Saturday, December 31, 2005
101 THINGS
(In order to meet a 2005 objective, this needs to be posted now!)
(To be amended)
1. Not quite a crossfire hurricane, I was born in a council house in Ebenezer Howard's second Garden City at Welwyn.
2. Share a birthday with Richard E Grant, Karl Marx and Michael Palin.
3. I'm funnier than the middle guy and a better socialist than the latter. As far as Grant's concerned, I've yet to appear in a crappy Argos commercial.
4. At seven my best friend moved to Australia.
5. At eight my family moved to the United States. (They took me with them. They brought me back - kicking and screaming - 12 years later. Lack of visa didn't help.)
6. My mum was diagnosed with MS nearly 25 years ago.
7. I live with IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome, not IDS - Iain Duncan Smith).
8. I'm the product of a Christian based secondary school.
9. I was "born again" around December 1975.
10. Realised that was a load of nonsense about a week later.
11. Tertiary education, hmm, a trifecta: Community College, State University and UK university in the picturesque West Midlands (not).
12. Two degrees. Well, actually two copies of the same degree (mix up over addresses).
13. "Shows promise as a footballer" - school report at 7.
14. Two soccer related injuries - broken jaw (thank YOU, Larry Petrocelli) and torn ankle ligaments (re-injured in a race on crutches).
15. Co-founder of Dynamo Stony Brook F.C.
16. 1st baseman for the 1968 Three Village Midget League Athletics.
17. Sports board game enthusiast.
18. Learned the violin and guitar - and can play neither.
19. Married in Vegas.
20. Second time round at the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich.
21. Dual Income No Kids.
22. Only "offspring" - slothful Poppy and hyperactive Daisy from the same litter of pups, but so different.
23. One false tooth - see 14.
24. Two brown eyes.
25. Full head of mid-brown hair - distinguished greying at the sides.
26. Childhood heroes - soccer legend Jimmy Greaves and baseball grunt Ron "Rocky" Swoboda.
27. Fave songs: "Hello, it's me", Todd Rundgren. "I am a Walrus", The Beatles.
28. Favourite films include: "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Fargo" and “Tampopo”.
29. Favourite Star Trek character: Dr Flox.
30. Favourite TV programmes include: "The Prisoner", "The Simpsons", "Malcolm in the Middle", "Family Guy" and "University Challenge".
31. Once heard on Peter Powell's Record Race.
32. Also heard on Radio Warwick c.1981.
33. The mighty Mogwai are music gods.
34. Most embarrassing moment? Probably: Dhaka, large gin & tonics after Tiger Beers, false tooth (see 14 and 23), month or so following speaking with a lisp.
35. "Did" the Grand Canyon: a story for another day.
36. Crossed another river from north to south in November 2001. (Thames, that is.)
37. But, always a Hertfordshire hedgehog.
38. Owned a Dodge Stratus.
39. Drove a "classic" Beetle.
40. Hate snakes.
41. Hate reality TV.
42. 6 months a computer programmer, 19 1/2 years a civil servant, now in the private sector.
43. I work for a well known service provider as a public affairs manager. As I am manager of no-one but myself, I turn my hand to just about anything and everything.
44. Most embarrassing moment 2: I arranged a trip for my boss to go from Harwich to Hook van Holland on a passenger ferry, by car to Zeebrugge, then back to Chatham by freight ferry. On arrival at the Hook, I turned to our host and said "where can we meet our car?" His face drained of blood: "what car?" We both assumed the other had booked transport. Get me drunk enough and I'll tell you how much the cab fare is from Hook to Zeebrugge.
45. Veggie since 1985. But, not a vegan. Whaddya think? I'm some kind of wierdo?
46. Favourite foods: cheese, pasta, apples, homemade pizza, enchiladas.
47. Favourite tipple: margarita, but a good pint from the barrel goes down well (particularly from the Hampshire Bowman)
48. Favourite Simpsons character: Homer J is obvious, but how about an episode featuring Lenny and Carl?
49. I have bunions.
50. I'm putting off that necessary eye test a bit too long.
51. Man that I am: I never get lost.
52. But, view cars as a necessary evil
53. Have driven the length of the M25 (but not all in one go).
54. Never drove the length of the shorter Capitol Beltway.
55. But, back in 2000, I drove I-95 all the way from DC to Florida.
56. Favourite Led Zep tracks - "Kashmir" and "The Ocean"
57. Fave-o Stones' number - "Gimme Shelter"
58. Top Yo La Tengo song? "Blue Line Swinger"
59. Brother, 4 years senior, works for a bank, losing his hair.
60. Sis, 2 years older than me, now a nurse, drives a Ka.
61. Mum used to be a steno-typist.
62. Dad trained as an aeronautical engineer after several years as an RAF pilot.
63. Work in a people skills job.
64. People skills not a good point.
65. Lousy at relationships.
66. Green is my favourite colour.
67. Ketchup and mustard on my chips (French fries)
68. Coffee in the morning is essential.
69. Milk chocolate over plain.
70. Best holiday: toss-up between Alaska, Yellowstone and my Great Plains/Grand Canyon odyssey.
71. Best non-US holiday: two weeks in Tuscany (the first time).
72. Best ever business trip: Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing and Ulaan Bataar – two weeks, temperatures from minus 5°C to plus 35°, the Peak, the Gobi and the Great Wall.
73. First love? I think her name was Ruth – I was only 6.
74. Teenage love? Susan. It was a dreadful crush: she was “cool”, I was a nerd, she was cruel, I was naïve.
75. I’ve done “it” outside, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, against the wall, in the attic, but never in a car.
76. Scar One - over my right eye, me and big brother horsing around, banister gets in the way, blood everywhere, frantic mother, but no serious damage.
77. Scar Two - right elbow, fight with James Kennedy, third grade, North Country Elementary School.
78. Tottenham ‘til I die.
79. But, baseball is a better game. Mets and Nats – a uneasy fan conflict.
80. Most overused words: “pretty” (as in “Tony Blair is a pretty useless socialist”) and “grand” (“that’ll be grand)
81. Size 10 feet.
82. Gel my hair.
83. I can multi-task – sorry, what did you say? I was watching TV.
84. A star gazer as a teenager, I was once used my telescope for something at a slightly lower elevation. I’m pretty sure she knew someone was looking.
85. Have owned 5 PCs (plus one on loan) plus an Amiga (with a PC card).
86. Surfing since ’96; web presence since ’97.
87. Learned BASIC at school; picked up HTML and CSS (not that you’d know it from my web presence).
88. Blog for work: spasmodically.
89. I blame Thatcher. For everything.
90. I blame Blair for everything else.
91. Voted Green at the last Parliamentary election.
92. Once had a thing for Judy Geeson.
93. Robert Fripp is a guitar god.
94. Star Trek: Voyager and the Original.
95. Turner over Constable.
96. Botham over Flintoff.
97. Risk averse, needing a kick up the backside to achieve a lifestyle change.
98. Can dance when drunk.
99. Unfortunately, I think I can drive when drunk.
100. Looking back, a lot has happened in my life.
101. Looking forward to the second half of my life.
:: Posted by pete @ 16:16
Read or Post a Comment
I saw a link to your blog (via lazylaces) and thinking it to be some Eddie Izzard tie-in, gave it a look. Cheers for the laugh, it's brilliant and I especially love the list (#s 12, 15,80, 81 are enough to thoroughly impress). And....I'm actually a PhD candidate at Stony Brook, so I felt compelled by an irrational, misplaced feeling (alumni pride?)of familiarity to say Hello. Best, Lisa