100 Things
- I was born on Friday the 13th.
- I'm also a Cancerian and an Ox. You should be able to use that information to work out my birthday, if you are so inclined.
- I love receiving presents and my affections are easily bought with chocolate. This does not constitute a hint of any description.
- I want to be a better person than I am.
- I'm not shy, but I am an introvert. In the past I've been happy to spend time by myself but I've recently started to realise the limitations of my own company.
- My middle names are Philip James. My confirmation name is Stephen.
- I was raised Catholic, but officially lapsed when I was nineteen. Unofficially it happened much earlier.
- I love surprises and the unexpected.
- I have a highly individual streak which probably verges on eccentricity. And I'm happy with that. I don't want to be like everyone else and I don't understand peoples obsessions with brand labels and other marketing devices designed to make everyone look the same and every place feel the same. Different is good.
- I value intelligence, both in other people and myself.
- My favourite colour is all of them.
- I have little concern for my own safety, and will quite happily throw myself out of an aeroplane (albeit with a parachute) or off a bridge (with bungee cord attached). Conversely spiders terrify the bejeezus out of me. As do people. People are scary.
- I have five brothers and sisters, two elder, three younger.
- I have no piercings or tattoos, nor do I have any inclinations to ever have one. However, were I ever to get a tattoo it would be in the shape of a question mark.
- I own a flat in Edinburgh and hope one day to live in it.
- I live in London, for reasons that currently escape me. It's not a bad place to live, but it's not somewhere I belong.
- I don't believe you should judge people by the books that they've read or the films that they've watched. However, my favourite film is Amelie, and my favourite book is The Magicians Assistant by Ann Patchett.
- My most valued possession is my laptop, followed by a box containing all the letters I've received over the years. The contents of both are irreplacable. Beyond that, I own a lot of miscellany, most of which which would cause me to experience a slight tinge of regret were I to lose - but I'd get over it soon enough.
- My laptop comes from Dell and runs Windows XP. However my attraction to beautiful design, and the continued efforts of a number of Mac using friends mean that I'm seriously considering a Powerbook as my next toy. I justify it on the grounds that it's running Unix.
- At the time of writing this I'm thirty years old and I feel it. I don't consider that a bad thing.
- However, just because I'm thirty doesn't mean I have to act it. I frequently don't and consider that a good thing.
- My favourite drink is skimmed milk, to the exclusion of nearly everything else, including tea, coffee and anything carbonated or alcoholic. If milk isn't available I'm quite happy to settle for tap water. If people refuse to believe I'm happy to drink tap water (which I don't understand, but which still happens with remarkable regularity), I'll drink orange juice if pressed. If it's a special occassion, I may even drink hot chocolate. But in general I prefer the milk.
- I wear black t-shirts and black jeans, day in, day out, regardless of the time of year or weather conditions. I have other clothing but I save it for special occassions. I once criticised someone for always wearing the same thing without appreciating the irony of my comment.
- I read and collect comics. My favourite writers are Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, Warrent Ellis, Grant Morrison and Mark Millar. I have a soft spot for Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek, two writers who rarely approach the bleeding edge of the medium but whose love for the superhero genre shines through. Prior to the Dark Knight Strikes Back, I would probably have included Frank Millar.
- I have a good sense of direction, but when I get lost, I really get lost.
- My father died when I was very young. I wish I'd had the chance to know him, and I sometimes wonder what he would think of me now.
- Too many of my friends live in other countries. I'd like to work abroad, near them, but with every passing year I realise that the chances of my doing so decrease. I hold out hope nevertheless.
- I have great fondness for video games which probably stems from owning a Commodore 64 and an Atari 2600 in my youth. My favourite computer game of all time remains Manic Miner. I currently own a Gamecube (which I gave it to myself as a get well soon present) and believe that Metroid Prime is a work of rare genius.
- I have a single scar, about 4 inches in length, which trails down from the top of my right ear. I didn't like receiving it and hope to get through life without accruing any more.
- I once worked for Disney, in various capacities. I stayed there too long and finally left on the 6th anniversary of the day I started - it was a wholly deliberate gesture. I still know more obscure facts about The Walt Disney Company than any sane person should.
- I make no claims to sanity.
- My favourite Disney film is Beauty and The Beast. The Lion King and The Little Mermaid trail close behind. Alice In Wonderland is my least favourite - it's a terrible interpretation of the book.
- The richest person I've ever shaken hands with had a net worth of $800 million at the time.
- I like to think of myself as an artistic person, but my artistic output is severely lacking.
- Bad design offends me. As do wasted opportunities.
- I try not to get ill - it's a throroughly disagreeable experience. On the whole I've succeeded, although events last year blemished my record significantly.
- My natural weight is 63kg. My current weight is 76kg. My weight doesn't fluctuate easily, and the increase is due to joining a gym and discovering that cardiovascular exercises bore me to tears whereas weights, on the other hand, I quite enjoy.
- I've never tested the limits of what I can benchpress. However, I can benchpress my own weight easily enough. Yours too I'd hazard.
- My favourite food is muesli. Alpen to be specific. I've eaten it for breakfast nearly everyday for the past twenty years. I've never tired of it and I never shall.
- In general I don't keep chocolate or sweets or bisuits around the house. I can easily go shopping without buying any such treats for myself, but if I do buy them, I will eat them. The same applies to those bought by other people. If you buy it, I will eat it.
- Usually I prefer to be where other people are not (save for my friends and family). I can tolerate the anonymity of crowds so long as have the freedom to move through them, but I hate being in a crowd and being unable to move.
- I don't give to beggars, but I still feel bad everytime I turn down a request for money.
- I'm polite at almost all times. I don't lose my temper easily, but it can happen.
- I'm easily persuaded by rational arguments. Unless I happen to be enjoying the debate.
- I appreciate the worth of money, but hope I never become too attached to it.
- I'm a geek. I love science fiction and technology in all forms.
- It's been too long since I sat down to hand write a proper letter to anyone. I must rectify that.
- I didn't learn to swim until I was 29.
- I have more grey hairs than I can easily count. I've never dyed my hair, nor shall I ever.
- My eyes are blue, although I'm more inclined to describe them as grey.
- I only speak English. I tried to learn French at school, but failed at it miserably. I'm slightly embarassed by this fact.
- I can program a variety of different languages. I have far greater aptitude for it than for spoken for languages. I view this as support for my theory that computers are easy and people are hard.
- I think I have a good sense of humour despite the fact I cannot tell a joke if pressed.
- The first album I owned was Watermark by Enya and was gifted to me by my sister. It remains my favourite.
- The first albums I ever bought were Tubular Bells II by Mike Oldfield and Hormonally Yours by Shakespears Sister. They remain my next most favourite.
- I don't/can't drive. It seemed like a good idea, once, until I had lessons. Then I discovered that the roads were safer with me as a pedestrian.
- My favourite theatre is the Donmar Warehouse in London.
- I've attended four operas, and five Shakespeare plays. Some I've enjoyed more than others.
- I can't sing, although I like the idea of having singing lessons. I'd like to be able to sing at a karoake bar without fear of embarassing myself too badly.
- My favourite activity is dreaming.
- I love waking up in the morning when I don't have to get up. I can lie in bed doing nothing but thinking for hours on end.
- I don't smoke. It's horrid habit and it smells vile.
- I've never voted in an election although with every passing year I can feel myself becoming more and more the sort of person who does.
- I believe that little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
- People who are inconsiderate astonish me. I don't understand how it's possible to care so little for those around you.
- I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. When everyone in my class at school was asked the question, I responded with the first thing that came to mind: an airline pilot. Everybody laughed and even now I don't know why.
- I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.
- I worked in Burger King once, whilst at university. It's not an experience I'd recommend.
- I'm left handed.
- I once became a vegetarian on whim, after someone told me they thought I was a vegetarian.
- Three and a half years later, I returned to my omnivorous eating habits of old, again on a whim.
- I'm a big believer in acting on whims. Spontaneity is good.
- I am good person. Somedays I even believe that.
- My friends mean the world to me. I wish I had more of them and that those I do have were nearer.
- The furthest I've ever travelled was to Hawaii. It was a place of great beauty, which I visited in the company of great friends. I hope to return one day.
- My height is 5' 6". I consider that just tall enough.
- I'm Scottish and consider Edinburgh to be my home, although I've spent less than a year living in the city.
- I presently wish no ill on any living human being, though I could do without George W. Bush being re-elected president.
- I've never broken a bone in my body. Again, I have no intention of ever doing so.
- I don't believe in the supernatural, horoscopes or reincarnation. I'm not sold on life after death in general - it's a comforting notion, but I believe it prevents people from appreciating the life they're presently living.
- I'm reluctant to offer advice to anyone about their lives. I prefer to suggest they trust their own instincts - after all, they know the facts better than anyone. Similarly, when I've trusted myself enough taken my own advice, things have worked out well enough. I should heed myself more often.
- I detest having to get out of bed when it's cold and wet and raining.
- I have a streak of perfectionism, but I've spent enough time in the company of true perfectionists to realise that I don't even come close.
- I have a particular fondness for museums and galleries, but I must confess that in several cases I find the buildings more interesting than their contents.
- I don't want to be in charge.
- I'm a terrible liar. Interpret that as you will. Ambiguity is my friend.
- I'm right more often that I'd care to admit. The same also applies when I'm wrong.
- I'm extremely stubborn and competitive. I can also be more judgemental than I'd prefer. However, these are not defining characteristics.
- I'm a good listener, possibly because I'm poor speaker. In any event, I'm happy to listen to what you have to say - just don't ask me to pass judgement on it.
- I used to have the nervous disposition of a startled lemming. I've calmed down a little since, but confrontations still leave me on edge and I go out of my way to avoid them.
- I outnumber the world, 1 to six billion.
- I've never had to fight for what I believe in, but I flatter myself by believing I would. I admire those who have and those who continue to do so.
- I want to be an interesting person. Sometimes I wonder if I try too hard.
- I try to avoid hypocrisy, but I fail more often that I'd like.
- I can juggle and once spent a brief time as a court jester.
- I can't believe that anyone would still be reading this far.
- I feel terribly self indulgent writing all this and I'm fed up with the word "I"
- There are things that should be on this list but aren't. I'm an awful coward.
- Everything written here is absolutely true (except for the lies) and has been carefully constructed to paint a wildly inaccurate portrait of who I am.
- There are only ninety nine items in this list.
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