100 things you never knew you wanted to know

1. Since I haven’t been blogging much lately, I thought I would treat you all to a long-ass list chock full of all things Becky.
2. So for today, you get a break from the normal drivel I write.
3. I almost used the word “poppycock” in place of “drivel.”

4. I think my parents are the best parents in the world, and I’m very proud of the way they raised my brother and me.
5. They worked hard to send me to the private college I fell in love with.
6. I think that no matter what happens in the rest of my life, that’s the thing I’ll be most grateful for.
7. Did I ever tell you guys that I’m sort of in a band?
8. Yeah. I’ve been singing with my dad’s band for a little over a year now.
9. He plays the drums, and he’s really excellent.
10. I started singing with them because he said he wanted us to do something together.
11. Somewhere along the line, it stopped being something I did for him and became something I do for myself.
12. I love to sing.
13. My favorite song to sing is probably “Ave Maria.” Latin is cool.
14. My dad’s band plays mostly covers.
15. I am one hell of a cowbell player, I'll tell you that much.
16. Before I joined, there were three guitar players, one singer, and a drummer.
17. Today, there are four guitar players, three singers, a drummer, a bass player, and a keyboard player.
18. My brother once said that we’re getting to be like Doug’s band.
19. I hope someone remembers the show “Doug” and his band.

20. I also love to write.
21. Someday, I hope to write a book.
22. I have a pretty good idea for one – at least I think it’s pretty good – and I have about four chapters written.
23. I like to write poetry sometimes, too.
24. Every so often, I submit a few poems to poetry contests or publication journals.
25. I’ve never had any accepted.
26. I try to remind myself that that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m a bad writer.
27. I like to think of myself as a creative person.
28. I am my most creative when I’m driving or taking a shower.
29. I keep a notebook in my car and one underneath my bed.
30. I wish there was a way to keep one in the shower.
31. I lose a lot of good ideas by not having one in there.

32. Even more than writing, I love to read.
33. I’ll read pretty much anything I can get my hands on.
34. I especially like juvenile literature. I think it’s more touching than a lot of adult literature.
35. A Wrinkle in Time, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Ella Enchanted are some of my favorites.
36. For a long time, Horton Hears a Who was my favorite book.
37. Melissa Bank is probably my favorite author.
38. I used to be ashamed of the fact that I prefer contemporary literature to the classics.
39. Now I don’t really care. I like what I like, and that's the name of that tune.
40. In the name of no longer being ashamed, I also read a lot of Stephen King, Jennifer Weiner, Jane Green, and... V.C. Andrews.
41. One of the best books I’ve ever read was Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.
42. One of the most disappointing was Picture Perfect by Jodi Piccoult.
43. The worst book I’ve read since college was I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe.
44. Incidentally, he’s not the namesake of my blog url.
45. It’s Tobias Wolfe.
46. This Boy’s Life is one of my favorite books of all time.
47. I first read it my freshman year at Saint Joe, and I’ve reread it about six times since.
48. I love to reread books over and over again.
49. My favorite book of all time is The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing.
50. I’ve read it twelve times.
51. Billy Collins is my favorite poet.
52. Here and here are two of my favorite poems written by him.
53. I use the word “favorite” a little more than I should. I'll admit it.

54. I’m a huge believer in the idea of everything and everyone being put on this earth for a reason and purpose… except when it comes to fruit flies.
55. There’s absolutely no reason or purpose for the existence, other than to bother the shit out of me.
56. Some other things that bother the shit out of me are when people pull out in front of me and drive five miles under the speed limit, capitalize every word in a sentence, use the phrase “All’s I know is…,” and place periods and commas after quotation marks.
57. I also don’t like it when people talk to me about work while I'm eating lunch at my desk.
58. But it’s much easier to think of things that I do that annoy me...
59. ...such as biting my nails, squeezing the toothpaste from the middle of the tube, and not folding my clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer.
60. I also have a bad habit of interrupting people during conversation.
61. (What does the interrupting cow say?)

62. I’d really like to travel around the world someday.
63. The fact that I’m afraid of heights and suffer from motion sickness might put an end to that idea.
64. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
65. I’d love to start with a road trip across the United States, following as much of historical Route 66 as I possibly can.
66. Since I can’t feasibly do that right now, I've been thinking about planning a few day or weekend trips to local places that I’ve never seen before.
67.I’ve always wanted to go to Louisville, Memphis, and Springfield.
68. Even though I’ve already been to St. Louis and Nashville, but I’d love to go again.
69. I know it’s cheesy, but I’d also love to take one of those 20-European-cities-in-10-days tours.
70. The places I want to see the most are Ireland, Italy(especially Rome), Paris, and Germany.

71. I hope that I get married someday.
72. I’d like to marry someone who will make me laugh everyday and who understands that I need quiet time in the morning.
73. Also, someone who respects my TIVO habits. (Read: Someone who won’t delete 90210 reruns.)
74. Being a Catholic, I’d want someone who wouldn’t mind a long ceremony and lots of drunk people.
75. I guess I'd also like someone who will allow me to have “Smile” by Pearl Jam as our first dance.
76. I’m pretty sure that the Pearl Jam is a non-negotiable for me.
77. So if any of you know of a single dude who might enjoy the irony of grooving to “State of Love and Trust” at his wedding, send him yonder.
78. Sometimes I think I might like to have kids one day, too.
79. I know I’d like to adopt a child… but the idea of having my own little baby is becoming more and more appealing to me.
80. Eleanor and Cecelia are my favorite girls’ names; Benjamin and James (Jamie) are my favorite boys’ names.

81. My favorite thing in the world is hugging.
82. I’m also a sucker for sappy greeting cards.
83. I have a box underneath my bed filled with cards I’ve gotten over the years.
84. I cry at the drop of a hat.
85. I have always been a spontaneous crier.
86. My family has teased me about it for years.

87. I have curly hair.
88. When I was younger, I used to cry because my mom wouldn’t let me get a perm like 1980s fashion demanded.
89. I should probably thank her for not having allowed me to ruin my life like that.
90. Now, I have a love/hate relationship with my curls… but we’re making progress.

91. I love to make people laugh.
92. I used to use it as a defense mechanism for nerves.
93. Now I just like the feeling of bringing a smile to someone’s face.
94. I really envy people with great laughs.
95. My brother has the best laugh of anyone I know.
96. I think that my own laugh is very garish.

97. I’ve been blogging for almost four years, and I’ve been meaning to do a list like this for nearly as long.
98. Sometimes I get bored reading lists on other people’s blogs.
99. Now that I’ve done my own, I feel bad about that.
100. This was sort of hard, so I hope someone made it to the end!