I’m obviously not in the same league as our Anita, and the paltry 30 posts on my blog hardly compares to her 100, but I really like the concept of her latest post.  So here’s my list of ‘30′ things about me.  I aspire to one day having 100 posts of my very own, then I can really bore the pants off everyone.

• When I was born, my brother was found at the bottom of our garden crying, because he didn’t want another girl in the family.  He was 11 at the time.
• I have a blue spot on my chin, which resulted from my sister stabbing me with a lead pencil when I was little.  I used to get sick of people telling me I had pen on my face.  I don’t know why they no longer do.
• I’ve had a dog in my life since I was two years old – three Boxers, a Fox Terrier, and now a Jack Russell.  We’d love another Boxer, but we don’t have enough flat land to keep one on.
• I got married when I was 21, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
• My first car was a VW Golf.  I bought it off my brother.  It was bright green and my sister had a bright yellow one at the same time.
• I wrote my VW off when I hit a goat on a country road.  I replaced it with another VW.
• We bought our first house when I was 20, six months before we got married.  We refused to spend one night in it until the day we got married – we felt it would spoil the excitement of getting married.  We renovated it by day, up until that time, while we both lived at Mum and Dad’s.
• The first job I had was as a waitress at our family’s restaurant.  I was ten at the time.  If I saw a ten year old taking orders today in a restaurant, I’d probably think they were precocious.
• My first job when I left school was working at ‘Fabric Bazaar’, a fabric shop in central Christchurch.  I was bullied something awful by the General Manager.  Her name is Chris (or Christine, or Chrissy) Rivers.  I believe in naming and shaming, because she put me through sheer hell  as a shy and timid 18 year old.  Last thing I heard, she was working as a bathroom consultant at Mico Wakefield in Christchurch.  I regret to say that I hate her immensely and will never forgive her.
• I get angry when I come into contact with someone smelling of cigarette smoke.  That’s just revolting.
• I used to be a Lifeline Telephone Counsellor.  I gave it up when someone phoned me while in the process of taking their own life.  I used to feel guilty that I had a good life, whereas other people didn’t.  I didn’t want those hang-ups in my life.
• Graham and I used to be Youth Group Leaders at our local church.  I no longer believe that to have a faith, you must go to church.  I know I’m a good person without having a physical building that I must visit each week.
• It took two years to conceive our first child.  That felt like an eternity when we wanted a baby so badly.
• When I was little, I wanted to be a hippopotamus when I grew up.  When I was at primary school, I wanted to be a vet.  All through high school, I wanted to be a lawyer.  Now I dabble in employment law – that’s the closest I ever got.
• I have an almost completed Bachelor of Business degree, majoring in Employment Relations.  Study bores me, so at this time in my life, I have no desire to finish it.
• My maiden name is Cairns.  We moved away from Te Puke just as Lance Cairns and his family moved into the town.  Growing up, I was always asked if I was any relation to the cricketing family, whereas Lance and his family were asked if he was related to us when he moved to Te Puke!  We’re not related, even though Chris’ sister’s name was Rachel Cairns (but she was known as Louise). 
• I got my drivers licence as soon as I turned 15.  It involved driving down the main street in Leeston (500 metres long), doing a u-turn, and driving back.  The officer who gave me my licence 22 years ago now works with Graham on his section.
• I hate crowds of people – large events, shopping malls and sales are my idea of hell.  I’d rather go out for a meal with Graham than with a group of people.
• I used to work in the Chief Executive’s office at the Canterbury District Health Board.  One day, I had to serve Helen Clark and Lianne Dalziell (the then Health Minister) a cup of coffee.  Surprisingly, Helen Clark was actually quite pleasant and courteous.  But I wasn’t tricked. 
• Gerry Brownlee was my form teacher at school.  He was very cool.
• I once got to play with the toys from PlaySchool (the Teds, Jemima, Manu and Humpty) when I visited my sister at work in TVNZ Dunedin.  All the kids at school thought I was a legend after that.
• My eldest sister is adopted, because Mum and Dad didn’t think they could have any more children after my brother was born.  I was a bit of a mistake.
• I don’t drink alcohol, tea or coffee.   I only drink Diet Decaffeinated Coke, or water.
• I work in Human Resources, but I don’t know why.  I don’t enjoy dealing with ‘people’ issues.  I just wish everyone would develop the motivation and wherewithall to fix their own problems rather than expecting other people to do it for them.
• I wear contact lenses, but only in one eye to save money.  The optometrist thinks I’m really weird.  I also make it last longer than the recommended one month…  to save money.
• I once applied to join the Police, but my eyesight wasn’t good enough, and I wasn’t prepared to correct my eyes through laser surgery in order to get in.  I’d get them corrected in a heartbeat now… if I didn’t have a problem forking out $1,800 per eye.
• I’m tight.
• I don’t believe in owing money to anyone or anything.
• I am fascinated by psychic ability.  I don’t appreciate people who discount that sort of phenomenon outright – who are we to confirm or deny its existence.  I once saw a figure walking outside our bedroom window, just before having the sensation that someone or something (very heavy) was sitting on my chest while I was lying in bed.  A psychic later confirmed what had happened to me, without any prompting.  While I don’t understand it, I’m not a skeptic.
• I could never get to 100 things about myself…