10 Random Facts
I’ve been blogging for such a long time now that I don’t normally take part in any of the “list random facts about yourself” memes that are always floating around the internet, purely because I’ve done quite a few of them now, and I seriously doubt there’s anything left to say about myself that I haven’t mentioned eleventy-one times already. This week, however, I’m low on inspiration and short on time, so here are ten random facts you (possibly) didn’t know about me and (probably) didn’t WANT to know, either…
01. At least once a week, I have a nightmare in which I realise I have to sit my university or high school exams – all of them – TOMORROW. The dream isn’t the same every time, but always revolves around the sudden realisation that I was allowed to graduate from high school/university without sitting any exams, on the understanding that I will return at some point in the future to do them. The nightmare kicks in the night before that point in the future is reached, when I realise I have just a few hours in which to bring myself up to speed with subjects I haven’t even thought about in years. I always wake up feeling more exhausted than I did when I went to bed.
02. Terry and I sometimes use cockney accents when speaking to each other. Don’t ask…
03. My degree course was originally joint honours in English Literature and Philosophy. I picked English Literature for obvious reasons, and philosophy purely because I imagined I would sit around in smoky cafes, wearing a beret and discussing Jean-Paul Sartre with someone who looked a bit like James Dean. Actually, we just sat around our classroom in a 1960s office block, discussing whether or not that table in front of us actually existed, so I dropped philosophy at the first possible opportunity. I still sometimes wonder about that table, though.
04. When I’m out in public, I actively avoid catching sight of myself in mirrors, shop windows etc. Seeing myself in a harshly lit mirror (as opposed to the much “kinder” ones in my house…) can totally ruin the rest of my day. (Ditto the mirrored doors in my bedroom, actually: I always look 10x worse in them than I do in the mirrored doors in the future guestroom. That’s why any future guests we end up having over will just have to get used to waking up to find me preening in front of the mirror at the bottom of their bed. Why are some mirrors made of evil, though, I wonder? Which ones tell the truth? If there’s a mirror in my guest room, but there’s no one there to look into it, is the mirror actually there? Who IS the fairest of them all, anyway? So much mirror-related angst, I can’t even tell you…)
05. I have 28 unpublished drafts currently sitting in my WordPress dashboard (This was one of them up until a few minutes ago….), plus folders full of unpublished outfit photos: sometimes you just don’t know how bad something really looks until you see a photo of yourself looking a hot mess in it. Or catch sight of yourself in a mirror when you weren’t expecting it.
06. I still sometimes have flashbacks to embarrassing/stupid things I did/said as far back as high school, and will literally blush with horror over them, even although they happened a million years ago, and I’m probably the only one who remembers them.
07. When I was a little girl I had a rag doll I thought wolves were totally fictional creatures, like unicorns. I blame Little Red Riding Hood, and her fairy-tale friends for this sad state of affairs, which continued for an embarrassingly long time. I was completely amazed when I found out that there were ACTUAL wolves in the world, and gutted when I discovered that nope, still no unicorns.
08. In the past few weeks, I’ve been variously described (by people who know me in real life) as “a social animal” and “full of confidence”. I, meanwhile, describe myself as the shyest introvert who ever introverted. On the plus side, I guess I’m a better actress than I thought I was?
09. A few years ago, I had two moles removed from my face, for purely cosmetic reasons, so I guess you could say I’ve had cosmetic surgery. Please don’t, though.
10. Despite not being remotely superstitious, I always have to briefly touch the side of any aircraft I’m travelling as I step through the door. Otherwise it will crash. Which I guess DOES make me “remotely superstitious”, doesn’t it?
I didn’t write this list in response to any particular meme, and I’m not going to tag anyone either (because then they might not do it, and would be like all those times in high school when no one would pick me to be on their teams), but if you want to follow suit, please consider yourself tagged!
Ellen Driscoll
No. 6… Oh god! That happens to me too lol. It’s dreadful! I always wonder if people see my facial expression change when these things pop into mind.
Gemma Cartwright
It makes me feel so much better that no. 6 is not just me.
Lindsay Gallacher
Number 1 and 4 are also me. I don’t dream I have an exam, just that I have to go to school and try and do anything to avoid it. I also don’t like to look at photos that are taken of me that day/night incase I look horrendous and it makes me miserable for the rest of the time i’m out.
Ewen McNamee
I look forward to holding all my conversations with you and Terry in cockney from now on.
CiCi Marie
Argh #1 – I have a variation of that, but instead of it being the day before, I’m always actually IN the exam and I either haven’t prepared for it or it’s on something I know nothing about, and I spend the entire dream trying to run away from said exam by doing things like taking random toilet breaks and hiding in the loos. It must be quite a common one! #4 – absolutely agree. Every other mirror apart from the one on my own dressing table are evil. And as for #10… totally superstitious. But this is coming from the girl who touches ‘wood’ (which is often my head, which I think of as being made of wood, if nothing else is available) every time I’m trying not to jinx something. Every time. So perhaps we’re all just barking mad 🙂
Amber
In my defense, I’ve yet to be in a plane crash, so, you know, it totally works 😉
Myra Boyle
Interesting 🙂
Laura
Number 6 – yep!
Alicja
I know about those mirrors too. The worse kind is the mirror in a changing room in places like H&M or Zara – the cubicle is tiny, harshly lit and they have this kind of back to back mirrors that allow you to see the back of your head and your butt as well. I always look at the back of my head, horrified about how messy/thin and ugly my hair look from the back – I pull everything to the front to lay on my shoulders, sort of, and it leaves a kind of pathetic little tail of hair at the back. Ugh, it’s so bad, and I can’t see it in normal circumstances, so I sort of forget about that and then go around looking like I have a little tail. And I personally feel that reflections is windows look better than in mirrors – it sort of smoothes your complexion and you look a little like a ghost, a pretty one.
Amber
My most hated mirrors are the ones you get in hair salons: I think one of the reasons I’ve always hated having my hair done is the fact that I have to spend an hour staring at my own face in a harshly-lit mirror while it’s done!
Indigo
Those ‘evil’ mirrors! I know exactly what you mean! When I am shopping for clothing and walk by them I sort of take a really quick glance (even though I don’t want to) and then I turn to whomever I am with and say, “Why on earth did I wear this hideous outfit? I look terrible!”, or, “My skin looks an awful color,” or, “My hair is ugly!”, or, “I look Old!” or, “I should never have gone out today with glasses!”
On occasion at certain shops I will look and go, “Oh nice!”, “Hey, is that slim lovely creature Me?”, ‘Those’ are the mirrors that are being honest with me 😉
I also have a school dream. In it, I am back in High School. It is the last day and I am wanting to empty out my locker before going home, but I seem to have forgotten the combination of the lock. This is very frustrating because there are many nice things in there that I do not want to leave behind…
I also have those flashbacks and wonder if anyone remembers. Probably just me.
Amber
I never remember anyone else’s embarrassing moments from the past, so I’m sure no one else remembers mine – I wish I could just erase them from my memory!
Liz@LamentingLizzie
Number 6 is my life! Why do I remember something from well over 10 years ago and still blush? However, I never remember anything anyone else does…
Erika
I am with you on #1 and #4. I so dislike salon mirrors. I spend the whole time looking down when I get my hair cut. I always thought I must be the weirdest person ever who does this, but it’s a little reassuring to know that I’m not the only one who has had a mirror ruin her day. And turning your iphone camera on to a front-facing camera view is pretty devastating as well.
My most stressful recurring dream is about going to a ballet performance and realizing I have not gotten in costume for it, so I spend the whole entire recital trying to get ready, and I have never made a performance yet. So very exhausting!
Amber
Oh God, the iPhone camera reversal! I HATE that! I swear to God I look about 100 years old when I look into the reversed-camera – same with Facetime: I always look absolutely horrendous!
I also have a lot of stress dreams of the “trying to get ready for something but can’t seem to manage it” kind: why do our brains do this to us?!
Selina
I did philosophy at uni, you’re not missing anything. And 6. YES. ALL THE TIME
Janine C
I’m with you on the evil mirrors but I also do this with my camera too… If we’re on holiday and I’m happily snapping away (or on a night out) I refuse to look at photos of myself on the camera until at least a day later. I know it sounds really shallow and vain but if I see a photo of myself looking ugly, old, chunky, tired etc etc it can instantly ruin my day/night. I like to just be happy and live inside my head for that moment where I look ‘ok’
God I sound neurotic haha.
Janine Xx
Ps first time I saw wolves in real life I was surprised and confused! They DO exist is all I could think.