25 things about me

1. I have been intimately involved with (at least) 4 men who are now gay.

2. The only food I really can’t stand is blue cheese. The stinky foot smell is a dealbreaker.

3. At the age of 16, I managed to get into a car accident exactly one hour after I got my driver’s license. Thankfully, I was not the driver at fault.

4. I rarely go to sleep before 3 a.m. Ever. This explains why you’ll almost never receive an email response or Facebook update from me before noon on any given day.

5. One week before my mother passed away at the age of 38, she revealed an end-of-life regret: “I never went to Europe.” I think this single sentence is why I’m driven to write about travel and where I got my insatiable wanderlust from.

6. I don’t have a journalism degree. I got my start at writing while working at the Philadelphia Weekly running the Personals & Promotions department. I made my grand editorial debut with a weekly dating advice column, called Ask Me Anything and things took off from there.

7. I once made three trips to the grocery store and spent more than $100 in ingredients trying to make a Bon Appétit “Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Bun” recipe. The yeast and I couldn’t come to culinary terms and I ended up buying bagels instead. I have not touched a single recipe that involves yeast ever since.

8. The summer of 2005 was rough – I had E.coli (twice), Plesiomonas Shigelloides and Edwardsiella Tarda. If you’re not a Gastrointestinal doc or a water microbiologist, I’ll let you Google all the gory details.

9. When I signed my first book contract, I bought a small pair of diamond stud earrings and a $500 La Perla bra and panty set. I don’t really care much about jewelry, but feel there are some basic essentials every woman should own and a drop-dead sexy pair of skivvies tops the list.

10. I don’t like forced heat. I’d rather build a fire or bundle up than subject myself to electric heat. If I fall asleep in a forced heat environment, it’s pretty much a given that I’ll wake up with a bloody nose.

11. At one point in my career, I was simultaneously authoring children’s books and writing content for an adult website. I’m pretty sure that is some kind of sin, but the money was way too lucrative in the latter field and I didn’t have to use a byline.

12. Until maybe a year or so ago, I would always go to water when I needed clarity in my life or needed to make some sort of big decision. Nowadays, I find solace in the mountains.

13. Like clockwork, I crave an In-N-Out burger (Animal Style, of course) or super-greasy pizza after I’ve been traveling. Since moving (back) to Seattle, my In-N-Out fix has been replaced with burgers at The Counter, King’s Hardware or Hattie’s Hat.

14. I feel strangely comfortable in hardware/home repair stores. Power tools and men that can fix things really turn me on.

15. I am fiercely protective of the people I care about.

16. I’m extremely grateful for my talented circle of writer friends. The constant give and take of ideas, sources, leads, creativity and general support is a never-ending source of inspiration. I’m also lucky to work with a roster of rock star editors.

17. I had a gym membership for over a year in Seattle without every stepping foot into the facility.  I continue to use the parking pass, most recently to get gelato.

18. I adopted my Boxer-mix beast, Gus, from the Stockton SPCA after a big, bad break-up. Some women buy shoes, binge on Ben & Jerry’s or have amazing break-up sex – I took on the responsibility of an abused, 3 month old puppy that was on 24-hour doggy death row.

19. Even though I am a frequent hotel guest, I still get giddy when I spend the first night in a (nice) hotel solo.

20. In everyday life, I’m not the world’s most patient person, but manage to possess massive reserves of patience when travel/meeting new people, especially when trying to find common ground.

21. Kids are great. I just like the flexibility and freedom of my life way too much to go through the process of having any of my own.

22. I swoon for the Rem Koolhaas-designed Central Library in Seattle. The Seattle Public Library system in general is outstanding.

23. I think 99.9% of what is on TV these days is mindless crap.

24. I was born on Easter and my birthday falls on Earth Day.

25. I used to think I was really good at Scrabble – until I met Morgan. We play regularly and I win, on average, maybe one time a year. It’s kind of sad, but I still love the game and I haven’t completely given up hope. Sigh.