100 Things About Me
- I’m a 41-year-old woman.
- I was born in Los Angeles, on a Tuesday.
- I love history and genealogy shows. Lately, I can’t get enough.
- I have a secret fantasy to be a dancer-singer-actor on Broadway.
- I cry easily when observing beautiful things, like watching people excel at something, or when I enter a historic building, cathedral, or castle.
- I sometimes wake up with my arms or legs in the air, defying gravity.
My husband calls it “the antenna” and jokes that I’m communicating with UFOs. - I can calm down just by watching one of my four cats sleeping.
- Unfortunately, I’m highly allergic to cats.
- I am also mother an African Grey parrot.
- I have been recently diagnosed with Social Phobia.
- I’ve had isolated panic attacks my entire life.
- My panic attacks generalized into agoraphobia when I turned 21.
- I love historical romance novels, especially ones by Diana Gabaldon.
- I dropped out of a Ph.D. program in Medical Psychology after 1.5 years.
- I moved to Spain to be with my Spanish fiancé for one year before we got married.
- I love my husband more than words can express, but it took a three-year separation, divorce, and re-marriage to realize it completely.
- I’ve taken over 27 psychotropic medications. Only one seems to have helped.
- I learned to cook just three years ago.
- I studied Arabic for a semester.
- I’m an Aries.
- I wanted to be a neurosurgeon during college.
- I’ve dated men from over 15 different countries, including all continents except for Antarctica.
- I went to a women’s liberal arts college and majored in psychobiology.
- I adore Bollywood movies.
- I love to suck the salt off of pretzel rods.
- I left science and went back to school to get a master’s degree in English
(Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages: TESOL). - I was a news reporter on a silly local cable channel when I was 17.
- SCUBA diving was one of my favorite, pre-agoraphobic hobbies.
- I always use my signal when driving even if I’m miles from another car.
- I have two tattoos.
- I keep my fingernails very short.
- Long toenails repulse me.
- I have green eyes.
- I’ve had two major jaw surgeries, one on each jaw.
- I sneezed a wire from my nose three years after my second jaw surgery.
- I hate raw tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives.
- I am bald. I have alopecia areata.
- I once lived in Las Vegas, NV and never once went to a casino to gamble.
- I once lived in Irvine, CA and spent hundreds of dollars gambling in Las Vegas.
- I haven’t had a glass of alcohol in over 3 years
(I’m terrified of an interaction with my medication “cocktail”). - One of my favorite non-profits is Kiva.org.
- The last time I rode a horse, I fell off.
- I wanted to be a mother, but now I believe it’s not meant to be.
- I’ve taught hundreds of people to speak English with greater confidence.
- I cared for each student like family.
- I love foreign films — learning about different cultures.
- I once was conned out of $15,000 by a “friend.”
- I quit a pack-and-a-half a day smoking habit on 04/04/04. I’m so proud.
- I’ve studied Spanish for 20 years, but I am still unable to speak it well.
- I can’t eat a serving of the same food without some variance in texture.
I prefer to alternate bites of crunchy and soft. - I can only eat with a salad fork, not the normal (larger) forks everyone else uses.
- I’m a generous tipper.
- I love making greeting cards.
- I sleep with a pillow slightly larger than a postage stamp beneath my head.
- But, I also sleep with a huge pillow along each side. That’s three pillows total.
- I don’t really like whole fruit too much (but I cannot get enough watermelon).
- Alarm clocks can ruin my day.
- I never feel compelled to answer the phone.
- I’m proud to live on protected land that’s home to seven endangered species.
- I’m very spiritual, but I become enraged when people blend church and state.
- I can trace some of my family back eight generations; I love genealogy.
- I am not 1/16th Cherokee, unlike the family legend taught me.
- I always need to have the back of my hands, tops of my feet, and my collar bone covered when watching television.
- I’ve never eaten anything from the ocean (except for sea salt).
- I love doing laundry.
- I have a secret obsession with celebrity web sites.
- I collect books. New books and very, very old books turn me on.
- I look at world maps for entertainment.
- I read captions on all movies and television programs; I have trouble hearing conversation, but I can hear my cat meow three rooms away.
- But, I have nearly perfect echolocation.
- Swimming transports me to a very happy place.
- I don’t swim enough.
- I have a dream of traveling to Slovenia.
- I love painting ceramics.
- I can organize anything.
- I’m great at jobs dealing with the public.
- Disneyland was my first employer.
- UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) was my last employer.
- My favorite ice cream flavor is peanut butter and chocolate.
- I have an obsession with colored pens, pencils, and crayons. I hoard them.
- My natural sleep-wake cycle is phase-delayed. Ideally, I’d sleep from 3:00 AM to noon.
- I can feel when I ovulate.
- I hope to write erotica some day.
- I cannot tolerate movies in which an animal is abused, neglected, or abandoned. I’ll turn it off.
- If I’m not learning something, I’m not happy.
- I don’t hold grudges.
- I volunteer at the local State Park.
- My intuition is my best guide. I trust it completely.
- I’m a very loyal friend.
- I love taking baths with baking soda and kosher sea salt.
- I can’t watch nature shows because I always feel sorry for the animals.
- I could watch sea otters all day long.
- The books on my shelves are arranged according to size, left to right.
- I once erroneously believed all mental distress could be cured with medication.
- I always wear socks; I hate going barefoot.
- When I dream and I’m in it, I am now of “true size” (not thin).
- My greatest paradox is my need for connection versus my need for autonomy.
- It’s psychologically very difficult for me to eat or drink anything beyond its expiration date.
- Every time I open a bottle, package, or container of food, I write the date on it with a Sharpie.
- I am a Type Six on the Enneagram.
35 Responses to "100 Things About Me"
July 6, 2007 at 3:46 am
Never too many things! That’s what makes us so very special!
Thanks, Lazyhousewife, for the comment. Really great to find you out there in cyberspace.
July 6, 2007 at 3:49 am
By the way, Lazy, your name is not linked to your blog. I think you can do this from your dashboard. It doesn’t do it automatically. I’m sure others would like to head on over to your blog from your comments. Good night for real now! It’s nearly 4:00 AM… just like the olden days…
July 6, 2007 at 4:45 am
i love about this list how you came up with these things about you, and how they follow one another and combine with each other, and how free you are to express your idiosyncrasies and particularities and specialness. extremely cool list. i can’t even contemplate the idea of doing one myself! it sounds like a totally daunting idea to me.
July 6, 2007 at 8:37 am
Okay, so I did go ahead and steal the idea from both of you! But I didn’t quite manage to go by the rules. I often put multiple things about me within one number and ended up with only 60 entries.
It was fun! Thanks.
July 6, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Good afternoon, AMA 
Making the list really isn’t that daunting once you begin. Before starting, I was eating delicious Indian food with Husband. Between the two of us, we only came up with one “thing.”
But, after getting into my quiet space back at home, I was able to just write, and write, with little effort. I think, for me, it helps to get out of my own way. I’m trying to break the bad habit of judging everything I put down as dumb, incoherent, not funny enough, etc…
So, in reality, this exercise was a wonderful opportunity to just “express,” without a critical eye. If I were a therapist, I’d had my clients do this “100 things” as homework. When I get depressed and become exhausted, it can help remind me that I am not a bowl of nothingness.
Seriously, it’s very cathartic on some level (and empowering!). I just had to be “me,” not witty nor intelligent! (Not saying that I usually don’t possess these qualities! 
)
July 6, 2007 at 1:26 pm
Gianna,
Good for you! Way to go. I’m on my way over to your blog very soon to check it out.
It’s a great exercise, no?
July 6, 2007 at 2:38 pm
it is so totally witty and intelligent, HSP, with your cooperation or not! it blows my mind.
July 6, 2007 at 4:20 pm
this exercise was a wonderful opportunity to just “express,” without a critical eye
yes, that is just what I did–single draft, spontaneous flow. When it stopped coming I stopped.
I intend to do the rest over the weekend.
thanks again for a wonderful idea and I think it would be a good exercise for a therapist to give a client as well!
July 6, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Hey G,
Yes, that’s my thought exactly! Especially good for people like us who feel a little “detached” from what society deems “normal.”
Some of our things aren’t common, but that’s the magic! If the assignment was “100 NORMAL things about me,” we could do that, too.
I think, if I were a Life Coach, I’d have people do both:
“100 Unique Things About Me” and
“100 Common Things About Me.”
In fact, I think I’ll do the “normal” list in my journal. Then, for the times I feel not-so-normal, I can revisit it.
July 6, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Wow… cool list. I like reading the unique things, and I also like learning new things I have in common with you. Some specific comments:
#3: home improvement. Do you actually improve your home afterwards or do you just love to watch and think about it? I just started really getting into home improvement with our lovely nyc rental apartment, and I’ve found that once you get the bug…well, it’s hard not to keep thinking about how you could make it better with this or that….
#4: Sweet! I have one to be a dancer on broadway, but not the singer/actor part. I love dance!
#26: Cool! One of my best friends is getting a teaching degree for ESL, so I hear a lot about what it’s like to spend all your time teaching english to people for whom it is not their first language.
#43: Me too! Sometimes I feel weird about it because of my age, do you ever get that? I feel like you might be on the other side of the spectrum, but I find that when I tell people (in my circles) that I want a baby, they are surprised. I imagine you might get that reaction sometimes as well?
#81: Haha. Mine is even more delayed I think – when I let it go naturally I end up at about 5 am – 3 or 4 pm.
Maybe I’ll do this meme post eventually, but I think right now is not best as I just did the 8 memes post.
July 7, 2007 at 1:08 am
Flicka,
Oh, once you get the improvement bug, you’re right, there’s no stopping you! I get such pleasure from home projects. I’ve basically “remodeled” three homes in the past 4 years — gotten two in top-notch condition to sell, and redid the one we bought about 2 years ago. I love it!! I love dancing, too. I have another secret obsession — the tv show “So You Think You Can Dance.” I so look forward to it!
No one has said anything to me about being almost 40 and wanting to have a baby — yet, that is. I think I am the harshest on myself about it (but I’m getting over it). Plus, I look super young, probably not much older than 30. I just wasn’t in any place to have a kid until now. I was on tons of medication, first of all. Now my marriage is solid, our education is complete, we are financially stable, I know who I am and what I stand for, etc… I feel a bit cheated by my body because I feel I am at the perfect point in my life to be the best mother possible. Maybe when we start trying, I will have trouble conceiving. I hope not.
Thanks for leaving a comment. Nice to connect with you.
July 7, 2007 at 5:34 am
My sister had her twins at age 43–they are an absolute delight and she’s a good mother!
July 7, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Well I had thought maybe we would have similar experiences although mine because I’m younger than average and yours because you’re older than average, but I guess not so much. I find that in my circles, most people don’t expect to have their kids until at least in their 30s.
Indeed, having kids at 40 is certainly possible and obviously will be a great delight. The kids do benefit from how sure of yourself you are by this time in your life. I guess for me it’s not so much that I get people responding with surprise (although I do), but it’s more that I really don’t have any friends who feel the same way, and I have really strong baby fever so I wish I could talk with them about it. They listen sometimes, but up to a point, because I’m scared I’m boring them (or scaring them!) Many of them are freaked out that they have a friend who is thinking about babies. My friends are all of the mind to get their career and life completely established first, and since I’m the only one among them who is married, I tend to freak them out when I talk about wanting a baby. I do find that among my graduate student friends, people are often a bit shocked, because my god, who would want a baby while still in grad school?
July 7, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Also, do you talk about it much? (Wanting to have a baby, that is.) I share myself with a lot of people, so I have told people that are my friends but are not my closest friends, and that’s usually where the surprise comes out strongest.
July 7, 2007 at 7:06 pm
My sister had her twins at age 43
Really, Gianna? Very nice! Twins? Oh my, what a handful. How lucky she is… Thanks for letting me know!
July 7, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I’m younger than average and yours because you’re older than average, but I guess not so much.
You make me chuckle, Flicka Mawa! You and I (and most of us blogging women) are always anything but average!
Oh, to be average….
Seriously, I appreciate your thoughtful comments about having children. I completely understand you when you say you wish you could talk about your “baby fever.” I’ll listen to you! And, for what it’s worth, I think having a baby in graduate school is totally doable. Every woman is different, no?
July 7, 2007 at 7:22 pm
Flicka,
I haven’t told anyone that we’re thinking about having a baby except for my blogosphere friends! When we’re certain, and we’re (I’m) pregnant, that’s when we’ll share the good news with friends and family. Of course, I’d tell my parents right off the bat. They’d be thrilled!
July 10, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Ah, yes. I try to talk to my friends about it too, because I have this crazy baby fever but I KNOW I’m not at a point in my life where we could support a baby, so I need some way to deal with this discrepancy. And it’s not the grad school thing either – that surprises people, but I am convinced that if that’s what I want, we’ll make it work. But the money – we just don’t have any. Our bank account goes in the red like 5 times a year. Certainly can’t have a baby with that kind of financial instability. Le sigh.
July 11, 2007 at 2:07 pm
I think you’ll be a great mother when you decide the time is right. 
July 13, 2007 at 5:10 pm
okay, so i’ve spent many hours thinking about my 100
things and i can’t come up with more than five or six things that are of any interest at all (or that i’m willing to put out there!). i’m serious. last night i couldn’t even sleep i was so busy rooting around in my mind for interesting things about me. and: nothing.
but one thing i want to say to you: like you, i can organize just about anything. i feel pretty cool about this gift i have, because it’s so darn handy. at the same time, it makes it really hard for me to work with others if a) they are lousy organizers and b) i’m not in charge (i’m quite happy with not being in charge if things work halfway smoothly). i see things drag on forever or go nowhere and i go stir crazy.
there’s this cafè that’s attached to a bookstore we like a lot. the food is good, but the service is abysmal. i always feel like going to the bookstore owner and telling him, “hey, let me get things in hand here; i promise you it’ll work like a swiss clock; i don’t even want to get paid.” seriously, i’d do it for free, like, in a heartbeat.
once i was brought in a summer camp that was a total mess. hundreds of kids running around and shouting all at once, and no one able to bring any discipline at all. i got them quiet and listening and lined up in about 10 minutes flat. it’s one of my proudest achievements. sometimes, when i feel a useless loser, i think about that day and i feel so fucking cool i could explode.
July 15, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Dear AMA,
I cannot believe for one second that you could come up with only 5 or 6 things about yourself! I’ve only known you a short while, and I can think of twice as many. Maybe you just don’t want to put it out there, as you mentioned. But as LazyHouseWife told me, there is nothing that doesn’t belong in cyberspace. She does have a point! Maybe what you don’t think are things, actually are!
What a great story about the summer camp! How wonderful! I can totally imagine you bringing order to the chaos. Great job, woman.
You are cool, AMA. Super cool!
August 30, 2007 at 6:41 am
Hi,
One of my friends is taking Klonazepam for 10 years, 1.5 mg per day.
He cannot function more than 20 minutes per day.
He needs lot of sleep.
He is not under any stress for a prolonged time.
This is the effect of Klonapin.
He would like to withdraw from Klonazepam.
Can you please help us?
Thanks for your help!
Raji
August 30, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Welcome, Raji
While I was taking benzodiazepines (Valium, Xanax, Klonopin, and Ativan), I also was extremely, extremely tired. Just beat. The tiredness just gets worse while tapering off these drugs, unfortunately. I am sure that some of my tiredness and depression (depression from being so tired all the time) were in part the result of being on these medications for over 18 years.
Now, as I am two weeks completely benzo-free, I must admit that I feel so much better. I have energy, enthusiasm, I can fall asleep at night without any help… And, I wake up more refreshed.
Why was your friend prescribed benzodiazepines? They are a good drug for the now-and-then traumas and stresses of life, but they are terrible drugs (in my opinion) for chronic use, year after year…
I wish I could tell you what’s best for your friend, but I am not a doctor. But, as a person who was on clonazepam for about 16 years, I would first join the Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Support Group:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/benzo
There are 100’s of people with benzo knowledge over there more than willing to give more specific advice about how to best get off this drug.
Second, read the Ashton Manual cover to cover:
This is a wonderful, scientific resource that everyone who’s taking a benzodiazepine (and who is unhappy about it) should read.
Your friend is not making his symptoms up and could very well be demonstrating adverse effects from benzodiazepines. I hope you can find some inspiration after reading the Ashton Manual; it’s very helpful.
Be strong and remind your friend to believe in himself.
Getting off of these drugs is not easy at all. Being a good support for your friend while he tapers off Klonopin will be the very best gift you could ever give.
It gets worse before it gets better, in my experience, but it does get better.
I’ve never felt as good as I do now and I am only two weeks benzo-free! Tell your friend it’s doable, and sooo worth it!
March 29, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Hello, we are researchers from The College of New Jersey interested in gaining information on the views of authors of mental health blogs. You have received this invitation because you are an author of such a blog. Participation will involve responding to surveys about your mental health and blogging habits. The results are completely confidential. No respondent’s personal identity will be requested or associated with any set of answers. We appreciate your time and help with our study and as a thank you for participating you will be entered into a prize draw. If you are interested or desire further information, please respond to mhblog@tcnj.edu and be sure to include a link to the home page of your blog as well as your preferred contact email address. The survey will be sent to you via email within the next few weeks. Thank you in advance for your participation!
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April 17, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Have you taken the supersensitivity test? I have the website. I was 100%, Also I have a site that will give you some intresting data, as moon phase when you were born…
I’m also blogging on a couple of yahoo groups that might appeal to you.
Email ChironLightOne@yahoo.com
Peace-Love-Oneness
Dona
Welcome, Dona
Yes, I have taken the supersensitive test! I scored off the chart, too!
Here’s a link to the Super Sensitive Person self-test. Every HSP should check it out!
Thanks for taking time to comment.
December 2, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Hi there, Love your writing and think what you’re doing is wonderful. Would love to chat with you more about it… Can you write me back please at e-mail address I submitted? Thanks. Very warmly, Tina
Hi, Tina
Thanks for stopping by!
-HSP Woman
December 7, 2008 at 3:24 am
Hi there,
I can relate alot to your blog, being a highly sensitive person myself.
You mentioned that you dropped out of psychology studies after 1.5 yrs. Just wanted to ask you if that was because of your own personal struggle with anxiety?
Im interested in studying psychology, but i dont think i could cope with the course nor would i be able to help others if i cant overcome my own panic attacks. Iwas panic free for 5 yrs, and now out of control again.
I value learning.. i love study, but dont think i can go back to university 
December 9, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Hi again, Eclecticstar
So, you’re a highly sensitive person, too? We have lots in common: panic attacks, HSP-ness, agoraphobia, interest in psychology…
I left partly due to the anxiety, yes. While there, I lived alone, experienced many months of no sunshine, extreme test-taking anxiety, you name it.
I was so not prepared to be less-than-perfect, and this was my near downfall. I thought I had to be the #1 student and I paid dearly for it.
It was during this time when I was introduced to many medications that didn’t help. This was the time I started to take Klonopin, and it wasn’t until about 16 years later I could stop it.
Finally, I made the decision to leave after many, many months of debate. I would have probably been much worse off had I not stepped out when I did.
HOWEVER, today I would love to study psychology again even though I am MUCH more limited in my comfort zone.
Because today, I have many more coping skills and strategies to deal with being overwhelmed. Heck, back then, I didn’t even know what being and HSP meant! I had never heard of the term.
Just being aware of what I need to do for self care now would be the difference between making it and not.
I think you should totally go and study if it’s a value of yours. Who cares if you have panic attacks? You’ll just be that more compassionate and knowledgeable compared to your classmates!
Have you tried an online course first? A community college course? In the States, one can enroll in basic classes without even taking a grade. You could go there (or something equivalent) and gain some confidence.
You CAN help others BECAUSE you have panic attacks, not the opposite.
In fact, one of my criteria for hiring a new therapist is: Has he or she had a panic attack?
Book learning about anxiety NEVER compares to real life experience.
I do plan to go back to school soon. I will take my anxiety with me. I just don’t know exactly what I want to study.
You can do it. If it’s your value, hang in there. GO for it. Feel the fear and do it anyway!
December 9, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Very interersting stuff! I also love sea otters, they are adorable!
December 11, 2008 at 5:44 am
Hey HSP Woman,
I will definitely go back to some form of study in the next year.
Might take a subject in psychology and see how it goes.
One without exams would be good! Even if i dont ever end up working as a psychologist, i think i would like to learn more about this subject anyway.
I have great empathy for people, but i am also prone to burnout. I take on other’s emotions too easily- i can often feel what another person is feeling, without them saying anything to me. I can walk into a room where there has been an argument, and still pick up on people’s anger there. Sounds crazy, but i am so sensitive and i don’t think the “professionals” i have seen truly understand what that is like.
I also find it difficult coping in the workforce as i pick up on everybody else’s stress in the office. And i hate office politics.
I am starting to think that self-employment might be the best option for me.
I jump at the slightest of noises, and sometimes i just feel my senses are in overdrive. I have panic attacks that wake me mid-sleep. When the temperature drops during the night, my body jumps and awakes in panic. I notice changes in temp all the time.
And i need time out for myself away from humans, quite often.
Your blog is the first time i had heard about what a HSP is.
I’m so relieved to know there are others like me.
January 3, 2009 at 1:28 am
Eclecticstar
You sound like me! Are you also “eclectic”? Do you also love so many things it’s hard to focus on just one?
Take a look at the book “Refuse to Choose.” I believe it will also ring a bell for you!
Happy New Year!
PS: Another good book for HSPs in the workplace: “Making Work Work for the Highly Sensitive Person,” by Barrie Jaeger, Ph.D.
I haven’t read it, but I have it on my bookshelf. It comes highly recommended!
May 3, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Hi HSP Woman,
Just thought I’d drop by and say hello. Miss your posts.
I’m finally accepting the fact that i’m an HSP and that it’s not a bad trait, nor is it something that needs “fixing”. (Makes me wonder why it is that some doctors feel that it’s something they need to medicate for/fix in their patients etc).
I thank you for your posts and bringing awareness about HSP.
Take care
EclecticStar
June 5, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Hi there, EclecticStar!
What great news! Isn’t being an HSP fun? Would you really trade it for anything else? ; – )
I know it’s tough at times. Other times, I feel so blessed. Nice to still hear from you. Glad you’ve stuck around.
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July 6, 2007 at 3:40 am
Really interesting! Although 35 freaks me out!! OW!
Everyone should have 100 things! Although, reading yours has reminded me of more I could write… ‘100 more things’?! LOL! May be a few too many ‘things’!