It’s time for another blog…the 6 odd facts about me. I didn’t ever get officially tagged, but I still liked the idea of it. So here goes….

Times New Roman font– Times New Roman font drives me bonkers. I hate that MS Word always defaults to this atrocious font. It makes my eyes hurt. It frustrates me. It is uncreative. I switch documents over to Arial font as often as I can. Times New Roman should be retired. Seriously.

Earthquakes– in the 18 months since I’ve moved to California, I’m pretty sure I’ve thought about earthquakes every day. I’ve never been in an earthquake, but I have this morbid desire to experience one. As my time in Cali may be drawing to a close, I have had more anxiousness and excitement about earthquakes. I’ve been google-ing and wiki-ing earthquakes, faults, and archival quake photos. Yes, I know that they are destructive, scary, unpredictable, and devastating…but part of me feels like experiencing an earthquake is just as essential to living the California lifestyle as the Hollywood sign, Disneyland, In-N-Out, the Santa Anas, and being stuck in traffic on the 405. I’ve had a bizarre phobia since childhood of being naked in the shower during and earthquake and not being able to find my clothes before I have to meet at a disaster shelter. I think that experiencing an earthquake would help me overcome this childish fear.

My hair– My parents had decided on naming me Rachel, until I was cesarean’d out of my mom’s body with a mop of black hair. My parents named me Nicole because my hair was “black as coal.” (I can’t imagine being a Rachel, no offense) It’s always been extra thick, slightly coarse, and usually unruly. I started getting charged the adult price for haircuts when I was about 10. I’ve permed it a few times to even out my naturally wavy/curly hair. But I typically prefer it straight. The flat iron was the best invention in the past decade for my beauty happiness. I’ve always wished that I knew how to French braid it….but attempts at learning have turned it into a kinky knotty mess. I occasionally suffer from scalp dermatitis, and the only shampoo to consistently treat it is $200-per-4oz.-bottle Loprox (It’s been much better since I’ve lived in Cali). I have a widow’s peak and lots of wispies along my hairline. My neck used to be extremely “man-hairy” until May, when I decided to purchase a series of laser hair removal treatments. It’s so much better than it used to be…but it’s still not quite perfect. If any of you decide to try laser hair removal, be aware that it’s not going to be exactly what you expect…strangely painful, random regrowths, and unpredictable rashes. My hair recently has been more wavy than usual….just like it was when I was pregnant (DON’T FREAK OUT, the test was negative!) I’ve been going to work with my “wild hair” a day or two out of the week. Also in the hair category would be my plucking obsession. I love my Tweezermans… blue, pink, red, and black. They are the best tweezers ever. They keep my browline in check. And my husband in constant fear.

Nuts– I am picky with nuts. I don’t like peanuts, but I do like creamy peanut butter or peanut sauces…as long as I don’t have to chew the texture of the peanut. I have “food sensitivity” to walnuts. I haven’t had any Benadryl-worthy allergic reactions to walnuts recently, but I did have a few throat-swelling, rash producing walnut episodes. Pecans and brazil nuts give me cankers, and I don’t like the taste or texture either. I will, however, eat pecan pie and pick out the nuts because the gooey sauce is so tasty. Hazelnuts and macadamia nuts I can stand, but usually don’t eat if I can help it. I do like cashews, almonds and pistachios…but they must be on my own terms.

Almost famous– I’ve always wanted to be a famous. Not celebrity-paparazzi-tabloid-corrupt famous, but well known enough that random people would recognize me for something that I had accomplished and get compliments. I want to influence many people in my life, not necessarily for the things I do, but for the way I made them feel. But part of me really does want to be celebrity famous. When I was I kid, I would interview myself in front of a mirror. The “interviewer-me” would talk in a different accent; British, southern, French, valley girl, thug…and I would talk in my normal voice. My first TV appearances were on the Ramblin Road show…which experiences require their own post altogether. I was in multiple plays and singing groups, and love to be in the spotlight. I was also an anchor on SpartanVision…the Murray High School morning television show. I don’t think I’ll ever be featured individually in a magazine or newspaper, but hopefully I’ll get another chance at 15 minutes of fame.

Foreign Candy– I believe that candy almost always tastes better from another country. American chocolate is waxy and so-so…bring on the European chocolate! I begged my mom to take me to the Asian market for Pocky and rice paper candy as a kid. A trip to Canada showed me the joy of Smarties….not the chalky citric acid mini-montrosities…but the creamier Nestle M&M clone with prettier colors. I also love the Rowntrees fruit pastilles from England. But my favorite foreign candy is Hi-Chew. I discovered it at an ABC store in Hawaii. It’s a creamier, softer version of Starburst…with more realistic flavors. It comes in green apple, purple grape, strawberry and other fruit flavors, but the best flavor is yogurt. It sounds odd, but it’s delicious and refreshing. For a couple of years I purchased it off of a website called Melonmoon.com, but they closed up shop. I had a friend in Japan send me a care package full of Hi-Chew a few months ago, and it was lovely. Liz told me that she’s seen it at some at a cute market in Diamond Bar, but I haven’t yet picked any up.