There are lots of basic things I could share about myself and my life, but I didn’t want my introduction to read like a resume. So after staring at a Word document for Lord knows how long and repeatedly asking Kate (the new other intern) what to write about, I Googled “get to know you questions.” But first, some random fast facts about me:

• I’ve lived in five states and moved nine times, not including the moves around Dinkytown.
• I’m allergic to horses and smaller versions of horses (like ponies), but often forget. (Photo below)
• I don’t pronounce my t’s at all, and I drop other consonants out of words too, but that is what people most often notice. I apologize in advance for my Colorado accent.
• My favorite color is blue — any shade of blue.
• I’m astraphobic, which means I’m irrationally afraid of thunderstorms.
• I really, really love bacon.

And now some questions that generated the most interesting answers:

What would be the most amazing adventure to go on? This probably is not a single adventure, but I want to visit all 59 national parks. I’ve got five down: Grand Teton, Great Sand Dunes, Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone. Just 54 more to go.

I also plan to visit all 50 states, because 196 countries seems a little too daunting and dangerous.

If you could be on a game show, what would it be? Amazing Race. Catch me with that million dollars and a dozen stamps in my passport. Still in the hunt for the perfect racing partner.

What do you wish your brain was better at? Concentrating… I’m pretty good at doing tasks for a long time, but I often get distracted for a few moments and then get back on track. The dumbest things distract me, like a bug or absolutely nothing at all. To add to it, I had a concussion last fall, which made my concentration and memory never the same.

What stereotype do you live up to? Basic white girl. You’ll see.

What is the scariest monster you could imagine? When my family first moved to Colorado, I had repeated nightmares of bears attacking me, rattlesnakes coming out from under my bed, and ghosts of Old Western outlaws shooting me. The GhostRattleBear with a Colt revolver would be the scariest monster EVER.

What pets did you have growing up? A lot of pets. Five cats, two of whom were both named Chester. Chester 2 was unfortunately killed by a mountain lion. Four dogs: all labs or lab mixes. We currently have a black Lab-Great Dane mix who is losing all his hair (yes, we have an almost hairless hundred-pound dog) and a one-year-old chocolate lab who we have nicknamed The Shredder. Two tadpoles that never turned into frogs. Two hamsters that were a poor decision. Countless goldfish. Fun fact: my first two goldfish, Goldy and Silvery, died two hours after I brought them home, so my mom went back to the store to replace them.

And that’s all for now, folks!