Happy Birthday to me, I’m thirty-three.

In honor of that, eleven trios about me.

1. My parents were originally going to name me Tess. They changed their mind and chose Jessica because it was unique. There were three in my second grade class.

2. The coffee table in my basement belonged to Ray Kroc. My dad worked for McDonald’s and I worked at McDonald’s. It’s different.

3. I won the second grade spelling bee. I hadn’t studied one word because I lost my list. Early success without much work leads to a life of procrastination.

4. I only eat M&Ms in same-colored pairs. I have the same issue with Reese’s Pieces. Smarties (either the Canadian or American versions), on the other hand, I’ll eat any way I can get them.

5. My parents owned a pizza shop. To italianize our British name we dropped an l and added an i - Coletti’s Bake-at-Home Pizza and Pasta. My first job was peeling garlic for twenty-five cents a head.

6. I started college as a Nursing major. I get sick at the sight of other people’s blood. My second major was Social Work.

7. My least favorite class in college was Philosophy (Values, Faith, and Meaning was the title) with Daniel Howard-Snyder. He was a really nice guy, but fresh out of grad school and didn’t know how to teach yet. My most favorite class was Honors Social History, 1877 to present with Fred Heath, who had been teaching for 40 years.

8. I got married in the Space Needle. I was 20. I got divorced in a coffee shop.

9. B’s due date was 9-9-99. He came 10 days late. If my husband had won the coin toss, his name would be Finnean.

10. My favorite Starbucks drink is a grande, two-pump, non-fat chai latte. It turns out that chai has more points than green tea. My non-coffee order is now a grande, one-pump, non-fat green tea latte.

11. I often see the world in frames that would be perfect pictures, but I never have a camera around. I think Omar got me a digital camera for my birthday. I hope this isn’t a lesson in the difference between owning something and remembering to bring it along.