28 Things for 28 Years

It's my birthday!  This week has been sort of insane at work, so I definitely plan on taking the whole long weekend to indulge myself in my advancing age.  A few friends are coming over for dinner tonight, I'm going apple picking tomorrow, my parents are taking me out to dinner on Sunday, and I've booked myself a facial on Monday.  It's going to be fab!

Totally narcissistically, I've decided to celebrate my birthday on this blog by sharing 28 things - one for each year - you might not know about me.  Some probably won't come as a surprise to you.  Others... well, let's see!

28 Things for 28 Years

1. I love public speaking.
2. But I was terrified when I got solos in choir.
3. I founded an all-girls barbershop quartet in high school.
4. I hold my nose every time I jump into a pool.
5. In 6th grade, I won first place in a national French competition. It's been all downhill from there.
6. I dyed my hair once, in 8th grade; I was going for auburn but it ended up sort of purple.
7. I've been thinking about getting a small discrete tattoo for a while but I'm afraid my mother will disown me.
8. If I could get another degree, I'd want to go to divinity school.
9. I love amusement parks and county fairs.
10. But I don't really like theme parks.
11. And I have no desire to ever go on a cruise.
12. I'm a city girl but my fantasy is to move to a smaller university town like Charlottesville or Ithaca.
13. Similarly, I'd love to live in Oxford or Cambridge if Jon and I don't settle in London when we move back to England.
14. I can't wait to have a house with a garden but I'm terrified that I'll discover I don't have a green thumb at all.
15. I don't get manicures but a good pedicure is one of my favorite luxuries.
16. Folding laundry soothes me.
17. I can forgive almost anything if the person responsible owns his/her mistake and resolves to learn from it.
18. I hate horror films but I love Hitchcock.
19. I failed a class in college freshman year because I slept through the final exam, which counted for 75% of the grade.
20. I loved creative writing when I was younger, but I've never wanted to write a novel.
21. If I were to try to get something of mine published, it would be nonfiction - probably a series of essays.
22. I wish I could talk like Aaron Sorkin writes.
23. I cried the first time I voted (which was in the 2004 elections) because I was so overcome with civic pride.
24. Giving up sweets wouldn't be too hard for me.
25. Giving up cheese would be impossible.
26. I don't like the combination of peanut butter and chocolate.
27. I don't have original taste in music - and I'm totally okay with that.  Show me a bandwagon and I'll jump on it.
28. If I could have one celebrity show up to sing me Happy Birthday, I'd want it to be Harry Connick Jr.