Meme:
Number your meme with how old you are.
Next to each number write something that people may not know about you
Pass it on...



1) My nickname as a child was Calamity Jane. I never broke a bone or needed stitches, but I came damn close....A LOT! I'll divulge in numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5.

2) When I was 6 or 7, I sliced my toe open with a lid to a fruit cup. Yes, a fruit cup. Stop laughing. I was taken to the hospital, but no stitches were needed. Best part of the story is a few years later, I discovered I was a part of an Urban Legend. The story was of a young girl who had her toe cut off (you know how everyone exaggerates), and the staff carried her down the stairs, and the blood trail never came out of the steps. Then they showed me where my "blood still laid" (they didn't know the girl was me), and it was a completely different set of stairs. I had been taken down the front stairs. The story had formed using the back stairs so no one would see the "deformed girl". Crazy. I still have that scar on my pinky toe, though.

3) I burned my nose with a marshmallow when I was 9. Yes, a marshmallow. I was camping and we were cooking smores, and my marshmallow caught fire and I went to blow it out, and kinda missed. I actually had received 2nd degree burns on my nose from roasting marshmallows. But I still love camping and I still love smores, so no emotional scars there.

4) Also when I was 9, I had the most unfortunate occurence of diving into a swim pool on the 15th of June, 15th of July, and the 15th of August and scraping my nose on the bottom. Yes, I learned my lesson. Yes, I learned to dive OUT and not IN. Yes, I still bear slight physical scars on my nose from my "Summer of OW!", which I think are kinda cute.

5) When I was 12, my time running around pool decks for 6 years finally caught up with me. I had an insane amount of Plantar's Warts on both feet, and they had to be removed. Not freezing. No, there were a couple of clusters on my feet (like my heel and ball of the feet) that had literally hundreds of these warts. I know that's disgusting. I never claimed to have a glamorous childhood. But, they had to put me under anathesia and cut them off with a laser. I was held up in bed for two weeks because I had no skin on the bottom of my feet. Pretty sick, huh?

6) That first time I had anathesia, I should have known then I had some kind of sick immunity to drugs. The doctors had me count back from 100, thinking I'd be asleep by the time I got to 98, but when I was still counting down to 75, they had to give me more, and I didn't get knocked out until around 54.

7) Back to my feet. They are without a doubt my least favorite part of my body. I have these horrific scars, they still hurt on occassion, and they are UGLY. I hate my feet.

8) I LOVE my eyes. They are my favorite personal physical feature. My eyes are bright blue, and they only change a shade with sunlight, which pales them a little to a pretty sky blue, but when I wear dark clothes at night, they look almost indigo. I'm sorry, I usually don't brag about myself, but I have amazing eyes!

9) I became a vegetarian when I was 12 years old. Environmental/animal rights reasons. I was young, and there weren't a whole lot of "fake meat" or protein products back then, so I wasn't the healthiest vegetarian. Unfortunately, I'm also anemic, so I got to spend quite a bit of time in hospitals because I would get sick, or collapse at school. Doctors would then force my mom to feed me seafood and chicken for a while. I would occasionally go back and forth, but hospital visits would convince me to give it up after a while. I went back to being completely vegetarian earlier last year when I was cooking chicken and when I cut into it, it BLED all over my pasta. Haven't eaten poultry since.

10) I have a weakness for sushi. Want to watch a vegetarian squirm? Put me in front of a sushi bar and tell me that I cannot ever consider myself a vegetarian if I eat one piece of sushi.

11) I was the most rebellious, uncontrollable teenager to my parents. God love them, they had no idea what to do with me! When I was 17, I was sent to a long-term treatment center in Tennessee for almost 14 months after I ran away from home, sneaked boys into the house at night, and got caught doing drugs.

12) I'm trying to write my memoirs about my time at Peninsula Village. Although, I am changing EVERYTHING, the name of the facility, my name, my city, EVERYTHING. I'm even writing under a pen name, which is different than the character's name, which is different from my own. I'm calling the story "Wounded Healer". I'm not NEARLY close enough to being done yet.

13) While in treatment, I discovered a deep level of spirituality. I am drawn to nature and I truly admire the Native American's view of spirituality. They believe in a spiritual path that is never ending, they call it a Medicine Wheel. Different animals represent different phases along the path: In the South, the Mouse, the place of trust, learning to depend on others for help when needed. The West, the Bear, the place of introspection, looking within for your own strength. The East, the eagle, where you fly high and see the whole picture, being close to the Great Spirit. The North, the Buffalo, the place of wisdom, the Wounded Healer (hence the name of my story). Someone who has been through the path and shares her experience and wisdom with others.

14) Before I die, I want to hike the Appalachian Trail. The whole thing. I'm actually thinking about doing it sometime next year. Maybe March, if I feel I'm ready. But I need to do it soon. I ain't getting any younger.

15) Um, this may upset you all a bit to hear. I am cursed. Every celebrity I fall for (have a sirius crush on, I mean), dies. No for real. First celebrity crush: River Phoenix. After him, Jonathon Brandis. Before Jonathon killed himself though, I had found a new hearthrob that I was SURE would be my OTP for life: Heath Ledger. Now he's...gone...I'm so disheartened.
I have found a new hearthrob, though, and this somewhat scares me. Because I think I'm in love. Lee Pace. From Pushing Daisies. Did you see the movie he did earlier this year, The Fall? OMG!!! He is SOOOO beautiful, and I just get this impression that he would be generous to his fans, too. Either that or he is DAMN good at playing Ned the Pie-Maker.

16)(jeez, this is getting harder...can't I just tell you I'm 20 and do 4 more?) I'll go back to the pool thing. Why did I spend so much damn time at a pool when I was younger? I was on a swim team for about 10 years. I am a good swimmer. My favorite event was butterfly and breaststroke. I was actually preparing to go for the 1996 Olympics, but as you can guess from #11, I chose a different lifestyle than the vigorous training Olympic swimming would have required, so I didn't make it. Yes, if I ever had any regrets in my life (which I try to tell myself over and over again "we shall not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it"), it would be that I never achieved my dream of swimming in the Olympics.

17) I have a lot of irrational fears. I fear death, and heights, which I think are fairly normal fears (my fear of heights is extraordinarily strong, though....I freaked out at the St Augustine Lighthouse, for example). But my most obnoxious of irrational fears? Being forgotten. I'm taking off from the Harry Potter Fandom next year, but I'm scared to do this because I fear you all will forget about me, and I won't have your friendship anymore. When I leave New Orleans, I fear that some of the people I consider my friends won't even remember my name if I come back to visit. I know, irrational fear.

18)You guys aren't even reading this anymore, are you? Ugh! Okay, #18, I'm as boring as Matt Maggiacomo claims himself to be.

19) I am very very very very very sick of Wizard Rock. Want to get over Wizard Rock like I have? Plan a Harry Potter Event and NAME it after "Wizard Rock" because it has a catchy sound, but in which will lead everyone think the event is ALL about Wizard Rock, and deal with the egos I have been dealing with (not everyone, just a few, actually, but all it really takes is a couple huge egos and you'd be sick of it too).

20) I should be banned from corresponding with anyone over the interwebs. I make ALL my enemies over the internet. No one knows how to take my sarcasm in an e-mail, and in their defense, how can you tell, really? But I am sarcastic and outspoken and SOMETIMES I type and click send before reading it over or thinking twice. Which is weird, because I am usually much more careful when speaking verbally. I just need to stop writing e-mails or commenting on messages, blogs, notes, etc.

21) I think I have found my niche as some form of teacher or public speaker. I love doing these tours in New Orleans. One of the most enjoyable aspects of working at the Aquarium was doing the Otter Talks. I LOVED when shifts were available for the Marine Mammal Keeper Experience when I was at SeaWorld. I loved being the guest professor at the Harry Potter meetings in Orlando. I had no problem showing off our animals, and I truly enjoy sharing the city of New Orleans to visitors. I need to find a job where public speaking is crucial and promoted. Because I ROCK at public speaking. I'm comfortable when telling a story, I can embrace and enchant a crowd, I keep the crowd captivated. I'm a natural. So, there!

22) Well, then this all makes sense! I'm better at talking than writing. I couldn't figure out why I have so many good ideas for stories in my head, and I share some of them and my friends tell me how great the stories sound, but when I sit down to write them, I have NO WORDS whatsoever. Mind goes completely blank. That's because I'm a story-TELLER, not a writer. And it makes sense that I should be banned from corresponding with anyone over the interwebs. Wow! Thanks, long ass freaking meme for helping me figure this one out!

23) It takes me approximately 1 year and 7 months to get to know someone enough that I will consider them my friend. Exceptions to this rule are Harry Potter friends, but even then, I have been known to keep some of them at arms length for a couple of months. But if you stay with me all the way, and you wait me out, then you have yourself a LOYAL Hufflepuff-type friend (even though I'll swear up and down I'm NOT a Hufflepuff) until the day you die. There will be NOTHING I won't do for you. I'll give you a kidney, and I'll help you take down your sworn-worst-enemy. I won't care how far away you are, if you call me and say you need me, I will tear off in my car and be there at your side. I am a GOOD friend. It just takes me a super long time to get to that point with anyone.

24) My pen name I have come up for myself is Scarlett Ingrid Taylor.

25) I hate peas, water chesnuts, and coconuts.

26) I would rather cuddle than have sex ANY day of the week. I honestly think I could go the rest of my life without sex, but I don't know how much longer I'm going to last without SOMEONE to cuddle up next to. The cats aren't doing it to my expectations.

27) I have actually NEVER lied to anyone about my age. What does that prove anyway? I joke that I'm old, but I'm proud that I'm active and child-like at 30.

28) I almost ALWAYS wait until the last minute to do anything.

29) I am a bed hog. I sleep all over the bed, I kick, and I wrap covers around me. Horrible bed mate.

30) I almost never cry. Last time I cried was when Chris and I met in Orlando to discuss our future. That was back in July. I think I have a heart of stone. I don't cry. I think it makes some people uncomfortable when being emotional around me.