25 random facts about me (in no meaningful order)

Gracias a Amanda por mandarme el "desafio" por facebook. Si deciden hacer el suyo, por favor avisenme donde lo ponen.

----------------------

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs (or the + sign) on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1- I have had cats as pets for most of my life. One of them was Greta, my most beloved non-human creature, who lived 17 years. I miss having cats.

2- Besides science, the only other career I ever attempted to have was dancing (ballet and contemporary). I danced very seriously for 5 years... forever ago.

3- Besides science, the activity that I have practiced the longest was stage acting. I did it for 7 years, always at school. I have found that such background is useful more often than I would have thought.

4- I have lived in four cities, in four countries, in two continents. None of them had under a million people (counting suburban areas), one of them currently has 20 million people. I like big cities.

5- I have voted in three presidential elections and two intermediate ones, all in the same country. I have voted for four different parties, most of them identified with the left. I think voting is a serious obligation even though I dislike many politicians.

6- Watching films is a fundamental part of my existence, it is almost a religion for me. I am told the first film I saw in a theater was a version of Tarzan, at the age of three, I don’t remember it at all.

7- I love music, I buy a lot of CDs and I go to a lot of concerts, you could almost call that a vice of mine. There are a couple of bands that I have seen live over ten times. The most I have traveled to see a concert was 9844 kms.

8- Science defines my life now. I think that even if I stopped being an active scientist, science would still define my life. I like being a scientist.

9- Curious fact: only one of my ex boyfriends is my friend in facebook (or two, it depends how strictly you count)

10- I love food. I love cooking. Sometimes I plan my days or weeks around meals. I am very fond of coming back to restaurants I like several times in a row.

11- I speak two languages fluently and I speak two more at a very dumb conversational level. I like learning languages, although I am kind of slow at it.

12- My career has given me the chance to travel a lot. I have visited twenty-few countries and I hope to see a few more before I leave this planet. I have come to hate the airport part of traveling, but I still think the new knowledge is worth the pain.

13- I have a sizable and fun extended family, as well as a wonderful loving nuclear one. I normally enjoy very much spending time with my family and being far from them is one of the worst aspects of my current living situation.

14- Where I come from, marriage was not a given, you might or might not do it and in either case, it would be fine. I got married over a year ago and I have to say it was one of the best decisions of my life. It is and has been a lot of fun. I love the man and I feel very lucky to have him be my husband.

15- Mexico is my country, the only one I ever had and probably will ever have. I love it and it pains me to see it in its current shape. I miss living there, but at the same time I feel living in other places has given me a useful perspective on it. I can’t help to hope that things will get better there.

16- The US is the country where I have lived the most outside of Mexico. It welcomed me and paid me to get a PhD. It gave birth to many people I care about. Those are enough reasons for it to have a nice place in my heart.

17- Canada is the first place I lived in outside of Mexico. My time there was tremendously educational and kind of a perfect dream. I like that country a lot, but the weather could be better for my taste.

18- I currently live in Germany. I never ever thought I would be learning German at this age. I am amazed of how much I like certain aspects of German culture. I am not amazed at how much I like German beer.

19- I spent about 26 years of my life enrolled in school. I am a deeply academic person. I am the first person in my family to get a PhD. I hope I won’t be the last one.

20- There was a time when I had a very strong fixation for U2. I am more reasonable now, but I look back on those years with tenderness. I am very thankful for the good, equally fixated friends I acquired during those days and that are still around.

21- I am a friendly person. I have a good number of dear friends. I think I am a good friend and I value close friendship very highly.

22- I grew up in perfect weather, so almost anything is extreme for me. Montreal, Austin and Munich have helped turn me into a more resilient creature

23- I never had serious health problems, but I visit doctors often. I think I inherited some of my grandfather’s hypochondriac personality.

24- I am now 33 years old. I was surprised that I never got the announced depression after turning 30. I am quite comfortable with my age.

25- I never experienced pleasure playing sports, never. I have experienced all sorts of pleasure watching sports. The team closest to my heart is Pumas, which leads to a bittersweet existence as a fan.