1. I was raised by a Christian mother and a Muslim father, who sent me to Catholic school (for the discipline!). In spite of their best efforts I’m agnostic now.

2. I come from a very musical family, my father is a percussionist, my brother is a producer, one uncle is a bassist and another uncle is a producer, my grandfather sang opera. I can’t even read music. I often wonder if I’m adopted.

3. I’m extremely introverted, but I perk up when lecturing (it’s more impersonal).

4. I like kids, but I don’t, and have never wanted, children. People say I’m selfish. I just think I’m very self-aware, and I know what I want for my life.

5. My dog is obsessed with putting her bottom on everything (she has it parked on my keyboard right now). It’s very embarrassing when company comes over.

6. Although I was born and raised (by very strict Jamaican parents) in the States, I don’t really feel “American”. All of my friends are also first-gens.

7. My paternal grandmother worked for comedians Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley. They took me to Las Vegas for a baby commercial audition. My mom nixed the whole thing, and took me back home—who knows, I could have been Rudy Huxtable! (well, maybe that wouldn’t have been that great…)

8. My dream job since I was in 1st grade was to be the team physician for the LA Lakers. But I was told “girls can’t do that job”…Fast forward to today, there are 2 female physicians in the NBA. I still kind of wish I had given it a shot.

9. I’m terribly clumsy on my feet, but my specialty in all of the research labs I’ve worked in was microsurgery.

10. If I had three wishes, one of them would be to make my dog live as long as I do. I love this little stinker. As she attempts to close my laptop to stop me from working…

11. As a child I used to stay awake at night trying to imagine where the universe ends.

12. I don’t believe in ghosts, but sometimes I smell my grandfather’s cologne wafting past me, even when there is no one around.

13. I own more than 50 pairs of shoes, most are heels. Most days, I wear Converse. I’m not proud of it. It is a problem.

14. Today a colleague asked if the tattoo on my wrist was for “Isis”. As in, the crazy terrorist group. The worst part is, I don’t even think he was kidding. IT IS NOT, by the way…good Muslims don’t get tattoos, it is haram…but then again, so is plucking your eyebrows. You see why I’m not religious.

15. People harass my father and step-mother because of their religion. I often wish religion didn’t exist. It’s so ridiculous to me, the way people treat each other in the name of “God”.

16. My best friend has end-stage renal disease. She won’t allow me to be tested to see if I’m a match for her. It’s the most frustrating thing to not know if I could save her from the hell she is going through, and that she won’t accept my help.

17. I hate mornings. All the classes I teach start at 9. It is hell.

18. I got tenure this year. I’m supposed to be happy. But I kind of feel…meh. Relieved, but still, meh.

19. I’m allergic to chocolate. But I eat it anyway. All. The. Time.

20. My doctoral thesis was about the effects of bisphenol A on the brain. But I sometimes still eat food out of metal cans, and I have a refillable hard plastic water bottle. I should know better.

21. I have lived in NYC for 15 years. And I’m sick of it. If I had the opportunity I would move to Paris. Tomorrow.

22. When I was 8, I was flying back home to LA (from visiting grandparents in CT) and we experienced a severe turbulence episode and emergency landing. “Bring Me A Higher Love” was playing in my headphones. Now Steve Winwood songs can trigger a panic attack (it’s making me uncomfortable even typing about it).

23. I can be very slothful. I will happily stay in bed all day watching a Law and Order marathon. Or SportsCenter. Or Seinfeld. Or reading the Sunday NY Times.

24. I still email with my 11th grade AP Biology and AP English teachers. 

25. I only talk to two people on the phone: my mother and grandmother. Everyone else gets a text. I hate talking on the phone.