I love logic puzzles, crosswords, suduko, etc. I love the CFL, and have Lions season tickets :) I love working out on my treadmill, lifting weights and doing stretching exercises.

My two favorite films so far are Crash and Hotel Rwanda.

Metallica is my fave band. Also like country, classical, pop, rock, hair metal, alternative, adult contemporary, oldies, classic rock, top 40... just to name a few :P

I read lots of stuff. I recently read "The Blind Side" by Michael Lewis, its about the evolution of the offensive line in football. I also recently read "Green River Running Red" by Ann Rule, about Gary Ridgeway, the Green River killer.

Currently, I'm reading:
-"Skeptics and Believers: The Exhilirating Connection between religion and Science" by Chet Raymo
-"Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" Can't remember the author
-"Scruffy", a book that I loved as a kid about a stray dog and her tragic life.
-"Selling Professionally" This is my boring course manual for a first year business elective course. At least its easy...

Yes, I do read a few books at a time, lol, which book I read depends on what mood I'm in!!!

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Men who are really into sports. Not exactly a "turn on" per se, but if you don't like sports, you are out of the running. Not that there *is* a running, or anything. LOL.

When people hum and haw over things.

I'm married, work full time doing Accounts Receivable, am mom to my beautiful daughter Brianna, as well as two dogs: Jessie (dalmatian/beagle) and Missy (chihuahua/pug). I'm in University part time working towards a business degree, and I also volunteer as a Moderator for a local parenting website.

Seeing as this is a friends site for SA sufferers... I should probably mention a bit about my experiences with SA. I was always shy growing up, unless I was comfortable with someone. My Mom, being of Chinese descent, knew no other way to raise me than to concentrate on the negative rather than the positive. This isn't the only thing my SA stems from... it is also genetic as both my Mom and my Grandma were treated for anxiety disorders. High school was scary, because I had all these emotions but no idea what they were or what they meant... I had lots of friends but avoided them often (but not always). My SA became worse even after high school... I had the worse panic attacks whenever there were parties and get-togethers and the such, I would literally get sick and panic... and never ended up going or would always leave early. Then, in 2003 I found this site, and finally found a name to explain the emotions, plus support from incredible friends I have met here. I ended up taking Effexor XR for 6 months until I weaned myself off so I could start planning my family (I got married in 2004). My anxiety is barely there anymore in social situations, mainly because I am finally comfortable with myself... where I have come, where I am going and how I'm getting myself there. Of course I would still rather avoid being social, and it is still overwhelming, but I actually have fun now. I have lots to contribute to conversations because I do a lot with my life and have concrete goals to work towards, and it helps keep the anxiety at bay. I still have problems that bother me quite a bit, namely being watched while doing something. I just cannot handle it sometimes and the anxiety/panic is absolutely through the roof. I know this stems from my mother's "way of teaching me things" growing up... she would literally watch me do things just to point out every single thing I did wrong yet would grunt if I did something well. If I could learn anything from this it would be that I will never ever do this to my daughter. I am so adamant about it, when my mother comes to visit and if she even starts to do the same thing to my daughter I immediately tell her to stop. I KNOW this is exactly why I suffer with incredible panic to this day when I am being watched.

All in all, in spite of the last niggling symptoms of SA that I still experience from time to time, I have come to the realization that the anxiety will always be there, but what I can do is change my attitude towards it and make sure I am coping with it in the healthiest way possible rather than dwelling on anything. The more you think about it, the more it becomes you!