100.

This is a copycat game of sorts. I was inspired by Erin and a few other people I follow in the social media universe. The premise is simple: share 100 things about yourself. It’s kinda narcissistic, but then again, so is having a blog about my life.  Good luck making it through the list.

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1. My middle name is Erica, after my mother.

2. I will never be eligible for a Nexxus card. It’s a good story.

3. I have 3 nicknames: SMO, Cogs and Marty.

4. I’ve always been short yet am always surprised by just how short I am.

5. I can remember exactly where I was when I thought of what I wanted to name Will.

6. No such luck for Rory and Anja.

7. I studied Political Science in University and thought I’d always work in politics.

8.  The first event I ever produced was a concert at university headlines by the Violent Femmes. I was 18 and clueless.

9. I sold a horse to buy my first “real” mountain bike.

10. I used to hate climbs on my bike. They’d bring me to tears.

11. Now I love them.

12. Rory would have been named that whether he was a boy or a girl.

13. I went to a catholic all-girls boarding school for high school. We nicknamed it the nunnery.

14. I did not go on to become a nun.

15. I finished 4th in my first ever mountain bike race. I was terrified.

16. I’d have been Christopher had I been a boy.

17. I have no interest in water sports. Swimming is the only exception.

18. I was diagnosed with depression 3 years ago and while it’s not stellar, I’m not ashamed of it.

19. I ran the New York Marathon when I was 4 months pregnant with Anja.

20. My first triathlon was Ironman Canada in 2004.

21. I was scared of my best friend for the first 6 months that I knew her. On paper, we should not be friends: we could not be more different.

22. My office at my first “real” job was across from the men’s room. You learn a lot about men’s habits that way.

23. I hated wedding dress shopping.

24. Tomatoes make me gag. So do artichokes.

25. I’ve had a police officer point a machine gun at me at a traffic light in Doha.

26. I was in a car accident with my boyfriend during the 1998 ice storm in Quebec. We were driven home by the Army.

27. I thought we’d flipped the car into a river. I don’t think I’ve ever moved so quickly. We were merely in a field. The river was on the other side of the road.

28. I take pictures almost every day.

29. I am almost always sick to my stomach after a hard race.

30. I love eating and I think about food A LOT.

31. I’ve been on the cover of a major metropolitan newspaper.

32. Spiders and cockroaches gross me out.

33. I was with my mother when she drew her last breath. I am thankful for that.

34. I don’t like wearing black.

35. I decided to teach myself to like red wine at the Seattle Marathon in 2004. It worked.

26. I’ve had 4 surgeries, all on the right side of my body.

27. I have 3 screws in my body.

28. I tried to learn to surf on the North Shore of Oahu.

29. I ended up in hospital with 21 stitches in my face.

30. I once broke both arms in the same summer (one right after the other). Worst summer ever.

31. I think I have an addictive personality.

32. My favourite movie is the Sound of Music.

33. I like going to bed early.

34. I’ve been known to make exceptions for a good party or a wedding.

35. I hate getting into an unmade bed.

36. I’m half-Dutch.

37. I love a good kitchen dance party.

38. I did not particularly enjoy being pregnant. Any of the 3 times. I definitely wasn’t that glowy pregnant lady.

39. If I could get a free ride back to university, I’d study international relations and religion.

40. When I decide I want a haircut, I want it done right. freaking. now.

41. I have to read every night in order to fall asleep.

42. My first half marathon was in Victoria in 2001. I still have the cotton shirt.

43. My favourite piece of jewellery is a little gold helicopter my dad gave my mum.

44. I think helicopters are the coolest thing ever.

45. I love Hawaii.

46. I want to live in Europe and visit Africa.

47. I harbour the exact same loathing for sunburns and hangovers: both self-inflicted and preventable.

48. I’ve lived in the mountains for 15 years. Bears still scare me.

49. I’m indifferent to hiking and camping.

50. I like flying if I’m by myself.

51. I stood next to Chris Noth in a Starbucks in Maui. I didn’t recognize him, Jay had to point him out.

52. Early morning is my favourite part of the day.

53. I get annoyed by dumb grammar errors and I make them more often than I should.

54. I swear in front of my kids. Often.

55. I have no plans to bungee jump or sky dive. EVER.

56. I lived on a farm until I was 18 years old.

57. I consider myself an introverted extrovert (or extroverted introvert).

58. There is no better feeling than laughing so hard you’re crying, and your kind of hurts when you’re done.

59. If you’ve made it this far, there’s a skill testing question at the end.

60. When I have bouts of insomnia, I try to fall back asleep by mentally renovating my house from top to bottom. When it works, I don’t make it past the front hallway.

61. I once delivered a foal by myself as the vet was delayed.

62. I was born and raised in Quebec but have never bought a poutine.

63. I’ve never had breakfast in bed.

64. I love getting lost in a good book.

65. At one time or another, I have coached tennis, sailing, skiing, mountain biking, riding and triathlon.

66. I’m glad I live in a small town but I love to spend time in the city.

67. I worry every single day that I am screwing up my kids.

68. I’ve ridden a camel.

69. Jelly Beans – the generic kind – are my favourite candy.

70. If it weren’t for my kids, Halloween and Christmas would be regular days for me.

71. I don’t have anything against plastic surgery (in moderation). Do what you gotta do.

72. My first job was in a comic book store. I was frequently bored to tears.

73. I love reading magazines.

74. I was born on a Friday the 13th.

75. I thought of most of these things while out on a run, then promptly forgot many of them when I walked through my front door.

76. I cannot play a single musical instrument.

77. Fingernails scratching along the underside of the hull of a boat is the worst sound in the universe.

78. I drive too fast and always have.

79. I have never tried snowboarding and have no interest in changing that.

80. I’m bilingual and often think in French.

81. On the rare occasion that I buy a lottery ticket, I genuinely believe I am going to win and am shocked when I don’t.

82. Fresh flowers in my house make me happy.

83. I regret not going to University out-of-province.

84. Anja is named for Anja Paerson and it’s a nod to my European heritage. (She got up from that crash and crushed her next race).

85. I’ve owned (and worn!) a pair of green corduroy overalls.

86. I want to retire to a tiny house, preferably somewhere warm.

87. The first band I ever saw in concert was The Police.

88. I was once dive-bombed by an owl. I screamed very, very loudly.

89. I took a journalism class taught by a writer who had written pretty harsh things about my family. I sat in the front row and spent the semester staring him down and making him squirm. It was fun. I passed the class with flying colours.

90. I rode up Alpe D’Huez on an ill-fitting bike, having had 3 hours of sleep and a can of coke. I loved it anyway.

91. I jumped off the 10 metre platform and it was so scary that I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t like being that close to the ceiling.

92. There are 2 words in the English language that make me cringe so hard I won’t even type them.

93. I love having cereal for dinner.

94. The only team sport I’ve ever played was Ultimate Frisbee. My career was short.

95. I hate seeing myself on video or hearing the sound of my own voice.

96. I love hot tubs.

97. Math makes my head hurt.

98. Every 2 years, I redevelop an unhealthy obsession with the Olympics.

99. I swam alongside some dolphins once. I thought they were sharks and almost fainted in the water.

100. I’m surprised that I was able to come up with 100 things this quickly. I’m unsure what this says about me.

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Here’s your skill testing question: how many screws are in my body (and no, this should not be interpreted as “how many screws do I have loose”?)