) things about me (as seen on Facebook)

1. I am a worry wart. Case in point: I've spent the last few days worrying that no one would tag me in a "25 Random Things" note and grant me the opportunity to reveal my soul to the Facebook community.

2. I had never broken a bone until last week when I fractured my right wrist after slipping and falling on some ice. Currently typing this with my left hand.

3. I've never had a cavity, and I hope to keep it that way. Flossing is a regular part of my daily routine.

4. I have situs inversus totalis (all of my internal organs are reversed, so I'm like the mirror image of a "normal" person). It's part of a larger condition called Kartagener's Syndrome or Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia, a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder which effects the cilia lining the respiratory tract and fallopian tubes. Basically it means I have lots of lung, sinus, and ear problems. I'm infertile as well.

5. I've had lung surgery, sinus surgery, and more ear surgeries than I can count (see above). One of my earliest memories is of going into surgery with my "My Little Pony" clutched tightly in my hand and then waking up and vomiting from the anesthesia.

6. I suffered from anorexia when I was 12 and 13 and stopped menstruating for over a year. I ended up being hospitalized for more than half a year because of complications with my lungs from malnutrition (see above), which left me with permanently damaged lungs. I also have osteopenia (low bone mineral density) as a result.

7. I met my husband on the steps of Memorial Auditorium at Stanford's Admit Weekend when we were both 18 and still in high school. We started dating at the beginning of Freshman year and have been together ever since. We got married on June 17th, 2006. He's the absolute best thing that's ever happened to me :)

8. There is a photograph of me sitting on Richard Feynman's lap when I was 3 somewhere in our family albums. Sadly I have no memory of this momentous occasion and my proximity to greatness. Feynman dated my grandmother and used to play with my mom and aunt when they were little.

9. I wore braces for 3 years from 5th-8th grade, had them put on and taken off 3 times, and had 3 orthodontists who all insisted that the previous doctor had had no idea what he was doing. I still wear my retainer to bed every night.

10. I never imagined I'd marry a man in uniform and be a military spouse. So far I like it. Ask me again when he deploys for the first time.

11. I'm an atheist and a liberal democrat, which means I keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself a lot of the time when I'm around military people.

12. I'm an only child who always wanted siblings, which is why I plan to have at least two kids.

13. I had my ears pierced in 8th grade but never wear earrings because they make my ears infected. In general jewelry makes my skin break out in a rash, which is why I gave up wearing it altogether. I'm probably allergic to nickel.

14. When I was 8 years old, I was almost kidnapped/sexually molested by a creepy guy with a goatee while on a ski trip with my dad in Vermont. Understandably, my mom was really mad at him for leaving me alone while he caught the last ski lift up the mountain.

15. My parents got divorced when I was 4, and my mom remarried when I was 6, but I saw my dad a lot growing up since he lived only an hour away in NYC. I've come to realize that my parents make much better friends than marriage partners.

16. Things I am ashamed to admit: I never learned how to touch type. I can't whistle. I've never had an orgasm (sorry, TMI, I know!). I tend to be critical of others. I hold grudges. I've forgotten a lot of my Russian. I take people for granted. I'm prone to jealousy. I have a bad habit of picking at pimples.

17. I have never smoked or taken any illicit drugs, and I almost never drink. It's not for any moral reason; I just can't stand the taste of alcohol.

18. Because of my Kartagener's Syndrome, I have a really bad sense of smell. Chances are if you ask me how something smells, and I give you a reply other than "I can't smell anything," I'm probably lying.

19. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for 8 years. I started eating fish on a trip to Russia, and since then have been a "pescaterian," although recently I've considered going back to strict vegetarianism.

20. My weight fluctuated a lot during high school and college but finally settled down once I got married. I've been told that marriage "suits me."

21. Most of the women in my family (especially on my mother's side) are well-endowed. Sadly I did not inherit this trait.

22. If I could have any superpower, it would be invisibility.

23. I find a lot of food to be too sweet or too salty for my taste. My husband totally doesn't get this.

24. I recently received my yoga certification from a mean and crazy 70 year old woman in Corpus Christ, TX whom I hope to never, ever meet again.

25. I was born in New Haven, CT, but grew up in Stanford, CA and Stamford, CT. Since marrying Andy, we've lived in a bunch of hot places: California City, CA, Montgomery, AL, Del Rio, TX, Corpus Christi, TX, Little Rock, AR, and Okinawa, Japan is next!