Madi | 50 Facts About Me.

I was inspired, initially by the lovely Anna-Jane Searle, and then by the handful of illustrators and designers who followed suit, to write this post - a list of 50 facts that you may not know about me. I love reading lifestyle-type blogs, and really admire bloggers who manage to find a balance between posting about their work, and also more personal life-style stuff. I generally tend to hold back from writing much about myself, assuming that no-one is going to be interested in reading about anything other than the illustrations I create. However, I thought I'd give you all a chance to find out a little more about the girl behind the illustrations;

1. I don't have a middle name. I'm secretly jealous of anyone who does.

2. My Grandmother could touch her nose with her tounge. I have inherited this ability.

3. I'm the only person I know, apart from my brother, who hasn't been christened.

4. I have always wanted to own a tortoise. I plan to buy one, and name him Sparky.

5. I'm 5' 7", and really wish I was shorter.

6. I am not confident enough to leave the house without wearing make-up.

7. I have an irrational fear of answering the telephone, and an even worse fear of calling people. There are only a select few people that I feel comfortable talking to on the phone.

8. I used to collect keyrings, and have two whole shoe-boxes full. 

9. My boyfriend and I have been together since just before my 18th birthday. His name is Daniel. It will be our 8 year anniversary in July.

10. I plan to visit Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada as soon as I possibly can.

11. I wish I was able to speak as eloquently as I am able to write. 

12. My first memory is falling in a river when I was four. My father didn't jump in the river to save me. I saved myself.

13. I have worn odd socks every day since the age of fourteen. Even the thought of wearing matching socks makes me feel uncomfortable.

14. I still suck my thumb when I'm at home. Interestingly, I didn't suck my thumb as a baby. I started when I was six.

15. My hair is naturally blonde. Everyone assumes it's dyed and I am constantly asked, even by hairdressers, where I get it coloured.

16. Throughout school, I was always the only kid in my class to have never had a filling. I still haven't had one, although it doesn't feel like quite so much of an achievement since the dentist stopped giving me stickers.

17. It makes me angry when people refuse to learn how to spell my name correctly. 

18. My full name is Madeleine. I have given up all hope of people learning to spell that correctly!

19. If I had been born a boy, I would have been named Garth. This fact alone is enough to make me glad I was born a girl.

20. I can recite the film My Girl word for word.

21. I use Father Ted quotes and references on a daily basis in conversations. It's not until people look at me blankly that I remember that not everyone knows the scripts of every episode by heart.

22. Although I have lived in Dorset since the age of four, my extended family all still live in the North of England. As a young child, I had a strong northern accent, but I lost it after years of living in the south. Despite this, I still pronounce a lot of words in a way that people down here tell me is wrong.

23. I became an auntie at the age of one-and-a-half.

24. When I was younger, I was desperate to break my wrist - I really wanted a cast so my friends could draw on it. Despite this, I have never broken a bone in my body. I have also since lost the desire to break my wrist.

25. My favourite numbers are seven and eleven. I dislike even numbers.

26. I have big issues with incorrect grammar - the misuse of apostrophes in particular. I would happily walk around with a red marker pen in my pocket to correct all incorrect grammar and misspelt words I see in public (but my boyfriend says I'm not allowed to).

27. I judge people who don't know which version of there/their/they're or you're/your to use when writing. Sorry. 

28. I think capital letters are ugly, and would be happier if they didn't exist. Due to my hatred of incorrect grammar, I force myself to use them when necessary, yet I think sentences look prettier when written entirely in lower-case.

29. I have a scar on my forehead from where my brother, aged one, threw a house-shaped plastic money box at my head, and cut it open.

30. I unintentionally stick my tongue out the corner of my mouth when I'm really concentrating.

31. I despise the colour yellow. I realise it's not rational to actually hate a colour, but I genuinely cannot stand it.
32. I went through a goth stage when I was a teenager. Luckily, there seems to be no photographic evidence of this period of my life. A goth with blonde hair was never going to work out well...

33. When people find out I own my own house at such a young age, they always tell me I'm lucky. If they knew the reason why I own a house, they'd realise I'm not as lucky as they think.

34. I am a vegetarian. 

35. I am very scared of dogs, especially big bitey teeth dogs, and small yappy bouncy types. 

36. I was formally diagnosed with Anorexia about five years ago, but have struggled with disordered eating since the age of  fifteen. My eating disorder dominates my life every single day, yet I am often wary to mention it for fear of being judged.
37.  My favourite three comedians are Eddie Izzard, Richard Ayoade and Noel Fielding. I am going to watch Eddie Izzard perform live for the second time in May.

38. I have double-jointed thumbs. I can make my left one click/pop in a weird way which freaks people out.

39. I find it much easier to cross my little finger and ring finger, than the usual index finger and middle finger.

40. I used to be addicted to Pepsi Max, and would drink between two to four litres a day. 

41. I don't know which way is left and which way is right without resorting to using my hands.

42. Contrary to popular opinion, not all illustrators like tea. I, for one, do not.

43. I am a perfectionist by nature. This means I am incredibly self-critical about my illustration work, and constantly doubt my ability. I am unable to look at a single piece of my work without focussing on the flaws.

44. There is a star in the sky named after me.

45. I am fairly certain that my life would be a whole lot easier if the whole world became nocturnal. Either that, or I should have been born as a fox. My best illustrations are always created in the middle of the night.

46. If I'm at home, you can pretty much guarantee that I will be wearing my pyjamas. This is not dependent on the time of day, so can be slightly awkward if the doorbell rings mid-afternoon.

47. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life. 

48. I have learnt to knit three times in my life. I have also forgotten how to knit three times in my life.

49. I am incredibly socially awkward, and painfully shy with people I don't know, but once I know someone better, it's actually impossible to shut me up. I have been this way since I was a child.

50. My favourite punctuation mark is the semi-colon.

Ta-dah! I'd love to find out a random fact about you, or perhaps we have something in common? Let me know! It will make me smile if you leave a comment. :] Also, if you'd like to read more personal-type posts on my blog - or if you're entirely against the idea - please tell me. I'm interested to know the types of posts you all like to read best. :]