what the hell... 100 things about me

everything you wanted to know about me, but were too afraid to ask: ( ^_^ )

1. my first name isn't joy, it's geraldine. well, it's really "geraldine joy." the two-part first name thing is a filipino thing, i guess.


2. i didn't know geraldine was my first name until i was 7.


3. i'm not joking. for the longest time, people called me "joy." i almost bawled crying in the playground of my school on the first day of first grade because i couldn't find my class and thought i was left back in kindergarten. it was because i was telling them the wrong name.i ran to my mom, and she went to the teachers, found out what class i was in and said to me, "Your first name isn't Joy, it's Geraldine. Now get in line... "


4. my kindergarten teacher always called me joy. when i asked my first grade teacher that i wanted to be called joy, she said "Your first name is Geraldine. You should get used to it."


5. only teachers and people that don't know me call me geraldine.


6. my parents names both start with "E"s and my brother and my name both start with "G"s. my mom is lame enough that she did it on purpose.


7. when i was little, i really hated my name. i thought it was too old.


8. now i think it's sophisticated. i take pleasure in signing my full name.


9. i once considered legally changing my name to joy, but thought it would be insulting to my mom if i did.


10. i am the first person on both sides of my family to be born in the united states.


11. i'd like to think of it as a good thing, but my mom continually says it she is "unhappy with the results." eh.


12. i have one older brother. he's 5 years older but acts like he's 5 years younger.


13. glenn and i have always been in competition with each other. we went to the same high school, i went to the college he wanted to go to (but he didn't get in - haHA!), we both even pursued drawing and painting for a little while.


14. the competition lives on... we have a magic mic at home and we are both competing to see who can score above a 98.


15. apparently, just because we're in our late 20s - early 30s doesn't mean we've outgrown sibling rivalry.


16. dynamite is one of many nicknames i earned during college. it was given to me because of my energy and enthusiasm about things.


17. dynamiteknits stemmed from one of my college friends being shocked that i knit. voila. blog name.


18. i am a graduate of binghamton university.


19. i graduated with a bachelor's degree in visual arts, with a concentration in drawing and painting.


20. going to art school would have been better than staying at binghamton, but by the time i had chosen to leave i was already at my 3rd year there.


21. i've lived in 5 different locations in the new york city area over the past 7 years.


22. in that time, i spent over $45,000 dollars in rent. yeah, that terrified me when i calculated it.


23. i lived at my mother's house for a year and a half in that time frame.


24. when it comes down to it, sanity always wins out over financial stability in my book. thus, all the moving.


25. one of my plans for 2005 is to move to the west coast. san francisco, maybe?


26. one major reason for moving - i hate winter.


27. i love to travel, especially go on road trips.


28. some of the major road trips i've done:
    • 1999 - binghamton, ny to new orleans, la
    • 2000 - "freedom trip" - start @ wilmington, ny -> washington, dc -> durham, nc [-> new orleans, la -> austin, tx -> durham, nc (omitted due to weather) ] -> washington, dc -> delaware -> wilmington, ny
    • 2002 - ny, ny -> orlando, fl
    • 2003 - ny, ny -> columbus, oh
    • 2003 - san diego, ca -> la, ca -> san fran, ca
    • 2004 - ny, ny -> detroit, mi
    • 2004 - oahu and maui
    • 2004 - ny, ny -> pittsburgh, pa


29. i didn't learn how to drive until i was 20 years old.


30. once i considered moving to hawaii, but the idea that i would only be able to drive around the island in 4 hours... that would drive me insane.


31. i don't rule living in hawaii out, though... my dream is to own a bed & breakfast by the time i'm 35. hawaii seems like an ideal spot, no?


32. if i did move to hawaii and do all that, i would open my own yarn store, too. they are lacking in quality yarn over there. (can you tell i love hawaii?)


33. my boyfriend is from hawaii. he's pretty nifty too.


34. i will admit it - i met my boyfriend online.


35. on friendster of all places.


36. o, i love knitting and crocheting, obviously.


37. i started knitting in 2001 when, at the time, my cubicle-mate had taken it up. i got curious, looked up "how tos" on the web and taught myself.


38. i didn't get crocheting until last year. i was in hawaii, got myself a book and said "ok, you don't leave hawaii without learning."


39. it's just funny that i didn't learn how to crochet until 3 months ago. my mom has been crocheting for as long as i can remember.


40. i've never been able to learn from her because she crochets left-handed.


41. i'm the only right-handed person in my family.


42. i'm also the baby.


43. my family consists of my mother, my brother, me and my two cats (karma and kamala). my father passed away when i was 14 from pancreatic cancer.


44. i didn't grow up with any blood relatives around. most of my mom and dad's families are still in the philippines.


45. because i don't talk about my dad, people just assume my parents are divorced.


46. which is funny, because when people don't talk about their dads, i just assume they passed away. which is terrible.


47. did i mention that i'm upbeat and have tons of energy? this list kinda says otherwise, huh? ( ^_^ )


48. i used to sing alto in an a co-ed cappella group in college.


49. i don't sing much anymore, which is what makes the magic mic so fun.


50. i'm pretty short - i stand at a whopping 5' 1 3/4" tall.


51. because of this i always wear high heels. which is a shame, because i love flip-flops.


52. when the high-heel flip flop trend began in 2003, i ran to shoe stores.


53. my mother calls me imelda (marcos) because of my shoe collection.


54. i've never outgrown cartoons. adult swim is part of my daily routine.


55. because i grew up with a brother, two of my favorite things growing up were comic books and wrestling.


56. they are still two of my favorite things.


57. last year for my birthday, my boyfriend and i road tripped to pittsburgh, pa to watch WWE RAW live.


58. if i had to chose another path in life, i wish i had become a comic book artist.


59. right now, i do web systems support and design for a university.


60. i've been working here for 5 years. the benefits and people make it cozy.


61. one of the benefits is being able to go to school. right now i'm taking oracle database classes. a few years ago i took silkscreening.


62. sounds crazy, but databases are fun. i'm considering moving into them after this job. hopefully in san francisco.


63. i own a 1996 saturn sl2.


64. i would like to buy a new car, but after the 7-year rent revelation i'm saving to buy an apartment. hopefully in san francisco.


65. the period in between spring and summer is my favorite time of year.


66. second to that is the period between summer and fall.


67. i can go hours driving without music on.


68. i prefer driving alone.


69. i love le sportsac bags. they remind me of my mom in the 80s.


70. i also love gloomy bear. there's nothing cuter than a pink killer bear with blood on his chest.


71. i still go toy shopping.


72. kid robot and toy tokyo are two of my favorite stores.


73. i have three (well, 5, really) different blogs online: mottie ♥ dottie, rant, knit, run, randomness on myspace


74. i have so many because i got tired of trying to migrate everything from one blog to another.


75. i recently acquired dynamiteknits.com because i want to have more freedom on the site.


76. i haven't done anything yet because i don't have any time to install wordpress at the moment.


77. which is a lie, because i obviously have the time to continuously write in my 5 blogs, as well as write up a "100 things about me" list. ( ^_^ )


78. close-minded people annoy the crap out of me.


79. close-minded people that preach to me about their way of thinking annoy the crap out of me even more.


80. i got physically upset over the 2004 presidential election.


81. i know i sound more like a cynic, but i prefer the term "realist." i think its just inherent because i'm a new yorker.


82. i took a "what is your political persuasion" test, and it came out that i'm a "Liberal for Life".


83. i love spluring on spas, manicures, etc. i just don't go very often because i don't have the money.


84. i get my hair cut maybe twice a year.


85. i cut my hair short once and it made my face look a round puffball. never again.


86. i have since settled for bangs if i feel like cutting my hair.


87. i love stupid comedies. the sillier, the better: kingpin, half-baked, better off dead, deuce bigalow: male gigalo, old adam sandler stuff


88. i recently watched "before sunrise" and "before sunset" back to back. they have renewed my belief in hope, fate, and returning love.


89. i love roller coasters and rock climbing.


90. i'm afraid of heights.


91. i'm also really afraid of public speaking. which is funny because i have no problems singing in front of 200 people.


92. i didn't learn how to swim until i was 21. i had to make myself take a beginning swimmer's class in college.


93. i still don't know how to ride a bike. my brother bought me a bike for my birthday last year, but it's too tall for me.


94. i collect magnets. they're the perfect practical souvenir. whenever i go on a trip, i buy one. i have two favorite magnets: a salvador dali finger puppet magnet from the dali museum in clearwater, fl; and the map of oahu magnet from my first trip to hawaii.


95. for two years i was a part-time hostess/waitress at a vegetarian restaurant in the village.


96. during that time, i actually tried my hand as a lacto-ovo-pesco-vegetarian. i had done initially for health reasons. i have since gone in and out of vegetarianism.


97. i love finding personalized (non-christmasy) things that have my name "Joy" on it. i always wanted to buy personalized stuff when i was little, but i always found "Joe" or "Joyce." in 2003 i found an atlantic city magnet and was thrilled.


98. i'm really lazy when it comes to exercising.


99. i participate in charity walks and fun runs to feel better about not exercising.


100. i really enjoy blogging, and hope i'm not boring my readers to death!