8 Facts About Me Meme

19 January 2008, 18:00

I don't usually go in for these chain letter, MySpace style questions about yourself things, but as I've been tagged in one by non-other than the big man himself Mr Forrester, I'll do this one. He called me "a funny geezer" too.

Here are the rules...

Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.

At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

I was born on Friday 13th. This is the standard 'fact about myself' I roll out in those team building things - I'm sure more a few people have heard me say this one several times. It's usually accompanied by a chorus of "well, that figures" afterwards.

My grandma has more IT qualifications than I do. People I work with find this one a bit strange - I have no A-Levels or degree. I got my break at a dotcom in 1999, thanks to two reprobates called Ross and Kevin. Getting a gig at Google was difficult without a degree, but thankfully they gave me a chance too. My grandma has a City & Guilds qualification in some practical IT skills - good on her.

I'm from Devon. Its a great place, as long as you're not young. I got out just in time to save my sanity, as the only way to make any money is to run a hotel or cater for tourists in some way. Perhaps I'll retire there. I'm also half-Cornish, and was christened there.

My dad makes ice-cream for a living. Not strictly about me, but its a good'un. He makes italian style ice cream in Devon, which is a lot of fun but jolly hard work. I go and help him out as a holiday from tapping at a keyboard some summers.

I like Brixton. I moved to Brixton about 2 years ago, and I think its a great place. Despite the incredible amounts of bad publicity the place gets, it has quite a community feel and some fantastic places to eat and be entertained.

I can't drive. To people I know who don't live in London and don't know what an Oyster card is this is tantamount to social and employment suicide. I tried to learn, and got two majors on the test - squealing the tires on a left-hander, then forcing another car off the road made up the chap's mind. I'll learn again another time.

I enjoy talking about politics. Particularly US politics for some reason - if there was a version of Heat magazine that featured Gordon Brown and George Bush in the place of Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears (perhaps "Calefaction" magazine?) then I'd buy it. In fact, there is... Today in Parliament on Radio 4 and in podcast form.

I hate flying but love traveling. Flying with me involves watching me sweat like a nutter, hearing me let out little yelps, and feeling me crush your hand as I grip it like my life depends on it. This irrational fear is the bain of my enjoyment of every holiday that involves planes. Sat in the seat I constantly have to listen to the engine noise and feel if we're rising or falling in a ridiculous attempt to have some control over what is happening. This came to a head on a flight in a small plane in Malaysia where coming into land I actually believed I was going to die and strained a muscle tensing myself in the seat.

That's me done. Here are the next ones...