FYI: Doors closing on my special media kit promotion tomorrow night!
As I mentioned earlier, I’ve really made some changes in direction with my business, and the changing priorities means I am finally putting more effort to blog here more regularly.
I’m not one for the various memes that are pervasive these days, but I did think it might be fun to share a few things about me that not many people know. Keeping it a bit light-hearted for a change.
Some graffiti I saw in Brooklyn on a recent trip. Some great advice.
1. I’m left handed, and because of it I’m scared of can openers. You probably don’t give it a second thought, and even many lefties don’t, but for me many things in the world are backwards. Can openers being one of them – I’ve nearly been killed slicing open a wrist trying to use these danged contraptions, even the ones designed for lefties. I steer clear of can openers.
2. I don’t have a driving license – I haven’t driven a car in nearly 10 years . I know lots of people who don’t believe it, but I have never needed a license and get along fine without one. I’m a big proponent of public transport and getting around on foot.
3. If we’re in a loud club/music venue/restaurant, I can’t hear you. My hearing in a normal room is ok, but because I listened to so much REALLY LOUD MUSIC in my youth, in a crowded/loud venue, I have a hard time distinguishing the voices. I can’t go to a live concert without ear protecting – loud music is just too painful. I have the same problem when shrieking kids are nearby – they drive me crazy, not because they’re shrieking, but because it means I can’t hear anything else. Group dinners in restaurants are also really difficult for me because of this.
4. I’m listed in Wikipedia. Does this make me (Internet) famous? I don’t think about this one much, but it came up again just recently, and I was a little put off because it seemed everyone at the dinner table had memorized my entry. I didn’t write it, I’m not a huge fan of it, so I’m not linking to it. I believe it was added because of item #5.
5. I am both a self published and traditionally published author. And as many authors will tell you, it wasn’t very profitable. 🙂 My traditionally published book was the Historic Walking Guide to Edinburgh (released in 2009). I have several self-published books – with more to come! The most recent is my co-authored Value Luxury: Finding First Class Travel Experiences on an Economy Budget book, which I’m very proud of. (Those are links to Amazon, no affiliate relationship.)
6. The most I’ve traveled in one year (air-wise) was 250,000 miles. I used to work at a software company where my consulting services were needed pretty much all over the place, so I was on a plane every where. Although now travel really is a direct part of my job, I travel far, far less. In fact I travel less than you probably think I do – you don’t notice the days where I sit in my pajamas working with no Instagram or Twitpics. 🙂
7. I’m a PC, not a Mac. But I use an iPhone and iPad. I’m not married to any one company or provider, I just say the best device wins – and in this case, I’m too used to Windows to change, but think the Apple phone and tablet are better products for me. (Those Mac/Droid fanatics forget that we all have very different requirements.)
8. I am (kind of) a third culture kid. Maybe a 3rd culture adult? I was born in the US, and then after school I headed for Europe for work, and stayed there quite awhile. Also, see #6. My word view is pretty international, which means a lot of “American” things don’t make any sense to me: the ‘laugh track’ on sitcoms, blinding white sneakers + white socks, incessant friendly chit-chat to people you don’t know…this could be a post of its own.
9. I’m allergic to grass (the non-recreational pharmaceutical kind) and fluoroquinolones. The former just makes me itchy, so you won’t find me rolling around in a public park or the back yard. The latter is an antibiotic made of fluorides and my round of treatment for dealing with a terrible sinus/throat infection nearly killed me with allergic/toxicity reaction. It was, needless to say, unpleasant.
How’s that for an eye-opener? What’s a little-known-fact about you?