21 Things You Probably Don't Need to Know...

So, I'm going to tell you about myself. Not like you are going to care or anything, but maybe you will.
Here goes:

That's me, in all my infinite scruffiness.

1. I'm a nerd bird. Above all else, I love sci-fi, fantasy, history, mythology, and poetry. Well, I might love food more than that stuff. If not, food is definitely a close second.
2. I am obsessed with food. I could probably write an entire blog just on all the foods I associate with in my daily life. 
3. I have read over 2,000 books in the past two years, most of them more than once. I could not live without my books. I'm usually reading one to four books at the same time. 
4. I run, on average, 30 miles a week. Aches and pains are all too familiar in the life of a high school cross country runner. The worst is bruised feet after doing a race on gravel in shoes that are nothing more than glorified cardboard.
5. I'm a straight A student. I'm taking three honors classes and an AP Geography class, all in my first year of high school. Guess who doesn't have much of a social life?
6. I actually do have a bit of a social life. Whether it's hanging out at the second hand bookstore with my creative writing group, playing Dungeons and Dragons with my friends, planning small movie parties with my favorite ginger chick, author of A Little Imagination Always Helps, spending time with my lovely/adorable/marvelous boyfriend, who is the author of Geekery, or just dealing with my psychotic family, my life is anything but boring.
7. I am a second-generation American, and proud of it. My grandparents on my mother's side were both born in Colombia, but we have traced our heritage back to the Basque hill people in Spain.
8. I am a child of divorce. It's been nearly seven years, and both of my parents have remarried. Life goes on.
9. I am the oldest of my siblings. I have a sister who is eleven, a stepbrother who is almost nine, and a half-sister who is three, plus an assortment of cats and dogs who are a lot like siblings to me.
10. I am allergic to avocados and night shade. Basically, that means I can't eat guacamole, most mexican food,  store bought sushi, eggplant, or bell peppers. 
11. My hands are perpetually cold. I can never seem to warm them up entirely, although I do try.
12. I have written a 200 page manuscript. This "novel" consumed most of my life last November, and I am planning on writing another manuscript this November for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. 
13. I own more jewelry than I will ever wear. This is mostly because my mother gives me her old jewelry so that she gets to buy new stuff. Typical.
14. I love snakes. Love, in this case, is a massive understatement. I am utterly infatuated with these slithery serpents. If I could have a thousand snakes, I would. Sadly, I don't even have one. My parents aren't reptile people.
15. I have one necklace that I almost never take off. That is my titanium Starfleet emblem pendant, which is adorned with a tiny sliver of space rock. I have gotten so used to having it around my neck that I feel incredibly uncomfortable without it. 
16. I know how to use a rifle. Somewhere between having a Southern father, a Hispanic mother, and a Rancher for my stepfather, I have learned how to shoot with wonderful accuracy.
17. My periphery vision on my right side mysteriously disappeared. And, no, it's not because of my bangs. One day, I was finishing a run, I blinked and I suddenly couldn't see more than fifteen degrees to the right without turning my head or shifting my eyes. I have yet to figure out why.
18. I carry emergency glow sticks. I've been in a number of blackouts, and, since I have had panic attacks and passed out in the dark before, I always have a set of glow sticks on my person, or within arms reach.
19. My favorite holiday is Halloween. I absolutely adore dressing up and scaring the living daylights out of people. And the amazingly yummy recipes that I get to make and consume. And the nearly endless supply of glow sticks. You get my point.
20. This blog was an English assignment. If you've read my first post, you already know this.
21. This blog is so much more than an English assignment. This blog is the place where I can pour out my soul, and where you can let your souls rest for a little while. 

There it is. 21 things about me and this here blog. Not too shabby.