life // five things about me.

I was tagged by the lovely Ms. Duff yesterday in her "Five Things About Me" post!  The idea is that she shared five random facts about herself, then tags five other bloggers to do the same.  So here goes!


1.  I'm terrified of the ocean and I have no interest in learning how to surf.

Since I've lived in California my entire life (and in Huntington Beach for four years), being a non-surfer is borderline blasphemy.  But there was an incident in my early adolescence during which I was caught in a current, swept toward a rocky outcropping, panicked, and had to be rescued by a lifeguard.  This traumatized me enough to avoid venturing very far into the ocean.  If I need to stand on my tiptoes to keep my head above water, I'm in too deep (literally).  The sport of surfing seems to epitomize the things I hate about being in the ocean: big waves, getting pulled underwater, not knowing which way is up... no thank you.

{ via Myan Soffia }

2.  I'm almost always hot. 

Nine times out of 10, when a friend complains that it's too cold, I'm having the opposite problem: I'm feeling quite warm.  I've grown up in Southern California (where I currently reside) so I'm not sure why I'm so sensitive to the weather, but really, if it's more than 70 degrees outside, it's easy for me to break into a sweat if I'm doing anything more strenuous than watching TV.  I LOVE California winters, because it means most days are 65 degrees or cooler, and I feel very happy when the air is crisp.  Summer can feel like torture to me, and I KNOW we have very mild summers here compared to so many other places, but a forecast of anything above 80 degrees makes me say "ugh!"  On days when most people are praising how nice it is outside, I'm almost always too warm.  Drop the temperature by about 10 degrees, and I'll agree with you. 

{ via September Wren }

3.  I hate my feet.

I love sandals, but when summer rolls around and sandals are a daily staple, I have to spend extra time on keeping my feet in good condition.  I know that's the case for a lot of women out there, but I think my own feet are particularly high-maintenance.  I'm not dirty or neglectful or anything, I just don't think I have pretty feet like some girls do.  I won't go into any more detail; I know some people hate feet in general so I don't want to make you squeamish.

4.  I'm not sure I want kids.  

This one is always hard to admit, because a lot of people think I'm crazy for not wanting children.  I used to be a little afraid of kids, just because I didn't really know how to act around them.  Now, I have three young cousins, pictured above (twin girls who are about to turn four, and another little one who is three-and-a-half), and I ADORE them.  So it's not that I dislike children; I just don't know if I want my own.  My mom and my cousin Kristen (mother to the three-and-a-half year old) both say they were also unsure of kids when they were my age, so it's totally possible I'll change my mind -- I'm certainly open to the idea!  I'm just not sure that having kids is for me, unlike many of my friends, who have been confident all along that they will definitely have children someday.  I might change my mind; we'll see.  Only time will tell.

{ my three little cousins, photographed by moi }

5.  I almost pursued a career as a wedding coordinator.

I did a brief internship with Nicole Hirsty a few years ago.  She planned Kendra Wilkinson's wedding to Hank Baskett and I tagged along with her to a couple of Beverly Hills events.  I was still working a desk job at the time so I could really only help on the weekends.  In hindsight, I now realize that I lost interest primarily because my style would've been different than Nicole's; she does big-budget, traditional-style weddings at the Beverly Hilton and the Beverly Hills Hotel, and I'm more of a small-scale, mid-range budget, laid-back, relaxed, fun-details-without-big-bells-and-whistles kind of girl.  I just didn't know much about the wedding industry at the time, and didn't realize that there were different styles and types of weddings.  Regardless, I think it all worked out for the best -- I LOVE photography and I love being able to specialize in a particular segment of the wedding day experience.

{ now THIS is my kind of wedding.  photo by Jill DeVries. }

In fact, based on this flow chart, I'll swoon for the details apparently associated with a hipster wedding!

 

{ via Refinery 29 }

Okay, now it's time for me to pass it on!  I tag Sarah, Tammy, Julie, Gina, and Lauren.

I hope everyone has a great weekend ahead!