100 things

In the words of Holden Caulfield I’m not going to start with David Copperfield crap like where I was born and what my parents do and all that.

Only to say if circumstances were different I might have been called Sebastian.

I’ve lived and worked on 3 continents.

Visited 6, only Antarctica remaining.

Never lived in the country — either city or suburbs.

If money were no constraint I’d live in Switzerland.

When I was young I fantasized I was an alien who was stranded(?) / stationed(?) on Earth and working for some spy outfit.

And was a compulsive list maker.

And a horder. Still am, to an extent.

My grandparents owned a toy shop. So toys? Not bothered.

Up to the age of about 10 and around once every 3 months I’d take all the tins out of the kitchen cupboard and rearranged them. In categories.

My parents used to get all sorts of blank forms (like bank deposit forms or passport application form) and I’d fill them out for fun.

I’m good at filling forms. Really good. Fast too.

One summer vacation I pretended I was the principal of a school and designed a complete daily timetable for the teachers and classes in the whole school. Using paper, pencil and ruler.

Another time I designed uniforms — formal, normal and battle — for a futuristic army. Each rank had its system of stripes and stars.

The summer when I was 14, I watched, and taught myself to understand, test match cricket. I love cricket but I don’t follow it a lot anymore.

I’m petrified of, and therefore utterly hate, dogs since being chased by one when I was 13.

We used to have a cat, she’d follow us when we went out for a walk.

I often wish I was left-handed.

I wonder what it’s like to be autistic.

I organize my bank statements, utility bills and assorted paperwork in a 4-drawer filing cabinet at home. Alphabetically.

I’m obsessively punctual.

I spend a lot of time in office lobbies, train stations, restaurants, waiting. And waiting.
I was described as “very Swiss” by a Swiss.

Some might take it as an insult but it was meant to be, and graciously accepted as, a compliment.

I wear swatches exclusively. [update: don’t wear a watch anymore]

I like wearing t-shirts, polo shirts, jeans, cargo pants and sneakers.

Black or navy socks only, except when doing sports.

I twisted my knee in a skiing accident, had to be hauled down the slope in a sled, and how own a pair of purple crutches as souvenir.

I don’t like going to the doctor’s, most times I just take a painkiller.

I get nagged a lot.

I can cook pretty well.

I don’t drink coffee.

I drink 2 cans 1 can of Diet Vanilla Coke Coke Zero at lunch. [update: trying to cut down, one can of coke zero once a week]

I usually bring my own lunch to work.

I always have chewing gum at work, but I never take it at home.

I prefer salads without dressing.

I take my steak rare and plain, with just a little freshly ground black pepper.

I’ve eaten snake, crocodile, kangaroo, ostrich and pig’s brain, amongst other bizarre foods.

I don’t eat skin, including chicken skin (even on wings) and fish skin.

My favourite whisky is Highland Park.

I did the Kentucky Bourbon Trail on my own, sneaking the samples back to the car until I got back to the hotel.

I can drive pretty much any car comfortably, stick or auto, on either side of the road.

Took me a long long time to buy and own my own car.

I used to work in investment banking but not as a banker.

I traded a private office for a nice corner with view.

I have also had a desk hidden next to the emergency exit and I could hear the flushing sounds of the Ladies behind the wall.

I have a long array of letters after my name.

I’ll stop showing off now.

I find that if I believe I’m good at something, there’ll always be someone who does it better.

I don’t answer my phone unless I recognise the number.

I always have a disposable mobile phone number (prepaid card) that I give out, my personal mobile number is for family and friends only.

I never listen to voicemail.

I’m a fairly early ebook adaptor–imagine the amount saved on overseas shipping.

I read lots of Christopher Isherwood when I was around 17 and never realized he was gay.

I have 2 complete sets of David Eddings’ Belgariad.

I read a lot of books when I was young, went through a phase of not reading a lot, and now read whenever I have time

I wrote over 100 poems/lyrics over a 4 year period in my late teens/early 20s. Most of them are pretty embarassing to look at in the cold light of day.

I own a grand total of one anthology of poetry.

I’ve never kept a diary.

I completed nanowrimo every year since 2004, except 2007.

I had one copy of the 2004 nano printed, for my own fun. Did the formatting and designed the cover, using a photograph in my own collection.

I can’t draw.

I’m an okay photographer.

I can read sheet music but I’m hopeless at playing and I can’t remember tunes or lyrics.

I have zero music street cred.

I first registered this domain name in 1997 (or 1999, I can’t remember, hee). I own 5 domain names (I think).

I designed my first website on Claris Homepage v3.

It was hosted at xoom when it was a free webpage provider.

I stopped working on the site for 3 years.

I’ve used Macs since forever.

And will do so forever.

I bought a PC laptop, but that’ll be for backup, checking browsers and IM’ing. [update: don’t have it anymore.]

I’m self taught on excel, photoshop, pagemaker, indesign, html and css.

Before May 2005, the total number of people I’ve met on the internet was 2, both of whom I’ve met in person.

Since May 2005, that number has exploded exponentially.

I can’t sit still for any length of time.

I hardly ever remember my dreams.

I sleep with a small pillow tucked under my knee, to help support my knee and feet.

I go for regular foot reflexology massages, painful during the treatment, but afterwards for a few minutes it feels like I’m walking on clouds.

I’ve often wished I were more spiritual and introspective.

I vaguely know about the festivals of Candlemas, Beltane, Samhain but I don’t celebrate them because I don’t feel a connection with them.

I started running in 2008, when I saw a pic of me looking way too fat.

My first marathon was 10-10-10 at Chicago.

I don’t cross my 7s.

Blue pens, never black.

A picture of my hands once appeared in the New Scientist, holding a separating funnel.

I received GBP60 for a photo I took that was published in a magazine aimed at retirees.

I’m a member of the mile high club.

I never voted.

I pay my credit card bills and taxes on time and in full.

I paid off my mortgage in 10 years.

I’m indifferent to almost everything and everybody.

I’m fairly happy in my own skin.

I can happily stay home and not go out or talk to people for lengthy periods of time.

I get claustrophobic in crowds.

I avoid smoke, noise and public places.

I don’t like people.

I swore I’d never do this 100 things thing.

But it looks like I did it anyway.