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Saturday 19 October 2013

50 Random Facts About Me


1.      I am a vegetarian (and I don’t eat fish) and have been since I was 11.

2.      I am left-handed but do most things right-handed (such as sports)

3.    I grew up without terrestrial television, and while I’m now a lot more open to it, I’ve never felt that I was disadvantaged in any way because of this.

4.      I used to hate Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but after repeated watching (due to someone in the house watching it), it has become my favourite show of all time. A similar thing happened with Friends.

5.      I am the oldest of 5.

6.      I am the only member of my family not to wear glasses, though I had to for a while at High School because (and I quote) ‘you read so much’.

7.      If I could only live on one food for the rest of my life it would be pasta.

8.      If I had to choose a superpower I would choose the ability to teleport – just imagine how awesome it would be to click your fingers and be wherever you want to be, and once you’ve grown tired of it, you can go straight back to your own comfy bed (of course this choice is after the superpower to be healthy, but I’m not sure if that counts).

9.      My dream job is to be a librarian but I’m secretly scared that by the time I’ll physically be able to do the job, librarians will only be needed to fix computers (which would be a tragedy).

10.  I played a wooden flute at school. I often think of practicing again but currently am unable to hold it up (it’s a little heavier than a traditional metal one, but not sure I could hold one of those up for more than a minute right now).

11.  I collect fairies. But I also collect anything relating to fairies such as books about them, pictures, etc.

12.  My oldest toy is Debbie, a little white rabbit, who I have had since I was 6. She has a story behind her and is possibly my most sentimental treasure I own.

13.  When I was a child I was determined to read every book in the world. Now I know that’s not possible in this lifetime, but that’s not going to stop me from trying.

14.  Every time I used a sewing machine at High School it broke, so I made most items by hand, spending hours on them at home.  I have since made my peace with sewing machines.

15.  I started wearing make-up every day when I was at College, after going to a Body Shop party.

16.  My favourite Disney movie is Tangled. Mulan is a close second.

17.  My favourite Pixar movie is Monsters Inc.

18.  The only animated character I’ve ever had a crush on was Demitri in Anastasia.

19.  When I was 10/11 I dressed up as Anne Shirley for World Book Day at school. It was the day I learned that I was the only one in the entire school who knew who Anne Shirley was (which in my mind implied that no one else read anything at all).

20.  I love Ballet for the discipline and ritual required to practice every day.

21.  My first memory of baking is of making cakes for ‘Food Science’ at High School. I got 10/10 for them, but they were inedible as I had used as much baking powder as flour.

22.  My favourite part of most films is the inspirational montage showing the main character working themselves to death to achieve their dreams – I hate that I can’t apply this to my real life any more.

23.  I have kept a diary on and off for pretty much all of my life.

24.  I have a plait of my hair from when I forced my Mum to cut it all off (at least 6”). It is a lot blonder than I am now.

25.  I have a fascination for fairytales, especially the non-Disney versions.

26.  Whenever I had to stay home from High School due to being ill, I listened to Great Expectations on C.D. I still have no idea what actually happens in the story but am well acquainted with the beginning.

27.  Before I’d heard of Great Expectations I was asked by a teacher if I’d read it as a story I’d written had the same beginning.  I have always been unreasonably proud of this – even though I don’t remember the story I wrote.

28.  I used to go to Bible Camp every summer.

29.  I am obsessed with Christmas.

30.  My favourite author is Cecilia Ahern, but I haven’t actually read the book she’s most famous for P.S. I Love You.

31.  The Silence in Doctor Who freak me out, my bff has a doll/figure of one on a shelf and I always have to hide it behind something else when I’m there.

32.  I lost my virginity at 21.

33.  For a while in Sixth Form I considered studying Politics at University – til I went to an open day and was bored to death by the teacher.

34.  My favourite country I’ve visited is Switzerland.

35.  I have never written a novel – beginnings? Yes. Short stories? Yes. Scripts? Yes. Poetry? Yes (but not anymore).

36.  I have a thing for red-haired women (I’m fairly certain the obsession started with Anne Shirley and blossomed with Alyson Hannigan.).

37.  I wish I could speak another language fluently. I studied French at AS level but failed – languages just aren’t my thing – but hope to study it again in the future.

38.  I was told my A-Level results while walking be a beach in Cape Town, South Africa, by my Mum via phone; I misheard and thought I got an ‘E’ in English Language (which I was happy with as I barely passed the coursework) but I actually got a ‘B’ (98% on my editing exam – score!)

39.  My favourite punctuation is the dash ‘-‘ which I overuse far too much.

40.  Yes, I am a freak and not only think about punctuation, but have favourites as well.

41.  I have never broken any bones and remember going to the A&E twice – once as I had something in my eye, and once as I had something stuck up my nose (don’t ask).

42.  My greatest fear is finding someone dead.

43.  My second greatest fear is cracking an egg and discovering the chicken is still inside (and when a friend replies with ‘that happened to me once’ you’re not helping!)

44.  My favourite film of all time is When Harry Met Sally, and not because of the orgasm scene, but because of the incredible writing (though I’m not a fan of the ending).

45.  I love ice cream and I love chocolate. I very rarely like chocolate ice cream.

46.  I didn’t read Lord of the Rings til after I had seen the film, and only at the insistence from my Mum, as I hated The Hobbit. Lord of the Rings is now one of my favourite books and one which I reread.

47.  The first cross-stitched thing I ever made was a Mother’s Day card (which is still displayed in their living room).

48.  I collect ‘Piglets’ (the character from Winnie-the-Pooh).

49.  I am not a tidy person, this often comes as a surprise to people who know me as I’m fairly organised despite my inability to put things away (I haven’t even finished unpacking and I’ve lived here for months).


50.  I had run out of ideas for blog posts, so hope you enjoyed this long self-indulgent list about me.  I would love it if you write a ’50 Things About Me’ post and leave the link in the comments.

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Distracted

About a month ago I got a new phone.  It is only my third phone ever, and is the first smartphone I've owned (yes, I am way behind everyone else, that's just me).

While I love having access to so many apps, I have to say that I've found myself 'multi-tasking' more and more.  Instead of just watching something, I am also playing games. Instead of resting, I am watching YouTube videos.

I know it's on me to learn to limit how I spend my energy, but having all this access is both a blessing and a curse.  On my bad days it doesn't matter if I can get up to turn on my laptop, as I can now go on Twitter and be filled with hope from the #spoonie support there.  But on good days I have to force myself away from the pointless games (candy crush saga comes in top right now), making procrastination even easier.  Even while I'm doing something else, I am still distracted by thinking about what needs to be done on my phone (i.e. whether my little 'pou' pet needs something, or if my tiny tower needs to be stocked)

I guess it's something that I will have to adapt to. I know I need to dial down the usage of my phone, and since realising this I've already made good progress by consciously making the decision not to pick up my phone while a page loads, or during the credits between episodes of whatever I'm watching (just started 'Orange is the new Black').  Over time I'm hoping to continue making time for the important things, it just takes a little practice.  Now that the novelty of having internet on my phone has mostly dialled down, I'm hoping I can start using my phone to aid productivity, rather than procrastination.

What are your favourite apps?  Feel free to share addictive games, as I like having something to do when I am forced to lie down for prolonged periods, but mostly I'm looking for apps to help inspire and motivate myself.

Sunday 13 October 2013

Sunday Shout Out: Orphan Black

AIt's been a long time I have been excited about anything, so I'm glad to have found something worth writing about. I have just discovered the tv show 'Orphan Black', and can safely say that it's incredible. If you're interested in sci fi drama, I have to recommend this show (actually I recommend it to everyone, though please be aware it may not be suitable for younger children).

As I'm writing this using my phone, I'll leave it there. What tv shows have you been loving recently?

Monday 7 October 2013

A Bad Week

I am just coming out of a particularly bad week.  On Wednesday, while still at my bff's (that's best friend forever if you're not sure), I woke up to find that my body was refusing to move; by the end of the day (consisting of lying on the sofa) I was able to move a bit, but definitely wasn't able to go home as had been the plan.  Thankfully I have a very understanding bff, who was happy for me to stay longer and look after me.

I am glad to say that was the worst day, and since then I've been slowly getting back to being able to do a little.  It did get me thinking of how far I've come, though.  Only a few months ago this wouldn't have been a bad week, it would have been an average week.  I am now usually able to go out twice a week, rather than just the once, and I am beginning to think about adding more back into my life again.  I am also in less pain on most days and more positive.

It is so easy to see how far I have left to go. Of course I am still struggling with both my physical health and my depression. I hate not being able to go out and see friends whenever I want, I hate that I need to carers to wash my hair and help me prepare dinner, I hate not having a job.

But I have improved since moving to my current flat, and I have my fingers crossed that I will keep going in that direction.  I still have a long way to go, but looking back I see how much better I'm doing now than I was 6 months ago - and that gives me hope that one day I will be able to have a 'normalish' life once again.