Freeflow of thoughts

I'm not sure why I'm feeling this compelling urge to write. Maybe it's because I've been so bored lately that I'll resort to anything to keep myself sane. Maybe it's because it's after midnight, I have a class in less than 11 hours and I can't sleep. Maybe it's because I've just been thinking a lot lately, and those thoughts occasionally overflow into a sea of words emanating from my keyboard -- often at strange hours of the day or night.

Lately I've discovered many things about myself that I hadn't thought about before, but which make total sense now that they have surfaced. I share these with you now.

1. I am a native Oregonian. However, from the way I react to weather, you would think I was born and raised in California. I grew up with cold mornings and never-ending rain, yet these weather patterns still manage to pose threat to my comfort level. I am not the type of Oregonian who sees a downpour as a carpe diem type of opportunity to spend the day hiking in the woods or mountain biking -- although I love the outdoors. Rather, I am the one who watches rainstorms from the comfort of a well-heated dorm room, under a thick blanket, holding a mug of something warm.

2. I delight in the random and crazy. While on my way to a meeting with my Writing 122 instructor, I discovered that the office I was looking for was downstairs. I was listening to my iPod when I got in the elevator, and the result was profound. When one dares to mix feel-good, defy-the-status-quo type music such as Regina Spektor's "Fidelity" or Natasha Bedingfield's "Single" with the private environment of an elevator, one can't help but dance! I had never before thought of elevator dancing as fun, nor that there were others in the world who shared
this passion. Thanks Facebook!

3. I have really weird interests. For the longest time, I have had this strange obsession with remembering random bits of information, such as phone numbers or addresses of former residences or the date on which something happened. For example, my phone number 13 years ago was 762-1049 (before area codes were required, so this was actually a complete phone number), 11 years ago I lived at 5340 Milwaukie Avenue (in the Sellwood district of SE Portland, now a mecca for artists and trendy boutique-type shops) and I got my wisdom teeth removed December 26, 2006 (which sucked ass, being the day after Christmas.)

4. Another interest I have had for a while was handedness -- I have always enjoyed observing which hand someone uses to write or perform fine motor skills such as unlocking a door or brushing teeth. This interest has become so intense that my life goals include ambidexterity. I'm actually further along than I thought -- my marching band vest doesn't like to zip unless I use my left hand (I'm a righty), I usually use my left hand when unlocking doors with a key and I have no choice but to use my left hand a lot when riding my bike, since the left brake is the only one that works. Apparently I'm not the only one with these weird obsessions.

5. Journalism, although one of the most thankless jobs in existence, is one of the most rewarding. It was the combination of working for the school newspaper and completing both a job shadow and an internship at The Newberg Graphic newspaper that confirmed my goal of working in the print journalism field. However, I'm torn between two areas of newspaper work. On the one hand, I got my start in reporting, and I have a bunch of clips of stories I wrote, some of them actually significant. On the other hand, I also have a passion for copy editing; some may call it grammar snobbery, but I seriously love correcting other people's spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. So my career path is still undecided for the moment.

More to follow. However, it is going on 1 a.m. and I have not slept yet. So I should probably go to bed. Damn it, I'm not tired yet...