Twenty Extra Things - I Tagged Myself!

I had too many extra Things about myself yesterday that I wanted to share with you, so I've decided to tag myself (is this another first for the blogosphere? I'd better watch myself - I'm becoming a hero!), so that I can give all you wonderful people some more goss on BEVIS, and then spread the love some more by tagging others.

I have continued the numbering system from my previous two Twenty Things posts, so that's why the Things start with number 41.



41. I enjoy a good crossword, particularly celebrity-, TV- or movie-themed crosswords.

42. One of my biggest hobbies (and no, it really is a hobby) is Television. This will be explored in a mega-post all of its own over the coming weeks. I know it sounds like a joke or that I'm being lazy or just a 'couch potato' (this is me now, and this is me in twenty years), but I don't simply mean watching television. I'm talking about actually studying it and knowing it back-to-front and reading up on shows and characters and storylines and stuff, to the point that I can predict what's going to happen next simply from my understanding of how the show, genre and production company works / thinks, and also because I like to learn as much as I can about the craft. I consider it a challenge to find a 'high quality show' (because I think quite highly of my own mind, so to impress me, it's gotta be pretty good!*), and when I find a show that's well-written and enjoyable and exciting, I grab onto it with both hands and watch it religiously so I can be part of that world. This means I have a lot of shows that I regularly watch, but it's not about 'wasting time in front of the idiot box'; this is my version of a sport or other outdoor activity.

* I say this tongue-in-cheek, don't worry.

43. I don't partake in a sport or other outdoor activities.

44. I guard my friendships closely and am a good, fiercely-loyal friend to have (if I do say so myself).

45. I can't tell you which way is north, south, east or west. But blindfold me, spin me around ten times, then ask me to point to the shops, and I will succeed every time.

46. In Year 3 (or 'Grade 3' or '3rd Grade', depending on where you come from), I held the class record for saying my six times tables the fastest without making a mistake. The record was 12 seconds, and nobody came close to topping that score all year. I won a Mars Bar.

47. I was once 'dacked' by my so-called 'friend' in Year 2 in front of my entire class. Thankfully, I was wearing kiddies' version of these, so I was protected from their laughs by the super-strength I inhabited when wearing them.

48. I prefer to stay up all night working or playing than be awake early in the morning for the same. I am much more at home late at night.

49. I only learnt to read an analogue clock two years ago, when I was 28. And sometimes I still struggle to work out what it's saying if I'm tired. Parents take note: Don't give your children a digital watch unless you already know for certain that they have mastered reading an analogue clock!! Otherwise, they will live to regret it.

50. I am extremely competitive, but only because I know I'm the best at most things. :)

51. I have elaborate plans / dreams of making exceptional videos for fun and profit (and I pretty much have the resources - and definitely have the skills to do so), but I never seem to have the time to get out there and make any of them.

52. I know how long a piece of string is: As long as its knot / it's not. Ha! Get it? That's actually the correct answer to the question "How long is a piece of string?" It's not meant to be a rhetorical question at all. I also know the 'official' answers to the following: 'Curiosity killed the cat', 'How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?' and 'Where's Wally?'.**

** "Satisfaction brought him back", "He would chuck what a woodchuck would chuck, if he would chuck wood" and "There", respectively.

53. I am actually quite 'religious', although that's not the term I'd use to describe myself. Does this change your opinion of me? If so, I rather think that says more about you than it does about me.

54. As discussed here on BourbonBird's blog, I always have the toilet roll in the 'overhand fashion' (an excellent term I stole from BourbonBird!), and if anyone puts a new roll on that runs down the wall, I will always change it. In other people's homes I'm not as neurotic about it, but I've been known to switch the odd one or two over in my time. The reason is simple. If the roll runs down the wall, people put their grubby fingers on the wall when grabbing the paper - and over time, dirty fingermarks appear on the wall that need to be cleaned (scrubbed) off. If the roll is in the overhand fashion, no such cleaning is required. You know about grubby fingermarks that appear at child-height on doors, etc? Well, this is the same thing, but on your toilet wall. I'm yet to hear of a logical reason for it being the other way, so if you have one, I welcome it. (This problem probably isn't so bad in tiled bathrooms / toilets, but if you have painted walls or wallpaper in your bathroom / toilet, consider which way you have your roll facing and how much extra work it's causing you.) Also, it's easier to find the paper if it hangs over the top than if it's hiding underneath somewhere. :)

55. I have a recurring fear that I'm going to faint, fall, slip over or something similar [maybe I'll be pushed? :)] in the shower one day, and I'll hit the glass shower wall, it will smash, and I'll fall through the hole, spearing myself on the shards of glass still embedded in the frame and pointing upwards. I don't know if I'm describing it well here, but imagine I shatter the glass at around chest level, so a hole is created which I continue to fall through. I keep seeing myself ending up with a giant triangle of frosted glass going straight through my gut or chest cavity and out my back. It's awful, I know, but I've had this thought for years and it occurs to me at least once a month. I don't know how to stop it from bothering me. Maybe if I only take baths or refuse to wash myself ever again or shower outside under the sprinkler by dancing naked on the front lawn with all the neighbours' kiddies or something. (Hmm, no - scratch that last one.)

56. Wifey is the most wonderful and beautiful and accommodating woman in the world. This isn't really a fact about me, ... except to point out how lucky I am.

57. I once won two tickets on the radio at 3am (when I was supposed to be finishing an essay due the following morning but was barely getting started on it) to attend the world premiere of a Bruce Willis movie. I was the lucky caller. Unfortunately, the film in question was The Fifth Element, and I didn't think too much of it. It 'borrowed' too liberally from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and a bunch of other films. Plus, that Chris Tucker guy destroyed the thing. (Strangely, I didn't mind him so much in Rush Hour or Rush Hour 2, but I thought he was terrible in The Fifth Element.) I asked the girl I liked at the time to come with me, but made the mistake of playing her the tape I'd made of me winning the tickets first (I'd pressed record on my tape deck when my call connected so I could hear it back later myself). The DJ had asked me if I had a girlfriend, and stupidly, I said 'Um, kinda', with which she took major umbrage because she didn't agree that that's what we were. It was the beginning of the end for that relationship-that-never-was, and I blame Chris Tucker. I took my housemate with me instead, and although we had a good time, I wish he hadn't tried to kiss me goodnight afterwards.

58. At the time of compiling this list, Jobe and I have now drawn THREE TIMES in the First Annual Bloggolympics (TM) over on Adam's blog. Personally, I think that means that both Jobe and myself are worthy of progressing to the next round, but I guess Adam needs there to only be a certain number of 'athletes' for the next round to work, so I have to try a fourth time to beat my formidable opponent in the first event: Rock, Paper, Scissors (click here for the official site - these people take it WAY too seriously and should all go and have a good lie-down). If I (eventually!) lose this first round to Jobe, I'm going to head up his cheerleading squad instead. Clearly he and I are very strong competitors, so it's unfortunate that we were drawn to play against each other in the first round and one of us has to be left behind at this early stage. Whatever the outcome, come on over to Adam's blog and view the results of each round. Bruce McAvaney commentary optional.

59. My favourite Disney character is Goofy; my favourite Warner Brothers character is Wile E. Coyote; my favourite Wacky Races character is Dick Dastardly; my favourite Simpsons character is Ralph Wiggum ... anybody noticing a bit of a trend, here? I generally go for the underdog, or the foolish idiot, or the comic relief. No surprises there, really. I'm sure many people are the same.

60. And I'm spent!


OK, time to tag some more people ... I choose to tag Clokeeeey because he hasn't blogged much lately and I want to know more about him (and 'cos he broke my watch). I also tag MelbourneGirl and La Nadine because although (or perhaps due to the fact that) they're both currently on hiatus from the blogosphere***, I'm sure they'll have heaps to share when they return (plus, I miss them). Additionally, I tag Gun Street Girl because I'd like to hear more about what goes on inside that brain of hers. And I tag Cape Man, because I haven't heard from him for a while and I want him to ... (click here for the rest of this sentence)****. :)


*** This just in: MelbourneGirl posted on her blog yesterday - I'm not sure if she's back for good now or if that was a brief interlude in the middle of her 'hiatus'; either way, the above reasoning still stands.

**** Only with less Minnie Driver, and no kissing.


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