Jeremy's Coming!!!!

First off, Happy Birthday to Valerie!!

I'm headed to bed because Jeremy will be here tomorrow!! The reservations picked up for Valentine's Day last night... 14 in an hour and a half. Seriously? You waited until the day before? Wow.

Jill said that if we get many more, they'll need me, but if they don't get more than like two more than I can have the night off. I could really use the money, but I'd really rather spend time with Jeremy. I know I'll be seeing him for the rest of my life, but right now I'm lucky if I see him once a month!

Anyway, for your random quotient today, this is my re-vamped more random "25 Random Things" meme from Facebook. I decided that the first time around a) made me sound like a mean person and b) wasn't actually all that random. Voila:

1. I think Jack Black is a comedic genius

2. I went to Japan with our band and drill team in high school for nine days, during which time I marched in the local Cherry Blossom Parade, performed (danced) at a famous, historic castle on a mountain top, and played with monkeys.

3. I. remember. everything. I even remember picking up a 12 pack of Cokes and the bottom falling out and they all rolled in to Scott Boulevard (which turns in to Ponce). I don't know how old I was, but since my brother wasn't born I'm going to go with five.

4. When my mother was 9 months pregnant (two weeks to due date) with my brother, I choked on hard candy we'd gotten at my after school program-- she had to stop in the middle of Ponce de Leon so she could give me the Heimlich maneuver. 9 months pregnant.

5. I stayed involved with Girl Scouts up to high school, at which point I switched to Venture Crew which was kind of like a co-ed boy scouts; it was focused more on the orienteering and outdoors stuff.

6. I still have the recommendation letters that Suehyla and Shrader wrote for my fine arts scholarship. Even though part of me feels like I let them down, reading those letters somehow makes me feel like I haven't.

7. In the same folder as the rec letters is a letter Kelly Goad wrote me our sophomore year of college for my birthday. They're all part of an ultimate collection I've labeled "Things that Make Meg Happy" that I look at when I'm feeling down.

8. I like making presents and cards for people-- especially people who have done something extraordinary for me. I've been told it's creepy and weird, but I don't understand what's so creepy about being appreciative.

9. I hate Dickens. Hate him. But I did my senior paper on Bleak House and have contemplated writing a paper on every topic I can possibly think of related to the book. It's just that brilliant.

10. I used to want to study some combination of psychology, neurobiology, and genetics-- ultimately studying the nature vs. nurture question (graduated high school with honors in science). Emory rejected me, however, and that's how I ended up at Rhodes with an English degree...

11. I hate chick flicks. Seriously, the chick-flickiest I get is "When Harry Met Sally" or "Love Actually"-- I hate watching women, especially strong actresses, fit themselves in to a generally whiny and irritating persona.

12. I used to be extremely messy, but somehow I am now verging on type A when it comes to cleaning and organizing.

13. I was going to be named Maureen, but my mother's family pitched a fit-- Maureen was the name of her mother's next sister who died when she was 2 of influenza (most likely, it was 1929) and they were convinced it was bad luck.

14. I was also supposed to be named Re(a)gan, but since Reagan was president at the time, my parents didn't want everyone thinking they'd named me after him.

15. My father is a pretty well-known photographer in Atlanta, and salesman at a well-frequented store. I have had people (in Atlanta and Memphis) recognize me from pictures on his desk.

16. I danced for 15 years, including performances at Seven Stages, and a Fernbank Museum of Natural History (aka, Big Fernbank) fundraiser, and even helped teach a class for little ones.

17. I have an encyclopedic knowledge of movies, tv shows, and actors. I can place almost anyone and I freaking rock at six degrees of Kevin Bacon. You don't want to play me at Scene It-- I will slaughter you.

18. In case you couldn't tell, I'm a bit of a night owl. This was a problem at Rhodes because the birds would start singing at 130a like it was 6a and I would freak out and run upstairs to get ready for class... and realize it was only 130a.

19. I have had mono, the flu, and a sinus infection all at once. I do not recommend it.

20. I really hate Tom Cruise. I love Top Gun (who doesn't), but I hate Tom Cruise. His performance as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder, however, may be the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. I can't listen to Flo Rida's "Shawty Low" without seeing it in my head.

21. When I was in "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" in high school, I was the female half of a two-person cast-- our first performance for an audience, I forgot to resurrect Aslan. Luckily, five year olds don't really think about that kind of thing.

22. In high school, I would sit at lunch with Scott and a few other friends and together we would work on crossword puzzles. Yeah, you heard me. What about it?

23. I love comic books, love them. My mom grew up on Batman (who is totally better than Superman) and so I was raised on it as well-- my favorite, though, is the X-Men. I wanted to marry Gambit when I was little.

24. I have always been berated by people from North of the Mason-Dixon line about how racist the South is, but was SHOCKED when I went to Ohio to visit Tim to hear people say things that I have never in my life heard here. I was also severely disappointed at the amount of [reverse] racism in Memphis, I've never been so disgusted in my life in either case.

25. I think that 80's music is a cure-all genre. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're from, or what you believe in-- Rock of Ages comes on and you just don't care anymore. Know why? 'Cause we ALL want rock'n'roll.