Duke's 25 Random Things
25 Random Things About Yourself
1. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my parents, siblings, and I have our own Thanksgiving dinner. Since the pandemic, we’ve been conducting the dinners by FaceTime.
2. Every Christmas, my family fries scrapple for breakfast. The tradition started with my great-great-grandfather, and everyone on my mom's side continues the tradition. There are impassioned debates over the best batch of scrapple each year, but traditionally, my dad has been considered the champion.
3. Every summer from second grade to eleventh grade I went on a group canoe trip in Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada. My longest trip was three-week, from Lake MacManus to the Hudson Bay.
4. On one canoe trip, I came within 30 yards of a polar bear. It was awe-inspiring, but I have never paddled harder in my life. 5. I am a die-hard Philadelphia Phillies fan and have experienced many of the team's highs and lows at Citizens Bank Park: clinching the 2008 World Series and losing Game 4 of the 2007 playoffs.
6. My favorite band is The Nobodies. I once drove 15 hours to see the band perform in a small dive bar outside Charleston, South Carolina.
7. One of the best events I have attended is Cheyenne Frontier Days, the world's largest outdoor rodeo. It was my first rodeo, and I was hooked after the first event: the saddle bronc ride.
8. The New York Times Cooking Section is my go-to destination for inspiration. My favorite discoveries have been vegan carpaccio and shrimp foil packets.
9. Every Sunday morning, I watch the previous night’s Saturday Night Live episode.
10. My record player and 50 album vinyl collection, ranging from Avicii to Turnpike Troubadours to – of course – The Nobodies, are my two most cherished possessions.
11. My guilty pleasure is old-fashioned donuts from the Dottie’s Donuts food truck on my walk to work.
12. Whether at a party or cooking, I love to dance, even if I am off the beat. When cooking pasta, for instance, I will likely be dancing to Spotify’s Italian Cooking Station.
13. My Improv class is a highlight of my week. It is when I can take a pause to move around, be goofy, and flex creative muscles. 14. I read IMDB pages while watching movies, to fact-check events and learn how scenes came together.
15. I have always enjoyed musical theater. In high school, I designed sets and worked backstage for musicals. The best musical I ever saw live was, of course, Hamilton.
16. When I traveled to Salzburg, I made my sister join me on The Sound of Music bike tour.
17. I love Legos. I find them so therapeutic. When the Covid-19 quarantine began, I purchased the Lego Tree House set. I planned to spend a week building the set, but I was so eager for activity, I completed it in two days. Next project: the Ford Mustang set!
18. When I spent two months quarantining at my parents’ home, my other quarantine-sanity project was designing a miniature golf course in their backyard.
19. I enjoy studying architecture and architectural history. This was one of the reasons I chose to study abroad in Paris, home to my favorite building, the Palais Garnier. Once, I even convinced two friends to hike a mile in flip-flops across Portugal’s Sintra Mountains so I could see the Pena Palace.
20. If I could only eat one meal for eternity, it would be Lucky’s double steakburger with fries and an Oreo mint milkshake.
21. While studying abroad, I took a solo trip to Milan’s 2015 World's Expo on innovative food and agriculture systems. There was so much to absorb, but the highlight was learning about Belgium’s new aquaponic technologies while enjoying fresh Belgium chocolates.
22. I sleep with nose strips every night because I have a deviated septum, but I am resisting surgery. I like my nose the way it is.
23. I believe a person’s birthday should be a holiday. I make a point to celebrate friends on their birthday however I can: surprise packages, Zoom sessions, or even unannounced visits.
24. I schedule my day around the best times and places for iced tea. (Pro Tip: all Dunkin’ ice tea is $1.50 every afternoon between 2:00 and 6:00.)
25. I am a shamelessly obvious tourist I always travel with my Canon DSLR camera around my neck, and I organize and store all my photos. For example, after two weeks traveling Morocco with a friend, I presented her with a photo album for her birthday titled "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland."