100 things about me that you don't want to know...
Well, not yet hundred but I'm working on it!
1. I am bad at the ‘small talk’. If you are asking me “How are you?” be prepared to really hear how things are going in my life for past couple of days. Same goes other way, if I’m asking “How are you doing?”, it means I am interested to know about that sweater that you’ve been knitting for the last two days and I do not mind listening to your praises, complaints etc. on everything that’s been going on.
2. I am not nosy. I respect people’s personal space and would not pester my friends to let me in on something they don’t want to. Which does not mean I’m not curious. I’ll make wild guesses in my head, what is going on… The good thing - however bad these guesses get, they won’t leave my head. Ever.
3. I love gossips, but rarely am the one who’s telling them. If I know something is secret, I’ll never tell anyone. If I am not sure how true it is, I won’t find it worth telling. And if it is just my assumption, well, see paragraph above. Still, I would not mind listening to news and gossips. Does it make me a bad person? *puzzled*
4. I love acting silly.
5. I read a lot. All the time, everywhere. If I forget to grab a book when I eat breakfast, I’ll read writing on a milk carton, marveling over how the cows who gave this milk were not treated with rBST and were kept in humane conditions with compliance to… Well, as I said, I like to read.
6. I love writing. In Russian, in English, prose, poems, whatever - it makes me feel better when I write.
7. I am a biologist. A good one.
8. I did study medicine. Seriously. But I am not a doctor and will never be one. Just do not have the guts for it.
9. I am over 30 (OMG! time flies!), but if you judge by my health, I’m about 95. On the other hand, if my behavior measures up to anything, I’m younger than 20.
10. I am too emotional.
11. I am not blonde. But I was. May be I’m still suffering the consequences.
12. My eyes are the source of my anger towards nature. It never decided what color they should be. So, instead of blue (as my mother’s) or dark brown (as my father’s) or any other nice shade like green (aw, that would be nice!) or gray... I got this… mix… It is never the same (sounds not so bad, huh?) but it is truly disturbing how they can change in a matter of seconds from greenish to yellow (no kidding!) depending on weather or my mood. If not for my fear of poking out my eyes, I would wear contact lenses.
13. I am honest. And often too much so, I’m afraid.
14. I am arrogant when it concerns my profession. I think stupid scientist is something that does not deserve to exist. Same goes for medicine. Bad or stupid doctor is worse than a disease.
15. I love being right. Even though you won’t hear me screaming “I told you so!” every time, it does not mean I’m not doing the tap dance in my head. Because I am doing it!!!
16. I do not have troubles admitting that I was wrong. I will mentally slap myself on forehead though (or mentally hit the wall with my head depending on a magnitude of my blunder).
17. I cry at the movies.
18. I can be cynical and sarcastic.
19. I hate driving.
20. I hated cross-country skiing when I was a kid. Still do. But I so love the downhill!!! Even though skiing with my family takes me to more challenging places than I would want to… Even after cursing and yelling my way down at the speed that is not very life-friendly… I still enjoy it!
21. I am horribly empathic. Someone hurting next to me or just upset - in hurts and upsets me. And to make things even worse, if someone does not like me, - I feel it. They do not need to show it, really. Just a thought is enough. It is so uncomfortable.
22. I sing in the shower.
23. Actually, I sing in the kitchen too, and while driving, and when working in vivarium… Some days I sing good and some days even my lab mice look at me with pained exasperation.
24. Whatever people might say to the contrary, I’m terrified of public speaking.
25. I loved reading clinical psychiatry when I was in high school - and diagnose all my friends, relatives, fellow students etc. Seems like other people did not appreciate my attempts to sort out their disorders though... So now I keep it quiet, inside my head. And yes, you too have a disorder. :)
26. I work at night and I can’t sometimes stop writing if it goes well. Until the whole story bleeds out from my brain through my fingers I will not sleep. Next morning I’ll wake up (or get up from my couch if I have not slept a wink) exhausted and with a headache… but not sorry in the slightest!
27. I will never be intimidated by someone’s rank/position/money. But smart, knowledgeable people might look intimidating to me… That, or really bitchy females who seem to hate me at the first sight for no apparent reason.
28. When I was a kid, I accidentally walked in on a stupid guys trying to fry a small bomb (that they stole from a coal-mine) it exploded couple of meters in front of me and sent hundreds of metal pieces flying in all directions. I got 175 small wounds in my skin and had to buy new school uniform because mine got too many holes. Just by sheer luck I did not get any shards in my eyes or face (unlike two other kids who got hit at the same time). So, I guess, whenever I say I’m unlucky - it’s not true.
29. Since 6 years old I did not cry in front of people. Ever. except in front of my hubby.But he does not count, he is my other half.
30. I hate chemistry. I know it well enough to hate not knowing all of it.
31. In my life I knew only 1 decent person who became politician and remained decent. Not much huh?
32. I am impatient, impulsive and hasty.
33. I used to get fascinated by future predictions when I was in middle school. So, I read tons of books on Tarot reading and came to a point when I did not even need to look up the combinations of cards… It made me immensely popular in my school. Girls were willing to overlook my know-it-all personality to get a reading.
34. I believe into friendship between man and woman despite all the contrary evidence from personal experience.
35. I believe in fate. But I also believe in a person’s free will. Confusing, huh?
36. I procrastinate when I’m overwhelmed with things, i.e. if I have too many things to do, I can just sit on a couch reading a book until my husband kicks me into action.
37. I love to dance. I am actually pretty good though I rarely dance now.
38. My ability to dance is closely tied to my being in professional figure skating for about 2 years in my youth. I started it to prove to some arrogant jerk that with enough determination, a person can achieve a lot, even when not particularly gifted. I did not realize how much I would love the skating for itself though and if not my certainty that my fate is to become a scientist, I might have made it quite well as a figure skater. :) I still do skate, though my injured legs prevent me from enjoying it for longer than 30 minutes.
39. I play chess. I used to play on a good level when I was in school. Later, because of a stupid quarrel with my coach, I dropped chess entirely and have not played for 10 years or so. Now, maybe I lost a lot of my former skills, but I still beat my son. I am not sure if it's because I am still good or he is just so bad :) <-correction: actually, now, as of November 2010, my son is at least as good as me. Maybe even better. :( I am getting old and stupid T.T
40. While I love writing and some days come up with decent pieces, I don't feel comfortable sharing it. Except with hubby, who is my best reader/editor/fan (and the only one, to tell the truth).
41. I completed seven courses on writing at Stanford, three of them for grade (always an "A" by the way).
42. I read about 5 books a week. That's not including fanfiction. Yes, I am addicted.
43. One day I'll write a bestseller. It'll make me rich and popular and everyone will say that I've wasted 15 year working in science.
44. Ignore #43. That was my alter ego. It's big and obnoxious and I usually hide it in the cabinet under the stairs. Sometimes it escapes. Sorry about that.
45. I do not have a split personality disorder.
46. No, really, I don't.
1. I am bad at the ‘small talk’. If you are asking me “How are you?” be prepared to really hear how things are going in my life for past couple of days. Same goes other way, if I’m asking “How are you doing?”, it means I am interested to know about that sweater that you’ve been knitting for the last two days and I do not mind listening to your praises, complaints etc. on everything that’s been going on.
2. I am not nosy. I respect people’s personal space and would not pester my friends to let me in on something they don’t want to. Which does not mean I’m not curious. I’ll make wild guesses in my head, what is going on… The good thing - however bad these guesses get, they won’t leave my head. Ever.
3. I love gossips, but rarely am the one who’s telling them. If I know something is secret, I’ll never tell anyone. If I am not sure how true it is, I won’t find it worth telling. And if it is just my assumption, well, see paragraph above. Still, I would not mind listening to news and gossips. Does it make me a bad person? *puzzled*
4. I love acting silly.
5. I read a lot. All the time, everywhere. If I forget to grab a book when I eat breakfast, I’ll read writing on a milk carton, marveling over how the cows who gave this milk were not treated with rBST and were kept in humane conditions with compliance to… Well, as I said, I like to read.
6. I love writing. In Russian, in English, prose, poems, whatever - it makes me feel better when I write.
7. I am a biologist. A good one.
8. I did study medicine. Seriously. But I am not a doctor and will never be one. Just do not have the guts for it.
9. I am over 30 (OMG! time flies!), but if you judge by my health, I’m about 95. On the other hand, if my behavior measures up to anything, I’m younger than 20.
10. I am too emotional.
11. I am not blonde. But I was. May be I’m still suffering the consequences.
12. My eyes are the source of my anger towards nature. It never decided what color they should be. So, instead of blue (as my mother’s) or dark brown (as my father’s) or any other nice shade like green (aw, that would be nice!) or gray... I got this… mix… It is never the same (sounds not so bad, huh?) but it is truly disturbing how they can change in a matter of seconds from greenish to yellow (no kidding!) depending on weather or my mood. If not for my fear of poking out my eyes, I would wear contact lenses.
13. I am honest. And often too much so, I’m afraid.
14. I am arrogant when it concerns my profession. I think stupid scientist is something that does not deserve to exist. Same goes for medicine. Bad or stupid doctor is worse than a disease.
15. I love being right. Even though you won’t hear me screaming “I told you so!” every time, it does not mean I’m not doing the tap dance in my head. Because I am doing it!!!
16. I do not have troubles admitting that I was wrong. I will mentally slap myself on forehead though (or mentally hit the wall with my head depending on a magnitude of my blunder).
17. I cry at the movies.
18. I can be cynical and sarcastic.
19. I hate driving.
20. I hated cross-country skiing when I was a kid. Still do. But I so love the downhill!!! Even though skiing with my family takes me to more challenging places than I would want to… Even after cursing and yelling my way down at the speed that is not very life-friendly… I still enjoy it!
21. I am horribly empathic. Someone hurting next to me or just upset - in hurts and upsets me. And to make things even worse, if someone does not like me, - I feel it. They do not need to show it, really. Just a thought is enough. It is so uncomfortable.
22. I sing in the shower.
23. Actually, I sing in the kitchen too, and while driving, and when working in vivarium… Some days I sing good and some days even my lab mice look at me with pained exasperation.
24. Whatever people might say to the contrary, I’m terrified of public speaking.
25. I loved reading clinical psychiatry when I was in high school - and diagnose all my friends, relatives, fellow students etc. Seems like other people did not appreciate my attempts to sort out their disorders though... So now I keep it quiet, inside my head. And yes, you too have a disorder. :)
26. I work at night and I can’t sometimes stop writing if it goes well. Until the whole story bleeds out from my brain through my fingers I will not sleep. Next morning I’ll wake up (or get up from my couch if I have not slept a wink) exhausted and with a headache… but not sorry in the slightest!
27. I will never be intimidated by someone’s rank/position/money. But smart, knowledgeable people might look intimidating to me… That, or really bitchy females who seem to hate me at the first sight for no apparent reason.
28. When I was a kid, I accidentally walked in on a stupid guys trying to fry a small bomb (that they stole from a coal-mine) it exploded couple of meters in front of me and sent hundreds of metal pieces flying in all directions. I got 175 small wounds in my skin and had to buy new school uniform because mine got too many holes. Just by sheer luck I did not get any shards in my eyes or face (unlike two other kids who got hit at the same time). So, I guess, whenever I say I’m unlucky - it’s not true.
29. Since 6 years old I did not cry in front of people. Ever. except in front of my hubby.But he does not count, he is my other half.
30. I hate chemistry. I know it well enough to hate not knowing all of it.
31. In my life I knew only 1 decent person who became politician and remained decent. Not much huh?
32. I am impatient, impulsive and hasty.
33. I used to get fascinated by future predictions when I was in middle school. So, I read tons of books on Tarot reading and came to a point when I did not even need to look up the combinations of cards… It made me immensely popular in my school. Girls were willing to overlook my know-it-all personality to get a reading.
34. I believe into friendship between man and woman despite all the contrary evidence from personal experience.
35. I believe in fate. But I also believe in a person’s free will. Confusing, huh?
36. I procrastinate when I’m overwhelmed with things, i.e. if I have too many things to do, I can just sit on a couch reading a book until my husband kicks me into action.
37. I love to dance. I am actually pretty good though I rarely dance now.
38. My ability to dance is closely tied to my being in professional figure skating for about 2 years in my youth. I started it to prove to some arrogant jerk that with enough determination, a person can achieve a lot, even when not particularly gifted. I did not realize how much I would love the skating for itself though and if not my certainty that my fate is to become a scientist, I might have made it quite well as a figure skater. :) I still do skate, though my injured legs prevent me from enjoying it for longer than 30 minutes.
39. I play chess. I used to play on a good level when I was in school. Later, because of a stupid quarrel with my coach, I dropped chess entirely and have not played for 10 years or so. Now, maybe I lost a lot of my former skills, but I still beat my son. I am not sure if it's because I am still good or he is just so bad :) <-correction: actually, now, as of November 2010, my son is at least as good as me. Maybe even better. :( I am getting old and stupid T.T
40. While I love writing and some days come up with decent pieces, I don't feel comfortable sharing it. Except with hubby, who is my best reader/editor/fan (and the only one, to tell the truth).
41. I completed seven courses on writing at Stanford, three of them for grade (always an "A" by the way).
42. I read about 5 books a week. That's not including fanfiction. Yes, I am addicted.
43. One day I'll write a bestseller. It'll make me rich and popular and everyone will say that I've wasted 15 year working in science.
44. Ignore #43. That was my alter ego. It's big and obnoxious and I usually hide it in the cabinet under the stairs. Sometimes it escapes. Sorry about that.
45. I do not have a split personality disorder.
46. No, really, I don't.