Plagiarizing my own damn self

I've been writing more bloggy stuff over at Facebook lately than here. So you know what I'm gonna do? Copy and paste, edit to remove certain identifying information. They call this "25 Random Things About Me" at Facebook.

1. When I realized that book I wrote would be published a month before my 40th birthday, I set a retroactive life goal of "publish first book by age 40." Hey, why set goals you won't reach?

2. I have never wanted to write a novel, but if I could come up with a good topic for a nonfiction book, I might pursue it.

3. I never went to grad school because there wasn't anything I wanted to study more. I briefly contemplated a master's degree in science writing, but realized I already had a paying job doing just that.

4. In my next lifetimes (mind you, I don't believe in reincarnation), I will pursue two careers: infectious disease epidemiology and lexicography.

5. I'm right-handed, left-eyed, and right-eared.

6. Princess Diana was my eighth cousin, twice removed.

7. Mark Twain (born Samuel Langhorne Clemens) was my sixth cousin, five times removed. And yet I have never read any of his novels.

8. I was the last relative to see my paternal grandmother before she died. She was out of her head and kicked me.

9. I have been an atheist since birth.

10. I'm jealous of my son's Mowgliesque hair, but have grown to accept my own. Well, except I get highlights to mask stray grays and to have a little fun with my hair.

11. I stopped eating red meat at age 12.

12. I won a $1,000 scholarship in a high-school spelling bee. I went down in ignominy the following year, and hold Sargent Shriver responsible.

13. The best things about freelancing: No staff meetings, no office politics.

14. My first name was so popular in my age group. I almost take it personally that parents these days shy away from the name, because it's such a perfect name.

15. I was a shy and quiet kid, a bookworm. My son finds it hilarious that I was too shy at his age to place an order at the McDonalds counter.

16. Editing crosswords may be more up my alley than creating them.

17. Five or six years ago, I bruised my kneecap and learned why a bruised kneecap is enough to keep an NFL player out of the game. It still hurts like a mofo if I put pressure on just the right spot.

18. I need to buy new jeans, but finding jeans that fit well is a more daunting task than finding the perfect bra or finding a new swimsuit. Sometimes the Gap has the perfect pair, but they always discontinue the cut that fits me perfectly.

19. Wow, I need seven more of these? The meme should be "20 Random Things About Me." I mean, really. Going to 25 is too self-indulgent.

20. Spring is my favorite season. The gradual rebirth of everything green inspires me year after year.

21. My absolute favorite floral scent comes from crabapple blossoms. Lilacs are lovely, but can be a bit much at times. I like the pepperiness of carnations (but those aren't outdoor springtime flowers here). The cloying stank of hyacinths tries to ruin springtime every year. Why do people plant hyacinths? Eww.

22. My son has inherited my fondness for kicking and crunching fall leaves and for stepping on thin, crackly ice. Sometime we fight over a particularly appealing patch of ice.

23. I love living in the city. I want my kid to be a city kid because my college classmates who were city kids—whether Manhattanite scions of wealth or South Siders from Chicago—had a cool confidence that set them apart from the suburban and small-town students.

24. I don't have the hand-eye coordination to excel at video games, but if there were a Wii speed crossword game? I would kick butt.

25. I have always been a procrastinator.