Ten facts about me

As I write, it is the late evening. I am getting ready to go to bed. The room is illuminated by fairy lights. I have been trying to go to bed at more reasonable hours of late, but I just saw the ten pointless facts about me blogging challenge and felt inspired to write something down before I go to sleep. I have been doing a lot of introspective writing on my typewriter for the last few days. This blogging challenge is a good chance for me to put a few words on my blog.

Without further ado, below are my answers to the questions in the challenge!

Tea, coffee, or water?

All three. I usually drink two cups of coffee a day; occasionally three. I drink coffee before 2pm, then stick to water after that. If I am visiting someone and am offered a cup of tea, I will accept a cup at any hour. I drink water at all times. Water is life. Liquid coffee is almost all water, too.

Footwear preference?

I like wearing trainers, but I am yet to find a shoe that is right for me. I am wearing New Balance trainers right now which are most comfortable. The sales representative was really helpful when I went in relatively clueless about what shoe was right (thanks anxiety!).

When I am visiting a new place, I like to walk as far as I can to explore. Especially in cities. My ideal shoe is one that I can walk ten miles in while feeling comfortable. I love long city walks but I don’t want to wear a heavy-duty shoe all around.

I don’t have many pairs of shoes because I find it so hard to find a pair that fits well.

Favourite dessert?

Tiramisu.

The first thing you do when you wake up?

I first turn my phone alarm off. I sometimes then take a drink of water before getting up. I like to say “good morning world” when I wake up. I don’t do this every day, but I feel better when I do.

Age you'd like to stick to?

I’m happy to age as I age.

How many hats do you own?

Many, although I don’t wear hats too often. Last time I wore a baseball cap here in Scotland it blew off my head and I almost lost it. I love hats though. I recently purchased a cowboy hat. I am looking for a fez.

Describe the last photo you took.

The last photo I took was of a blog post I wrote with my typewriter. The page is fully in focus with no background. My previous non-typewriter blog post was a photo of an iced latte I bought in Starbucks.

Worst TV show.

I am trying to watch less television. I can’t really think of a worst television show. My favourites are Frasier, Seinfeld, The West Wing, and Leverage.

Do you floss your teeth?

I don’t floss my teeth, but I know I should. On the topic of dental health: Given it is presently the late evening at the time I write this blog post, the next thing I plan to do after publishing this post is to brush my teeth!

As a child, what was your aspiration for adulthood?

I had many! Before the age of 10, I wanted to be an inventor. I had an idea for a light switch made of paper that, when pressed, would work. I loved the idea of being able to draw something with paper and bring it to life. This invention could now exist with a camera and computer vision or with some degree of circuitry, but I prefer to leave it to the child-like part of my mind to dream more about.

Also before the age of 10, I wanted to be a scientist – a chemist, ideally. (In high school I learned I am not particularly adept at chemistry and struggled quite a bit. I passed my exam in the subject, but only barely.) Later, I started to enjoy programming more and more, and wanted to do something with computers. I also loved subjects in school that involved a lot of writing – history, politics, English, among others.

Professionally, I ended up pursuit a career as a technical writer, although that is but one facet of my life. I make websites and love art and play music and try to make people smile and enjoy traveling and so much more. I even invent things too, mainly related to this website. My blueprint-inspired website design is a homage to my childhood ambitions to become an inventor.

As I grew up, I started to think about things more as a career. In my later teenage years, I put a lot of pressure on myself, a time from which I am still healing. Looking back and forward, I know there is so much more to life than work alone. As an adult, I think I would now say that my aspiration for adulthood is, to the extent I can, be happy, keep learning, use my skills to do work I am proud of, and bring joy to others as much as I can.

You may have noticed I didn't include "pointless" in the title of my post even though the original challenge was called "ten pointless facts about me." I didn't include this from the start because I knew that there was probably something fascinating to say about one of the questions even before reading them all. Far from being pointless, I found these questions most delightful to answer!