MeMe ! 7 things you may not have known about me...

I am reluctant to do this in some ways, but on the other hand, why not? The "science" of memetics has been studied and discussed in relation to our societal evolution. I find this interesting enough to stick my oar in...

So, by sharing 7 "interesting" [supposedly unknown] things about myself then tagging 7 friends [no obligation of course] I am engaging in the development of my PLN friendships :-)




1. When i was a baby I hung out with chooks and i apparently I ate their poo. This could be why I now have four hens in my backyard... [I do not enagage in the fecal freakishness anymore].
We lived in Hamilheaven/Hamiltron, City of the Future, but my father was originally a farm lad who became a shearer and along with his elder brother Dawson and my grandad Jack Woodcock, they became the Woodcock gang. This unnerved my other beloved grandfather, Claude Tucker, who thought they were a real gang and felt this was inappropriate for his eldest daughter, my mother Susan, to marry into. But she did and here I am.


2. I've been doing various martial arts since i was 15 [with breaks], including tae kwan do, philipino stick fighting, kick boxing, aikido and now kendo, which many of you know from my ramblings. However, the embarrassing part is that as a teen, I wanted to be a ninja! I even went to Togakure Ryu Ninjitsu school in Australia to visit and see what they were up to. It turns out they were whackjobs and I thought i might be better off becoming a wildlfife documentary maker like David Attenborough. A close call....

3. I've been diversely employed in my time... from accounts clerk, to water bed installer, to futon bed shop manager, to govt property valuer, to systems auditing consultant in London, to ostrich pimp. There's more but you get the picture. Teaching is the first job I've done for more than a year and i spent the first 8 at the same school.
When I was young I wanted to be a David Attenborough type. Now I want to make weird graphic novels, digital stories and short films, work in conservation and be independently wealthy so i don't have to be a wage slave.

4. When I was 20 I snapped my anterior cruciate ligament and tore my knee cartilage. Ten years later, and after many unpleasant experiences where people had to help me put my leg back into order so i could stand up, John Sullivan [surgeon, R.I.P.] did what my first useless surgeon refused to and fixed it by drilling holes in various leg bones, cutting out patella tendon and screwing it into place with titanium screws to replace the torn ligamant. Works nicely thanks John! Now, ten or so years later again, I am visiting John Sullivan House to deal with another irksome medical issue. Coincidence? Or is John Sullivan my medical guardian angel hmmm...

5. One of my favourite NZ experiences has been staying and working on Little Barrier Island for two weeks when I was at uni studying biology. It is a wonderland of bird life. It's a shame we have ravaged so much of our land that our unique native fauna is virtually non-existent by comparison. Having breakfast with kaka sitting on your head and shoulders is quite a nifty experience.



6. I draw comic type doodles and have a draft version of a graphic novel based around the idea that a genetic code was sent here by a dying race from Sirius. The dna "virus" infected life on Earth at an early stage, influencing evolutionary trends, ultimately leading to the development of what we now see as human beings and all their strange ways. This all comes inpart from my grandfather Claude who is convinced of this due to his discoveries whilst in Egypt during WW2 as a member of the 5th Field Ambulance.

7. I find religion reeeeally really fascinating. I have been raised completely irreligiously, which i take as a great boon. I generally consider religious people to interesting because I find it difficult to understand why people believe in things that are so far-fetched and based on such out of date ideas that are contrary to modern understandings of the world - especially if they deny science or take ancient religious texts literally.
I went to uni in 1988 with the goal of discovering how the world works through the study of earth sciences, biology, paleontology, etc. I also took religious studies - you know, studying the history of and practice of religion from an academic perspective. I graduated many moons later after a study, work and travel [20 countries in all] cycle, with a B.A. in religious studies and Biology mainly, with a little politics, philosophy, sociology and Spanish thrown in.
I found I became more tolerant in some ways and less in others. I continue to struggle with my critical dismissal of some of the more outlandish beliefs held by some religious folk whilst harbouring a tendency to want to believe in some peculiar and foolish things myself - I guess these both count as ways in which humans attempt to make sense of the world; understand life, the universe and everything.
As an answer to the life's mysteries 42 doesn't quite do it for me ;-) although i do respect Douglas Adams' perspective more than most.

So, who [or is it whom?] should i tag???
I think some of the people I would pick have either done it or would mock me for sending it through.... but i'll pick them anyway plus some others

efreeman
barbs1
suzievesper
heymilly
Amanda! [cos I know she's reading without participating and she has to upskill in ICT this year]
eT
Mr Teehan