As most of you already know from my incessant whining, my 30th birthday is fast approaching. In honor of that momentous occasion, I humbly present Thirty Things You May Not Know About Me. Enjoy!

1. I’m a coal miner’s daughter.
2. I grew up in a log cabin in the woods. Not metaphorically, but literally–an actual, honest to God, log cabin. (It’s not a one-room shack or anything. It’s a two-story, three bedroom house, but it’s still a bona fide log cabin.)
3. My parents have lived in that log cabin since I was born and they still live there now.
4. I have one sister who’s 14 months younger than me. I’ve always been the rebellious troublemaker, and she was the solid, dependable one. We’ve both evolved toward the middle of the road. We’ve always been very close.
5. I had an imaginary friend named Clara when I was younger. Sadly, we’ve drifted apart.
6. I was accidentally betrothed to an Indian boy when I was 3. My mother was close friends with his parents, who’d just emigrated from India. We were born two days apart and went to the same preschool. One day, his mom told my mom that we should get married when we were older. My mom thought that sounded adorable. One week later, they began presenting me with bridal gifts (a jade earring and necklace set, a silk sari, etc.). My mom realized they were serious and convinced them that they should wait until we were older and let us decide for ourselves.
7. On my dad’s side of the family, I have three aunts and three uncles (with three more of each by marriage–grand total of 12), 13 first cousins, and 24 first cousins once removed. I love having a huge family!
8. I had scoliosis in high school and had to wear a big pink back brace.
9. I also had braces. And headgear. And a really bad perm. High school was hellish.
10. I had two stepdaughters from my first marriage. They lived with us the entire time we were together. When we got divorced, my ex forbade me to contact them. I still think about them often. They’re now 23 and 21 (I got married at 17 and he was 12 years older). I’ve considered trying to find them, but I don’t want to upset them and invade their privacy.
11. I went by Jeni as a child (that’s how my mom spelled it). When I hit high school, I decided that I didn’t like the spelling and went by Jenny. My ex-husband said that Jenny sounded too young (TIP–maybe he shouldn’t be dating teenagers) so I went by Jennifer. After we got divorced, I shortened it to Jen and I’ve been Jen ever since.
12. I converted to Catholicism as an adult.
13. I speak Mandarin Chinese (I lived in China for 9 months), but I’m horribly out of practice.
14. I have a deep appreciation for the absurd and the ridiculous.
15. I love literature–Ernest Hemingway, Toni Morrison, H.G. Wells, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Vladimir Nabokov are particular favorites.
16. I also love really really cheesy supernatural fiction. I loved Charmed & Dangerous, Witchling, and Broken (which is about a pregnant werewolf).
17. I was a nuclear propulsion technician in the Navy.
18. When I enrolled in undergrad, I had two years of college credits from the Navy so I only had to go for two more years.
19. At first, I wanted to go to Berkeley to study theoretical physics. Seriously. We had to study a lot of physics in the Navy, and I LOVED it.
20. After talking to a real physicist and realizing how completely unsuited I am to scientific research, I abandoned the idea.
21. I decided that I wanted to be an anthropologist instead, and I went here.
22. Two months in, I changed my major to peace and conflict resolution, which is what I ultimately got my degree in.
23. I also got a Master’s in International Affairs. I worked full-time for the government and went to school full-time at night. I barely remember those two years of my life.
24. I still love reading about physics and anthropology–particularly the religious and spiritual traditions of other cultures.
25. I’m SO not a picky eater. I will eat absolutely anything. I had the chance to test this during my world travels, in which I ate a deep-fried bumblebee, a scorpion, a baby bird (complete with bones & beak, but no feathers), a turtle, a bull testicle, and many other… delicacies.
26. I cry at the drop of a hat. The Humane Society has this commercial out to the tune of that “In the Arms of an Angel” song. I have to actually change the channel or leave the room when it comes on because I will cry like a baby if I sit through it.
27. My fallback job has always been librarian. It sounds like such a peaceful, stress-free job, and I’d be surrounded by books all day. I mean, what kind of horrid library emergency could there possibly be?
28. I’m scared of birds. I don’t trust them with their pointy beaks and beady little eyes. I don’t like to go in someone’s home if they have a bird as a pet.
29. I’m also scared of basements (particularly my parents’ root cellar). Oddly enough, I’m not afraid of heights (went skydiving with no problem) or the dark. Nope–I like my fears totally irrational.
30. I’m also not scared of death. I sort of can’t wait to find out for sure what happens afterwards, but I’m in no hurry to leave the world of my husband, hot fudge sundaes, squirmy babies, and action movies.

Enjoy your Memorial Day!

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