101 Facts

1.     I used to live in a veterinary clinic.
2. Coffee is my life; I will drink it any time of the day, anywhere, any coffee. Except the tar-and-cigarette-ash coffee from McDonald’s.
3. The color yellow makes me angry.
4. I’m a low brass girl; my instrument is the euphonium.
5. My favorite book is either Witch of Blackbird Pond or The Book Thief.
6. I’m not really sure what color my hair is, and I always get different answers when I ask.
7. My favorite tree in the fall is the sugar maple; all fire with silver peeking through.
8. I love books, but I don’t like libraries.
9. Makeup started out as a game to me, an art where I could paint my face and become anything. I was a tigress, intimidating and fierce. Or a sweet, demure thing. Sometimes even someone who belonged in a suit, well-constructed and in control. But lately I’ve realized that I don’t like myself without it. I can’t even go to the grocery store without mascara.
10. I keep my savings in a classy old cigarette tin; a favorite flea-market find.
11. There is a Scottish plaid for my last name; Barclay. It’s kind of ugly.
12. My favorite artist is Edgar Degas.
13. I pull all-nighters to get homework done about once a week.
14. My favorite food is mac-and-cheese, in all forms.
15. My second favorite food is sushi, especially from Haruno’s.
16. Until recently, I drove a motorcycle.
17. My favorite color, exactly, is the blue right before black that happens about ten minutes after sunset.
18. The more extreme the pressure – the better I do.
19. I’ve kept one friend through all my moving, ever since fifth grade – my Angel.
20. I keep secrets.
21. I don’t have a lot of stuff – I could fit everything I need into one suitcase, if I had to.
22. I throw things away indiscriminately, since I usually don’t attach sentiment to objects.
23. I can’t concentrate on something else and listen to music at the same time – music needs all of my attention.
24. I love the way wet clay feels so alive under my fingers.
25. My super power would be mind-reading.
26. I love being barefoot and wearing sandals, even when it’s too cold for them.
27. When I have to do math, I write it tiny and neat so it looks pretty, which makes it more tolerable to me.
28. I love soup.
29. I didn’t get my ears pierced until I was sixteen.
30. My biggest fear is needles.
31. I like to write things out before I type them. I like the feeling of pen on paper, the personality that shows through handwriting. You can tell if I take my time, and the letters are evenly spaced out, deliberate, or rushed and squished, hurrying to get the thoughts out, anchor them to the page. Handwriting tells a story that’s never heard if everything you write is pounded out on a keyboard.
32. I had a pet rabbit I kept a secret from my family for two months. His name was Foofoo and I kept him under my bed.
33. The French Revolution is my favorite section of history.
34. My favorite flowers are poppies.
35. My favorite era of style is the 50s; I like the feminine silhouettes.
36. My nickname as a baby was “Pumpkinhead,” because I was orange.
37. I love cursive. You still can’t read my handwriting, but at least it’s pleasantly illegible.
38. I really like to eat with chopsticks.
39. I have been an atheist since I was seven years old.
40. I think coffee stains add character.
41. I skipped the fourth grade.
42. The best thing I ever ate was a medium-rare duck breast at Metropolitan Farmer.
43. I love my hair, it just sort of does itself.
44. Walmart depresses me.
45. I don’t have much of a family. It’s just me and my mom, and I don’t even live with her. I have three siblings, but I see them about once a month. No cookie-baking (or otherwise) grandparents.
46. I’m much better at helping other people than doing my own work.
47. Fresh fruit is one of my favorite things on this earth.
48. I am a proud member of The Snort Support Group.
49. My favorite weather is a good summer rain, where the asphalt is hot, and the water feels warm, and the sun is peeking through the clouds.
50. I like old books better than new books.
51. I have a knack for losing things.
52. I chew my nails.
53. I don’t like pickles.
54. When I was in the third grade, I told my math teacher, Mrs. Bills, that I didn’t like dark chocolate, which was her favorite. She told me it was an acquired taste, and so she gave me a Hershey’s Kiss every morning before class. And now I love dark chocolate.
55. I love to wear red lipstick.
56. My favorite instrument to listen to is the cello.
57. I can sleep for fourteen hours or more if nothing wakes me up.
58. I love candles, but I’m not allowed to have them in my apartment.
59. I named my dog Bindi because she has a dot on her forehead that looks like a bindi.
60. I’m a little obsessed with music boxes.
61. I definitely don’t believe in horoscopes.
62. I am always exhausted.
63. I hate mornings.
64. My favorite cartoon character is Jessica Rabbit.
65. I like Russian nesting dolls.
66. I’d be in Gryffindor.
67. I like to make origami.
68. I hate wasabi. Some jerk let me eat a big marble-sized chunk once on a date and I almost died, ruining it for me forever.
69. I was going to make number sixty-nine really sexual, but I decided against it in a rare moment of restraint.
70. I love my freckles.
71. My dog doesn’t know how to bark. We’ve tried to teach her.
72. I’ve never successfully played a video game in my life. Other than Pokémon.
73. I’ve thought about becoming Buddhist, but I just really love meat.
74. I think the longest I’ve ever stuck to a diet was a week.
75. Because I eat ravenously.
76. I love to write. I’m terrified I’m going to end up an English teacher…
 (Sorry Mrs. Fraser.)
77. I really hate New Jersey accents.
78. Not a huge fan of southern ones, either.
79. I actually really like Shakespeare, but I always forget it until I’m actually reading his material.
80. I also liked Wuthering Heights. Yikes. Definitely going to end up an English teacher…
81. I don’t consider myself a “kid” person. Also I hate teaching.
82. I’ve seen every episode of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer at least ten times.
83. My name is Lauren.
        Hi, Lauren.
        I’ve been Facebook-free for four months now.
        *scattered applause*
84. My ex-step-grandfather used to take me hunting, but I always pretended I couldn’t get the safety off when I saw a deer so I wouldn’t have to shoot anything.
85. My favorite font is Georgia.
86. My pinky toenails are an utter failure. *sobs.* They’re not big enough to actually paint, but sometimes I paint the skin around them because it makes me feel better.

88. I haven’t had any television channels in two years.
89. I’m addicted to Netflix.
90. I have a gnarly scar on my ankle from my motorcycle wreck.
91. I work best at night.
92. My favorite animal is a fox. Gotta love those tails.
93. I really hate it when people respond “K” to me in a text message. My mother does this at the end of every single conversation.
94. I love to wear dresses. And pearls. And generally dress like an old lady. A foxy old lady ;)
95. I think carrying a potato would be more useful than my current phone is.
96. Maybe because I just love potatoes. I really love potatoes. Mm. Taters, precious… boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew.
97. I have green eyes.
98. I want to go to Ireland more than anywhere else in the world.
99. I use a badger brush and shaving soap to shave my legs. It feels classy.
100. I love bubble baths.
101. You will never see Spider-man and me in the same place at the same time. Just saying.