100 things: second installment

I know you were all just dying to know fifty more things about me. (Actually, the nine of you who actually read this already know these things I'm sure.) I'll try to spice it up today a bit:

49. As a child, I sucked my thumb until I was five years old. My parents were concerned, and so took me to the dentist so he could threaten me with future painful dental procedures I'd have to have if I didn't stop.
48. I stopped, but still required 5+ years of orthodontia.
47. Ages 11-14 were rather awkward, what with the braces and some pesky baby fat.
46. Around 15, I stretched out to the height I am now and the baby fat went away.
45. Another embarrassing factoid: In high school, I was a cheerleader. I spent the better part of a year learning to do a back hand spring. I nailed it, but it's been at least 6 years since I've attempted one, so I'm thinking my tumbling days are probably over.
44. Our football team went to the state finals in 1998. I got to cheer in the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. I guess that was the highlight of junior year.
43. Although the highlight of junior year may have been when I got to play a Siamese twin in the school's production of Sideshow. My other half couldn't read music, so I taught her the entire musical by rote (and we had the lead parts, mind you) -- singing her parts to her over and over again until she knew them.
42. I would really like to get a dog, but I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of commitment/sleep deprivation.
41. As Nick will tell you, I don't do well with sleep deprivation. I gotsta get my 8 hours (preferably 9.5).
40. Nevertheless, I am constantly cooing at dogs on the sidewalk and looking up different breeds online. Right now I've got my heart set on a yorkie/bichon mix - a yo-chon!
39. I am a very fast typer - 70 wpm (maybe even better now, I haven't taken the test in awhile).
38. I used to have my belly button pierced, but I took it out before a surgery and never put it back in. The hole is still there though.
37. I also have my ears pierced, two holes in each ear, thought I rarely wear earrings in the second hole.
36. I am an extremely sensitive soul. I cry easily, and am known to be a bit emotional and dramatic.
35. I love laying on the beach or by the pool with a good book, getting a nice tan.
34. One summer when I was home from college, I had a job as a nanny where I got paid to lay in the sun at a country club. It was heavenly.
33. Before I moved to Evanston to start my Masters, I spent 2 months living with my parents and worked as the "beer bitch" at a golf club.
32. I met my boyfriend while volunteering with a group called Social and Service Chicago. We were trying to get people at a Chicago Wolves hockey game to adopt dogs from the Animal Shelter. The dogs we were each holding liked to sniff each other, so I guess we can give them credit for bringing us together.
31. Nick and I have been living in my studio apartment in Evanston for the last two months. Miraculously, we have not killed each other.
30. On Saturday, we move to Andersonville - a GIGANTIC place in comparison to what we're used to.
29. We will be living around the corner from Nick's favorite beer place, The Hop Leaf.
28. They also have the greatest french fries on earth.
27. I'm somewhat of a french fry connoisseur.
26. My dream job would be to have my own show on the Travel Channel, or to write travel books.
25. Realistically, my five year plan includes building my private voice studio, auditioning for and hopefully landing a few Young Artist gigs, and performing in the area whenever possible.
24. Honestly, I think five year plans are a crock of shit. I've got a one-year plan, and that's good enough for me.
23. The things I really want to accomplish in the next five years are remaining happy, remaining a good person, and being socially and financially responsible -- actually, those are things I plan to continually accomplish for the rest of my life. And they're not as easy as they sound.
22. I drive a 2004 Chevy Cavalier, bright blue.
21. I love the color blue.
20. If I had my druthers, I'd drive a mini-Cooper. I love those cars.
19. I dislike SUVs immensely.
18. I am a Democrat. I'm trying to be better about following up on politics. I want to try my best to make things better for people who don't go the ordinary route and work for a large corporation. Life isn't easy for freelance artists like myself, and I'd like to change that by voting the right people into power.
17. They could start with better, more affordable healthcare.
16. When I was born, I had five out of eight great-grandparents living. I was lucky enough to know all of them before they passed away.
15. In 2005, while I was in Graz, Austria for a music festival in which I was singing, I climbed Hochlantsch, the tallest peak in the Southeast Alps. I consider it one of my finest accomplishments.
14. Austria is one of my favortie places on earth, and I'd love to live there again someday.
13. Once when I was abroad I got stranded by myself in Maribor, Slovenia. Luckily I was reunited with my group a short time later.
12. On a trip to the Netherlands with a bunch of classmates from Vienna, I stayed on a "boat-el" with twelve other people - basically a grungy boat docked in the canals of Amsterdam.
11. On the train back from Amsterdam, I was awoken in the middle of the night by a police officer and dog who sniffed out my bags. Luckily I didn't carry anything illegal back in it!
10. I am a good gift-giver. I love shopping for presents for people.
9. I have been to the Indianapolis 500 four times. My father has been every year since 1973, excluding this year when he had to attend a family graduation in Kansas. He was not thrilled about this.
8. My friends are all starting to marry off and move to the 'burbs. My turn will probably be coming soon...
7. But for the next year atleast, I will be staying put here in Chicago.
6. One of my finest moments was in 2004 when I was chosen by Robert Altman, out of a line-up of thirty women, to play a tiny part in his opera A Wedding at Lyric.
5. I got paid well and got to schmooze with opera stars!
4. I was an extra in the movie Stranger than Fiction. If you put it in slo-mo during the scene where Will Farrell is in the guitar store, you can see me walk by in a black pants suit with my hair pulled up.
3. I used to want to be famous, but now I just want to make a living as a musician.
2. I have a mild case of OCD.
1. I believe that kindness is the most important trait in a person. I try everyday to be a kind and good person.

There you have it. Everything you (never) wanted to know about me!