It’s mah birthday!

I’ve done a Meet the Blogger post before, which was a tag of questions that a lot of other bloggers were doing at the time (and still do, I believe). However, as it’s my birthday, I thought it would be fun to do another questionnaire that gives you 32 facts about me, since I’m now 32 years of age (ew).

I’ll be telling people that I’m 19 years old with 13 years of experience.

I’ve been blogging on Genie in a Novel for just about four years now (it’ll be officially four years in June), but since there’s a lot of new people here in the past couple of years, I figured it’s time for one of these posts. So, here are some fun facts about me so you can get to know me a little better!

32 Facts about T.K. {Genie in a Novel}

1. The “T” of T.K. is for Tabitha. I’ve never met another Tabitha in real life (but a few from blogging/bookstagram), and I usually go by Tabby. However, I chose T.K. for this blog for a little anonymity when I first started, and because it’s what my Nanni (mom’s mom) used to call me when I was little.
2. I was born at 4:02pm, but I scheduled this post to go up at 4:02am because I like my posts to be morning posts.
3. One of my favorite bookish memories is from the summer before my sophomore year of high school when I read A Time for Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin. Basically, I finished reading the book on my way back from blueberry picking with my dad and step-mom, as I was reading in the backseat of the car, and by the end of the book I was sobbing, so when my dad dropped me off to my mom she asked him, “What did you do to her?” and I had to tell her I was crying because of the book. My poor dad 😂
4. I can read in moving vehicles without getting carsick. Apparently a lot of people get sick if they try to? I’ve always been one to read on long drives or even on the school bus back in the day.
5. My favorite cartoons as a kid were Recess and Sailor Moon. I’m still obsessed with both shows to this day. I also love reading fanfiction written about them.
6. I’ve been a Christian my entire life. I’ve never had one of those major testimonies that people have when they come to Christ later in life that a lot of people have. I just remember always knowing that God is real, Jesus came to save us from our sins so we can have eternal life, and doing my best to live as an example of Christ (though I’m not perfect; no one is). I’m very glad that I’ve never gone without knowing God in my life.
7. In September of this year I will have officially known my best friend for 20 years. We met in 7th-grade Spanish class.
8. My first official job was working as an office grunt (not the real title) at the local Girl Scouts office, where I just did little tasks like filing, mailing, and similar things. But my real first job was at the pizza place my mom managed for 10 years, back when I was like 8 years old, where I wiped down tables and folded boxes, and got a lot of tips because I was adorable then, haha.
9. For the first 2-3 years of my life, my mom just called me by different foods. I’m surprised I didn’t grow up thinking my name was Spaghetti or Noodle-Head.
10. Up until I was three or four, my hair was bright red. Like, I’m talking full ginger-kid here. But then it darkened a bit and is chestnut brown (so you can sometimes see red undertones in the sunlight). Also, I get highlights done to bring out the red, hehe.
11. My (known) nationalities consist of Irish, Italian, Hungarian, and Polish. There’s probably more, but I have no idea what they are.
12. My top two favorite flavors of ice-cream are mint chocolate chip and maple walnut.
13. I’ve always loved reading, but my TBR was never as out of control as it is until I started working at the library in 2016. Goodreads doesn’t help either.
14. I’ve known my current boss since I was 16 years old, way before she was the Library Director. I used to go to her writing workshop programs and volunteer at the library. One summer she texted me and asked me to stop by the library, and when I did she offered me my job here. It’s all about networking, my friends!
15. I’ve lived in the same city my entire life, but I’ve lived in 11 different apartments/houses. It sometimes boggles me that people live in the same homes for their entire lives. I don’t resent moving around as much as my mom and I did because each place we lived in holds different memories, good and bad, and each home is like a different chapter of my life.
16. I’m actually considering writing a memoir because why not? I don’t need to be famous to write about my life.
17. I once had a boxed, 50lb baby crib fall onto my back from the loft of a Kmart stockroom when I worked there and my dad witnessed it (he was the receiving manager). By God’s grace nothing was broken, but I did somehow get a concussion from the jolt to my nervous system.
18. I have zero tattoos. I do know exactly what I would get if I were to get one, but I’m hesitant to do so for a number of reasons.
19. I did dance lessons from Kindergarten until 6th grade, and karate lessons from 3rd grade to 5th. Sometimes I wish I’d kept up with one of the two, but it is what it is.
20. Going off that last one, I also played Little League softball from 4th to 7th grade. I quit that because my teammates were becoming obsessed with being the best and not to just enjoy playing the game.
21. I’ve only traveled outside the country once. My friend (at the time) and I drove up to Canada for a weekend because we both really wanted to go. It rained most of the weekend, and we did get lost trying to get back to our hotel, but it was a great experience. Part of my reason for going was because my grandma (dad’s mom) was from Canada, though I didn’t visit where she lived because it’s too far north.
22. I never actually “went away” to college. I commuted and went online to earn my Associate’s, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degrees. That said, I attended four colleges, as I transferred once in the middle of my Associate’s program.
23. I went to a vocational/technical high school, where we spent half of our years there in trade shops. I took Drafting (or Computer-Aided Drafting & Design) because when I chose to go to that high school I was planning to be an architect later in life. Unfortunately, out of three and a half years of taking Drafting, we only covered two weeks of architecture, and my sights moved from that to librarianship and video production.
24. While I love my job as a librarian, I would still one day love to work in and/or own a bookstore.
25. I’m pretty set on not having children. It’s not something I see myself doing, ever. I’m content with being an auntie to my best friend’s kids. I just prefer to be a cat-mom.
26. My dream travel locations are: Ireland, France, England, Hungary, Greece, Scotland, and Italy.
27. I prefer Apple over Windows, Android, or any other operating systems. I’ve been an Apple user since I bought my first white MacBook (RIP) that I saved for, and never looked back. I do have a Windows operating laptop for backup and travel (because my MacBook Pro is 10 years old and the battery doesn’t last long on its own anymore).
28. I used to be obsessed with the color orange. It was part of my old blog’s name, orangeowldiaries, and I had orange bedding, curtains, accessories… everything.
29. The blog I mentioned in the last fact is the one I had started when I was in college. I stopped writing there when I started this blog. Everything is still on orangeowldiaries though, minus most of the book reviews, as I brought them over here.
30. I grew up an only child, but I do technically have two older siblings; a half-sister and a brother. I never had a change to know them as they predeceased me before I was even born. After Jesus, I’m looking forward to meeting them in Heaven.
31. I’ve always been a reader. It was something my mom did with me a lot growing up and I was actually the only kid in my Kindergarten class who could read a book on my own, but my teacher didn’t allow me to [insert eye roll here]. I had to sit and listen with the rest of my class. Even when I was able to read on my own, my mom was always devouring books, so I grew up with that influence and look at me now! *crazed laugh as I pop out from under a massive TBR pile*
32. I actually could’ve skipped Kindergarten, and possibly 1st grade (my parents did consider this) because I was a smarty-pants back in the day (haha). Throughout most of my school years, I kind of wished I had skipped a grade or two, but of course, now I’m thankful that I didn’t because I never would have met my best friend back in 7th grade.

That was actually pretty fun, and surprisingly easy. Usually I have a hard time coming up with random facts about myself, but for once it wasn’t as hard. I actually had some others I wanted to include, but I’m sticking with 32 as that’s my age now (physically, definitely not mentally). In fact, in “library math” where I work, we take the digits in our age and add them, so at work I’m 5 years old.

Anyway, I’ll be enjoying the rest of the day seeing my best friend and my niece and nephew. I’m very excited to eat the cake my niece is making for me!

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