in which i talk about myself. a lot.

Wow, it's been a long time since I last wrote! Sorry about that- I've been travelling. A couple of weeks ago, I was in London for five days and then I flew to the USA where I've been jet-setting all over the East Coast. Anyway, even though I haven't written in ages, Katie from instead of an elephant, flocha from whimsical procrastination and Gwendolen & Cecily from Their Harangues and Their Fancies all nominated me for the Liebster award! So thank you all very, very much.

So these are the rules: 

• You have share 11 things about yourself
• You have to answer the 11 questions that your tagger has given you
• You have to choose 11 other blogs to nominate (that have under 200 followers) 
• And of course thank, and then link back to the person who nominated you!

11 Things About Me:

1. I have been to thirteen countries. They are New Zealand, Australia, India, Singapore, America, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Germany, Austria, Holland and England.
2. I have never visited the capital cities of the two countries that I've lived in.
3. Whenever we travel, my parents always make me map out the routes that we have to take to get to places within cities. I'm proud to say that we haven't gotten lost (yet).
4. I have two huge bookshelves in my room that are overflowing with books. There is literally no room left on either one of them.
5. Hence, I am the proud new owner of a Kindle PaperWhite.
6. My dream role is Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing because Beatrice is literally my favourite character ever. 
7. I wouldn't mind playing River Song either, although my hair is very far from being as curly as Alex Kingston's.
8. Breakfast is my least favourite meal of the day. There are a lot of breakfast-y foods that I can't stand.
9. My origins are from one country, but was born in another and now live in a third. 
10. I can speak one language (English) and am learning Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi. I learnt Arabic for seven years and promptly forgot everything as soon as I dropped the class.
11. I'm 5'1". I wish I was one foot taller. 

Flocha's Questions

1. What is your favourite type of footwear?

Ballet flats, because they're just so comfortable and I love the way they look as well. I also like wearing heels, because they make me look taller. But they make my feet hurt so much!

2. Do you find clowns scary?

I've never really thought about it. I don't think I do, although those painted on smiles do kind of freak me out.

3. What is the meaning of life?

Excellent question! I have no idea.

4. What is the first object immediately to your left?

My computer charger.

5. What is your favourite television show?

AAAH YOU WANT ME TO CHOOSE? I absolutely love Castle and I have for the past three years. I've recently gotten into Doctor Who and I love that as well, although it frequently breaks my heart. I have cried in every single season finale. Once Upon A Time is also one of my favourites.

6. Dark or milk chocolate?

Dark. It's just so much tastier.

7. Are cats evil?

No! Cats are adorable!

8. Do you have any weird obsessions? If so, what are they?

I obsess over a lot of fictional characters. Especially River Song. Is that weird? 

River Song is just amazing.

9. Summer or winter?

I guess it kind of depends where. In Dubai, I prefer winter because Dubai summers are just too hot- it goes up to about forty five degrees every afternoon and the humidity simply kills you. But in New Zealand, I prefer summer because it's around twenty five degrees and it doesn't rain every single day.

10. Do you have any scars?

I have three. I have one near my right elbow which is from when I accidentally burnt myself with hot butter when I was three. The second is on my stomach from when I fell off my bike and the handlebar scraped my skin. The third is on my right leg, where my rabbit scratched me when she decided she didn't want to play anymore.

11. What is your favourite blog?

I can't choose! I absolutely love all of the blogs that nominated me, and all the blogs that I'm going to nominate.

Katie's Questions:

1. Tea or coffee?

Coffee. I've actually only had tea once.

2. What is the last news article/book/essay you read?

The last book I read was Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. It takes place during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793 in Philadelphia and is very interesting, although I did find that it was a little too fast. I'm currently reading Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. 

3. What is the last song you listened to?

Radioactive by Marina and the Diamonds.

4. If you could speak another language fluently, what would it be?

Either Mandarin or Spanish, because they're both very useful languages to know (and I could also ace my exams in them). 

5. Necklaces or rings?

Necklaces. I don't like wearing rings very much.

6. Tumblr or Twitter or Facebook?

TUMBLR! 

7. What's the best outfit you've ever worn?

I really liked what I wore to prom.

8. What is your horoscope sign?

I'm on the cusp of Libra and Scorpio. So I guess you could call me a Lorpio or a Scibra. Whichever you prefer.

9. How did you meet your best friend?

I have a whole lot of really close friends and I met most of them through school. 

10. What's your favourite summer food/treat/drink?

Ice cream or snow cones. 

11. If you could claim authorship for any poem, what would it be and why?

This is a really good question. I think it would be Crossing the Water by Sylvia Plath, because I love the last stanza. I think it's really beautiful and it's just amazing. 

Gwendolen & Cecily's Questions:

1. One Harangue?

I suppose you can categorize quite a few of my blog posts as harangues. I shall not bore you at this time with a lengthy rant because chances are, you're already sick of reading about me. Do not fret, there are plenty of harangues that will eventually appear on this blog.

2. One Fancy?

Just one? It's very hard to pick just one as I like a lot of things. If I have to pick one, I suppose it'll be theatre and drama.

3. Favourite play?

Again, it's very hard to choose because there are so many plays that I adore. My favourite Shakespeare play is Much Ado About Nothing. It's hilarious and I absolutely love the banter between Benedick and Beatrice. Plus there are so many lines that are just so quotable. My friend and I once had a conversation almost entirely in Much Ado quotes. Here, take a look:

We're just too awesome

4. Favourite quote?

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says I'm possible."- Audrey Hepburn

5. <this question does not exist. it has been deleted from existence by an unknown force>

6. Favourite poem?

Crossing the Water by Sylvia Plath. See my answer to Katie's eleventh question for more.

7. Favourite ice-cream?

I really like Love Potion #31 by Baskin Robbins. It's vanilla ice cream with a raspberry swirl and chocolate hearts filled with a raspberry jam thing. I also really like Raspberries & Meringues by Haagen-Daaz. I just liked any ice cream which has raspberry-flavoured stuff in it.

8. Favourite place in your home country?

My favourite place in New Zealand is my home town, Tauranga. My favourite places within Tauranga are Pilot Bay, Oropi Spa Pools and Te Puna Quarry Park. I have a lot of really fond childhood memories at these places and they're all so beautiful.

From left to right: Pilot Bay, Oropi Spa Pools and Te Puna Quarry Park

9. Strongest subject at school?

Either English or Drama.

10. If you were guaranteed success in any career, what would you do?

I would be an actress, because it's what I've always dreamed of being.

11. You have a phone, a police box, a monocle and a piece of string.

I would call the Doctor, who would reveal that the police box is actually the TARDIS. We'd fly up into  space and I'd open the door and look at the Earth through the monocle. I'd model the shape of the planet using the piece of string.

Here are the amazing people who I nominate:

1. Elle from Elle Stole My Name
2. Cassie from The Pseudo Intellectual
3. Rachael from Rachael Reviews All
4. Chloe from Perpetual Perplexities
5. Mabel of Mabel's Mind

I am fully aware that I have only nominated five blogs, but that's because I honestly cannot think of anyone else. I really need to read more blogs. You guys should recommend some to me.

And these are my questions:

1. Favourite book-to-movie adaptation and why?
2. If you could live in any city in the world, where would you live and why?
3. Describe yourself in one word
4. Have you ever been told that you look like a famous person? If so, who?
5. If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?
6. What is the strangest dream you've ever had?
7. Traditional books or e-books?
8. Blackberry or iPhone?
9. Favourite extra-curricular activity?
10. How many countries have you been to?
11. Spicy food or bland food?

So there you have it. That was a very long post and now you know a whole lot more about me! I promise to post an actual post very soon. Thanks for sticking around!