Can you believe that my blog is now two years old? I sure can’t. In some ways it feels as though I’ve been writing it forever, and in others it’s like I’ve only just begun. For those of you who have been reading since the beginning, you probably have the feeling that you know practically everything about me. I’m quite open about sharing things on my blog, and there aren’t many topics that I consider to be off-limits. However, in spite of this, there are loads of things that my readers don’t know about me. Today, I’m going to share five tidbits of secret info with you:

 

1. I’ve never smoked a cigarette.

I have never, in my entire life, smoked a cigarette. Not one single puff. There have been times when I’ve been tempted to give it a shot. Many of my friends smoke, and it’s sometimes tricky to say ‘no’ when you’re out with mates and everyone is having a social cigarette. As a teen, I once asked my aunt, a regular smoker, if I could have one of her cigarettes. She considered it, and said that I could have one, but if I did, she would feel obliged to tell my mother. I knew my mum would hit the roof if she knew that I’d smoked, so I politely declined. I don’t have any real problem with smoking, I’ve just never really felt that it’s something I’d enjoy.

 

 

2. I’m slightly afraid of birds.

I’m not scared in the Alfred-Hitchcock sense, but birds make me a tad nervous. I particularly don’t like it when birds are sitting above me in a tree or on the power lines. I’m rather paranoid about being pooped on by a bird, so if I notice one sitting above me, I’ll casually sidle away. I also find their eyes unnerving.

 

3. I’m tongue-tied.

I have a medical condition where the skin that fastens my tongue to the floor of my mouth is thicker and longer than average. That means that I can barely stick my tongue out, I can’t roll my R’s and I have difficulty licking an ice-cream cone. My parents had the opportunity to have my tongue operated on when I was a baby, but they decided to wait until I was older. Some children with this condition wind up with serious speech impediments, and they decided that if I had difficulty with speech, they’d go ahead with the operation. As it was, I could speak perfectly well, so I never had the procedure. I’m fine with that though. If I thought I had any real impairment, I’d probably get it fixed, but for now I’m happy.

 

4. I have a habit of singing along to whatever activity I’m doing.

I saw an episode of How I Met Your Mother not long ago where each member of the gang was being berated for their annoying habits. Marshall’s bad habit was that he tended to narrate everything he did with an impromptu song. My housemate cracked up when we saw this and proclaimed, “You totally do that!” When I thought about it, I realised that I do, and now I’m a little self-conscious about it. I usually sing along to the last song I listened to, and I do most often when I’m performing menial household chores. I also imitate electronic noises, such as the sound my computer makes when it’s booting up, or the ‘beep, beep, beep’ of the microwave.

 

 

5. I hate cinnamon.

Well, that’s not entirely true. I like real cinnamon, when it’s used sparingly. I can’t stand food that has fake cinnamon flavouring. Also, foods that are flavoured strongly with cinnamon make me gag. For this reason, I can’t stomach chai tea and Big Red chewing gum makes me want to hurl. I’m not sure why this is. Even the smell of cinnamon is sometimes enough to make me throw up in my mouth a little. My mother has exactly the same quirk.

 

 

Care to share something I don’t know about you? Come on, be brave!