10 Facts About Me

Here's a neat little factoid: I am a huge sucker for memes and surveys.  Always have been, always will be.  I also really like filling out forms (no lie, I got pretty excited when my dermatologist sent me new forms to fill out), so that's probably where it comes from.

Aaaanyway, I've seen this floating around here and here and here, and I'm throwing my hat into the ring.  Without further ado, 10 facts about Caitlin!

1// Many of you probably know this, but I had a tumor in my kidney when I was four.  It was removed and I had six months of chemo.  Apparently the doctors told my grandfather (a doctor himself) that my chances of making it were 50-50, but I've heard that secondhand so I cannot attest to its veracity.  I've had no problems since then with the remaining one!

2// The volume in the car has to land on an even number or a number ending in 5 or 0, which is explained in Fact #3.

3// I have synesthesia, a brain condition in which "stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway." For me this means that I associate personalities to numbers (even numbers usually have nicer personalities, with a few exceptions), people and words have colors, and I picture numbers in a physical location on a number line.  This is why 5s and 0s are so appealing to me, because they are strong ticks on my mental number line.  I also imagine years on a chronological timeline. I also preferred my maiden name because it was a prettier color than my married name (my maiden name is purple, new one is red and yellow). It's something I thought everyone did until I started talking about it. Apparently it's quite common.

4// I have been told that I look like Winona Ryder, Natalie Portman, Tina Fey (a total stranger came up and told me this one), and Mia Farrow.  My husband tells me that I look and act like Liz Lemon and that a lot of her manneurisms remind him of me.

5// I have never been able to drink soda.  The carbonation is physically quite painful for me and usually I can't swallow it until it's gone flat in my mouth. If I try to down it quickly my throat starts to hurt.  Sometimes my sisters make me drink a sip of soda to watch my face.

6// I think I've shared this before, but I drink beverages more like a suckling infant than an adult woman. I get made fun of pretty heavily in my house for this.

7// I love singing in the car.  If I'm in a situation where I can't sing along to the song that's playing (like if I'm with people I don't know well) I get kind of antsy.

8// I get attached to TV shows and movies.  They quickly turn into my version of "comfort food."  Nothing makes me feel "safer" than knowing I can cuddle in a bed and watch 30 Rock or Mystery Science Theater 3000...even if it's in a hotel and even if I don't end up doing it, just knowing I can do it makes me feel safe and happy (escapism what what?).

9// In my junior year of high school a bunch of us were given awards for doing well in particular sections of our state's standardized tests.  One person got an award for Math, another for science, another for English...and mine was for penmanship.  At age 16 I won $25 for having nice penmanship.  For the record my penmanship is pretty nice, but seriously?

10// If I could do any job without worrying about school/money/what have you, I would be a veterinarian.

Now I want to read 10 facts about you lovely people.  If you do this please link up!