12 random things you might not know about me
Life has been hectic this month, so I thought I’d conserve energy and write a post on a subject I know quite well: myself. I don’t reveal a great deal about myself online, but today I share a list of 12 quirky things you probably didn’t know and which you might find interesting!! →
This month, I’ve struggled a bit to come up with an interesting topic to blog about. Life has been pretty hectic and so the well of creativity is running a little dry. I had the brilliant idea to produce a post with a big list of things that writers can blog about…but when I sat down to prepare it, I realised I’d actually done that last year. Clearly there’s a recurring theme going on here! 😂
Given my energy has been limited, I thought I’d share a little something on a subject I know quite well: myself. I don’t post a great deal about myself or my life outside my regular update posts, so I’d like to take this chance to share a few “fun facts” about me. I came up with a list of random and quirky things that you guys might find entertaining and have whittled it down to 12. Enjoy!!
I’m ambidextrous…kind of
I write with my right hand, but bounce a basketball with my left. I play tennis with my left hand, but use scissors with my right. And holding a fork or baseball bat can honestly go either way. Weird, huh?
I once stayed awake for 36 hours straight
Unfortunately I can’t share the context, but let me just say it was not the most pleasant experience. I would definitely NOT recommend staying awake this long if you can avoid it—I was delirious by the end!
I used to be in a recorder ensemble
This was way, way back in primary school, but boy did I love my recorder! I was even assigned a treble recorder, which is bigger than the standard descant many kids get at school and has entirely different fingering.
I’m a bit obsessed with polar bears
I first fell in love with these beautiful creatures after reading Chris d’Lacey’s Last Dragon Chronicles, and that love has only grown from there. I have more than a few polar bear figurines and plushies…
I dressed up as a banana on my last day of school
No jokes. I literally donned a banana suit and spent the day as a big yellow fruit. To be fair though, we did have a “Candyland” dress-up / decoration theme, and I also carried around a bucket full of lolly bananas!
I’ve run a half-marathon
Actually, I’ve run two! Feels like years ago now, and on second thought, it really was, but I’d be keen to give it another crack one day. It does take quite a bit of lead-up training though to run 21.1km!!
I’m quite terrible at parking cars
This is a bit embarrassing, but I’ve had a few bingles in carparks, including with poles and other stationary objects. I’m also one of those people who will go far, far out of my way to avoid parallel parking.
I’ve filmed a giraffe falling over while being chased by a rhino
And the footage is the sort that makes you weep in sympathy while laughing at the absurdity! This happened during my visit to Australia Zoo in 2011; the rhinos were having fun but I don’t think the giraffes were…
I got my first job when I was 12 years old
Or maybe I was only 11? I can’t quite remember, but I got my first job in my last year of primary school, where I delivered pamphlets—with help from the family—for a pittance so I could pay for my mobile phone!!
I currently own 4x sets of Converse shoes
I swear, I’m not really a shoe person, but I do have a thing for Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers. Somehow I’ve collected four separate pairs over the years and I still often find myself browsing through the new designs…
I’ve been to the “hypoxic zone”
At 3,842m the Aiguille de Midi at Chamonix Mont-Blanc is the highest cable car in France, and once you get to the top you can certainly the effects of reduced oxygen levels. Even climbing the stairs was difficult!
I once cut the end of my finger off with a mandolin slicer
One second I was slicing sweet potato, and the next off went the end of the finger! Fortunately it grew back, though sensation has never been the same. That mandolin now lives at the very back of my cupboard.
What random things might people not know about you? Do you relate to any of my fun facts above?
Rebecca Alasdair
I'm an Australian indie author who hoards books, loves dogs and coffee, and has a tendency of staying up all night!
13 Comments
Alex
Hi Rebecca! You are awesome! Like you, I don’t talk much about myself. I actually didn’t know any of these facts about you. Do you still play basketball sometimes? I haven’t played in years. I kind of lost my love for playing it as I wasn’t good, but I still enjoy watching it. Do you watch sports often?
I can’t imagine how rough it must’ve been to stay awake for 36 hours. I think I once nearly stayed awake for 24 hours. I took a red-eye flight to Washington DC and couldn’t sleep. So, I was awake for a while lol.
Polar bears rock! And that’s cool that you dressed up like a banana before. I hope it was fun.
I’m impressed that you’ve ran two half-marathons! The farthest I’ve run is a 5K. You’re AWESOME!
I’m okay at parking. It isn’t easy. Parallel parking isn’t easy either, especially if there’s a tight space. Just do your best :).
The footage you filmed sounds hilarious :). Did you enjoy your first job?
3,842m is so high! The highest I’ve been is roughly 2400 meters.
I’m glad that the end of your finger grew back.
Hope you’re doing well. And I hope you can catch a break soon. Take care, my friend. :).
Rebecca Alasdair
Thanks Alex! I never really played basketball except in Phys Ed at school but I didn’t mind it. Swimming and athletics were my main sports for many years but I’ve been pretty lazy recently! Glad you enjoyed the post – it was good fun coming up with my list!! 😀
Alex
That’s cool. How long were your swims (did you swim 100 M, 200 M, etc.)? And no worries. I haven’t played nearly as much sports as I did years ago.
🙂 You always have great posts. Go Rebecca! :). 🙂
Rebecca Alasdair
My main events were 100m and 200m breaststroke, but I also did freestyle, IM, and even some backstroke near the end. Always hated butterfly though!! The longest event I ever did was a 5km open water swim! What sports did you used to do?
Alex
That is awesome! Did you hate the butterfly due to difficulty or another reason?
Kudos 🙂
I played some basketball and soccer before (recreationally). Not great at either lol but I like playing defender in soccer. I want to play soccer in the near future 🙂 once more.
Rebecca Alasdair
Butterfly is HARD and I was never any good at it! I hope you get back to playing soccer. Team sports are good fun!! 😊
Alex
For some reason, it isn’t allowing me to reply to your latest message lol, so I’m hitting replying to an older one to respond to you XD.
Aw yeah it looks like a VERY difficult swim. But it’s so awesome that you did many different swims. 🙂 That’s very cool.
Thanks! I hope to do so when this pandemic is over and/or well under control. I agree 🙂 I love them 🙂 Do you like watching soccer as well?
Rebecca Alasdair
Weird! Anyway, I watch the World Cup when it’s on but that’s about it!! 😅
Alex
It’s being weird again and not allowing me to reply to your latest comment LOL.
But yes, that’s awesome! 🙂 Which teams do you root for in the World Cup? I watch it too. You watch the Olympics as well right? 🙂
Tomas
I’ve recently talked with an internet pen pal, so to say, and I realized how little I know about you despite the time we’ve both given to each other’s writing projects.
Anyway, as someone who drives very rarely, I’m not the best at parking either. And I won’t voluntarily try being awake for 36 hours. Once, I got near that during an overnight bus journey that was too bumpy to fall asleep for more than a few minutes, but even tiny bits of sleep are better than nothing. So my longest was around 24hrs, and even that was more than enough, I was falling asleep while standing the last two hours before the train was to arrive.
Rebecca Alasdair
Haha that’s true, but not to worry – I’m just very cautious about what I do/don’t share online! And yeah going too long without sleep is not a pleasant experience!
Tomas
Well, I understand that – but it’s a bit surprisng that we’ve managed to talk writing only all the time 🙂
Rebecca Alasdair
Good point! We’ll have to expand our list of topics to talk about!! 😄