Friday, August 12, 2011

Random Facts Friday

Lately my blog has been reading like a medical journal and my posts about running have been quite technical. To break things up a bit, I've decided to participate in the "Random Facts Friday" trend, where you post little known facts about yourself that may or may not relate to running. I've learned some interesting facts about my friend Katie and others so I decided it would be fun to think about my own randomness.

11 Random Facts About Elizabeth 

Salt Bagels Ready to Eat!
1. I think a bagel is ruined when it is sliced and/or toasted. The only way to eat a bagel is warm (either freshly baked or re-heated in the microwave) and then eaten in large chunks. The wholesome goodness of a bagel is lost when it's cut in half. I'm extremely picky about my bagels-- I detest Einsten Bros, and I absolutely adore Bagel Buddies in Fair Lakes.

2. My obsession with zebras originates from when I was 7 years old and saw some zebras at the Philadelphia Zoo. I was amazed at how fantastic these animals were and have loved them ever since. My zebra collection is quite impressive.

3. I am right-handed but left-everything else. I shoot pool with my left hand. I cut meat with my left hand. As a child, I could only do cartwheels on the left side.

4. As part of my job, I send out blast emails about manufacturing quality control to 50,000+ people. Inevitably, a few people unsubscribe each time.

Playing my piano.
5. I can play the piano by ear. It usually takes about 5-10 minutes to get a song where I want it to be, but I can almost always translate a song to the piano.My latest accomplishment is "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5.

6. I've never been "put under" with general anesthesia. I was awake when my 4 wisdom teeth were removed and during gum surgery. Thankfully, I haven't had any other surgeries.

7. My greatest fear is bugs. Specifically roaches. I would stop running for three full months in exchange for a guarantee that I would never see a bug in my house or at my office, or have a bug crawl on me. Would I stop running for six months? I don't know. I really do hate bugs.

8. My body has a very rigid clock. If I don't fall asleep between 8:00-10:00pm it will be very difficult for me to fall asleep, and I will likely have a restless night and wake up at 4:00am or earlier. I only stay up after 10:00 if I absolutely have to and my ideal bedtime is 9:00. Before I met my husband, my average bedtime was 8:00.

The playcount totally doesn't reflect my preferences.
9. I like to keep close watch on the stats of my iTunes music library. My computer got a virus about a year ago and all my data was lost and couldn't be retrieved. I'm working on re-building my library, although the current playcount doesn't reflect the songs I was obsessed with in 2006, 2007, etc. My iTunes library has 2,596 songs-- enough for 7.3 straight days of music.

10. To go along with number 9, I used to be obsessed with music countdowns on the radio and would write down all the songs as they were played and keep log books. I would love to predict the song rankings. This was when I was a teenager-- now there's the Internet.

11. I lack a natural maternal instinct. I do not feel at all natural holding babies and I'm actually scared I will drop them or hurt them. I'd like to think that if I had my own baby, I would get comfortable really quickly. But as for now, I'm very awkward with babies and small children.


  1. Love it! Good job today!

  2. I also despise roaches. They make me flinch irrationally. And I hate that about myself.

  3. That's really neat that you can play by ear. I majored in music and know how HARD that really is if it doesn't come naturally.
    I was a manager at an Einstein Bagels for a short period of time and got fired. Haha, guess I wanted to share some randomness with you too!
    Fun post, always good to lighten it up and stuff. Have a great weekend!

  4. I used to do the same thing with radio countdowns!!!

  5. haha, I keep participating, but everything is still about running! I think I'm super boring.

    hate bugs too, and I will someday tell you the freakiest story ever.

    Playing the piano by ear, that is so amazing!

  6. Hee, I'm like you but opposite - I write with my left hand but do MOST (not all) other things right-handed, like using scissors, knives, and needles. I shoot pool left-handed, though. (And I suck at it.)

  7. yes yes, I feel the same way about bugs.