Who Am I, Anyway?

...more on me

 
 





I'm a bit strange: eccentric, odd, unusual, "unique", a little off my rocker or whatever else you want to call it. I grew up in a family of artists and other assorted "creative types" and don't actually suppose that the phrase "grew up" can really be used to describe anything I've done. I once bit a boy (he insulted me, then insulted my sister and my cousin; what other option did I have?); violence is never the answer -- I was young (6) and didn’t understand that violence is never the answer. It was a long time ago. I used to dance (ballet), but have found that rock climbing gives me what dancing used to.  They’re surprisingly similar, ballet and rock climbing. Try both. You’ll see. I keep a little black book full of (no, not scandalous secrets, names of men and their phone numbers, or other salacious details -- nothing quite so exciting as all that; it's really much more nerdy) titles and authors I would like to read. I seem to add two or three need-to-reads in that black book for every one got-it-and-plan-on-reading-it I cross out. What can I say? Words are awesome, stories are awesomer. I am working on expanding my collection of non-cotton socks, great for running and biking and hiking and even keeping your feet warm. I haven't been very successful; socks can be very expensive, you know. I guess it’s not so much a collection as a pile in my top drawer. It’s not like a stamp collection, you know? Can you imagine socks behind little plastic pages? I can, but I don’t think it would work very well. I like to wear my collection. I have developed a mildly horsey laugh (not good). I am trying out vegetarianism for the time being (this is the end of year three), and now like all vegetables except brussels sprouts (don’t think I’ll ever like them), mushrooms (technically a fungus, so I don’t know that I’d even count it), and peas (yuck, just yuck). I am the worst kind of video game consumer ever (I have one game, which I bought used, and it's all I ever play). But video games are bad, and I try not to play it very much. Promotes violence, bloodshed, sitting around and moving only the thumbs and the eyes rather than the entire body (good for whoever invented the wii -- maybe it’s the last step before people just go back outside and use their bodies). But still, I own one game. It’s a good game, too. I think much more in depth in the evening than in the morning, and I like to rearrange the furniture. I’ve always like to rearrange the furniture. It’s fun. Gives an old room a new look. Makes life a little more fresh. Besides, you find all that stuff you lost three months ago when you look behind (or under) the couch. I think that mice are cute. Pet mice, that is. I imagine an uninvited mouse in my home would not be cute. In fact, it would be uninvited and therefore unwelcome. Rude little critters. But pet mice, they’re cute. As a matter of fact, I’ve had three pet mice in my lifetime (they were all when I was little, but still, it counts). Rats, though, they’re a different story.  I have decided that Tuesdays are one of the best days of the week because I've made it past Monday, but Friday nights are the best nights because the entire weekend looms before me, full of opportunity and potential adventures. I also think that three-day weekends are much nicer when Monday is the third day. Friday three-day weekends are no good. You look forward to the time off all week, which makes it pass slowly, and then when you get back there’s a full week staring you in the face. Not so when you have Monday off. I'm going to marry a man I love very deeply (Mike -- check out the photo on the PHOTOGRAPHS page -- he’s crazy too): he was a student of my mom's, I had a crush on him my sophomore year in high school, he used to try to copy my homework (don't worry, I never let him do it), he used to draw waves for my entertainment on his pre-calculus homework (I was a TA and was in charge of grading his class’ homework), he and I are not high school sweethearts (we got together after high school, and I never wore his letterman jacket -- and did you know they don't give those out for surfing? Pity, pity -- they really should, especially in southern California), we're going to travel the world together if we ever get out of school. I frequently dream of teaching at Hogwarts, and would if the opportunity would only present itself. But alas, I live in a world full of a different sort of magic. I think that's quite enough information about me, thanks. Your turn...feel free to drop me a line and tell me something interesting about yourself....
 

A Kind-of Autobiography

NAME: anne jansen

NICKNAMES: annabel, anner, funk, slacker, A, anne-anne

ATHLETIC INTERESTS: rock climbing, hiking, mountain biking, cycling (I keep the spandex to a minimum), yoga, dancing, kayaking

OTHER INTERESTS: writing (fiction, poetry), reading, sketching, painting, eating (hey, it counts), socializing

MOLES & BIRTHMARKS: neck, lower left ribs, left heel (outside), right hand

SCARS: ankles (inside, one each), right knee (two), right above right knee (outside), right hip (two), back of right wrist (don’t ever cut apples by pulling the knife toward you, ever), back (center: chicken pox, age 7)

ODD HABITS: fidgeting, clicking pens, moving my hands when I talk, talking too much, doodling in the margins, feeling the backs of my teeth with my tongue

THINGS I WISH I LIKED, BUT DON’T ACTUALLY LIKE: brussels sprouts, going to the gym, mushrooms, button up shirts, spending money, biographies, wind, wine, reading the newspaper

THINGS I COULD SEE MYSELF DOING BESIDES TEACHING: owning and operating a bookstore (and being my own best customer), being a woman of leisure, writing novels, perfecting the art of hot chocolate making, interior design and decoration (of my own home only), gardening, creating new and mutant breeds of cactus to share with the world

SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS: waking up to the sound of raindrops hitting the window, spending time with my family, the smell of fresh-ground coffee, having a fire in the fireplace, days that just “go right” all the way from start to finish

SOME OF MY NOT-SO-FAVORITE THINGS: bitterly cold wind, cold feet, smoke, light/noise/air pollution, traffic jams, waiting in line

OBSESSIONS: taking photos, buying music, working out, drinking water

WAYS I TWITCH: the leg shake (left only), the pen clickety-click (sorry, people around me), the knuckle crack, the fingernail pick/click, the finger drumming, the thread hunt (requires scissors for when I find a loose thread), the fingers-through-the-hair run, the lick-lip, the clothes-fidget, the earring spin

HOPES/DREAMS/GOALS FOR THE FUTURE: get my PhD, run a marathon, write a novel (I’m working on it), go sky diving, own a house I love, be more optimistic, make others happy

ODD FACTS ABOUT ME: I enjoy being dizzy. I want another ear piercing. I have trouble being “girly”. I used to have a streak of red (natural) in my hair; I used to have streaks of hot pink (not natural) in my hair.