})i({ The Origin of Runnergirl

Not nearly as exciting as it sounds folks. Really. ;) Here is a little background info on yours truly. I always think that it helps to see the past of someone to better understand their future.

1. In high school I was the 'artsy' girl.
2. I still paint canvases to vent frustrations or to escape for a little bit. It is complete me time.
3. I played in the youth division of the Saginaw Symphony Orchestra throughout high school.
4. I play trombone, flute, oboe, and bassoon but have not touched any of them since 1996.
5. I used to be a gymnast.
6. I love jazz music, as well as SKA, techno/house (not trance), classical compositions, rock, hip-hop and some rap.
7. My two favorite songs are Mercedes-Benz by Janis Joplin, and Imagine by John Lennon.
8. I also like Eric Clapton, but back in the Cream and Yard Birds days, not so much the solo days.
9. When he sped up the tempo to the song 'Layla' back in the '90s I thought that he had given up much of the song's meaning.
10. At senior graduation when they announced that I would be attending GMI Engineering & Management Institute for my degree in Engineering, everyone was pretty shocked.
11. They never thought of me as the smart kid, even though I graduated 10th in my class. I am stealth like that.
12. I switched my undergrad degree from computer engineering to manufacturing engineering because I had a hard time grasping Physics II.
13. I did however ace my digitals class and at one time could convert any number through the different types of number scales (hexa, deca, binary, etc.) in my head.
14. I am glad that I cannot do that anymore.
15. I have a binary clock and I can tell time from it without pause.
16. I do not set limits for myelf when it comes to goals and aspirations.
17. I was always youngest in my class. I was a junior going in for driver's training with the freshmen. I was a sophmore in college and having to put a fake birthdate on my school ID just to get into the bars in Windsor (where you had to be 19, not 21). How sad.
18. I am not a big drinker, but I make a killer martini. Seriously.
19. I have lived in 2 states: MI and CO, and have spent most of my adult life travelling for work.
20. While working for TCI in Denver, I manned home-base for the National Digital Television Conference which entailed me watching 50 screens playing "Sudden Death" non-stop for a week. I now refuse to watch that movie, or ANY Van Damme movie ever again.
21. Robin Leech (of 'The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' fame) once swore at me. I insulted his TV show thinking that I was talking to a co-worker playing a joke on me.
22. I never lived down being a Red Wings fan living in the land of the Ave's. Go Wings!
23. I have spent a lot of time in Ohio and Toronto/Oshawa. I mean a LOT of time. I used to have to drive from Oshawa, Ontario to Parma, OH and back to Toronto twice a week.
24. That was brutal.
25. My favorite Toronto Restaurant is the Green Mango. Really good Thai food. My favorite Parma (Cleveland) joint? The one that gets me the hell outta Ohio.
26. People I meet for the first time often ask if I am Canadian due to how I pronounce certain words with long o's. 'Process' and 'progress' are the two that really stick out apparently.
27. I can ice skate, but not well.
28. I learned how to ski AFTER I left Colorado. I wish I would have embraced it sooner.
29. As a kid I wanted to be either an astronaut, aerospace engineer, genetic engineer, or Wonder Woman.
30. I was obsessed with Wonder Woman as a kid and really thought that I could one day be her.
31. It wasn't until my 20's when I re-watched the show, that I realized that the show was all about fighting the Nazi's. And well honestly - it sucked.
32. I still like genetics for the fact that there is so much out there to cure and I truly believe that the key to cure lies in understanding the anomolies within.
33. I always have hope. Even in the darkest days, I manage to smile.
34. I will always give my last $1 to someone in need.
35. I got sucked into automotive because I live in Metro Detroit.
36. Metro Detroit is a fancy way of saying "Not Ghetto" or "South of Flint"
37. I know a lot about old cars and the operations of airports.
38. I can identify the manufacturer of an airplane in the night sky by watching the blinking pattern of the lights.
39. My dream car is a 1989 Yenko Camero in mint condition. Like I said, it is merely a dream.
40. Speaking of dreams, I never dream in 1st person, nor do I see feet in my dreams. My dreams come across like movies on the big screen.
41. I get headaches pretty easily, but rarely get sick.
42. My goal is to get out of Automotive in the next 3-5 years.
43. I am in pursuit of 2 master's degrees currently. My MBA is nearly complete (yippee!), and I am starting my M.S. in Kinseology next fall.
44. My favorite class ever was on Nash's Game Theory. Seriously, I missed my calling somewhere.
45. Fall is my favorite season. Bon fires, the sight of leaves turning beautiful colors, and the distinct crispness that makes me appreciate nature.
46. I am a quick learner and tend to learn by either visuals or sound but never both.
47. Once during a test in college, I could not remember the answer to a particular question. I knew that it started with 'Z', was on page 45 paragraph 3, 2nd sentence in. I got full credit.
48. When I was 5 or 6 I asked my baby sitter what 12 times 12 was because I could not believe that numbers that large existed.
49. I was a simple child.
50. I have a lot of numbers memorized, but very few are phone numbers. I know all credit card, identification (SSN, employee id, school id, etc.), and bank routing numbers by heart.
51. I see things and remember them in relation to other things, not neccessarily as solo objects.
52. Because of this I tend to see things as pictures or snapsots in my head.
53. I think in terms of patterns and sequences.
54. I used to learn math by reverse-engineering the processes. I would look at the answer and figure out backwards how it was achieved.
55. A metalurgy lab instructor freshman year of college once caught my shirt on fire. On purpose.
56. He told me later it was so he could ask me out.
57. I switched lab classes.
58. As a child I used to ride my bike for so long some evenings my parents would get worried and come driving looking for me.
59. It was due to a bike ride with my mom that I nearly cracked open the back of my head.
60. I have only possibly broken one bone in my body, and that was my little toe last summer. While doing laundry. I am that good.
61. I seriously doubt that it was in fact broken, but more so seriously sprained.
62. I have only had stiches due to surgery, never due to injury.
63. I have been in one serious car accident. The car was totalled, I was OK. Any passenger would have died according to the police. My parent's still have that license plate.
64. I can speak German and Spanish, but I understand the writing better than the spoken word.
65. I am a risk-taker, but I always understand the risks I am about to take. Even when they are staked against me.
66. I love roller-coasters and trips to Cedar Pointe
67. I really enjoy hot/spicy food.
68. I used to not be able to eat food that was prepared outside. I was afraid that the bugs would fly onto the food.
69. I used to be a HUGE germ freak.
70. If someone blows their nose while I am eating, I am done. That also applies if someone puts their nose near my food (aka smelling it). I cannot eat after that.
71. I want to travel the world someday. Not to say that I did it, but to experience other cultures and see life through different eyes.
72. I love life. I appreciate life. And I do everything that I can do to give back to the people who enrich mine.
73. A man with an accent looks 10 times better to me than the same man would without one.
74. I love cologne on men. *drool* It reminds me of warmth. I really do not know why.
75. I wear a skirt nearly every single day to work. I just feel good in skirts.
76. My eyes change color between blue, green and grey depending on what I am wearing.
77. I have been on TV twice. Once on St. Paddy's at 6AM. The news crew from my home town was at a bar near my college (I still have no clue why) and sure enough, my story of me being in class that morning lost all weight when my parents saw me enebriated on TV. *hangs head* Stupid TV.
78. I have a fear of the ocean, but still like to play in it when the opportunity arises. I just do not go out so far.
79. I can be a little stubborn. But I am working on that.
80. I have few nick-names that have stuck with me through the years. Jennikins, Topanga (because I used to look like Topanga from Boy Meets World), Super Boobs (because of the obvious genetic blessing) and Jake.
81. My mom calls me Jake or The Kidlet, so I let it slide.

I hope that you all enjoyed your weekend. Back to the daily grind!

Jennikins signing off for another day.

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