Turning 30 (30 things you may or may not know about me)

Some time ago I saw a post on a Facebook friend’s feed who was turning 40 and was sharing 40 things about her. I thought it a good idea and today I’m turning 30 (OMG, really?) I’m sharing with you 30 things about me.

1. Let’s start with something simple. I’m 5,4 feet tall, I have brown hair and dark eyes. The epitome of the plain girl.
2. I’m Italian, I live in Italy and I’ve never lived anywhere else. I say this because some FB friends mistook me for a native English speaker and this filled me with pride, but also with dread. It’s such a standard to stand up to!
3. I love my hometown, and even if when I was 19 I went away at University swearing never to come back, I’m still here.
4. I still remember my years at Primary School as the best of my childhood, but I would gladly erase my teen years from my and other’s memory.
5. I am a chemist and this keeps scaring the hell out of most people. Some think I’ll end up in a camping van cooking drugs, others believe I’m going to blow something up. Relax, people. It’s just a job.
6. I’ve been married for a year but Andrea and I have been together for more than 10 years. Which means we spent together a third of our lives.
7. I spent the remaining two thirds with my family and I’ll be forever grateful for the most amazing parents I could have wished for.
8. I love everything about books and writing. A day spent without reading a page or writing a line is wasted for me.
9. Therefore, if you want to make me happy, all you have to do is buying me pens, notebooks and novels.
10. I buy more books than I can possibly read and I dream about having a room large enough to be turned into a library.
11. I also dream about having a room large enough to be turned into a wardrobe, because I buy more clothes, shoes and bags (oh, bags!) than my wardrobe can possibly contain.
12. Besides books and clothes, my third compulsion is towards food. Nothing pathological, but I manage to be on a diet only between breakfast and lunch.
13. I hate vinegar. I can’t stand the smell.
14. My comfort food is fried. Whatever can be fried can become my comfort food.
15. I demand a lot from others, but even more from myself. My inner judge resembles Minerva McGonagall a lot (with a touch of Snape here and there).
16. I give people a lot of chances, often more than they deserve, but when enough is enough I turn into a stern Mr Darcy: my good opinion once lost is lost forever.
17. In case you missed this, my favourite books are Harry Potter (The Prisoner of Azkaban is the one I love the most) and Jane Austen’s novels (Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Persuasion compete for the first place in my heart).
18. I re-read something by Jane Austen at least once a year. I try to resist the impulse of re-reading the complete Harry Potter series too often just because I have tons of new books on my to-read shelf.
19. I love superheroes. There’s nothing better than a story where the good guy wins and the bad guy has the time to explain his evil plan just before being defeated by the hero (but don’t fear, he’s not really dead).
20. I hate packing and unpacking, it makes me anxious and grumpy, an awful lot for the wife of a passionate traveller (it’s not that great for the passionate traveller too).
21. Once the packing and unpacking are done, I love travelling around the world, but I can’t say I’m the adventurous kind (potable water is a condition sine qua non for me to go anywhere).
22. I constantly fight against laziness and procrastination. I’m the harshest judge of myself but also my own worst saboteur.
23. As much as I love it, I rarely talk about writing face to face. I still feel afraid of being judged for it and I can’t set aside the thought others might think I’m silly to believe I can write.
24. Even if others may this writer thing is silly, I have no intention to stop. Insecure and stubborn. Bad pair.
25. People who don’t know me tend to find me arrogant and intimidating. There’s nothing further from the truth, and anyway it’s completely unintentional.
26. I hate performing in front of an audience. Piano and dance recitals, oral tests and exams, and anything that requires for me to talk in public have always been a source of deep anxiety.
27. I also hate competitions. When I have to do something in front of a panel of judges or in order to win, I’m bound to underperform. I don’t give my best under pressure.
28. I’m not the kind of friend who calls you every day or shows up at your door to surprise you, but if you need me I’ll be there. Unless… (see number 15).
29. I sing while I’m driving. I sing while doing the housekeeping. Sometimes I even sing while working (ask my colleagues if you don’t believe it).
30. I spent the last minute or so staring at the cursor trying to come up with one last thing to say about me, but it seems age is already playing tricks on my memory.