11 Things You (Probably) Never Knew

Happy lazy sunday! Oatmeal and coffee, blog reading, some homework, then later a yoga class and hangout time.  I’ll take it.  First of all, to all of you who commented on my last post, you have no idea how much that means to me.  It was a really hard thing to write, and I truly appreciate all the support, and reassurance that I am not alone in wanting to push myself to take a few more risks.  Don’t worry, I’m not going cliff-diving or anything, anytime soon.  But I will force myself out the door instead of playing it safe in the comfort of my room!

I have something a little different for today’s post – a survey!  I don’t think I’ve ever done one for the blog, and probably because they take me so long to complete! I have a seriously hard time thinking of answers I consider ‘survey worthy’, haha! Anyway, I was tagged by the lovely Tessa, so here goes! (sorry the formatting is a little wonky.)

Here are the rules:

#1 You must post these rules.

#2 Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.

#3 Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.

1. I somehow have really good luck with computers.  I’ve had so many issues (viruses, things not working, spilling water, etc.) with the computers, and miraculously manage to fix them.  I do love computers and tech-y things, but I don’t really know that much about how to fix them.  I guess I’m good at figuring out the right combination of buttons to hit, settings to change, restarts and deletes.

Or I’m just really paranoid about protecting my baby (read: macbook pro).

2. I used to sail competitively.  Yep, I was on the sailing team at my high school for two years! It’s not a super physical sport, but it certainly does need a hefty knowledge base – about the boats, courses, tactics, etc.  It was really time-consuming, so I quit to focus on other things I enjoyed more, but I do miss it sometimes.

That’s me in the red life vest in boat 11! This was at a regatta in texas I went to about 6 years (wow) ago.

3. My current academic path has absolutely nothing to do with writing, blogging, or healthy living, fitness and nutrition.  I’m actually studying physics.  (You may have picked up on that from all the pics of my textbooks) I still have no idea what my actual ‘career’ will be, but we shall see.

4. Sushi was my favorite food at age 7.  I guess I was born a foodie! Apparently I was a food blogger in the making – here’s a (really horrible) picture of my favorite food from six years ago.

5. Music is a huge part of my life, yet I almost never travel with headphones!  So while I love music, I only listen when I’m at the gym or cleaning, or doing some other mundane task. I prefer people watching when I’m out and about, and I often can’t concentrate on work with music in the background.

6. The worst natural disaster type even I’ve experienced is a set of micro-bursts.  I was at my summer-house in Indiana, and it didn’t seem too crazy from inside the house.  Apart from the marble-sized hail that lasted an hour, and all the trees uprooted the next day.

Yep, took that picture.  It was quite a site to see.

7. I love nerdy webcomics.  Some of my favorites are xkcd, dresden codak, QC, and penny arcade. Shh, guilty pleasures.

8. About four years ago, I died my hair really dark red.  It was really drastic, like almost purple-red, but I really liked it at the time.

If it was at all reasonable and safe for my hair, I probably would have kept it up.  Instead, I stripped the color a few months later, and dealt with a few years of growing out orange-tinted hair.  Fun.

9.  My first word was bagel.  Again, born foodie?

10.  Did anyone see the movie Public Enemies? The one with Johnny Depp? They filmed the scene at the Biograph Theater at the actual Biograph in my home city (Chicago!).  I saw the set! They literally bought out the storefronts on the entire block and transformed it for about a month.  They left the street open, except for filming at night.

Unfortunately, I didn’t run into Johnny Depp.

11.  I always have to do something before bed to turn my brain off.  Whether it’s read, listen to music, yoga/stretching, or making a list, I can’t sleep well without a wind-down.

Phew! That was really hard to come up with. Took me a really long time, but was super fun. Now, here are my answers to Tessa’s questions:

1. What is a weird and/or interesting quirk you have?

Unless the food on my plate is meant to be mixed or eaten together, it cannot be touching.  I’ll still eat it, but it saddens my just a little.  I guess that’s the reason I make salads and bowls all the time.

2. If you could date an action hero (Batman, Superman, Spiderman, etc.) who would it be? Ooh that’s a tough one.  I’m a big fan of superhero men .  Probably Wolverine from X-men, because he’s awesome, indestructible, and super sexy.  This decision may or may not be influenced by the fact that he’s played by Hugh Jackman in the movie franchise.

3. What would you say is your favorite book of all time? Hm I have a really hard time picking favorites, they come and go with phases.  So I’m going to go with a series – the Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix.  I’ve read it multiple times, and love it still (yes, fantasy books are another guilty pleasure).

4. If you could drop everything right now and rush off to a vacation, where would your ideal location be? Skiing! Doesn’t matter where, as long as there’s good snow.  OR maybe I’d go on a cruise.  I’ve never been on a cruise, and it’s definitely on my list of things to do in the near future.  Alaskan cruise maybe? There are so many possibilities.

5. If you had the ability run any race or compete in any sporting event in the world, what would it be? Going on pure fantasy, I’d love to be able to figure skate at the olympic level.  After a few years of taking lessons, I realized how incredibly difficult it really is, and how truly strong those skaters are.  Or maybe I’d want to ski race, or run a marathon.  I’d do it all if I could

6. What is your favorite store (Food, clothes, hourseware)? Ah, making me pick favorites now? I can’t pick just one, so here are a few from each category.  Food: Trader Joe’s, hands down.  Clothes:  probably H&M at the moment. or Lululemon.  Shoes: DSW, to the point where I was once a premier member.  Hair/Makeup: Ulta – so good, and it’s cheaper than drugstores!

7. What would be your “last meal?” Another really tough one!  I love so many different kinds of food, but if I had to pick, it would probably be Japanese.  Make it a sushi extravaganza

8. What is something you never leave the house without? Typical, but I’d have to say my phone.  I’m a bit smartphone-dependent, especially when it comes to finding a new place (yay google maps!) but it eases my anxiety about getting lost or stranded.  Also, I hardly ever leave the house without chapstick.

9. Are you an only child or do you have siblings? Describe them if you do I have one younger sister, who’s about to graduate high school this year! Makes me feel so old.  But anyway, we’re pretty much polar opposites in most things.  Where I’m perfectly content to entertain myself, or sit in total silence, she’s a people person.  Always the person talking when nobody else is! (=D love ya Mir)

10. What workout are you currently loving? All of the awesome workout classes at my new gym in Stockholm! Especially body pump and power yoga.  I have resisted yoga for so long, as I never really got into it, but now that I’m getting better at it I love it more.  I also love my interval workouts for strength training – boredom busters for sure!

11. What is a goal in life you are striving to achieve? I haven’t made any long-term ‘life goals’, as they seem to far out of reach for me.  So for the moment, I hope to get through college and look back with fond memories, with a plan for what I want to do with the next few years – something that will make me happy.

Now, my 11 questions!

1.  If you could invite any three deceased people to a dinner party, who would they be?

2.  What’s your go-to “feel good” song to listen to?

3.  If you could only eat *one thing* for the rest of your life, what would it be?

4.  Morning showers or night-time showers?

5.  What is your favorite piece of clothing? Why?

6.  What is one popular trend that you absolutely despise? Why?

7. Talk about one person who has had a big impact on your life.

8.  If you could pack up your life (things, family, friends, etc) and move somewhere else, where would you go?

9. Have you ever died your hair? What color?

10.  If you could speak any language or play any instrument, what would you choose?

11.  What do you consider your greatest achievement to date? Brag about it!

Done! now I have to tag some fantabulous people… hmm… I tag:

Hannah @ Mind Running Wild

Nada @ One Arab Vegan

Hollie @ Fueled by Lolz

Nicky @ Kabocha Fashion

Mariel @ Pure Glow 16

And anyone else who wants to tackle it! Also, tagged ladies, I know you’re busy, please don’t feel obligated to do it if you don’t have time!

Can you relate to any of my answers?

What’s one of these things that really surprised you about me?

Do you like learning about the people behind the blogs?