FYI Friday

Confused?

OK, so I had this quite random idea that a fun Friday = a little fact finding about my bloggy friends. And non-bloggy friends and family too. If you’re not a blogger and you’d still like to participate you can email me your answers if you don’t fancy commenting or doing your own blog version!

So here is a random collection of facts about me in no particular order – and there just happens to be one for every year of my life! But you don’t have to follow suit with that - ha ha!

Try to think up some really unusual things about you that you wouldn’t usually blog about or that might not often come up in conversation. It was actually quite fun digging into the darkest recesses of my memory banks to come up with this list, and I found myself laughing (at myself) a lot!

1. My name doesn’t officially have an H in it. I was named Megan. I didn’t rebel much in my teens but I definitely remember thinking that Meghan looked much cooler. And I have never gotten around to officially changing it. And now I’m not sure I ever will. It comes up as one of those ‘talking points’ and people who know me are a bit surprised I haven’t changed it given my super-organised nature. It’s funny always having to pause for thought filling in forms and deciding whether I’m going to be Megan or Meghan today.

2. I twirl my hair – when I’m tired, concentrating, actually pretty much constantly. It’s my version of thumb sucking. Slightly more acceptable in adult company, but only slightly. It must annoy the crap out of everyone around me, but after doing it all my life I’m not sure if I could quit?!

3. I was such a bookworm that growing up I used to have ‘fake’ showers, i.e. go in the bathroom and turn the shower on, but not get in just so I could read secretly carry on reading whatever book I had my head in. I cringe now at all the hot water wasted (I am so sorry Mum & Dad) and what a dirty little urchin I must have been some days. Fast forward a few years, and now I have trouble ever getting out of a hot shower I love it that much!

4. And in the same vein I used to carry on reading by the light of my LED alarm clock way past my bedtime. I’m so surprised I still have 20/20 vision!

5. I love eating sweetened condensed milk straight from the tin.

6. My collar bones partially dislocate every time I lift my arms over my head. Once went to see a specialist about it. His advice was that it was probably not a good idea to do sports that aggravate it – so of course I settled on competitive badminton throughout school, nah not all aggravating!

7. My first degree was in Japanese and Chinese. Apart from 2 trips to Japan, one of which was to work in the skifields here, it didn’t end up being that useful. I can only remember certain phrases these days. 私の名前はミーガンです. 私はウェリントンに住んでいます. 私は少年たちである２人の子供たちを持っています。But never say never, as I am yet to find out all the great and good plans God has for the future!

8. At various stages growing up I wanted to be a Japanese teacher, a translator, an air hostess, the first NZ woman 747 pilot (dang - someone beat me to it and the training was blooming expensive), an air traffic controller (got to the last cut in the annual intake), and somehow eventually ended up a qualified accountant. Go figure.

9. Even though I (partly) count numbers for a living, I’m still way better at Scrabble and Code Crackers and games with words than I am at Sudoku. My friend Jackie beats the pants off me in every Sudoku race we have!

10. I played a clarinet solo for the song Memory from the musical Cats in the Auckland Town Hall at age 11. That was my third year out of four performing in bands or orchestras for the Auckland Primary Principals Association Music Festival. I just looked it up and the festival has been going for 40 years..wow…had no idea. At that age I could also play a little saxphone, guitar. About the only thing I can still do is play a few piano chords by ear. And sing in harmony..most of the time. Hubby might disagree with that statement.

11. I have always wanted to do a skydive. Was so gutted when the weather was bad in Cape Town and our plan to do it got called off. It’s still on my Bucket List.

12. I used to pretend I was Nicole from Danger Bay, one of my favourite TV programs growing up. Ha ha ha. I have no idea why. I just thought she was super cool. Maybe because she was an environmental warrior even back then in the 80’s!

13. I have lived in Mairangi Bay, Tokoroa, Papakura, Morrinsville, Hamilton, Japan, London and Wellington. Probably not a great surprise that I went to seven schools and 2 universities then.

14. I shuffle cards like a card-shark, and you know….it’s actually a pretty cool party trick. If you’re still clueless, I mean like on this video I just found on You Tube – I have decided there is no end to what you can find in cyberspace! Apparently it’s called a riffle shuffle, but I never knew that until now!








15. I share my birthday with my hubby. Weird I know, and not as cool as it sounds. You never get a day that is ALL ABOUT ME! And we share our birthdays with my cousin, and his 2nd cousin, and my friend Caroline! It’s also the same day of the year of the Wahine disaster, only we weren’t around till a few years after that!

16. When I was about 7 and lived about 6 doors down from the school, I somehow stepped out in front of a car while crossing the road. The poor driver was a dad of a kid in my class. Luckily he was going really slow, so real no harm done, just a very bruised hip for a few days.

17. I am a self confessed Gleek. But before that I was a geek and a bit (understatement) of a girly swot. Was never satisfied with doing ‘just enough to pass’. Like getting 97% for Japanese in my School Certificate exams. I mean really, who does that! And a straight A student at university. And yet I fully acknowledge that life would be much easier if I didn't set quite so high standards for myself.

18. I can be kinda competitive. Usually with myself. And sometimes with others when it comes to games or quizzes. Not so much with sports. I never was that great at team sports. And totally s&%* scared of anything that involved any kind of ball large or small being thrown, kicked or hit around a field. I used to duck for cover most of the time during PE class and still do now when I’m anywhere near ball games! I convinced myself that badminton doesn’t count, as the shuttle cock doesn’t actually hurt when it hits you!

19. Learnt to snowboard whilst working on the skifield in Japan though, and loved it. Loved the sensation of gliding through powdery snow. Didn’t like the bruised tailbone and knees that came with learning but it was all part of the fun. One day I’ll get back into it. One day…

20. Noah was always going to be Noah. See the recent post on how we agreed on name choices! I had to convince Mark about Mylo. It was a name I liked from a character in our favourite TV program, 24. He wasn’t too keen to start with. I said I’d happily change if he could come up with something better. He couldn’t. And I came up with lots of even weirder and wilder names. Suddenly Mylo started looking like a pretty good option. Cunning hey!

21. If Noah had been a girl, he might have been Cairo or Siena. If Mylo had been a girl he would have been Juno Bella.

22. I love writing poetry. I should get back into it. Do more. Write more. Will do.

23. I was president of my university hostel in 1996. Not as glamorous as it sounds. The only thing I remember doing is organising the annual ball for about 300 mostly ungrateful, critical 1st year uni students who just wanted to get trashed.

24. I performed in a few church musicals growing up, and one that I especially remember and silently cringe about was called High-Tops (you know like the Converse Hi-Top shoes). I think I was about 15. If I had to sit through it now, I'm sure it would be pretty lame-o, but no doubt I thought it was ace at the time. Oh goodness, I even found a really bad version of it on You Tube. Gulp. And just for the record, the Megan M mentioned is NOT me!










25. I hardly EVER read for pleasure now. I wish I did. All those years of studying and HAVING to read REALLY tedious textbooks has kinda taken the spark away a bit. Mind you, with all the blogging, I’m not sure where I’d really find the time for it either! My favourite book ever is Cry the Beloved Country – a book I studied for 7th form English. It was probably the main reason I did so well in that exam come to think of it!


26. I have never broken a bone.

27. I can’t roll my tongue (it’s a gene thing). I ain’t got the power. Nor can I pat my head and rub my tummy, or should that be pat my tummy and rub my head. Whatever. It really escapes me. Basically that equates to me never being able to play the drums. Dang and I was so looking forward to it!

28. One day I went to school with my summer shortie pyjama bottoms still on under my skirt. Went to change for school swimming and discovered my mistake. My friends never let me hear the end of that one!

29. I am a USELESS, USELESS swimmer. My kids definitely won’t be. It’s a good thing they invented aquajogging. That I CAN manage.

30. I have completed one duathlon, just a 5km run and 12km bike. A minor achievement but a good one for someone never that good at sports. I set myself a goal to complete it in under an hour, and in the end had over 3 minutes to spare. Ha, would you believe I just looked and the results are still on the Internet from five years ago. Good times. Now I’m just happy when I can fit 3 runs a week at sparrows fart into this busy life!

31. Whilst a poor student, I emptied rubbish bins for a living at the hostel (I clearly had no shame, but more importantly no money and it paid me!). It felt like I had moved up in the world the next year when I moved to flipping burgers at BK. Imagine how much more of a big step up it was becoming a hotel receptionist when I finished university – and that is where and when I met hubby!

32. I used to like walking down the high school driveway and inhaling the bus fumes after school from all the buses lined up…what the? I did…really, Meghan are you sure? Yep, clearly remember that one. Ahem, moving right along…..no other crazy addictions I promise. Well maybe only blogging.

33. I know I stay up WAY too late blogging. Got. To. Kick. The. Habit. Getting less than seven hours sleep and trying to be a compos mentis working full-time mummy of two is not in my best interests. (kicks own butt).

And there you have it. A completely random list of FYI's about me! I just re-read this list and have concluded that a) I’m a little loopy and b) if I was a lolly I’d probably be a liquorice all-sort!

Your turn…….

Either:
1. Comment with your FYI Friday
2. Comment with a link to your own FYI post
3. Get real techno savvy and do a linky link to your blog by following the link up below!