Getting to Know You (and Me)

Hello! I have been crazy busy the past few weeks, starting my PhD. The first two weeks were spent waiting for my plants to grow, but now I'm really getting into it! Cor, look at the leaves on that one!

Anyway, I was tagged by the lovely Pamela of Feral Housekeeping in a getting-to-know-you kind of game, so I thought I'd fill it in so you can get to know me a bit, if you like.. :)

The rules of the game are to link to the person who tagged you (check), post eleven random facts about yourself, answer the questions posed by the tagger, then write eleven questions of your own to ask to eleven unwitting taggees with under 200 followers.

So, 11 random facts about me:

• I have a grade 1 certificate in the Cornish language.
• I used to play in the school steel band. I played bass; six oil drums surrounding you with three notes on the top of each. I'd love to do it again.
• I have a hole in the back on my skull from the operation to cure the craniosynostosis I was born with. 
• I met David Attenborough when I worked at Kew Gardens in London. He was even wearing the blue shirt/beige trouser combo! :)
• The place I'd most like to visit is China.
• I am trying to wade through Harry Potter in German as a more fun way to learn. 
• I can wiggle my nose like a rabbit.
• I've tried some £100-a-bottle wine. It was quite nice. 
• There's a small stone in my elbow where I fell off my bike as a child. I also broke my arm falling off my bike on another occasion! 
• My second toe is longer than my big toe.
• 'Bryallen' is the cornish word for 'primrose'.

Here are the questions Pamela asked me:

What was the hardest thing you ever did? The way I revised for exams at Uni wasn't good. I put myself under far too much pressure and didn't allow myself to do anything except work, eat and sleep. I even brewed a massive flask of tea so I didn't have to keep leaving my desk!

What's your favorite TV show? I don't watch much TV, but I always watch Doctor Who on iPlayer, and I'm currently loving Friday Night Dinner and Fresh Meat on 4OD. Or anything with David Attenborough, of course!

Why do you blog? I don't know! I like communicating with people I wouldn't normally have the chance to meet, I like sharing ideas and I quite like having control of my own little part of the web!

Do you have pets? How did you get them? I don't currently have any pets. As a child we had the usual dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, gerbils, tortoises, although not all at the same time! Oh, and the stick insects that my Dad got from a friend at work, that could've out-foxed Houdini in their escaping skills!

Would you rather have more money or more time? I always feel like there aren't enough hours in the day, but then again it would be nice to be able to afford to do whatever I liked. Can I have both? If not, I pick time. :)

What do you do well? Hopefully scientific research! I've been commissioned by my sister to make a tote bag for her friend for Christmas too, so I think I've picked up the sewing machine fairly well. :)

What don't you do well but enjoy doing anyway? Baking! Sometimes it works out alright, but I do have a lot of trial and even more error. Still, since moving I bake something or other at least once a week!

If you could visit an era in the past, which one would you visit and why? The Victorian era. It was always my favourite part of history at school, quite close but still so different to modern times. There were a lot of brilliant scientists too, especially when you consider how limited their methods were.

If there was a species of intelligent alien life that was about to reach our planet, would you want to meet them? What would you talk with them about or ask them? I suppose so, if they were friendly. I am always confused and awed by the expanse of space, so I would probably ask them their take on the expanding universe. Also, do they have the same problems of overcrowding, resource depletion and wars that we do, and if not how can we solve them?

What do other people rave about that leaves you cold? iGadgets. Everyone seems to have iPhones and iPads. Nearly everyone I know has got through at least one screen by now too. They're so breakable and I'm so clumsy; it's not a good combination!


Ok, my questions are:

1. If you were the prime minister/president for the day, what would you change?
2. Do you have a nickname? What is it?
3. Why do you blog? (Stolen from Pamela!)
4. What was the last film you saw and was it any good?
5. What is your favourite thing about yourself?
6. What was the first CD/tape/record/mp3 (whatever it was) you ever bought?
7. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
8. How do you get to work?
9. How would you spend your last day on Earth?
10. What was your first job?
11. Where is your favourite place?


The lucky tagged people are:
1. Tania at skipandskatter
2. SFT at Saving for Travel
3. Morgan at Growing in the Fens
4. Miss Piggy Bank
5. Keshling at Keshling Pulls It Off
6. Rivulet at $12 a day
7. Stephanie at Frugal Down Under
8. Isa at The M Chart
9. Kernowyon at Kernowyon Ramblings
10. Lindjemp at A Want Not A Need - Trying to be Frugal
11. Dan at Frugal Living UK (only just managed to sneak in at the end as he's almost got 200 followers already!!)


Anyone is free to answer some questions in the comments if you feel like sharing/killing some time. :)

Goodnight!