I've Always Wanted To...

For the past week or so, I've been going through my (thrashed) notebooks, trying to find little tidbits of information I've jotted down over time. See, I'm nearing the end of my current WiP, and I'm gearing up for the second round. Which means adding in little things to give the writing more depth, the characters more personality, the setting more believability. (Wow, that's a word. Didn't even underline it. I'm shocked.)

See, I carry a notebook everywhere I go. Little things I notice, I jot down, thinking I'll stick them into a story somewhere, someday. So I went hunting through the notebookage. It was actually quite disgusting. The corners are all curled, some type of granola bar was wedged in the wire, and yeah...it was pretty gross. Good thing I found those sweet cream-colored-page notebooks at Office Max.

I found some interesting things:

• Visor hats. These are cool, striped like a zebra.
• A wall covered with old license plates, the smell of oil and machinery.
• The smell of wet cement, the first rain of summer.
• A girl who has super-short (shaved) hair.
• A cat statue in the bathroom. I feel like it's staring at me. I had to turn it into the wall to use the bathroom. Someone who's rich?
• Someone who doesn't like onions, but loves onion rings. Hates cherries, but loves cherry-flavored candy, etc.
• High heels with skinny jeans. (maybe ankle boots)
  
• Someone who never takes their sunglasses off, even inside.

This is just a partial list of things I've jotted down while waiting in line at the post office, waiting to cross the street for a Jazz game, while visiting friends, etc. That cat really did freak me out. Yes, I made it face the wall. No, my friend wasn't rich, but I thought it would fit into a novel where someone was rich and someone who wasn't was visiting. I still haven't used it.

I didn't find anything to fit the character I'm currently trying to develop. But it was still fun. And now I have something to think about while waiting at the next red light.

So here's my question of the day: What real-life observations have you used in your writing? Which ones are you still waiting to use? What quirks or characteristics have you always wanted to write into a character?