1. I’m Portuguese but currently living in New Zealand. 

2. I’m a journalist during business hours. Don’t hold it against me.

3. I run a lot. I talk about running a lot (probably more than I run). Sometimes I write about it here, mostly so I don’t get my friends too tired of hearing me go on and on about it. 

4. Trail running is my favourite kind of running but road running makes me happy too.

5. I bake more than I should.

6. I’ve got the cutest cat this side of the galaxy.

7. I wish I could travel for a living.

8. I document everything. Mostly in the form of a list.

9. I hate it when people put the spoon in the yoghurt when handing me a pot. I know it’s a terribly first world problem but I can’t get over it.

10. I also can’t bring myself to eat the ends of sausages. Don’t ask.

11. I always leave the last few drops of any drink in a cup or glass.

12. I resisted Star Wars for nearly 25 years. One weekend, friends got me to watch all the movies. Now I bet I’m a bigger Star Wars nerd than you.

13. Avocados disgust me. 

14. I’ve got a phobia of lizards. Not a fear. A phobia. My body paralyzes and I cry uncontrollably when I see one. In fact, I don’t even have to see it. Just knowing they’re around is enough. 

15. On the other hand, I’ll happily catch that spider for you, if you’re scared. All spiders are cool. And totally not scary.

16. I cry for just about any reason. Well, except spiders.

17. I grind my teeth a lot and my jaw locks when I’m stressed. I sometimes sleep with a mouth guard. It’s really sexy. 

18. I have never dyed my hair and I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn make up (and, even then, only foundation). I’m neither ashamed nor proud of it, it just never crosses my mind. I once bought a moisturizing cream because my friend freaked me out about how I never moisturize and I’m going to look 30 years older than my real age really soon. The whole moisturizing thing lasted a good week. The cream is still sitting there, by the sink, but I never remember to use it. I’m probably going to be that 40 year old lady who looks like she’s 80. So yeah, go elsewhere for beauty tips. 

19. I own over 100 pairs of shoes. I don’t know why, I only wear a small percentage of those. I’m trying to be better about it this year (as in I’m trying to wear more of the shoes in my collection, not I’m trying to buy less shoes – that’d just be silly). 

20. I eat M&Ms two at a time and they can’t both be the same colour.

21. Still on the subject of colours, each item of clothing has to be hung on the line to dry using two pegs with different colours.

22. On a regular working day, my alarm goes off 1h30 before I actually have to get up. I hit snooze every 5 minutes for 90 minutes. Is this the ultimate proof that I’m lazier than everyone else? Probably. Also, now that I wrote this, I think I understand why I’m so tired every morning.

23. Said alarm is set for 6:03. Because 6am is too early and 6:05 is too late.

24. Don’t ask me how to get anywhere. I can barely navigate my way out of the house (this is less of a joke than it might sound like).

25. My biggest disappointment is having absolutely zero musical talent. I can play a total of zero instruments and the last thing you should wish for is having me sing for you. Except when I’m in my car. When I’m in my car by myself, I’m freaking Beyonce.

26. I can’t swim properly. I absolutely could not swim up until a couple of years ago when I took some lessons. Now I sort of can but still sort of can’t. I’ll never be confident enough in the water but I’ve learned to accept this fact.

27. Sort of related: boat trips freak me out. 

28. I hate loud music.

29. I collect vintage bone china trios.

30. I don’t have cable TV and the TV is hardly ever on when I’m around. I do watch some TV shows religiously (hello, HIMYM!), but on my computer.

31. Seinfeld is my favourite sitcom of all time. I wrote an assignment about it in university, which tells you a lot about the complexity of my degree.

32. I hate it when people shorten words that don’t need to be shortened. I eat breakfast, not brekkie. I wear sunglasses, not sunnies. I also judge people for their grammar. Sometimes silently, sometimes not so silently. 

33. Even though I live on the opposite side of the world from my family, I talk to my parents every single day and the rest of my close family more than once a week.

34. I once fell between a train and the platform just as the train was about to move. A guy appeared from behind and grabbed me and got me on the train. I was in shock and didn’t even think of thanking the man. Whenever people ask me what I would change if I could go back in time, thanking this man is always one of the first things that comes to my mind.

35. Whenever I’m buying something in the supermarket, I always have to get the item in the second row, never the first.I don’t want any of that crap in the front that everyone else has touched. Ew.

36. I get my hair cut once a year because I really really hate going to the hairdresser and having people touch my hair. 

37. I’m a sucker for gifs and internet memes.

38. There are a couple of words I never write properly on the first go. Technology is one of them. I always type “techonology” first. My day job is as a journalist for an IT publication so that word comes up a lot. 

39. I drink more coffee than I should, according to some people. Not enough coffee, according to myself.

40. I can’t think of anything else to say but I can’t let this list end on an odd number so here’s another line or two of text. It’s got no useful information in it. Just like the rest of the list.

Got any questions/comments/declarations/warnings/threats/thoughts/musings/etc? supergenericgirl at gmail dot com is the place to send those to.

(photo by the lovely stacey riordan, taken during one of our training runs in the Waitakere Ranges)