![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
doyleFinished!
1. I was born in a hospital that's now closed down, but which used to stand in a nice park in the town where I live. There's a duckpond right beside it, and while my mother was giving birth to me - with no anaesthetic, mind you - that's where my dad was. Happily feeding the ducks.
2. My middle name is Jane, allegedly chosen because it's easy to spell and when I was born my parents had low expectations of my intelligence.
3. I am currently wearing a floppy, pale blue hat that almost covers my eyes. I like my hat very much.
4. The first book I ever read by myself was Roald Dahl's The Twits when I was four.
5. The last book I read was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
6. It makes me sad that I had to think so hard about (5) because I used to read books all the time. The amount of fan fiction I read has severely cut into that. I can't remember the last book I read that wasn't either a graphic novel, or by Pratchett or Gaiman.
7. I can't touch my nose with my tongue, though not for lack of trying.
8. I despise shopping for clothes and/or shoes.
9. I was deeply religious until the age of 11 or so, when I seemed to burn out. I've since met others brought up in the same Presbyterian faith who have had the same experience - that when you've been taught 'this is absolute truth', the second you start to tentatively question any part of it, the whole thing crumbles. In a school environment where there were maybe two other non-Christians in my year, this made things awkward, and contributed to my Big List of Reasons to Hate High School.
10. I feel terribly self-conscious about identifying myself as Wiccan, but tend to use it more than Witch or Pagan as very few people in this country know what Wicca is, and it has far less negative connotations than the other two.
11. Despite my decidedly non-Christian beliefs, something deep inside of me still insists that there's a hell and that when I die I'll spend eternity there. I think some things are ingrained too early in childhood and too deep in the psyche to shift.
12. When I grow up, I want to be Neil Gaiman. A girl-version, obviously.
13. At twenty, I still say "when I grow up" and still call myself a girl.
14. I read a lot of poetry, but haven't the patience for long epics. I learn my favourites by heart so I always have them with me. It's easy to see where I got bored in lectures as my notes have lines of poetry doodled in pencil over the equations.
15. Had it been up to my father my name could well have been "Serendipity". I wouldn't mind this so much, but I have the feeling it would have been shortened to "Dippy" my whole life.
16. I worked two jobs this summer, in an office and in a petrol station. Both were object lessons in "why you should stay in university".
17. I have this insane need for everyone to like me.
18. I don't have the capacity of remembering people's faces. I'm told there's a bit of the brain that deals with this - I think mine is broken. Unless I've met somebody five or ten times, I won't be able to identify them, and usually they won't even look familiar. I was in my teens before I worked out that everyone's brain doesn't work that way.
19. In contrast, I remember words easily. Books, movie reviews, dialogue from TV shows - my brain soaks them up with reckless abandon.
20. I love the Lord of the The Rings movies… and wasn't very keen on the books. Didn't hate them, but they didn't really make a big impact on me and I found them difficult to read. This is kind of a guilty secret: I feel like a philistine just on principle for liking a movie version more than a book.
21. As a child I always rooted for the bad guy. I was disappointed when Vader didn't win. I wanted Coyote to catch Roadrunner and chomp him down. I cheered on Shredder and sulked when the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles inevitably kicked his ass.
22. If I was a Jossverse character I'd be Fred. If I could choose a Jossverse character to be, I think it'd be Lilah.
23. The first piece of smut I ever read was Killashandra's Turning Point (a K/S story set around the original Star Trek series). I was 14 and was simultaneously embarrassed and intrigued.
24. Hearing my voice on an answering machine this summer shocked me because I realised for the first time how much my accent has changed since starting university. I sound far less broad and country-yokel.
25. I've been overweight since the age of 10. This bothers me far less than it does my mother.
26. I gloss over compliments people give me as "they're just being nice"; I obsess over insults.
27. Babysitting two five-year-old boys last year made me realise that I have approximately the same maturity level. Seriously, we had a lot in common interests-wise, which was deeply disturbing.
28. I have one brother, six years older than I am - I always suspected our parents liked me best because I was 'the good one'. I think he suspected it too. We get on well, even so.
29. Jewellery: I wear a silver ID bracelet with my name and date of birth, and a silver heart locket on a chain - both were presents from my mum on my eighteenth birthday. I also have a pentagram necklace on a black cord.
30. First time I ever drank, it was a bottle of Strongbow cider at a friend's house while his parents were out - I was 13 or 14. My parents still think I was at a female friend's house that day, because they wouldn't let me go to a boy's house (aside from the alcohol it was all very innocent. We played computer games and watched the Deep Space Nine episode Our Man Bashir.)
31. I was so quiet as a child that at least one relative thought I was mute until I was 10.
32. I have very few solid memories prior to a few years ago. No idea why. Sometimes I think my memory works differently to other people's.
33. I rarely paint my nails - I have black nail polish which I'm very fond of, but I only wear it when I'm away from home for a few weeks, since my mother hates it with a passion.
34. It was a huge relief in my teens to find out that I wasn't the single person in the world who thought boys with boys equaled hotness.
35. Most of these "100 things" have had to be changed because they were really things about my parents or friends. I find it hard to talk about myself.
36. I once won the poetry prize at high school. This amused me no end since the poem was written purely to suit what I knew the judging teacher would find poetic.
37. There's something comforting about Catholic mass, especially at exam time. Even if I don't know the words.
38. In my wallet right now is: £2.64 in cash, my Mastercard, 3 video club cards, 3 library cards (my name, my mother's name, made-up name that the librarians turn a blind eye to - 9 books at once wasn't enough back when I read incessantly), an HMV discount card, mobile phone swipecard, bank card, this year's students' ID card (with the picture that makes me look like a Moomin), last year's student card (with the dark picture that could be me or could equally be George Bush Jr), discount travel card, a business card for the New Age shop where I buy my incense, and my donor card.
39. My last vacation was to London. I loved it there. I even loved the Underground, though it made me think of the book Neverwhere.
40. I'm a pop culture junkie.
41. I spend far too much money on DVDs. I'm an addict of the shiny discs.
42. At various times in my life I've wanted to be: a doctor, an actress, an astronaut, a teacher, an archaeologist, a librarian and a ghostbuster. The last was when I was very young, obviously.
43. The best teacher I ever had was the woman who taught me Physics when I was fourteen. She's the reason I'm studying astrophysics and not medicine; the medical world owes her much.
44. I ran the main list for the Queer as Folk fandom for a few years, before moving on to uni and Buffy.
45. I like vodka but not wine.
46. The most drunk I've ever been was last year's now infamous "believing herself to be a vampire slayer" incident.
47. I'm terrible with babies. I'd love to be an auntie, but right now have no inclination of ever being a mother.
48. Despite my major, I had never looked through a telescope until three months ago.
49. I don't have an artistic bone in my body. I'd love to be able to draw, but I'm just not creative in that way.
50. My big crush pre-Marsters was Ben Affleck. Yes, I had the embarrassing planning-our-wedding daydreams. (Favourite quote of last year was Laurence's "so now you've updated to the marrying-JM-fantasy, and he's wondering why Matt Damon is his best man?")
51. My favourite colour varies between black, blue and pink.
52. In appearance, sense of humour and personality, I completely take after my father.
53. And yet I know that one day I'll turn into my mother.
54. I'm vain enough to wear all-day-all-night contact lenses, but too lazy to put makeup on unless I'm going out.
55. I love flying on aeroplanes, even though I'm quite scared of heights.
56. I hate the stereotypes of scientists in the media. I'm quite keen on one day being a mad scientist, though.
57. I used to write godawful X-Files fanfic, thankfully pre-internet. I was about 11 and they were filled with Mary Sues, romantic clichés, hacknied plots and things that make me cringe to remember them.
58. Currently my favourite album is Eve6's Horrorscope, which I bought on impulse after the hundredth or so viewing of Valerie's "Promise" video.
59. I take people at face value - sometimes to my own cost, as this makes me quite naïve.
60. At times I'm a snarky bitch.
61. My favourite swear word is "balls", just edging out "fuck".
62. I love maths. Some people would have me believe this is strange.
63. My two best friends and I seem to have a hive mind, which is both nice and slightly scary.
64. My worst school subject was PE, closely followed by art. I spent Games lessons lurking at the back trying not to be noticed, or hiding in the girls' toilets.
65. I'd love blonde hair, but don't have the colouring for it. Besides, my hair doesn't take dye very well.
66. A corollary to the above: last year I dyed my hair black just so I could play Evil Willow in our two-man re-enactment/piss-take of Grave.
67. My father's… interesting… take on censorship meant I had seen the Child's Play movies by 8 and the Quentin Tarantino oeuvre by 11. Reservoir Dogs and A Clockwork Orange did little but desensitize me to violence, but Child's Play messed with my head for years. I'm still wary of freaky-ass dolls.
68. My speech is an odd mix of Irish dialect and Valley-Girl patois.
69. I play the piano a bit, though not much considering I learned for seven years, and the guitar very badly.
70. The first time I ever saw Buffy I fell madly in love with the English guy… no, not that English guy. I was crazy for Giles. Still am. Anthony Stewart Head rocks.
71. In bed, I still cuddle Ricky, the stuffed raccoon I've owned since I was two. He comes to my other house when I'm at university. I sacrifice my pride in return for having my cuddly toy there.
72. My deep childish streak means I still have a secret love for Disney movies and cartoons, though these days I prefer those subversive kids' cartoons (Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls and the like)
73. Right now I'm eating seedless white grapes. They're delicious.
74. I'm dying for the next Harry Potter book, and feeling illogically resentful towards J.K. Rowling for that fact.
75. I've seen the Two Towers three times, and still get upset that Aragorn doesn't give Legolas a hug at any point.
76. My toothbrush has Spiderman on it.
77. Most of my favourite music I've found via the web. Pansy Division, who are a gay punk band, are great.
78. Much as I'd love not to, I'll admit to liking money a lot.
79. I mistyped the above as "liking Monet". Well, I like him too.
80. I was depressed in my final year at school. The anti-depressants I was briefly on have since been linked to murders and suicides. Hey, my doctor rocks.
81. My prom dress cost £10 (about $16, I think). I still like it better than some of the dresses that girls went to London for and spent fortunes on.
82. I cry at Jessie's song in Toy Story 2 every. Single. Time. This is hugely embarrassing because I'd love to be cool, dammit.
83. Despite (82), I will never ever be cool, and I admit this.
84. I share a birthday with Matthew Shepherd, who I never met and whose death still makes me angry.
85. I've kept in contact with exactly zero people from my high school. I get the feeling the experience scarred me for life. Certainly I wish a vengeful death on all who says things about "best days of your life".
86. I have a secret love for musicals. Not just good stuff like Rent but (whispers) Andrew Lloyd Webber. See (83)
87. One of my best moments this year was one of my professors commenting on how much he liked my writing style.
88. I love Christmas, even the religious bits.
89. I had a lesbian Barbie. I didn't have a Ken so she lived with Sindy, who was butch and had a crewcut.
90. Coolest adult I know is my father, because he gets me.
91. I want a time machine. I want to see dinosaurs.
92. I still have all my old Star Trek action figures stashed in a box. Should have kept them mint in their boxes, but where's the fun in that?
93. I can't choose a favourite book, but Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman would be a main contender.
94. I love a picture I have of me hugging Tom Lenk (Andrew on BtVS), because my expression is just so cat-with-cream.
95. I want a pair of red Docs. My mother wants me to wear what I term "froofy girl-boots".
96. The only time I got in trouble at school was when I was 17 and I finally blew my stack at the teaching of creationism as scientific fact.
97. I want to travel, especially to America.
98. I have no idea whether to identify myself as British or Irish, and usually settle on Northern Irish.
99. I'm learning Latin, because I love reading and writing other languages but not speaking them.
100. I'm very glad to have finished this list.
1. I was born in a hospital that's now closed down, but which used to stand in a nice park in the town where I live. There's a duckpond right beside it, and while my mother was giving birth to me - with no anaesthetic, mind you - that's where my dad was. Happily feeding the ducks.
2. My middle name is Jane, allegedly chosen because it's easy to spell and when I was born my parents had low expectations of my intelligence.
3. I am currently wearing a floppy, pale blue hat that almost covers my eyes. I like my hat very much.
4. The first book I ever read by myself was Roald Dahl's The Twits when I was four.
5. The last book I read was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
6. It makes me sad that I had to think so hard about (5) because I used to read books all the time. The amount of fan fiction I read has severely cut into that. I can't remember the last book I read that wasn't either a graphic novel, or by Pratchett or Gaiman.
7. I can't touch my nose with my tongue, though not for lack of trying.
8. I despise shopping for clothes and/or shoes.
9. I was deeply religious until the age of 11 or so, when I seemed to burn out. I've since met others brought up in the same Presbyterian faith who have had the same experience - that when you've been taught 'this is absolute truth', the second you start to tentatively question any part of it, the whole thing crumbles. In a school environment where there were maybe two other non-Christians in my year, this made things awkward, and contributed to my Big List of Reasons to Hate High School.
10. I feel terribly self-conscious about identifying myself as Wiccan, but tend to use it more than Witch or Pagan as very few people in this country know what Wicca is, and it has far less negative connotations than the other two.
11. Despite my decidedly non-Christian beliefs, something deep inside of me still insists that there's a hell and that when I die I'll spend eternity there. I think some things are ingrained too early in childhood and too deep in the psyche to shift.
12. When I grow up, I want to be Neil Gaiman. A girl-version, obviously.
13. At twenty, I still say "when I grow up" and still call myself a girl.
14. I read a lot of poetry, but haven't the patience for long epics. I learn my favourites by heart so I always have them with me. It's easy to see where I got bored in lectures as my notes have lines of poetry doodled in pencil over the equations.
15. Had it been up to my father my name could well have been "Serendipity". I wouldn't mind this so much, but I have the feeling it would have been shortened to "Dippy" my whole life.
16. I worked two jobs this summer, in an office and in a petrol station. Both were object lessons in "why you should stay in university".
17. I have this insane need for everyone to like me.
18. I don't have the capacity of remembering people's faces. I'm told there's a bit of the brain that deals with this - I think mine is broken. Unless I've met somebody five or ten times, I won't be able to identify them, and usually they won't even look familiar. I was in my teens before I worked out that everyone's brain doesn't work that way.
19. In contrast, I remember words easily. Books, movie reviews, dialogue from TV shows - my brain soaks them up with reckless abandon.
20. I love the Lord of the The Rings movies… and wasn't very keen on the books. Didn't hate them, but they didn't really make a big impact on me and I found them difficult to read. This is kind of a guilty secret: I feel like a philistine just on principle for liking a movie version more than a book.
21. As a child I always rooted for the bad guy. I was disappointed when Vader didn't win. I wanted Coyote to catch Roadrunner and chomp him down. I cheered on Shredder and sulked when the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles inevitably kicked his ass.
22. If I was a Jossverse character I'd be Fred. If I could choose a Jossverse character to be, I think it'd be Lilah.
23. The first piece of smut I ever read was Killashandra's Turning Point (a K/S story set around the original Star Trek series). I was 14 and was simultaneously embarrassed and intrigued.
24. Hearing my voice on an answering machine this summer shocked me because I realised for the first time how much my accent has changed since starting university. I sound far less broad and country-yokel.
25. I've been overweight since the age of 10. This bothers me far less than it does my mother.
26. I gloss over compliments people give me as "they're just being nice"; I obsess over insults.
27. Babysitting two five-year-old boys last year made me realise that I have approximately the same maturity level. Seriously, we had a lot in common interests-wise, which was deeply disturbing.
28. I have one brother, six years older than I am - I always suspected our parents liked me best because I was 'the good one'. I think he suspected it too. We get on well, even so.
29. Jewellery: I wear a silver ID bracelet with my name and date of birth, and a silver heart locket on a chain - both were presents from my mum on my eighteenth birthday. I also have a pentagram necklace on a black cord.
30. First time I ever drank, it was a bottle of Strongbow cider at a friend's house while his parents were out - I was 13 or 14. My parents still think I was at a female friend's house that day, because they wouldn't let me go to a boy's house (aside from the alcohol it was all very innocent. We played computer games and watched the Deep Space Nine episode Our Man Bashir.)
31. I was so quiet as a child that at least one relative thought I was mute until I was 10.
32. I have very few solid memories prior to a few years ago. No idea why. Sometimes I think my memory works differently to other people's.
33. I rarely paint my nails - I have black nail polish which I'm very fond of, but I only wear it when I'm away from home for a few weeks, since my mother hates it with a passion.
34. It was a huge relief in my teens to find out that I wasn't the single person in the world who thought boys with boys equaled hotness.
35. Most of these "100 things" have had to be changed because they were really things about my parents or friends. I find it hard to talk about myself.
36. I once won the poetry prize at high school. This amused me no end since the poem was written purely to suit what I knew the judging teacher would find poetic.
37. There's something comforting about Catholic mass, especially at exam time. Even if I don't know the words.
38. In my wallet right now is: £2.64 in cash, my Mastercard, 3 video club cards, 3 library cards (my name, my mother's name, made-up name that the librarians turn a blind eye to - 9 books at once wasn't enough back when I read incessantly), an HMV discount card, mobile phone swipecard, bank card, this year's students' ID card (with the picture that makes me look like a Moomin), last year's student card (with the dark picture that could be me or could equally be George Bush Jr), discount travel card, a business card for the New Age shop where I buy my incense, and my donor card.
39. My last vacation was to London. I loved it there. I even loved the Underground, though it made me think of the book Neverwhere.
40. I'm a pop culture junkie.
41. I spend far too much money on DVDs. I'm an addict of the shiny discs.
42. At various times in my life I've wanted to be: a doctor, an actress, an astronaut, a teacher, an archaeologist, a librarian and a ghostbuster. The last was when I was very young, obviously.
43. The best teacher I ever had was the woman who taught me Physics when I was fourteen. She's the reason I'm studying astrophysics and not medicine; the medical world owes her much.
44. I ran the main list for the Queer as Folk fandom for a few years, before moving on to uni and Buffy.
45. I like vodka but not wine.
46. The most drunk I've ever been was last year's now infamous "believing herself to be a vampire slayer" incident.
47. I'm terrible with babies. I'd love to be an auntie, but right now have no inclination of ever being a mother.
48. Despite my major, I had never looked through a telescope until three months ago.
49. I don't have an artistic bone in my body. I'd love to be able to draw, but I'm just not creative in that way.
50. My big crush pre-Marsters was Ben Affleck. Yes, I had the embarrassing planning-our-wedding daydreams. (Favourite quote of last year was Laurence's "so now you've updated to the marrying-JM-fantasy, and he's wondering why Matt Damon is his best man?")
51. My favourite colour varies between black, blue and pink.
52. In appearance, sense of humour and personality, I completely take after my father.
53. And yet I know that one day I'll turn into my mother.
54. I'm vain enough to wear all-day-all-night contact lenses, but too lazy to put makeup on unless I'm going out.
55. I love flying on aeroplanes, even though I'm quite scared of heights.
56. I hate the stereotypes of scientists in the media. I'm quite keen on one day being a mad scientist, though.
57. I used to write godawful X-Files fanfic, thankfully pre-internet. I was about 11 and they were filled with Mary Sues, romantic clichés, hacknied plots and things that make me cringe to remember them.
58. Currently my favourite album is Eve6's Horrorscope, which I bought on impulse after the hundredth or so viewing of Valerie's "Promise" video.
59. I take people at face value - sometimes to my own cost, as this makes me quite naïve.
60. At times I'm a snarky bitch.
61. My favourite swear word is "balls", just edging out "fuck".
62. I love maths. Some people would have me believe this is strange.
63. My two best friends and I seem to have a hive mind, which is both nice and slightly scary.
64. My worst school subject was PE, closely followed by art. I spent Games lessons lurking at the back trying not to be noticed, or hiding in the girls' toilets.
65. I'd love blonde hair, but don't have the colouring for it. Besides, my hair doesn't take dye very well.
66. A corollary to the above: last year I dyed my hair black just so I could play Evil Willow in our two-man re-enactment/piss-take of Grave.
67. My father's… interesting… take on censorship meant I had seen the Child's Play movies by 8 and the Quentin Tarantino oeuvre by 11. Reservoir Dogs and A Clockwork Orange did little but desensitize me to violence, but Child's Play messed with my head for years. I'm still wary of freaky-ass dolls.
68. My speech is an odd mix of Irish dialect and Valley-Girl patois.
69. I play the piano a bit, though not much considering I learned for seven years, and the guitar very badly.
70. The first time I ever saw Buffy I fell madly in love with the English guy… no, not that English guy. I was crazy for Giles. Still am. Anthony Stewart Head rocks.
71. In bed, I still cuddle Ricky, the stuffed raccoon I've owned since I was two. He comes to my other house when I'm at university. I sacrifice my pride in return for having my cuddly toy there.
72. My deep childish streak means I still have a secret love for Disney movies and cartoons, though these days I prefer those subversive kids' cartoons (Johnny Bravo, The Powerpuff Girls and the like)
73. Right now I'm eating seedless white grapes. They're delicious.
74. I'm dying for the next Harry Potter book, and feeling illogically resentful towards J.K. Rowling for that fact.
75. I've seen the Two Towers three times, and still get upset that Aragorn doesn't give Legolas a hug at any point.
76. My toothbrush has Spiderman on it.
77. Most of my favourite music I've found via the web. Pansy Division, who are a gay punk band, are great.
78. Much as I'd love not to, I'll admit to liking money a lot.
79. I mistyped the above as "liking Monet". Well, I like him too.
80. I was depressed in my final year at school. The anti-depressants I was briefly on have since been linked to murders and suicides. Hey, my doctor rocks.
81. My prom dress cost £10 (about $16, I think). I still like it better than some of the dresses that girls went to London for and spent fortunes on.
82. I cry at Jessie's song in Toy Story 2 every. Single. Time. This is hugely embarrassing because I'd love to be cool, dammit.
83. Despite (82), I will never ever be cool, and I admit this.
84. I share a birthday with Matthew Shepherd, who I never met and whose death still makes me angry.
85. I've kept in contact with exactly zero people from my high school. I get the feeling the experience scarred me for life. Certainly I wish a vengeful death on all who says things about "best days of your life".
86. I have a secret love for musicals. Not just good stuff like Rent but (whispers) Andrew Lloyd Webber. See (83)
87. One of my best moments this year was one of my professors commenting on how much he liked my writing style.
88. I love Christmas, even the religious bits.
89. I had a lesbian Barbie. I didn't have a Ken so she lived with Sindy, who was butch and had a crewcut.
90. Coolest adult I know is my father, because he gets me.
91. I want a time machine. I want to see dinosaurs.
92. I still have all my old Star Trek action figures stashed in a box. Should have kept them mint in their boxes, but where's the fun in that?
93. I can't choose a favourite book, but Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman would be a main contender.
94. I love a picture I have of me hugging Tom Lenk (Andrew on BtVS), because my expression is just so cat-with-cream.
95. I want a pair of red Docs. My mother wants me to wear what I term "froofy girl-boots".
96. The only time I got in trouble at school was when I was 17 and I finally blew my stack at the teaching of creationism as scientific fact.
97. I want to travel, especially to America.
98. I have no idea whether to identify myself as British or Irish, and usually settle on Northern Irish.
99. I'm learning Latin, because I love reading and writing other languages but not speaking them.
100. I'm very glad to have finished this list.