Things you may not know about me, because I haven't told you

1. There are certain words in literature that I hate. One of them is "stride" or any of its derivatives. The phrase "...and he strode over to the..." is entirely overused, and usually implies something much for forceful than the situation calls for.

2. I love papaya. Brazil better get their papaya supply ready, because I'm going to eat ALL OF IT over the next year. Every last one.

3. I have serious issues with the song "Before He Cheats," not because I hate country (which I do) and not because they play it too much on mainstream radio (which they do) and not because it gets stuck in my head far too easily (which it does), but because all the things Carrie describes doing to her cheating boyfriend is not really letting Jesus take the wheel. I find it hypocritical, Miss Underwood.

4. I love cheap reality dating shows. I have no excuses and no explanations, I just do.

5. I have the strangest dreams in the world, and I dream about all of my friends all the time. Typically this freaks them out, but trust me, it's normal. If I say to you "Hey, I dreamed about you last night..." it doesn't mean anything, so don't give me a funny look like I'm a creep. I'm not.

6. I have a cat named Scout. Her name is Scout because Scout Finch, the protagonist in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a household hero in my family. Well, half of my family.

7. I have a list of famous people I have crushes on, and most of them are on it because they are, or appear to be, intelligent. And, as was pointed out to me, about half are Brits--that wasn't planned. Here's the list: Mark Ruffalo, Brian Williams, John Krasinski, Stephen Colbert, Eddie Izzard, Dave Eggers, Nigel Barker, Gabriel Macht, Anderson Cooper, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Hugh Jackman.

8. I love CNN, and have been disappointed recently at how much entertainment news they broadcast.

9. I like it when my parents and I think the same things are funny, i.e. The Office.

10. We moved back from Brazil when I was 6 and I began kindergarten halfway through the school year. By the end of that semester, I was voted "Girl Most Wanted to Sit By." That's still my proudest achievement...

11. I find frozen custard superior to ice cream.

12. I don't drink coffee unless it is Brazilian and served in a tiny coffee cup. I call this coffee snobbery.

13. I am selling my XTerra. Do you want to buy it?

14. I often wonder what it would be like to be famous, and if/how much I would change if I were. This in no way means I wish I was famous. I don't.

15. I am shy about speaking Portuguese, because I'm scared I will have an accent. I'm gonna have to get over that one...

Seriously...wanna buy my XTerra? Let me know.