Month: January 2010

i am neurotic: (and so are you)

/ ronni

This post is based on the book of the same title by Lionna King, and the website http://www.iamneurotic.com. Basically, just about everyone has something about them that may be weird or unconventional. This site and book helps us show that we’re not so alone. :)

Here are my neurosis.

1. I am funny about numbers. I like things to end on 0s or 5s. For example, if I am in the middle of a project but need to break, I will want to stop the project at 3:55 rather than 3:54 or 3:56. When I am playing FarmVille, I won’t end unless my XP points end with a 5 or 0. (This is how I know FV screws with my points when I log in again.) I like dates that end with 5, 10, 15, 20. Fortunately, my birthday is the 20th, Christmas is the 25th, and Aidan’s birthday is 30th. When I am at a restaurant where I need to tip, I try to make the tip and actual cost add up to something that ends in a 5 or a 0. I even try to post all my blog entries at a time that ends with a 0 or a 5. It doesn’t always work. 0s and 5s are nice, round numbers. And neat. 2010 is AWESOME because it’s a DOUBLE neat number.
2. Speaking of numbers, I hate the number 11. Unless it’s 11:11, when I can make a wish. Imagine how I will feel next year, when it’s 11/11/11 at 11:11? ACK. Either I’ll be making a HUGE wish or freaking out.
3. After all of this, my favorite number is 19. I love the way the 9 looks, all round and cute. I didn’t mind 2009 because of the cute 9 at the end of the year. So, I guess I like 9 as well, but I like it better when it’s part of 19. Makes no sense, I know, but there you go.
4. Months have colors for me. January is grey. February is red. March is green. April is blue. December is hunter green. November is brown.
5. When I eat candy with different colored wrappers (this is especially evident around the holidays), I feel unbalanced until I eat a piece wrapped in each color. For example, Reese’s Cups have green, gold, and red wrapped pieces. I have to each one of each. And if I eat an extra green, I have to eat an extra red and an extra gold.
6. I don’t like to get out of the car in the middle of a song. Nor do I like to stop my iPod for any reason in the middle of a song. It’s just not right. I feel like I’ve been left hanging.
7. If I am up for a job I really want, I don’t want ANYONE to know about it. That way, if I don’t get it, I don’t have to feel embarrassed.

What are your neurosis?

Edited to add: Someone on Facebook pointed out that this list ends with a 7 instead of a 5, which goes against my neurosis. Believe me, it’s bothering me, almost to the point I want to delete the last two……

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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Happy New Year!

/ reflection, ronni

:) It’s 2010! I rang in the new year with friends, loved ones, and Martini & Rossi Assi. It was good.

Many people are doing those year in reflection things–I did that already. But here’s my decade in reflection. ‘Cause you can’t go forward if you don’t know where you’ve been.

2000
– I bought anywhere-is.net. This domain will be ten years old in November.
– Married Chris in August.
– I got obsessed with scrap booking.

2001
– Lucy came to live with me.
– First flight ever.
– First trip to Disney World.
– 09/11/2001.
– Attended Britney Spears concert.
– Saw Janet Jackson in concert.

2002
– I find out I’m pregnant. WHOA!
– Aidan was born in December.
– Chris and I buy a house.

2003
– My life was seriously shaken up in 2003, and not in a good way. My “Christian” faith hasn’t been the same since.

2004
– I got my driver’s license and my first car.
– I turned 30 in December.

2005
– Disney World with Chris and Aidan!
– I quit my job at Nationwide after being there for five years, and became an editor at McGraw-Hill.
– Flew out to Los Angeles to spend time with my friend Amy, and to go to Disneyland!
– I got really serious about writing, and immersed myself in the writing world. Met many great authors and people.

2006
– I got an agent for my book ONLY YOURS (ONLY YOURS did not sell after being on submit for two years. I still haven’t quite recovered from that blow, even though I know now that it wasn’t the right time or book for me to debut.)
– Attended my first writer’s conference.
– Met Adam.
– Went to Vegas, Grand Canyon, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Hoover Dam.
– Went to the Smokey Mountains in TN.
– Quit my job at McGraw-Hill to become a copy editor for Zaner-Bloser.
– Attended first Bob Dylan concert, in Ft. Wayne, IN.
– Saw Bob Dylan in concert in Philadelphia, PA.
– Chris and I separated.

2007
– I got divorced.
– Had a year of sucky money problems, depression, and losing friends, but Adam and Aidan were my bright spots. I also learned who my real friends actually were.
– Met Laurie Halse Anderson!
– Flew out to San Jose to attend Rosa’s wedding. ♥
– Car got broken into, iPod and sunglasses stolen.
– Flew to Atlanta to meet Adam’s family.
– Attended my first Sci-Fi Con–Dragon*Con in 2007.
– Flew to San Francisco to hang out with Rosa!
– Atlanta for Thanksmas.
– Went to New York City with Adam; saw Rent!
– I got engaged to Adam in September.

2008
– Aidan was in a very serious car wreck and needed 48 stitches. He bounced back well.
– Chris revealed a big secret (but it really wasn’t to all of us who knew him well).
– I moved to Chicago.
– Got to play on the set of Wicked.
– Lucy passes away May 30, 2008. :(
– Adam and I got married in July. ♥
– Helena joins the family July 11, 2008.
– Disney World honeymoon in September!
– The U.S. gets its first black president… HOLLA!

2009
– Went to Los Angeles, Disneyland in January. Visited friends and family. Pretty awesome.
– Met Meg Cabot, Peter Yarrow, and Sharon Draper in February.
– Saw Rent in April. Got to play on the set!
– Bought first American Girl doll!
– I decide to go NATURAL with my hair. For real this time.
– Attended DucKon for the first time.
– Michael Jackson dies. :(
– Met SARAH DESSEN holy cow I still can’t believe that happened. Also got to see Laurie Halse Anderson again. :)
– Adam, Aidan, and I went to Disney World.
– Hung out with my teen crush Ricky Luna, whose new album is beyond awesome.
– Met many new and awesome people.

So many people have come in and out of my life. Some people I thought would be my best friends forever dropped me without a second thought when I made choices they did not agree with, and in all fairness, I have done the same to people. New people have come and gone. Some of the loss still hurts a bit, but I am moving on and I am embracing all the new friends I have made. Or the old connections that have rejoined.

When 2000 started, there wasn’t a Facebook or even a MySpace. FarmVille? If someone had told me I’d be addicted to a farm game, I’d have probably laughed. Then again, maybe not. I was into the Sims pretty hard core. Broadband internet was a new thing, and blogging was done mostly with Blogger. Then Greymatter. Then b2. There was definitely no Twitter, and LiveJournal was just getting its start. People could take full bottles of shampoo and body wash on planes, and we didn’t have to remove our shoes to go through security at the airport. Britney Spears was just blowing up, and there wasn’t yet a Hannah Montana or a High School Musical. People were breathing sighs of relief that the Y2K bug hadn’t destroyed the Earth, or at least all of our computers. The iPod came around. Everyone began carrying cell phones that became more and more sophisticated. Now our phones are like little computers, doing everything except going to the bathroom for us!

So many things have changed personally. I’ve gone through at least five computers. I’m living my fifth dwelling since 2000. Aidan’s grown from a tiny little seed in my body to an intelligent and kind little boy. He’s turning into a booknerd like me; once he starts reading, he will read for hours. My life is… well, I could not have imagined it being where it is now. It’s amazing what God can do. It’s amazing how life just… well, how you can’t even EXPECT anything because really, what do you know? I am filled with so much gratitude for my friends, my family, MY LITTLE BOY, Adam, the blessings I have that are way above and beyond what I need. I live in a great deal of comfort and I try my best to keep a gracious heart at all times. It’s important, and it helps my emotional well-being. :)

What’s in store for 2010? I don’t know, but it’s going to be fabulous and Legend… wait for it… DARY!

Here’s for a successful, prosperous, happy, secure, exciting, and amazing 2010 for all of us.

‘Til next time!

(Originally published at Anywhere Is…)

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