100 Things About Me

1. I spend more time than the average person on the roof of my house. It's peaceful and I like it.
2. I dream incredibly weird dreams. They are always vivid, often bizarre and sometimes completely removed from my life. The other night I dreamed I was shot with a ray gun that disintegrated me into a puddle and then I was brought back to life 200 years later by a different raygun. Weird, no?
3. I have a huge crush on Gordon Ramsay and a small crush on Jamie Oliver. It's not that they are chefs, I just like them.
4. I work with teenagers, which is something I never wanted to do.
5. I have a law degree I have never, and probably will never, use. Looks pretty on the wall though.
6. I have an origami calendar on my desk at work and I make a new origami for every day. Today is a "Pig Cool". My notice board is decorated with all of the successful origiamis for 2008. The crap ones go in the bin.
7. My dad died in 2004 when I was 27. It is such a big loss that sometimes I think I will never recover from it.
8. Someone once told me that I have the ability to make people like me. I do. It's kinda cool.
9. I have two large white dogs, whom I love more than life itself.
10. I drive a 19 year old car, which I am hoping will soon become "vintage" or "classic" instead of just plain old.
11. I have a credit card debt that bothers me. I pay off massive amounts, but it is slow going.
12. I have gained 15kg in the past year. This does not make me happy.
13. My first name is the same as my older sister's middle name, except for one letter. I used to joke as a child that I had a "second hand name".
14. I love soft toys. They are NOT stuffed animals. Mine all have names and histories.
15. I am not sure that I have ever been "in love". I'm not even sure what that means. I love, and I am loved.
16. I have always wanted to get a tattoo, but I am terrified that I would get it, and then wake up in the middle of the night scared shitless that I was stuck with it for the rest of my life.
17. I love books and my dream is to own a bookstore where I work and write my own glorious stories.
18. My dream is to be a writer.
19. I named my dog Hope because she was my Hope that there was still good times and good things to be had in this life. She goes by "Hopie" and sometimes I tell people that she is named after the Native American "Hopi" tribe. She isn't, but sometimes I say that.
20. Sometimes I think my name - Maree - is very pretty. Other times I think it is dumb. It never comes out properly when I say it. People say "pardon?" a lot.
21. I was born on the last day of the year. This prompts a lot of stupid statements like, "You have to wait a whole year for your birthday!" or "You have lots of reasons to celebrate on New Years Eve!"
22. I am a feminist, through and through. I hate it when uneducated people say "I am not a feminist. I don't think women are better than men". Um, hello??? Feminism is about equality, not superiority. We leave that to the patriarchs.
23. I am one unit off finishing a Graduate Diploma in Arts (Anthropology), but I will probably never finish it.
24. Writing my thesis almost killed me. Literally. It turned out okay. Nothing special.
25. I think lack of self awareness is the most repugnant trait in a human being.
26. I do not believe I will ever be pregnant and give birth to a child. I'm okay with it.
27. I hate fruit. It fucking sucks.
28. I am supposed to be a gluten free person. Sometimes I am, but it is very very hard.
29. My body would like to live the following schedule: go to sleep at midnight/1:00am and get up at 9:00am.
30. I hate to work full time. 4 days a week would be fine, thank you very much. The idea of working full time for the rest of my life makes me want to drive off a bridge.
31. In July I am going to Scotland, England and Wales. I can only just afford it, but have decided that life is too short.
32. I can quote large portions of the dialogue from the Nicolas Cage movie "Gone in 60 Seconds".
33. I can also quote the speech that takes place on the Death Star between Darth Vader and one of the Generals in the original Star Wars: "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the lost data tapes or given you clairvoyance enough to see the location of the hidden rebel base..." And so on.
34. When I was a child I thought that if I jumped out of a plane with a jar, I could capture some fluffy white cloud in the jar.
35. Change frightens me and makes me uncomfortable.
36. My two nieces and my nephew make me laugh. I love them.
37. I have many nicknames, and no one in my family calls me "Maree". It is usually "Ree" or "Reecy" or "Rees". My sister is Rebecca, and no one calls her that either. Bek usually, but I have always called her Becka.
38. I have had about 30 jobs in my career. I get bored easily.
39. I am frightened and alarmed by the thought of marrying someone, buying a house and having children that I have to drive to school every day. I might change my mind someday, but not today.
40. I want my next relationship to be "epic". It's epic or nothing.
41. I would like to own a mustang.
42. I am funny. I am good at making jokes and clever comments. It's a mask, you know.
43. I love to receive mail - snail mail, packages, email. I'm not fussy.
44. I own one painting. It is of Lord Ganesh. I love it, but most other people don't like it, or find it a bit strange. Their loss.
45. I love to sleep. If I didn't sleep and have that break from my mind, I would go nuts.
46. I feel sad for neglected animals more than I do for neglected humans. I'm not sure why this is so.
47. I am an empath. It used to frighten me, but now I am mostly all "meh" about it. Whatever.
48. It is harder than I thought to come up with a list of 100 things about me.
49. I have a Facebook. I like it. I am violently opposed to My Space. It is lame and dumb. Facebook is okay. It's greatest strength lies in the art of time suckage.
50. I love coffee. The smell of it makes me happy. For me, coffee smells like adventure and excitement and fun and joy and possibility. That's a lot of emotions for one little bean.
51. I have lived in the USA on and off for years. I have lived in Chicago, West Palm Beach Florida, Zanesville Ohio and San Antonio Texas. I have travelled all over the US too. I like it there. Sometimes it feels like I belong there.
52. I do not belong in the city I live in. I know this.
53. I enjoy watching TV series on DVD. When I was a kid I used to think that the coolest gift would be to receive 5 episodes in advance of my favourite TV show, A Country Practice. Now I get to do that and watch all the episodes at once.
54. I have seen the entire five seasons of La Femme Nikita at least 3 times, possibly 4. I have seen the entire 5 seasons of Babylon 5 three times and the entire 6 seasons of Xena Warrior Princess twice. I've never made it all the way through the X Files. I conk out in Season 8 after Mulder leaves.
55. I love fantasy books, especially the Belgarian and the Mallorean sets by David Eddings. I like paranormal fiction. I own the entire set of the Thieves World novels (1st generation). I first read them as a teenager and I think they changed the way I view the world. I haven't been able to get through them all as an adult though. Not because I don't enjoy them, just...because.
56. I hate it when things are not equitable and just.
57. I wish it rained more where I live. I also wish we had less heat where I live.
58. I like herbs and herb plants, but am not very good at growing them.
59. When I was a kid my sister made me watch all the tv shows and movies she wanted to watch. I wanted to watch Mary Poppins, Oliver and the Sound of Music. She wanted to watch action flicks like Delta Force.
60. I have a cabbage patch doll named Karen Estelle. Her name was originally Estelle Thelma, but I didn't like the name Thelma. I still don't!
61. I used to hate the name Audrey, but now I like it.
62. My Dad had a relative named "Aubrey" who was repeatedly described in family documents as being " a lovely man". I remember asking Dad if he was lovely, but dad didn't know.
63. My friends and I watched and dissected two television shows in high school - Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High and Beverley Hills 90210. To this day I still watch Degrassi re-runs and have just finished watching "Degrassi: The Next Generation" Season 1. I watched a few episodes of 90210 recently and I seem to recall it being a much better show than it really was!
64. I would like to have my own office.
65. I do not like mobile phones and rarely use my personal one, or my business one. I have never signed a mobile phone contract and I never will.
66. I own a Mac computer and love, love, love, love it. I have 2 second hand laptops, but neither are very good.
67. For a long time I did office administration work, and I hated it. I googled a lot.
68. I still google a lot! I have no idea what I did before the internet.
69. I like to cook and am quite good at it, but sometimes I can't be bothered with the mess.
70. I am a bit scared of men, but I like them. :)
71. I eat a lot of McDonalds, but I don't really enjoy it.
72. I am a very good netball player, or at least I am when I play, which isn't often these days.
73. When I was 15 I thought I would be married with children when I was 31. I often think of popping back in time to speak to my 15 year old self and let her know that she would do many things by age 21, but getting married and having children are not on the cards.
74. I went to a New Kids on the Block concert when I was 15. I loved it and got right up the front and sung along with the music. It seems lame now, but at the time it was the ultimate!
75. I once received a fine of $150 for not wearing a seatbelt. My dad paid the fine.
76. My grandmother had a wood stove and she cooked the best meals ever on it. To this day I wonder how she knew what temperature the oven was. I remember the smell of her kitchen and sitting around the fire on a cold winter Sunday afternoon. I miss her.
77. I never knew my Dad's mother. She died when he was 8 or 9. Her name was Edna Alice Mary. I sometimes wonder what she thinks of me, and if she is disappointed in me. I hope not.
78. I wish I could read books all day every day. I wish that was my job. I love the written word more than you could possibly imagine.
79. I speak a very small amount of Spanish. Hola! I took one semester of it at uni. I enrolled in an entire Arts degree, just to take Spanish. I got 84% in the unit. It was tough, man.
80. My Mum built me a conservatory. I like it.
81. I enjoy painting and crafting, but I don't do enough of it. That has to change!
82. It took me a long time to realise that I don't have to be perfect at everything. I can try things and just enjoy them. No one is sitting around waiting to grade me.
83. I like yoga, but I am not very flexible and am not at all graceful at it.
84. I love to eat ( see number 12) and some of my favourite foods are Japanese, Goats Cheese Salad, Steak Sandwich, Mexican food and fries with Aoili sauce.
85. I am not sure if there is a God, but if there is, She is a woman.
86. When I die, I will be pissed off if I am reincarnated.
87. I once wrote a list of 100 things I fear and number 96 was "resurrection". Who knew? For this reason I think I will be cremated.
88. I am interested in permaculture and sustainable living.
89. I do not drink alcohol. I don't like the taste. I also don't like the lifestyle. I lived with a heavy drinker for most of my life. It is not for me. People find this odd. I sometimes tell people I do not drink because I am muslim. I am not, but it tends to silence them.
90. I have stayed in 4 backpackers in my life. I hated each and every one of them with an unholy and shocking passion. I will never EVER stay at another backpackers again. I am a 4 star hotel kind of girl. 3 at a pinch.
91. I am a realist and I am practical. This makes me a bit negative at times.
92. I am direct. I say what I mean and mean what I say.
93. I like Pooh Bear. I have a large Pooh Bear whom I adopted as he was without a nose and couldn't be sold. He is still nose-less, but we have discussed it extensively and we have decided that a nose does NOT define a person, so he is comfortable with himself.
94. It is hard to get blood out of my veins. Last time I needed a blood test they shoved four different needles into four separate parts of my body (both arms, my hand and finally my wrist) before hitting gold.
95. I think the idea of being knocked out with anesthetic is very interesting. It's like one second you're there, the next you're gone. No dreams, no recollection of what happened. You're just gone. Dead. Done. Then they bring you back. It's like temporary deadness.
96. I once thought that the AC/DC song "Thunderstruck" was music created by the devil and was frightened to listen to it, lest I be seduced by Satan. I was about 12 when I thought this. It isn't a recent thought! I got over it, and I actually love the song now and have for about 10 years. It was during my quasi-religious phase that I was paralysed with righteous fear.
97. I went to religious camp with my cousin for a week between year 11 and year 12. It was weird. I remember them ranting and raving and someone having the blood of Christ poured upon them and how there was something special about them and Jesus had plans for them. It was all very hysterical. We were all supposed to be baptised in the ocean as well, but my cousin felt sick that day so we didn't go. I consider that a lucky escape.
98. My feelings get hurt a lot. I'm sensitive. I'd rather not be.
99. When I went to Bali as a 9 year old I remember walking down to the beach and promising the island that I would return and I would be back. I haven't got back there yet, but I think of that promise often.
100. I have scuba dived four times in my life, all 4 times on the Great Barrier Reef. I loved it.

Phew. That was fun. :)

Tempus Fugit

Time flies indeed.

It has been almost a month since I last updated my blog. Things have been happening, some of them are even interesting. Here is the summary of my life, dot point style:

• I went to Melbourne for the lovely Caroline's wedding. It was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I heart Melbourne. Caroline looked breathtakingly beautiful and it was all very romantic. Sebastien's father said at the wedding (in French) "Caroline is the most beautiful thing to ever happen to Sebastien". I agree, Caroline is one of the most beautiful things to happen to everyone she meets.
• Hopie the Wonder Puppy turned 4. There was a party, with party hats and cupcakes. Mollie ate her hat! The photos are adorable.


• I haven't been writing much. Not sure why. This saddens me.


• Every now and then I think of things I want to put on one of those "100 things about me" meme's that people post on their blogs. Not sure why.


• I had the weirdest dream last night that I took up smoking, but only 2 cigarettes a day (menthol). I've never smoked in my life, so whatever.


• I'm planning a trip to the United Kingdom for July. I can barely afford it, but it is very definitely worth it.


• I'm obsessed with Hong Kong Phooey, a cartoon character from my childhood. That's his picture above. I can barely remember the cartoon, so I watched a few on You Tube and LOVED it. It made me giggle and laugh and I constantly sing the theme song, somtimes changing the words. So instead of 'Hong Kong Phooey' I sing 'Hong Kong Doggy' or 'Hong Kong Mollie' etc. The puppies are using to me singing songs and putting their names in place of the original ones so they wag their tails and line up for a pat.

And that's it.