It's All About Me.

I've updated this post a great deal since it's conception in 2007, and I think that it's about time I do it again!

[List updated on July 10, 2011]
[List updated on May 21, 2010]



100 Things About Me.

1. I was born on July 31st, 1984. Am a proud late 20-something, and it seems that my quarter life crisis has been averted.. for now.

2. Aly is my nickname. My full name is a hybrid that my parents created when they couldn't decide on a name for me, and it stuck. I don't use it on this blog because it's so unique and easily searchable.

3. I have to spell it out for practically everybody, which is to be expected.

4. I like having an unusual name. It's different. It's a conversation starter.

5. I have one brother, who is three years younger than me. I also now have one brother-in-law, who is five years older than me.

6. I still wish I had a sister. I've always wanted a sister.

7. My brother drives me mad, but in a good way. He's no less cheeky now, but he's growing up into a really great guy.

8. My darling brother is the golden child of the family.

9. I really do love him though. Occasionally he gives good hugs. He's very tall.

10. I grew up in Sydney, in the western suburbs rather than the city itself.

11. Which is fabulous, because other than visiting as a tourist myself? I'm really not too fussed on Sydney. It's gorgeous, but not 'home'.

12. I often feel like I'm a 20-something, going on 40.

13. My partner's name is Jason. Or Jase. Or J. Depends how lazy I am.

14. I used to hate calling him my boyfriend - it made us sound really young.

15. As of 8/8/09, he's no longer my boyfriend. He's my fiancé! As of 11/6/11, he's no longer my fiancé. He's my husband!

16. We have been together since September of 2002 and this is our ninth year together.

17. Few people know how we met. I stand by the fact that it was all to do with fate, let's leave it at that. I tell most people that we met at a party. I recently found out that he actually uses this scenario too, which is pretty funny.

18. If you are nosy like me and want to know more, read back through this blog. I'm sure it's in there somewhere. Or just ask. It's not embarrassing, it's just random.

19. We got married on June 11, 2011. The day was wet and dreary, but I've never felt so much happiness in my entire life. I can't even begin to describe it. I blog about it at www.weddingbee.com/author/jaguar

20. I was vice captain and dux of my high school. What is a dux? A dux is a modern title given to the top academic student in a graduating class of a school, Australia, and similar to the American concept of a valedictorian. Why thankyou, Wikipedia.

21. At university, I was invited into the Golden Key Honours Club.

22. I'm going to type that out again, because I like the way it sounds kind of snotty. Golden Key Honours Club. Hee. Got me a pretty certificate that I do absolutely nothing with.

23. My first bachelors degree was in Psychology. I wanted to run my own clinic, because I love listening to other people and offering advice.

24. In my final year, the legal side of the practice really changed my mind, and I did an about face career-wise. My second degree was in Primary Teaching.

25. I don't think anybody imagined me to be a good teacher. But I loved it.

26. After having a break from teaching while I was in the UK, I'm back at it again in 2011. This year I'm teaching a Year 1/2 composite class.

27. I swore when I was young that I never wanted kids. Teaching changed that for me.

28. I want my own kids now.

29. Seriously, any time now. *kicks PCOS in the balls*

30. The loose "plan" is to be engaged by 25 [check!] married by 27 [check] and have kids soon after. Edit: Jason proposed a week after my 25th birthday, not bad timing-wise, eh? Double edit: We got married in June - a whole month before I turn 27. Mwahaha. Timing. We has it.

31. I am a huge animal lover. As in, crazily huge.

32. In high school, I studied veterinary nursing as my elective. I always wanted to be a vet growing up, but the university entry scores were so high, it made that dream impossible.

33. My old pets, i.e. parents' pets are Rusty the chihuahua, Bailey the beagle cross, and Gage the cockatoo. (RIP to my darling puppy, Max, we miss you every day.)

34. I flew to England on Christmas Day, 2007, to live and work. After five years of dating, Jason and I finally moved in together. We lived in West London, and had a gorgeous first floor flat near Notting Hill and Portobello Road.

35. I only ever planned to stay in the UK for 12 months. That then turned into two years. And then three. We moved back to Sydney at the end of 2010 - making it three years in total.

36. Now that we're back in Australia, we're building our first home! Process is nailbitingly slow and I'm trying to be patient. I can't wait to be out of an apartment and with a backyard so we can adopt two dogs.

37. I have had a list of puppy names picked out for years and years.

38. Jase and I already adopted a kitten together, albeit a little earlier than planned. In May 2008, we brought home a little tabby kitten called Oscar. He's not a kitten anymore and is slightly insane, but we think he's great. He's also slightly tubby and is one of the most chilled out cats you'll ever meet.

39. I am a big, giant dork.

40. I used to wear glasses. At the time, I hated the way I looked in glasses, despite other people telling me they suited me. I wore contacts a lot.

41. On May 11th, 2007 I had Advanced Surface Laser surgery done on both eyes.

42. It was a scary procedure, but it's the best $2000 I've ever spent.

43. I can now wake up in the morning and see things clearly, and quite frankly? It's bloody awesome. I do miss my glasses though..

44. I am a really, really fast reader. As in, I can finish books in half a day if I am enjoying them. I also tend to leave books lying around all over the house, which drives most people crazy.

45. If I'm reading a series and a new book comes out, I refuse to read it straight away. Instead, I force myself to go back to the beginning book and read all the way through before I read the last one. (I did this with the Outlander series and with Harry Potter too. Am strange like that.)

46. I wish that all of my favourite books were turned into movies. Decent versions too, not crappy ones. That would be marvellous.

47. As well as books, I'm a wee bit obsessed with buying television shows on DVD boxsets. I have quite the collection.

48. I lugged the majority of my DVDs over to London with me, because I couldn't bear to leave them behind. I add to my collection all the time. Hey, it saves me money going out and having a life. ;)

49. I love any wedding related show. Unfortunately, we have no cable here (saving money) so the only place I can watch them is online. I thought after the wedding my obsession would die down, but alas - I adore weddings just as much, if not more, now that we are married.

50. I hate idiot drivers, I'm not confident when I'm driving to new places, and getting stuck behind slow people really irritates me. Jase and I share a car to save money (& the environment!)

51. I have a thing with feet. I really dislike them. Feet creep me out. Please keep your feet to yourself. Especially gross feet. Blergh. I don't know what it is about them...

52. If I could have any store to go wild in, I would choose a department store like K-Mart or Target. I think they're fabulous, you can buy anything and everything! I miss Primark and Asda from the UK, and Walmart from the USA. (Don't hate.)

53. I love stationery. There is nothing better than writing with brand new pens, on brand new paper. I love new things. I also spell stationery incorrectly, nearly every time I write it down. It's a terrible habit, I'm trying to get better at it.

54. Moving home to Sydney means I get to see my best friend again, thank goodness. I've always been the kind of girl to keep my good friends close, and I don't do big groups well.

55. I'm a board games nut. And sadly, I can never convince anyone to play with me.

56. This is because I get frustrated and want the games played correctly and er, I also have a tendency to sulk if I lose. And I lose fairly often.

57. The above statement also rings true for ten pin bowling and mini golf.

58. If I had to choose my own best feature, I think I would say my smile. I do kind of like my teeth, even if they are a wee bit yellow. Cheesy smiles are grand!

59. I hate the way I look in practically every picture that is taken.

60. I'm working on the exercising kick, again. I wish I liked to exercise.

61. I hate talking to strangers on the phone, I get really paranoid about my voice.

62. However, send me an email and I'm very hard to shut up.

63. I simply love receiving packages in the mail, makes me smile. (Hint, hint!)

64. I'm absolutely terrible at reading maps. Upside down and all.

65. I also get my left and right directions completely confused.

66. I actually ran into a concrete road island when I was learning to drive, because I turned left when my instructor told me to turn right.

67. Which leads nicely into the fact that I have many, many blonde moments.

68. We love to travel. I've visited Europe, America, Canada, New Zealand, Vanuatu and have big plans to see more one day.

69. The six weeks I spent travelling cross-country in the USA were some of the best times I've ever had. I met two amazing girls there who I cherish.

70. I've always wanted to go on a road trip somewhere. Just me, a friend or two, and the car. One day I'll cross this off my list.

71. My favourite class in high school was Ancient History. It fascinated me, and it still does. I'd love to visit all of those places and explore.

72. I think it helped that I had an awesome teacher who I respected a lot.

73. I love number seven and number three and any numbers they make. That includes this question number. No idea why. They're just pretty numbers.

74. My most valuable asset would be my car, which we own. The other item would be my engagement and wedding rings. Jase done good.

75. If I had to flee out of the house taking just a few things, this is what I would grab: my handbag, laptop and kitty. And Jason too, of course. I'd drag him out.

76. If I was any paler, I would be reflective.

77. I love to dance, even though I am really shy at first. If I'm comfortable with where I am and who I am with, I'll dance for hours. Alcohol helps with this, too.

78. It does take me a very long time to get comfortable though.

79. If I had to choose a favourite actor, it would be Nicolas Cage. I think he's really, really attractive in a strange, strange way. I can't really explain it.

80. Most of my t-shirts are v-necks.

81. They just seem to be the ones that suit my shape the best.

82. And I like my boobs.

83. I used to think I was a fabulous singer, until I taped myself singing and was horrified to find out that I actually suck. As such, I've never ever sung karaoke in public.

84. I still completely adore Sing Star. Am not shy at home.

85. I have the uncanny ability to listen to a song lyric and somehow make it all about me. I'm really big on song lyrics, and my musical tastes are all over the place.

86. The first time I visit a new place, I'll inevitably get lost. Every single time.

87. I am a big sook. I have been known to cry at movies, books, television shows, songs and random advertisements or commercials.

88. I think Love Actually is a brilliant movie.

89. I hate things being messy, and I quite like cleaning.

90. I always invisioned being proposed to in a restaurant - but when the time came, it was SO MUCH BETTER than I ever expected.

91. Jason asked me to marry him in the middle of a surprise trip to Prague. What better way to propose, than on a warm summers evening, overlooking the River & the Castle.

92. My engagement ring is amazing! I had it for less than 24 hours before it was sent off to NYC to be resized at Tiffany & Co (!!) and it was gone for almost three months. I had a cute temporary engagement ring in the interim period, which I now wear proudly on my right hand. I adore my ring - Jason picked it on his own and I couldn't have found a more perfect one if I had tried. My band is matching, and gorgeous.

93. If I don't have my watch on my wrist, I feel naked.

94. I'm not a big coffee drinker. I like tea - chai or plain ol' white tea. Milky, too.

95. My handbag is completely full of crap, but it's all necessary crap.

96. When I get bored, I sign my name all over things.

97. I'd like to learn to speak another language.

98. I have the immune system of a gnat, and get sick countless times a year. I blame it on the kidlets, for making me a walking snot monster.

99. I waste countless hours reading and stalking other blogs. I also have a tendency to play average games on Facebook all the time.

100. If you read this far, feel free to leave me a comment! Am proud. I didn't get bored and wander off! And neither did you - give yourself a pat on the back.