1. This actually isn’t my 101st post. I wrote a whole bunch on my other Mum’s Word blog that I started in 2006.

2. My birthday is on New Year’s Day; it’s a bittersweet day to have a birthday.

3. When I was 2 I would sing Abba’s Mama Mia all the time (so I’m told).

4. When I was 3 I remember playing Abba’s Arrival on our stereo; this is how I occupied my days while my mother worked as a dressmaker.

5. I was an extremely clingy child; no-one other than my mother would do.

6. I am the youngest of 3 children. I have a brother 12 years older and a sister 9 years older than me. According to birth order theory I possess both last born and first-born characteristics.

7. I celebrated my 5th birthday in Greece; my parents home country.

8. I remember watching Grease on the plane. I instantly fell in love with Olivia Newton John. A love affair (read: obsession) that would last the next few years.

9. I started school in 1979; we still had naps as part of our daily routine.

10. As well as counting to 100 after recess.

11. I have family in Adelaide and Melbourne. Is there any Greek person who doesn’t have a relative in Melbourne?

12. I grew up in a cul-de-sac. I learned to ride my bike on the gravel street. Gravel is not your friend when you fall off.

13. My brother gave me a 5-minute swimming lesson at Cronulla beach on how to manage waves when I was 6. Pretty much after that I was on my own.

14. My brother would always play AC/DC in the car on the way to the beach.

15. Hearing Jailbreak as a young kid is a little confronting.

16. My brother also let me watch Mad Max, The Warriors and Risky Business when I was way too young.

17. I am the youngest of pretty much my entire extended family here in Australia. Being the youngest has its good and bad points.

18. I either got lots of attention for being ‘the baby’ or I got dismissed because I was ‘the baby’.

19. My mother let me walk to school by myself when I was 9 years old. My daughter is 10 and I’d love to let her walk to the park on her own but I worry society will look upon me badly if I do.

20. When I was 9 I knew I wanted to be a journalist; I wanted to be Lois Lane.

21. I even created a news desk in my room.

22. I had to share my room with my older sister.

23. I don’t think she was too pleased about it at first.

24. Because of her I am now a Bruce Springsteen fan.

25. My father is very strict and a generally unhappy soul.

26. My sister and I spent a lot of time in our room just to avoid him.

27. My Uncle Chris says it is a privilege to be Greek.

28. I did my level best to reject my Greek heritage; simply so I could stick it to my dad.

29. I overdosed on aspirin when I was 9; deliberately.

30. I also deliberately burnt my wrist on the oven rack.

31. The aspirin overdose was because I was really unhappy.

32. The burnt wrist was to get some attention.

33. My childhood wasn’t always happy. Or my adolescence. Thank God for friends.

34. I got very good at sneaking out my bedroom window.

35. The great irony is a large part of who I am can be attributed to my father; it’s just not the way my father wanted me to turn out.

36. I’m very good at contingency plans; screwing up was not an option with my father.

37. I am stubborn like my father.

38. I hold strong opinions like my father. Not the same opinions though.

39. I was pigeon-toed so my parents sent me to ballet when I was 7.

40. I also did gymnastics.

41. And softball and netball.

42. I don’t like soccer.

43. I follow the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. Have done so since I was 5.

44. I learnt to play the piano at 14.

45. I love music. Can never be without it.

46. My itunes library is about 20,000 songs strong (minus a few thousand for doubleups).

47. When I was 15 I had front row tickets to a Bon Jovi show. Jon touched my hand, looked into my eyes and sang “Born to be my baby”.

48. Although I am a HUGE Bon Jovi fan I never had a crush on Jon or any of the other band members. I am all about the music.

49. I did have a crush on Bret Michaels from Poison and Sebastian Bach from Skid Row.

50. I went to a co-ed highschool. I wasn’t distracted by the boys. They were just other people in my class.

51. I misbehaved in my English class in Year 7 & 8. My teacher Mr Bentley wasn’t impressed.

52. I paid for my sins when I had Mr Bentley for 3 Unit English in Year 12.

53. I did have a highschool sweetheart….he broke my heart.

54. In the aftermath of that I went to uni; where I met Mr M.

55. At uni my journalism lecturer really put me off becoming a news journalist.

56. I discovered I liked video editing.

57. I worked at Community Television (Channel 31) on a women’s show titled XX. Made by women for women.

58. Mr M is very good at video editing too. Better than I ever was.

59. Last semester of uni he and I were in the same production group; we spent a lot of time together in a dark editing suite.

60. After uni I toyed with the idea of moving to the UK to join a long list of friends who moved there.

61. Mr M asked me to stay. So I stayed.

62. A HR manager once told me I should marry someone who is smarter than me to keep me interested.

63. My mother told me not to get married before I was 25. Give myself time to grow before I commit to someone else.

64. She also said love wasn’t important when it came to marriage. I beg to differ.

65. I married Mr M when I was 25. He was 22.

66. I was a mother at 27. That was unexpected.

67. My mother was sure I was having a boy. Because she has psychic Greek powers and all that. I had a girl

68. With my second pregnancy she was sure I was having a boy. I did.

69. With my third and fourth pregnancies she refused to give a prediction.

70. Before the kids came along I was a corporate Marketing Executive. And kind of enjoying it.

71. After the kids, I knew I couldn’t go back to that career.

72. The world looked different the day I became a mother. It really looked different.

73. So I took up writing again.

74. I am a bleeding heart lefty.

75. I believe businesses and corporations have social responsibility to the community.

76. I am a critical thinker. Uni taught me that.

77. I am an over-thinker. My family taught me that.

78. I’d like to complete a Master degree in cultural studies or sociology.

79. I don’t think I have the stuff to complete a PhD. Though being a doctor is kind of appealing.

80. I think some of the best-written movies are A Few Good Men, The Big Chill and Love Actually.

81. I am fiercely loyal. But if I think you are being disingenuous I will keep you at arms length.

82. I can curl my tongue into that u-shape. Apparently not everyone can do that. Not sure what that means….if anything.

83. I don’t believe you can raise your child/ren in that perfect bubble so many people try to create. I do believe those parents are well intentioned; there are just too many variables you can’t control.

84. I find it satisfying that some ideals I held when I was 18 still ring true for me 20 years on. It means I got it right the first time.

85. I do my best work between 10pm and 2am.

86. My mother taught me the virtue of being charitable; with my time and my money. My mother taught me lots; even when she wasn’t trying to teach me anything at all.

87. I would happily pick up my family and move to another country.

88. I’m a list maker.

89. If I had to pick which one of my children is most like me it would be my first son Alex.

90. He’s also the one I butt heads with the most.

91. My second son Christian is one of the most caring people I know. I could learn a thing or two from him.

92. My daughter is like her father.

93. My youngest is just over 2 years old. Really early in the morning he climbs into bed with me. It’s an awesome feeling.

94. I do enjoy my own company. Doing things on my own, or being alone doesn’t scare me.

95. If I hadn’t married Mr M I probably would not have watched as many Martin Scorsese films as I have.

96. I drink tea. Never coffee

97. I grind my teeth in my sleep when I’m stressed.

98. I love second hand bookshops.

99. I believe that you should question everything. When I started uni a lecturer said “believe half of what you read and none of what you hear”.

100. Everything I have written here is true.

101. But it’s just not everything.

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