25 things

I finally managed to put this together when I had no home internet, one of those '25 fact about me thingys'. It was a facebook thing; but I'm not so fond of facebook, it requires way too much daily commitment so it never ended up there...

1. I play sports like a left-hander, always have. In particular, I intrinsically do it in sports where a fast reaction is required and I don't have time to think.

2. I'm a very visual person. Don't tell me something, show it to me. Even better, just hand me the problem, I'll figure it out on my own.

3. My earliest sport activities as a child were taught by a left hander. I think that's where I picked up some of that influence.

4. When I'm thinking or singing, thoughts or songs come out in a particular language (English, Spanish, Polish, or German) based on my mood.

5. Spanish thoughts or songs come out when I'm content or pleased. German comes out when I'm angry or annoyed. Polish comes out when I need an intellectual challenge, something to chew on, probably due to the myriad of endings and forms to consider.

6. Living in Germany, I found myself drawn to the heavier and darker music I found there like Die Toten Hosen, Rammstein and Kool Savas, rather than chirpy pop like Die Ärzte or Fettes Brot.

7. I learned how to drive manual transmission autos as a necessity while living in Europe as my desire for a small car trumped the challenge of learning a new mechanical skill. I'll never go back to an automatic transmission, even once/if I return to the US.

8. It took me about a month of smacking my right hand against the car door in the UK to figure out that I need to shift with my left hand here. I'm amused when people in the UK are surprised that I drive a manual transmission auto.

9. I've now lived more than one-fifth of my life in Europe. It's not that I don't like the US, but this is the right place for me to be at this time. In the work environment people treat me very well here and that's nothing to dismiss lightly.

10. I plan to go back to school in the fall; I'm intellectually bored. I've been accepted to the London School of Economics into a Master's program, not sure if that will be the final landing spot though.

11. I've been a vegetarian since 2000, but the topic is not something I'm militant about--I won't bring it up in conversation, and I could care less that you eat meat. Occasionally I go vegan when I'm not feeling up to par. If you wish to joke about it, I have no problems and in fact I'll shovel it back at you. I feel better not eating meat--it's a personal choice.

12. I make up for my healthy eating by drinking too much coffee and alcohol. My ultimate weakness is french fries (chips)!

13. If I lived somewhere with pure fishing waters such as Iceland or the Faroes or northern Norway I'd probably start eating fish again.

14. I am an extremely private person and purposely put a limited amount of personal data about myself on the internet, along with no recognizable photos. I've been known to invoke EU Directive 95/46/EC in the office, on principle.

15. If you know me personally, the previous statements won't surprise you.

16. I appreciate people who tell me where to put it, how high to put it, and how I should have put it there last week.

17. I don't suffer fools lightly, never have.

18. I believe in the power of self. If you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. I wanted to work in Europe since forever. Was it easy? No. Could I do it? Of course, it's only a matter of figuring out how to make it happen and having the patience and enough attitude to see it through.

19. Is it easy to work in Europe as an American? Hell no. You must be prepared for your dream to go through the massive spin cycle (multiple times) and see if it survives. You must be prepared to look like an idiot at least once (and probably closer to three) times a day. You must be prepared to endure some very dark and cold days. Would I trade it for anything else? No way.

20. I grew up poor and statistically probably shouldn't have ended up where I did. Was it easy to be the first person in my family to graduate from university? Of course not.

21. In some ways that makes me a little tougher on people. I managed to do it, so should you.

22. I chose to study Spanish when the choices where Spanish, French or Latin because it gave me the best career possibilities from where I was. It has served me very well.

23. I believe that growing up poor is actually an advantage in life. You're not expected to amount to much, so the world is yours for the taking, no expectations. If you can get your act together and have a vision, you become smarter, faster, and stronger. You don't fail, because failure is not an option. You have no safely net, so you excel automatically, as an ingrained habit.

24. This background causes me to root for the underdog. Intelligence coupled with motivation is unstoppable. These are the people whom I seek to work with me.

25. I have a job I like where I'm paid very well to do what I do. The people who report into me are superb and my boss is great; I cannot complain. I believe that you create your own reality and I've created mine.