On Friday Random Ten - Double Meme Friday

Okay, so for the past week, Feministe has been working a fairly unusual, fairly cool meme. Zuzu notes that people, particularly women, are conditioned to be self-deprecating, to avoid bragging, to apologize for our virtues and play up our faults. And it's true, for me at least; my own personal brand of humor leans heavily toward the self-deprecating, and it's only in the past couple of years or that I've learned how to take a compliment properly (the proper way being, "Oh, thank you!" rather than, "Please. That one high note could have woken the dead").

So here's the challenge: List five things about yourself that you like. Your body, your personality, whatever - five things. At least five things. And my addendum to that is that you must list them unapologetically, without joking, making excuses, or trying to balance the good with the bad. When I first tried doing this, it was one of the hardest things I've done, not because I couldn't think of things I like about myself, but because I couldn't brag. Couldn't do it. If I was loving on my legs, it was always with the caveat that "while they aren't the thinnest gams out there..." and if I was loving on my sense of humor, it was "some might disagree..." When did that happen?

Unapologetic brag lists, people. I'll start you off:

1. My eyes are awesome. They're blue, except when they're gray, except when they're green, and they're really sparkly and clear.

2. I'm built like Marilyn Monroe (plus an inch and a half of height). How cool is that?

3. I'm ridiculously fit. I walk constantly, and my legs can take me just about anywhere I need to go (including, on occasion, up mountains).

4. I'm wicked empathetic. I'm the go-to girl among my friends for advice, sympathy, and a shoulder to cry on, and I've got a great sense of social justice.

5. I'm not easily intimidated. I'm not afraid to take up the space I'm in, and I'm not about to back down in an argument if I know I'm right.
5a. Corollary: I'm also able to admit when I'm wrong.

And while I'm doing memes, here's my Friday Random Ten:

1. Annie Lennox, "Why"
2. Paul Oakenfold, "Sex Drive"
3. Marcy Playground, "Comin' Up From Behind"
4. Marilyn Horne, "He's Gone Away"
5. Alana Davis, "Blame It On Me"
6. Joss Stone, "Dirty Man"
7. Drowning Pool, "Sinner"
8. OMD, "Joan of Arc"
9. Ella Fitzgerald, "'Round Midnight"
10. Serge Gainsbourg, "La Fille Au Rasoir"

Your turn! Your Random Ten and your favorite five go in comments. Remember, no apologies, no excuses, no equivocating. Don't feel silly about bragging, because everybody's doing it today.