My name is Amy Jeanne Manocchia, and I am a Catholic college student studying Catechetics (Religious Education) and Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio.

I drink coffee a million times a day. The addiction started when I was 10 years old or so, and has progressed ever since. There was a time when I averaged 4 to 5 cups a day. During CLI I was known to burst out in exclamations of “Coffee Rocks!” at random intervals and actually wrote it on someone’s pants. I own my own French Press, a brewing method I have come to prefer over standard drip coffee. I actually care where the beans come from and how they’re roasted and stored, and can usually tell the variety by taste. Scared yet? Just wait.

I am the oldest child of six, having two younger sisters and three younger brothers. My sisters are two and 5 years younger than me, respectively, and my brothers are ten, twelve, and sixteen years younger than me. So we’re spaced out rather strangely. We’re all homeschooled, each and every one of us. Even the youngest, who’s smarter than any kid his age I’ve come in contact with. He’s ridiculous.

I have the bad habit of leaving things unfinished, which explains why I can never seem to write anything worthwhile. I have sketches that never made it to a finished stage, and poetry that kind of stops in the middle because I got bored with it. I suppose it’s laziness, but I prefer to call it “fickle”.

I like pie. You will notice me randomly express this sentiment every once in a while, especially when I can’t think of anything better to say at the moment. My favorite is strawberry-rhubarb and/or french silk. I like pie almost as much as I like coffee. Pie is muy bueno.

I am afflicted with the prevalent “Teh Disease”…meaning I misspell the by switching the h and e all the time. I also mistype has, what, and who. It’s like I’m dyslexic, only just on the computer.

My first crush was Elvis Presly when I was five years old. Yes, I am ashamed.

I have read The Lord of the Rings six times. Yes, you read that right. Six times. I first read the trilogy back when I was around ten or eleven years old, and couldn’t put it down. I was rudely interrupted in my journey through Middle Earth by a move to Maine, during which the second book in the trilogy, The Two Towers was lost in the shuffle for a time. I hadn’t yet finished that installment, but I had the last book, The Return of the King in my hot little fist and pushed forward from there after reading the prologue which filled me in on the prior happenings of The Two Towers. I didn’t pick it up again until several years later when my interest was re-awakened by the rumor that a movie was in production (this was during pre-production, the tail-end of casting, and the beginning of principal photography on New Line’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy). So I reread it and gained a much deeper understanding of its scope, being older and wiser than when I first delved into it’s then ginormous bulk. The obsession just grew from there.

I practiced Tae Kwon Do for one year and reached the level of purple belt before quitting and devoting my time to sleeping and writing. Mostly sleeping. Actually, I quit for basically the same reason I can never finish anything…I grew bored with it. That and I could never seem to bring myself up to the physical expectations of my rank. I’m too lanky and oddly jointed to execute most of the moves impressively or correctly. Someday I’ll find my physical niche…someday. Like tomorrow…or next week.

Which reminds me that I’m also a terrible procrastinator. When I was in school, it took me forever to get my butt in gear when it came to writing essays and papers. I tended to do well on them, but it took way more time than any paper should ever take. My study habits reflected my intellectual lazyness. Even when it came to earning my driver’s license I put it off until I could no longer function without it. I also procrastinate when it comes to webdesign. I say the layout changes monthly, but does it really? No…

My nickname is Jelly Bean because it rhymes with my middle name, Jeanne, and I guess I looked like a jelly bean when I was little. My dad used to sing me a song that went like this: Amy Jeanne the Jelly Bean, Nothing but a Muffin. Hey, stop laughing.