Lauren Morrill

Because I’m still keeping a low(ish) profile (since I still have a job), I’ll just leave it an E Lockhart-style 21 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me:

1. I graduated from a super awesome Big 10 School (that’s in the Midwest … so not Penn State because that is NOT in the Midwest and I don’t care what bizarro form of geography you’re using) and I absolutely loved every second of college … even the seconds that sucked (like when I got an F in pre-calc and then retook it for a D)
2. I hate math. It makes me cry.
3. I’m the queen of ignoring the smart path and instead choosing the stupid/ridiculous/irresponsible path.
4. I love my dog so much that sometimes it scares me. I don’t know what I would do if anything happened to her (thankfully, she’s only 2, so I’ve got a long way to go before I have to confront … well, you know…)
5. I wrote my first short story on a broken typewriter my mom brought home from the real estate agency where she worked. I don’t remember what it was about, and it is long since gone.
6. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to read. The first book I ever read was a Sesame Street book. I read so ravenously that my mom used to have to come in and turn my light out. Then come in and take my flashlight away. Then come in and tell me to “Stop reading by the streetlight, dammit, you’ll ruin your eyes!”
7. I wear glasses.
8. My mom doesn’t say dammit. She doesn’t really swear at all. The first time I heard her swear was when she dripped marinara sauce on the white carpet. I was ten. She said “shit.” How is this a fact about me? Oh yeah, I swear like a sailor.
9. I got rejected from a 1-year master’s program at Harvard. I’m still annoyed by it. Doesn’t matter that I already HAVE a master’s degree … one that took me two years to get and thoroughly enjoyed earning. It’s in higher education administration.
10. I am addicted to Coke … the beverage, you jerk. I drink at least one per day.
11. I love Starbucks iced chai (venti, nonfat). I know I can make it myself at home for pennies on the dollar, but it wouldn’t come in that perfect plastic cup and it wouldn’t get me out of at least 15 minutes of work while I trot down the street to pick it up.
12. I am also pretty addicted to television. Shows I currently don’t miss include: Mad Men, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Gossip Girl, Dexter, True Blood, Weeds, Big Love, Lost, and So You Think You Can Dance. I also love The Wire, Gilmore Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The West Wing, Freaks and Geeks, and Felicity and I watch them on DVD frequently.
13. I love my Tivo
14. I used to be afraid to fly, which is funny because my dad is an airline pilot. My current job requires fairly frequent air travel, which has mostly cured me of my fear. I still grasp the armrest in terror if there’s serious turbulence, and on my last trip I accidentally grabbed the thigh of the man sitting next to me. He thought it was pretty funny.
15. I grew up in a small suburban town in the south, spent my college and grad school years in the Midwest, and currently live in Boston. Believe it or not, I consider myself a Midwesterner and have a slight Chicago accent.
16. I have had more than one literary agent tell me that my partial made them laugh out loud. Even though hey ultimately rejected me (I blame the fact that I queried before a serious revision … a rookie mistake), I’m still really REALLY proud of that. It’s perhaps the best compliment I’ve ever received.
17. I always LOVED the first day of school, and I ache for it every fall.
18. I played the flute for 9 years and considered majoring in it in college. Instead I went to college for journalism … which changed to history when I realized I had to take stats and econ for my journalism degree.
19. My favorite band ever ever EVER is The Beatles. If you don’t get their genius then I hardly understand how you walk upright. Get your act together, please.
20. Maybe because I know I’ll never get to see my favorite band in concert … I really don’t enjoy going to them at all. The last concert I saw was … well, I can’t remember. My first concert was Elton John. I was in high school. He was spectacular. Shut up.
21. My in-laws live in Key West, and one day I’m going to ask Meg Cabot and Judy Blume to have lunch with me.