Ten for Tuesday on Wednesday

I finished the pageant program. And there was much rejoicing! I’ve been planning over the past 6 months to use my income from the program and website to get a Macbook Pro, so a little trip to the Apple store is on tap for this weekend to figure out exactly which model I want. Woo!

That’s all I could think of, so enjoy this instead: Ten on Tuesday. Even though it’s Wednesday. Cause that’s how I roll.

1. When you were a senior in high school, what career did you think you’d choose? Did you? Why or why not?

I went through a few phases as I grew up. In elementary school, I wanted to be a teacher or an artist — or an art teacher. In middle school, I wanted to be a Disney animator or an architect. Early in high school, I wanted to be a musician. In retrospect, I find it interesting and possibly quite illuminating that many of my “what I want to be when I grow up” ideas involved art in some form, especially since that theme continues in many of the activities I choose to do outside of work today — graphic design, web design, and the occasional craft activity.

I could navel gaze for a VERY long time about the differences between art and engineering, and ponder the forces that resulted in me becoming an engineer. I don’t mean to imply that one is better than the other; it’s just a topic that I have thought about at length over the past 10 years of my life.

In any case, by my senior year of high school, I wanted to be an aerospace engineer, which is ultimately what I became and the career that I have.

For now.

2. What one thing about the “real world” did you find most surprising once you were on your own?

Not much, actually. I think I was very well-prepared for the “real world” from a practical standpoint. Perhaps the most surprising thing was how much I DIDN’T want to graduate from college. I don’t mean that in a rational way — of course I wanted to finish my education, get a degree, start my career, etc. But during my last semester at Georgia Tech, I reacted to my impending graduation in a very emotional way.

Looking back, I chalk it up to lingering drama in a couple of my friendships, stress about figuring out where I wanted to go to grad school, and anxiety about having to start over and make new friends somewhere new — all combined with very little sleep. I am NOT emotionally stable when I am tired, and I spent pretty much that entire semester, especially the last few months, in a state of exhaustion. Throw in the other stresses, and I often felt like a basket case.

Now that I’m a decade removed from them, I can look back at my early twenties and laugh at many of the things I thought and felt then.

3. Name 3 things you think your closest friends DON’T like about you.

I can be very flaky. I commit to things sometimes and then back out or just don’t follow through. It’s not something I’m proud of, and I’ve tried to improve, but I’m not sure I’ve succeeded.

I am not a great listener. It’s not intentional of course; I chalk it up more to the fact that I’m easily distracted — whether it’s by something else going on in the room, on TV, or in my own head. This really annoys Jose, I think, and if it annoys him, I’m sure it annoys other people too.

I can’t think of a third thing right now. This doesn’t imply that there isn’t anything — no one is perfect, so I know there must be plenty of other things about me that some of my friends don’t like. I just don’t know what they are.

4. In order to sleep, do you need background noise or absolute quiet?

I like it to be quiet, but honestly I fall asleep pretty easily under lots of conditions and with lots of noise. In 5th grade, I almost slept through Hurricane Hugo. (My parents woke me up because they decided we should all move into the middle of the house after seeing some huge oak trees falling outside.)

The only thing that gets to me is if the noise is repetitive, because then the pattern gets into my head. Mechanical clocks with pendulums or particularly loud-moving hands are the most common offender in the “repetitive noise” category.

5. Why do you choose to reside in your current city? Yes, you have a choice.

When you want to work for NASA, there are only so many options, so I moved here originally because my job was here. I used to follow the standard laundry list of complaints about Houston — the heat, the humidity, the bugs, the traffic, the sprawl, the refineries, the no mountains.

(Note: Technically I live in League City which is a suburb, but it’s easier to just say I live in Houston.)

But after living here for 8 years, and on-and-off for 5 years before that, I don’t complain much anymore. In fact, I’m usually able to look on the bright side! Property taxes are high, but houses are cheap. The summers are stupidly hot and humid, but the winters are mild and snow-free. I do miss mountains — it’d be nice if there was even such thing as a HILL — and there’s not getting around the fact that the trees are scrubby and short. But I love that it’s a large city, because that means anything I want to do is available. Houston has great restaurants, a thriving arts community, teams in all the major sports, an awesome running and triathlon community (despite the summer weather), etc.

The other big change from when I first moved here is that I now have in-laws. And those in-laws live only 4 hours away, which means it’s easy to see them. If I don’t get to live near my own family, I’m glad I get to live near Jose’s.

I don’t know if I’ll live in Houston forever, but I guess what I’m saying is that I’m ok with it if I do. And if I left NASA, I wouldn’t automatically leave Houston.

6. Are you close to your parents?

Yes. I know so many people who can’t stand being around their parents for more than a few days, and I’m so happy that I have never, ever felt that way. My parents are totally awesome, and I love spending time with them. They still live in North Carolina in the house I grew up in, and the only thing I don’t like is that I don’t see them more often. Twice a year is usually it — once in the summer and once for the holidays.

7. What is your favorite fiction book? Poem? Blog?

I don’t really have a favorite book, but if you go by number of times read (which is probably accurate because I don’t re-read books), I’d have to say Ender’s Game.

I also am not a huge reader of poetry. The first one that came to mind is something I first heard while I was in college. Maybe high school, actually. “The More Loving One,” by W. H. Auden. I’ve read it many times, and tend to interpret it differently depending on my mood. Sometimes I find it depressing, and other times oddly uplifting. Either way, it does make me stop and think.

Favorite blog? Impossible to say, because I read so many of them. I have a “Read Now” folder on Google Reader for those that I always want to read. That folder includes all of my friends, quite a few aquaintances, and some friends-of-friends. Here are some of the blogs in that folder whose authors I DON’T know in real life: dooce, Pioneer Woman, Princess Lasertron, Up in Alaska, TriSaraTops, Good Finking, Kapachino, Design Mom, the Big Picture, PHD Comics, and xkcd.

8. Do you enjoy cooking or is it a chore?

Until very recently, cooking was TOTALLY a chore. I’ve always liked to bake, but cooking? Ugh. But then — and I know I’ve said this a few times already but bear with me — we bought a house. A house with a giant, awesome kitchen. And suddenly cooking isn’t so awful, in fact, it’s kind of fun! I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that a kitchen changed how I feel about cooking, because it seems like such a silly reason to go from completely hating something to actually quite liking it. But it’s true.

9. Be honest. What one thing would (the majority of) your blog readers be shocked to find out about you?

If it’s something that would shock them, there’s probably a reason I’ve never mentioned it. But really, I have no idea.

10. If you were given your own national holiday, what would you require people to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the Day of You? Would there be a parade? Greeting cards?

Breakfast would be kolaches and/or breakfast tacos with free Starbucks for everyone. Lunch would Dinner would be your choice (though I would probably have some kind of pasta dish) with Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for dessert. No parades or greeting cards. Wait — maybe I would have greeting cards, because I love browsing greeting cards to pick the ones that look nice, even though I hardly ever send them. Also, everyone would get the day off work and the weather would be required to be awesome.