Una, I just looked up trypophobia to see if I could find out what the cause is, and some of the images I saw on Google made me want to vomit (obviously I would not recommend you look, unless you like feeling nauseated). The ones that just showed honeycombs or other organic matter didn't bother me, but some of the 'shopped images that were created just to freak out trypophobics might have converted me into one. UGH.

LOL! Unbelievable stuff here.

-- worked for Leon Max (Max Studio) before he got "big". I was the one woman in a one-man office when his company started.
- currently write draft reports for doctors and when I interviewed for the job I told the interviewer that writing was my weakness.
-hate peanutbutter

Mmmm, I won a local poetry contest once. After that I never wrote anything again.

Girls I'm still loving this thread! You are all so interesting!

If we ever do manage a Global YLF meet, it will have to be a week-long event so we can truly catch up properly

What a wonderful, fun and inspiring thread!
Here are some bits about me:

= I am a c(o)eliac, meaning I can't eat anything with gluten. This has been a blessing in disguise.

= I have voluntereed at the Special Olympics in Ireland in 2003 and before the birth of my son that was the most worthwhile and the happiest experience of my life.

= I always read at least three books at any one time.

= I tend to read "Contact" by Carl Sagan every few years (hence my ylf nick after the main character, Ellie Arroway).

= I was actually named after my dad's favorite Italian singer, whose song can be heard in the closing scenes of Oceans 12.

= I have lived in 5 different countries, all in Europe. I have the happiest memories from Ireland.

= I have met my favorite poet three years and one day after my wedding day (we had his verse on our wedding invitations).

= I once auditioned for the job on the local radio station, in my teenage years.

= I don't like talking on the phone.

= I can watch Jane Austen period dramas and any of my other favorite films day and night.

= I want to study amatsu.

= Some day I want to run a marathon.

I'm so outing myself as a nerd here BUT I phoned my husband from work because I beat my record solitaire time (119 seconds) and was elated. I'm off to get a life now.

What a great thread!

I like to listen to soaps when I'm cooking (depends on time of the day obviously). The writing is hilarious, very repetitive. Specifically OLTL and GH because I'm somewhat familiar with the characters (it's hilarious how nothing seems to change for 10yrs). After 15 min I can't take it anymore and switch to an NPR program on the radio.

When I have mood swings or get cranky, I calm down very fast.

I'm very interested in all sorts of medical details, but have been known to faint unpredictably (especially at the movies).

Not a fan of the phone.

ah, Lena...a fellow fainter.!

Oooh ellie, Contact is one of my favourite books of all time too!!!!

Here are a few random things about me:

*I simply can't stand eating banana or anything containing banana.
*I hate slugs. They are slimy, disgusting critters and they send shivers down my spine. Snails don't bother me - I like their little houses.
*I won a scholarship to a music conservatorium when I was 15 years old.
*A relative of mine composed the title music for the Australian children's television show "Playschool".

KP - I hate banana too! One reason I don't like going barefoot at home is the slight chance that I might step into a small discarded (by kids) fragment of it

Ellie, where did you live in Ireland?

- I hate mushrooms. Ugh... just ugh. One of the first meals my boyfriend ever cooked for me was mushroom curry, after I told him the previous weekend how much I hated mushrooms.

I have been following everyone's replies and it has been a very illuminating thread. Some surprise me and some don't!

High five, KP. I hate bananas too. The smell makes me ill.

-Other popular fruits that everyone likes which I hate: mango and coconut. I can't stand coconut unless it's in the form of coconut milk in curry. Never did like mango.

-I drink anywhere from 4-12 cups of tea a day, and usually only one or two glasses of water.

-I had a labret piercing for the duration of my first year in college.

-I don't know how to ride a bike or swim. My parents never learned so they were not able to teach me. I don't care much for swimming but I wish I could ride a bike around the city--and not worry about what shoes to wear!

-I know and care a lot more about electron configuration than I do about sports (and I have absolutely no background in science)

-Unsurprisingly, I hated PE more than any class in the world when I was in school. I cut my PE class almost every day for an entire year in 7th grade and never got caught.

-Over the course of my childhood, I played many instruments: flute, clarinet, guitar, drums, and piano.

-The only time in the past 9 years that I have consumed meat was when I accidentally ate a chicken curry tea sandwich at the Russian Tea Room with Angie. I liked chicken when I ate meat, but after going so long without it, I found the texture very umm...fleshy...and unpleasant... Managed to not throw up or freak out though.

-I loathe driving and didn't get my license until I turned 19, at my parents' insistence.

-Throughout my life, I have always had some sort of oddball craving. When I was a kid and a teen, I used to be addicted to ice cubes. For a while I was addicted to Campbell's chicken and stars soup. Now I have a thing for raw bread dough and chili peppers (not together).

I don't know, Maya--it is sounding like there is a latent scientist in their somewhere. I also love electron configurations and had a long love affair with chicken and stars soup. As a kid I thought it was pure genius.

KP I hate slugs too. Just the thought of them makes me sick. My son watches this children's entertainment group called the hooley dooleys. They do a song about slugs and I can't bear it. I also hate rats. I have had nightmares about rats and can't even look at them in a pet shop.
Maya I can't swim either. My mother sent me to three lots of lessons in the course of my childhood but I never managed to learn to swim. I just hope I never need to.

yublocka, glad to hear that

Dawn, I lived in Dublin; Dun Laoghaire to be precise

Wow what a great range of peopleocities!!! Love reading about you all!!
I drive a '69 Beetle in the non salted roads time of the year--March can't get here fast enuff.
I hate the feel of wet newspaper.
My career was in Saturday morning cartoons--Carebares, Babar, Beetlejuice Magic school bus Rupert the Bear kinda stuff.
I am attracted to graphic designs.
I want my house to be painted like Witch Hazel's from the Chuck Jones cartoons--furniture half painted on the walls and floors--tres cool!

What a fun thread!!! I'm loving getting to know you all better.

A few fun facts about me:

- I have four daughters... all born in just over 3 1/2 years. (My youngest are twins)

- My hubby and I started dating my first year of High School (he's a year older).
We've been together for almost 15 years and were married on our 8 year anniversary.

Speaking of bananas: my stomach can't handle them well, but my mind likes the flavor. Oh well.

Maya, I'll have all the mangos you don't want. It's one of my top favorites; and I prefer them slightly sour (don't like super soft and sweet ones). But my all around favorite fruit is APPLE.

I strongly disliked PE as a child, and started to enjoy and almost crave exercise once I got away from nasty coaches. I also had lots of swimming lessons, and I'm absolutely not a fan of this sport (while I admire those who do it well) and I'm a lousy swimmer. I'm more likely to sink rather than stay on the surface.

Crystal, I like your story! My husband and I have been together 12 years now; we also started dating in high school (senior year though, we're the same age), and got married on our 7 year anniversary

I once had to kill a rattlesnake.

By myself.

Maya, I have heard about those images and have made it a point NOT to click on them. My brother totally (toad-ally?) freaked me out with a video of the Surinam toad, that hatches its babies right out of its back. I'm sure it's fascinating and I am a nature lover, but if I saw that creature,I would probably step on it out of panic.

Sorry I introduced you to the subject!

Una, they were weird creepy photoshopped images. One had a cat with its face photoshopped out and and replaced with tiny clustered holes. Then there was an image of one hand applying nail polish on the other. Again, the hands were full of clustered holes and there were what looked like little animated moving droplets inside the holes.

Uggggggghhhhhh I'm getting queasy just thinking about it.

I love swimming and reached "swimmer level including lifesaving" at 10 years old - I had a major crush on my swimming teacher which I think catapulted me into advanced levels. When I swim now, at the first impact of my head and body going under I feel like I've returned to the womb. It's the most bizarrely awesome comfort feeling.

This is so great. I love hearing how different we all are....and yet sometimes so much the same.

* I am terrified of snakes. April, how did you kill that thing!?
* I love camping & being outdoors
* I am EXTREMELY competitive. I have played softball, volleyball, & ran track. I have little tolerance for primping & putting on makeup before playing, or any nonsense while on the field. I have to be careful because I am blessed with a DD who tends to want to primp before playing. :0 I also have to be careful when playing video games(or any kind of games for that matter) with my kids because I tend to get carried away & trash talk & get too competitive.
* I loved PE as a kid & couldn't figure out why some other kids didn't.
* My ideal vacation is laying on the beach or by a pool with a book soaking up the sun. I love warm(hot) weather.
* I drive a yellow Jeep Wrangler <3 LOVE <3 Nothing better than the doors & top off, sun shining, wind blowing in my hair.
* I have committed to running a half marathon this summer.
* I have Amish in my background. (my dad was Amish as a kid)
* obviously I'm not a grammar snob--I just realized I keep saying kid. Sorry Kyle!
* I am a single mom.