Geek Tag

I was tagged by Dr.Jim today, who pleaded I take a moment off from being a boring old thesis writing fart to play along with my peoples (read:the geeks). I hate to be a party-pooper. So here goes nothing:

Four jobs you’ve had in your life:

1. Counsellor: I was 15, spotty and delusionally sickophantic about everything American. So I landed myself a wee job as a "counsellor" at Cabin Camp, Colorado. Which simply meant I was responsible for the entertainment of a noisy bunch of kids. Face painting, bow & arrow practice, fishing, drama club, tie-dye T-shirt making, library bus story telling... you name it, I did it. Earned a whole $15/week, and gained 5 kilo.

2. Marketing Research: I managed to survive a whole day before being fired. The aim was to call people and question them about their reading habits (magazines, newspapers, etc..). I managed to call only 5 of the 30 people on my list for the day, so was sacked for not making the daily quotum. In my defence, some of the people I called were very sweet old ladies who seemed to be so lonely they’d talk to anyone even if it was merely for marketing research. So I kind of took my time. I still think I should’ve earned a bonus instead of a sacking. Public Health Officials should hire me, seriously.

3. Module Coordinator: Some Prof unceremoniously left the department leaving behind an orphaned Msc physics module and I got stuck with it. Suffice it to say that I am a crap teacher and should never again be allowed to do so. But it made a hell of a lot of money.

4. Freelance Translator: One’s got to make a student living somehow, so why not exploit your cultural benefits. First ever translation work I did was a piece by Arne Sierens for theatre production from dialect Dutch to dialect Portuguese. Recently it’s mainly been rather dull scientific and medical documents.

Four movies you could watch over and over:
1. Igby Goes Down (2002)
2. American History X (1998)
3. On Golden Pond (1981)
4. Annie Hall (1977)
5. The world According to Garp (1982)

Yeah I know. That’s five.

Four places you’ve lived:
1. Ghent, Belgium
2. Lisbon, Portugal
3. Derby, England
4. Bridge of Allan, Scotland

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Actually, just to be awkward, I want to make it “loved” to watch as everyone gives the same old boring responses on recent shows:
1. The Cosby Show
2. The Muppet Show
3. Alf
4. Fraggle Rock


Four places you've been on holiday:

1. South Africa : Gorgeous. But shocking. I am still not over the vastness of the Shanti-towns. On the upside, Table Mountain alone counts more different species of flowers and shrubs than the whole British Isle.
2. Scandinavia : Glacier walking, Mountainbiking (downhilling) & Lumber rafting. Lost a piece of my chess set whilst on the 5 day lumber raft trip. If anyone finds it… I want it back. One of the best holidays of my life, despite 36 kick ass midgee bites.
3. Dutch Antilles (Aruba & Curacao): Scariest propeller flight I’ve ever taken in my life.
4. British Columbia, Canada: aiming to go back there this year, hopefully to land myself a job. Although now that the shitty conservatives won the election, I may just reconsider.

Four Websites you visit daily:
1: BBC News
2: Sev Trek
3: Mercola
4: Reclaim the Media

Four of your favorite foods:
1: Witloof met Hesp
(Belgian: Chicory wrapped in ham roasted with a cheesy sauce on top)
2: Sushi
(I would SNORT wasabi if it was legal)
3: Nachos
(with refried beans, salsa, guacomole, cheese, black olives&chilis
4: Musterd
(technically not a food, but c'mon!)
5: Sole Meuniere

yes, five again. So I have issues with rules, read on.

Four places you’d rather be:
1. Out walking in the Scottish Highlands
2. Exploring New Zealand
3. Backpacking through Patagonia (Chile)
4. Skiing in Banff (Canada)

And if the PhD hand-in and passing goes well, that's exactly where I will spend the rest of my year. At all four of them. *clings on to that fact for dear life*

Four Play (tag):
I don't blogbrowse often enough, so here’s some people I know in real life that blog & might participate:
1. Heidi
2. Michiel
3. Ann
4. Cacao