the list...

I know that posting stuff like ‘100 things you didn’t know about me’ was popular some time ago and is not very original any more. But there are few reasons why I wanted to write such a list. Firstly, I like making lists of things. Secondly, as a relatively new blogger, I thought a list like that would help me to introduce myself to you, my dearest readers. Thirdly, as a person who doesn’t really like talking about herself and who always thought that writing about herself would be really hard, I just wanted to challenge myself and see how many things I could come up with.

So here are the few things you didn’t know about me:

1. I am addicted to chocolate and can eat a jar of Nutella in one go.

2. While sitting in the back of the class in high school, I drank wine with a few friends of mine (naughty me...)

3. I was 11 when I first smoked a cigarette with my friend, Justyna. I became a regular smoker at the age of 16 and stopped on the 21^st May 2001. If it wasn’t for Slawek, I would probably start smoking again.

4. I believe that aliens exist and that there is life outside our Solar System. Unfortunately, I have never experienced any close encounters of the third kind but I am patiently waiting for some UFO action.

5. I am seriously considering entering the X Factor competition. Even though I only sing along to songs I like (and not only in a bathtub) and Slawek usually finds it horrendous and pretty funny, I still think I have really good chances of winning the show ;)

6. I have got few good friends and only one Best Friend.

7. Despite being rather short (5’3’’), I was in a basketball team in a primary and high school.

8. Most of my dogs have had surprisingly big ears.

9. I love doing big jigsaw puzzles (by ‘big’ I meant puzzles that have at least 1000 pieces).

10. I can’t stand messy people.

11. I do not trust people I have just met.

12. I love driving and speeding. I have been pulled over by the police probably 15 times and only got 2 tickets for speeding. 1^st time because the police officer was very official and formal and would not let me invite him for a cup of coffee instead of giving me the ticket (I must have not been his type... hahaha...). 2^nd time, because the police officer was so ugly, I couldn’t even be bothered to try and invite him for a cup of coffee.

13. I am forever thankful for legalizing the use of speed camera detectors.

14. I enjoy playing badminton.

15. If I won a lot of money, I would take my mom for a crazy shopping spree and luxury holidays in the Caribbeans (because she deserves it); I would buy my dad a Mustang (because it’s his favourite car); I would buy my best friend a nice house in Spain, close to the beach (because that’s her dream); I would buy a huge land and build an animal shelter where all the stray, abandoned dogs would live happy lives (because I can’t stand unhappy souls); and I would travel around the world (because it’s my dream).

16. I can be very lazy but I can also be a perfectionist.

17. I love exploring caves and grottos.

18. I like jumping on a bed.

19. I experience déjà vu quite often.

20. I posed nude.

21. Black is my favourite colour.

22. I love listening to Depeche Mode and Metallica – equally.

23. I like watching deep, ‘heavy’ and intense dramas and cry while watching them. I actually cry every time I see or hear something touching. But I don’t consider myself a cry-baby. I can be tough. Really.

24. I took the 2^nd place in a pistol shooting competition.

25. I get frustrated very easily.

26. My beloved grandma is suffering from an Alzheimer disease.

27. When I was a teenager, I had two nicknames: Baśka (which is short for Barbara in Polish) and Bartek. I really don’t remember now why I was called Baśka as it is not even my middle name and I certainly have no idea why my friends called me Bartek as it is a boy’s name... :O

28. I love three movies directed by Alejandro Gonzales Innaritu: Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel.

29. 21 Grams made a huge impact on me. I left the cinema really pissed off, sad and depressed. It was a strange roller-coaster of emotions.

30. I drank a bottle of Tequila with a guy once. I don’t remember how the evening ended...

31. I became addicted to Big Brother 3 years ago... and I can’t believe I have just admitted it publicly...

32. I think Toy Story and Shrek are hilarious.

33. According to numerology, 9 is my lucky number. I’ve always thought it was number 7...

34. I like classical music with a modern kick. I like rock music with a classical kick.

35. Even though it has been several years, I still remember the taste of chocolate from the Chocolate Heaven store on the Pier 39 in the San Francisco Bay.

36. I can solve a Rubik’s cube in 3 minutes.

37. I like veggie sushi.

38. I wish my parents pushed me more to do many different things when I was a kid.

39. I have seen Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake 4 times.

40. I am not patient at all and don’t like waiting.

41. I have lots of grey hair and have to dye it every 3 weeks.

42. I hate running.

43. Even though I spent 4 years in high school and 6 months in a private school trying to learn German, I cannot speak this language at all.

44. I like people who have something interesting to say.

45. I like the smell of rain and freshly cut grass.

46. I hate being late. People who are constantly late get on my nerves.

47. When I was 14, a friend of mine sprayed me in the face with a pepper spray. He is no longer my friend.

48. I love taking photographs. Good ones. The bad ones too.

49. I cannot saw even though this is what I was supposed to learn during 4 years I spent in high school.

 50. I love animals but spiders and big bees terrify me. I will kill every single one of them bastards whenever I have a chance.

51. My best friend lives far away from me. Too far away...

52. I have got a tattoo on my lower back. I want to get another one. On my upper back.

53. I don’t like people who drop litter on the ground even though a rubbish bin is right next to them. And, most of all, I don’t like people who don’t clean after their dogs.

54. I like Southern Comfort, Drambuie, Martini Bianco with orange juice and Cherry Vodka.

55. As a typical chocolate addict, I love brownies.

56. I don’t know how to make vapour-cooked yeast dumplings. My grandma is the only one in my family who does.

57. I once had 7 earrings in my left ear and 1 in my nose.

58. I used to paint and draw. I don’t anymore. I don’t know why I’ve stopped.

59. I don’t understand how electricity works. Slawek has patiently tried to explain it to me so many times but all I heard was blah, blah, blah... Physics has never been my favourite subject.

60. I had snails baked in garlic butter in a fancy French restaurant. They were DELICIOUS!

61. I once washed my robe... but I forgot that my mobile phone was in its pocket...

62. I love high-heel shoes.

63. I like going to bed naked.

64. I like silly TV programmes and live shows. Actually, I like them too much.

65. I love dancing.

66. I love taking long baths with Slawek.

67. My best friend and I won a 5-day trip to Dublin in 1996. We didn’t actually win it, but because we were rather frequent visitors at the Irish Pub in Lodz, Poland, the owner of the pub made sure we ‘won’ the Guinness competition... as a ‘thank you’ I guess.

68. I like flying kites.

69. I often chuckle when I see this number ;)

70. I can sense when someone lies. But I often don’t say anything.

71. I prefer listening than speaking.

72. I felt embarrassed as a teenager because I thought my breasts were too big. Now I wish they were bigger.

73. I like playing cards.

74. Instead of wine, I once ordered 7UP in a very fancy restaurant. What a faux pas...

75. I would love to attend ceramics classes and learn how to make pottery.

76. I hate mice and I am totally disgusted by them. I had mice in my house once (and not because it was filthy or cluttered). When one got caught in a trap and Slawek had to kill it off, I felt really sorry for it and cried for half an hour.

77. I don’t like speaking in public. It terrifies me.

78. I have got all 10 seasons of Friends and watch all of the 227 episodes every 6 months.

79. I cannot live without coffee with milk.

80. I don’t like junk food but I go to McDonalds once per year. I always order a traditional hamburger and medium fries.

81. I do not like cooked or fried onions but cannot imagine cooking without them.

82. I can be too humble. I can be too confident.

83. Slawek and I wanted to go to China this summer. Unfortunately, it is not going to happen.

84. I can whistle really loudly using my two fingers.

85. I love nature and outdoors; but somehow, I have always lived in big metropolitan areas.

86. I prefer giving than receiving gifts.

87. My leg was badly burned by a very hot tea.

88. I don’t like wearing skirts.

89. I like erotic novels.

90. A friend from my teenage years died from a drug overdose. She was 16 years old.

91. I swear a lot when driving.

92. I chose the subject of photography and voyeurism when writing my dissertation for a BA degree in Media Studies. I have no idea what my MA thesis is going to be about.

93. I sometimes take things too seriously and let small details bother me.

94. I believe that everything happens for a reason.

95. I like empty churches.

96. I smoked weed.

97. I absolutely love roller-coasters.

98. I would like to go to the army... but only for a week.

99. There are several features in a man that I like: eyes, hands and a nice butt.

100. I have found writing this list about myself rather narcissistic.