Facing Up to My Facebook Addiction

Facebook is my latest free-time-fun-time obsession. There, I said it. I know, I know...Biggest. Nerd. Ever. There are several reasons that have led up to this addiction, but it's mostly because I've had a lot of free time lately. First of all, I've been out of work for 6 weeks so looking for work has been my fulltime job. Not fun. Secondly, I will do ANYTHING to procrastinate unpacking. Oh wait, I'll do anything to procrastinate almost anything.

Now granted, I could be doing productive things like any of the items on my resolution list that, quite honestly, aren't all that fun. But instead I would much rather catch up on the latest. And yes, I do actually know all the friends on my "friends list" in person; they aren't just "cyber friends". And I love that in one fell swoop we can all know all the mundane details of everyone's lives - the same things we'd be gabbing about if we lived in the same neighborhood rather than 3000 miles away from each other.

Sooooo (finally getting to the point), in the spirit of keeping up with the details of everyone's lives, I keep getting these requests to list random things about myself and then "tag" people to do the same. Since I've been "tagged" about a dozen times so far, I feel obliged to do it although I'm finding it very hard to decide exactly what I want to share. Here's the deal: You're supposed to list 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about yourself and then send it to 25 people who make a list and send it to 25 people and so on, kinda like a cyber pyramid scheme. So here goes...

1. I always wanted to be a teacher. I used to play school with my brothers and sister when I was little and even had my own chalkboard and classroom area in our family room.
2. I am a terrible procrastinator. I get more done when I have lots to do because I'm usually procrastinating something else, but in the long run I'm more productive than if I'd started out with nothing to do. If that makes any sense at all.
3. I am obsessed with good grammar and correct spelling. I can't stand most text-speak, like "ur" instead of "your". I also can't stand incorrect usage of your/you're, there/their/they're, and to/too/two. And my biggest pet peeve of all.....A LOT is two words!
4. I come from a family of very conservative Republicans. I am not.
5. I dream in color several times every time I sleep, even during naps. Usually the first words out of my mouth upon awakening are "I just had the weirdest dream".
6. I flip-flop between thinking "I'm fabulous" or "I'm a loser" several times a day.
7. I hate bare floors. I would have carpet in my bathrooms and kitchen if it was up to me.
8. I hate school. Despite having a really high IQ (so they tell me; I beg to differ), I always skated by with doing the minimum required. If I ever had an option of doing one more assignment for an "A" or taking the "B", I took the "B" every time. The fact that I was a teacher for so many years, and loved it, and supposedly was good at it, is more than a little odd.
9. I have driven cross-country (CA-FL) 4 times in my lifetime and every time was The. Most. Fun. Ever. The first two involved camping (I was much younger and braver then) and one even involved a moving truck. Each one involved wild adventures that get better with each re-telling.
10. I have Selective OCD. My file cabinet has color-coordinated files with matching labels, yet there are piles on my desk that I never seem to file. My closet is organized by color and type, yet I can't be bothered to pick up the clothes piled on the floor. My life is filled with these contradictions.
11. I have several movie-star-pretend-boyfriend crushes at any given time. Colin Farrell, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Peter Sarsgaard currently. They change with time, but I've always had at least one since I was a kid. Darby Hinton was my first when I was about 10.
12. I love "As Seen on TV" gadgets. Any time I hear "If you buy right now, we'll throw in a (insert equally useless item) for free" I'm all over it.
13. I love long hair on men. Especially on my man.
14. I love mowing the lawn. I like making designs in the grass while I'm doing it. I also like to see what kinds of things I can run over and chop up. (Fallen grapefruits are my favorite.)
15. I love to be dirty and hot and sweaty at the end of the day. Hiking, rock climbing, walogging, bike riding, tennis, yard work - these are a few of my favorite things.
16. I obsessively alphabetize things. You'll notice this list is.
17. I refuse to watch movies that are sad, or involve animal abuse, or involve an animal dying. Violence doesn't phase me, but if someone's pet dog dies, I can't handle it.
18. I think reality TV is the dumbest thing ever invented.
19. I watch Beverly Hills 90210 reruns every day. Embarrassing, I know. (BTW, I've met Tiffani Thiessen and she's super nice, which makes it even funnier to watch "Valerie" as the town bitch.)
20. I would love to be a professional musician with a symphony. Or a conductor of a symphony. Or a ballerina. The fact that I've forgotten almost all of my childhood musical training and never had any dance training to begin with are just minor details.
21. If I won the lottery, the first thing I would do is have plastic surgery. (I wonder if Dr. Christian Troy would be available...?)
22. I'm the only adult I know who doesn't like coffee. I can only drink the sugary, whipped cream stuff from Starbucks and I prefer tea over coffee any day. I also don't even know how to make coffee.
23. I've been watching (and loving) soap operas since I was 16 years old. My dream job would be to write for All My Children or Soap Opera Digest.
24. I've had 29 different addresses in the past 29 years, sometimes causing people to wonder if I'm a fugitive. Actually, I just get bored. I owned a house for 3 whole years, but I felt too tied down, so I had to get rid of it.
25. My biggest regret in life is not having children.
26. My biggest soapboxes involve gay rights, mental health awareness, and a woman's right to choose.
27. My ex-husband has been one of my best friends for almost 25 years. His new wife is also one of my best friends.
28. My favorite animals are cats and dolphins, neither of which I can have as pets. One because it's against the law and one because I'm deathly allergic. (I end up in the ER due to a cat crisis at least once a year.) Fortunately I get to watch frolicking dolphins every day and it makes me smile.
29. My favorite movies are Brokeback Mountain, Reservoir Dogs, Legally Blonde, and Finding Nemo. Obviously I don't have a "type".
30. Relationships are the most important thing in the world to me - more than money, fame, or stalking Jake Gyllenhaal - and I will do anything for my friends/family. However, if the relationship becomes one-sided or harmful to my mental health, I move on and never look back.

Okay, so 30 instead of 25...math was never my thing. So now, tag, you're it, you have to share. Good luck - it's way harder than it looks.