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Twenty-Nine
01.26.09


Happy New Year!! (see, I was serious about celebrating the Chinese New Year this year!)


(yes, that is a Christmas ornament around my neck!)

Resolutions:

1. I won't eat candy I don't enjoy.
(think: have you ever eaten out of a bowl of candy just because it was there, even though you don't really like that candy? I do it far too often!)

2. I won't burp out loud.
(I really don't mean to anyway; it happens mostly because when I am concentrating I tend to breathe out of my mouth, so when a burp comes, unfortunately it comes out loudly!)

3. I will focus more of my time on things I am passionate about.
(for someone who completely fills her time, I actually don't tend to spend much on things that I love to do. I hope 2009 brings more quality time with friends, writing, dancing, and whatever else makes me feel alive!)

The Chinese New Year is just a few days before my birthday, and as another year goes by, I have decided to take a bit of inventory. There's a new hip thing going around Facebook called "25 Things" where people list 25 random facts about themselves, and I can totally see the worth in that. A little introspection can do people a lot of good, I think. Plus, it gives an opportunity for readers to learn more about someone, too, and can be a nice jumping off point for getting-to-know-you-better conversations. All good things!

Since I have this page and no Facebook profile (can you believe it??), I thought I'd do something similar here. I've been meaning to do it anyway, since the last time I told you "all about me" was 6 and a half years ago! Needless to say, 22-year-old Ciara is not too much like (soon-to-be) 29-year-old Ciara!

I am going to warn you, I am probably going to be a little more personal here than most are on Facebook. I mean, this is my blog for cryin' out loud; without some personal posts, what's the point? :) Plus, I think I've already written about lots of the things that first came to mind...

I must admit, the task ahead makes me a little nervous. But here goes! Of course, I have more than 25 things (you all know I am verbose!).

. . . . .

1. I am a classic extrovert. I get energized by being around people. I don't always want to be social, but I feel better whenever someone else is around, even if we're each just doing our own thing. I even sleep better when I live with a roommate!

2. Because I am an extrovert, sometimes people mistake me for a party animal. I do like to have fun, but I only get strong urges to go out dancing or to a party maybe twice a month. Also, since my job requires me to be very "on", most weekends I just want to hang out with a few people doing something low-key.

3. I feel the most satisfied when I can start a project and see it through to fruition. I may complain during the process, but when I am done, it's always worth it.

4. In fight-or-flight situations, my instinct is to fly. Although I am working on sticking around a little longer to see what happens.

5. I am a recovering archivaholic. I used to journal dozens of pages about every day; and kept detailed records about how I spent my time, how many miles per gallon my car got, how much I slept, etc. I still like to write down my thoughts here and there, but recording my life used to take up nearly as much time as living it!

6. I love making people laugh. If I had more time, I would study humor and learn more clever ways to amuse people. In the meantime, I like to try out jokes, and at times I can be pretty shameless about making sure people "get it" if they don't laugh! Don't worry, I am typically not hurt when a joke fails.

7. One reason I like writing is because it forces me to be logical when telling stories. In person, my stories will often go off on lots of tangents and tangent-tangents; they come out in more of a spider-web-chronology than linear! I'll eventually get to the point, but it takes a special kind of listener to follow me!

8. I love animals. Dogs are my favorite. I wish all animals were as excited to see me as dogs are (especially because I am excited to see them, too!). Even though I am a woman in her late twenties, if I walk into a room with a dog and a baby, I will run to the dog first!

9. I don't really drink much alcohol. I don't mind if you do it (assuming you aren't one of my underage students!), though.

10. I do not embarrass myself very easily. You, on the other hand, can!

11. I believe in God. Not only that, but I really like Him. God offers me a framework for life that really works for me.

12. I can contort my face into some pretty hideous positions. I may use these against you if I see fit!

13. I am the product of my big Italian family. I am loud, animated, emotional, constantly craving tortellini soup, and am crazy about spending time with my family. I hold my family to much lower standards than my friends; they "get me" even when they don't really get me, and my love and pride for them runs deep.

14. I am a quintessential little sister. I overreact to things. I want people to acknowledge me. I want everyone to fight for me (although my older brothers never did beat anyone up for me... yet). I want to make people happy. I want to make everything pretty.

15. I have some pet peeves:
-- Political arguments, not wearing shoes, people not listening to me, getting my purse/pockets/etc caught on door handles, insomnia, being told "you should have..." after the fact, wasting stuff, using toilet paper as napkins, gravity

16. I typically do not like surprises (minus presents, of course). I like to know what to prepare for!

17. My life has been marked by a few significant traumatic events, particularly one emotional and one physical. While I don't mind talking about them, I don't end up talking about them too much. I also don't think I've used them as excuses in my life; though they have shaped my personality and outlook significantly.

18. I am notoriously bad at emailing and calling people back. But if you make plans to hang out with me, I will never want to let you leave! I am an in-person person (hence no Facebook!).

19. I do not give into peer pressure, so don't even try. :)

20. If I am at a store by myself, I will ask strangers their opinion of the clothes I try on. I will also ask waiters what they think of certain dishes at restaurants.

21. Despite that it is one of the most common fears, I really enjoy public speaking (my fears aren't so popular!).

22. I have recently started to love reading, preferring it to television and movies. I like that reading takes all of my concentration. With this new development, my poor family finally gets vindicated (after years of weekly family outings to bookstores where they would all collect dozens of novels and I would only read Garfield comics)!

23. I butcher the English language daily. But it's only because I don't know any better-- I am still learning! I rarely think too much before I speak. Plus, working with txting teens doesn't help!

24. I have frequent, bizarro dreams. They range from stereotypical ones (like I show up for a final exam I haven't studied for) to everyday occurrences (like that cereal is on mega-sale). The latter often leaves me wondering later if it really happened. My most frequent nightmare involves high school theater-related disasters. My most unusual nightmare is that I convince a bunch of people to take a group shower, and only when I am the only one naked do I think, "Why did I think this was a good idea??"

25. My love for Detroit oftentimes overshadows reality. I don't really understand why people think they can talk me out of having a heart for The D, it's not going to happen!

26. I struggle pretty often with the thought that I need to constantly earn people's love, even from people who have been close to me for a long time.

27. Like an elderly person, I will typically announce to everyone in the room when I want to eat or go to the bathroom.

28. There are so many random things I want to accomplish that I feel if stopped working, moved to the country, and devoted my time to just working on those projects, it would still take years to finish them!

29. I am seriously honored and grateful that people read what I write on here. Whenever someone refers to this blog in my 'real life', it never fails to totally make my day!

. . . . .

Well, how about that? 29 things about me as I turn 29-years-old. I feel like I could go on, but I suppose that's why this is just one entry in a fairly extensive blog. The rest of the stuff will come out eventually. Or you can sit down with me and we can swap stories and quirks.

Hope you made it here to the end, despite there only being one picture in this entry. ;) Please email me your Facebook list if you have one!

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