KC Lemson

41 things about me [a work in progress]

1. I have been married since August 1999 to the smartest man I've ever known.
2. We have a son, born June 2003 and a daughter, born November 2005. They are my light.
3. They are also the most brilliant babies ever.
4. And the cutest.
5. And the most brilliant.
6. And yes, they each have their own blogs.
7. But no, it's not meant for the general public, just a way for my family who lives 1751 miles away to find out what's going on their niece and nephew's lives.
8. I was not one of those 'happy pregnant women'. In fact, I don't think there is such a thing. Although I have to admit that it was pretty cool to see/feel my son do the Alien move.
9. I can survive on very little sleep. I learned this shortly after June 2003 when I averaged three two-hour chunks of sleep per night for 7 straight months. As I update this in February 2006, I am again experiencing the glory that is child-induced sleep deprivation. 
10. I always told myself I wouldn't be one of those parents who asks all their childless friends when they're going to start, and gushes about how great it is to have kids.
11. I have mostly succeeded at not always being one of "those" parents.
12. I have a great job at a company I love in a group I love around a technology about which I am very passionate.
13. I started out as a tester and later moved to a PM position and then a lead PM. I have also been a release manager.
14. I dropped out of college to come to this company.
15. I was a math/computer science major at the time that I dropped out.
16. I'm not very good at math.
17. I'm not much of a coder.
18. I once interviewed for a software developer in test position at the recommendation of a former coworker who mistakenly thought I had a degree in CS. Oops.
19. I'm the youngest of five children. My siblings are 5, 7, 9 and 11 years older than me. In high school I once said to my mom “Come on... I was a surprise, wasn't I? The spacing is just too obvious.“ She said, in all seriousness “Honey, you were all surprises.“
20. One of the fondest memories I have of growing up is watching Star Trek: The Next Generation in the family room with my mom during a dinner of Ramen noodles. I recently found out that my mother has no memory of this weekly event. 
21. I clean by “decluttering“. I don't notice dirt or dust that much, but a week of mail stacked up on the counter makes me twitch.
22. I am able to ignore twitching for long periods of time.
23. I have worn glasses since I was 16. It helps me get by not noticing dirt. I remember the first time I put them on and drove home. I could see a sign in the stripmall we were in - “Oh is that what stuff far away is supposed to look like.“
24. I am usually shy in front of people I don't know, but outgoing (and sometimes brash) in front of those I do know.
25. My mother and father are John and Mary.
26. My maiden name is Smith.
27. My uncle Dick almost married a woman named Jane.
28. I fancy myself a photographer; I have many printouts of my favorite work on my office door. Invariably, everyone who stops to admire the photos asks me what kind of camera I have (Canon 20D).
29. I get mildly insulted when people think that a great camera is the main ingredient to a great photograph (lighting & focus are though, and so I push how great external flash is on just about everyone who asks)
30. Some people don't even ask what kind of camera I have, they ask about the printer (Canon i9900)
31. I believe that people are - usually - inherently good. Not all the time, of course.
32. I believe that your childhood shapes a lot of who you are and that experiences from those days can burn themselves into your brain.
33. I will literally start twitching or sometimes scream out loud if my husband wakes me up by opening the blinds and saying "Rise and shine!".
34. I frequently use the word 'good' as an adjective to mean "the one I'm looking for right now." So if I ever ask you where the "good tape" is, you should probably ask what I want to do with it before you'll be able to figure out what kind of tape I'm referring to at that instant.
35. I put movies on my netflix queue that I really think I should watch, even though I know I never will. They sit at home for a few weeks before my husband finally returns them in disgust.
36. I am pretty shallow about what movies I enjoy... basically just comedies. But is that so wrong, I ask ya? I don't need a thinker; I want to be entertained, and I love to laugh.
37. I hate Pulp Fiction. When I realized this in high school, I immediately lost many coolness points with just about everyone. I have continued to lose points with friends I made later in life, but I try to stabilize the loss by explaining why I hate Pulp Fiction.
38. When Pulp Fiction came out, I was at the theatre with friends to see Billy Madison. We snuck in to the screen with Pulp Fiction on it and lucky us, it was the very beginning of the gimp scene. We left after the gimp scene. It was another year until I finally got around to watching the entire movie, but by then it was too late.
39. I have a tendency to tell the same stories over and over again. When I meet someone knew, it's terribly exciting for me because I know they haven't heard my stories yet. I'm not sure if it's terribly exciting for the other person.
40. I'm surprised I haven't repeated any of these 'things about me' yet.
41. Ah crud, I repeated #5.
42. But it was worth repeating. 
43. I love games - board games, card games, puzzle games, computer games.
44. I am married to a man who hates board games, card games and puzzle games.
45. I am fairly obsessive compulsive about certain things. One of the first things I did after teaching myself VB was to write a program to help me bulk rename a bunch of MP3s I had that had inconsistent file names.
46. This is a work in progress, and I've only made it up to here so far. Suffer.