The very lovely Mummy Tries tagged me in this meme, months (and months) ago! I thought it was about time I answered her interesting questions…
Where was your first holiday sans parents?
It believe it was to Belgium on a History trip (First World War themed), when I was in Third Year at secondary school. The following year we went to France on a PGL water sports activity holiday. Someone will correct me if I’ve got those the wrong way round :) I have many fond (? not quite sure that’s the right word…) memories of both of these trips. Exciting to be off on my own, fun to be with classmates, plenty of excruciating teenage moments.
I also went to Belgium for a work experience trip when I was sixteen, to improve my French; in theory. My work experience was in a Dutch speaking office (for Knack and Le Vif Weekend magazines), and all I learnt was how to say the days of the week in Dutch!
My first proper girlie holiday was at the end of first year at University, to Marbella, and that was a blast :)
How old were you when you had your first kiss?
*Mum, look away now* I was twelve, watching a Police Academy movie at the Odeon Cinema in Edinburgh. The movie is more memorable than the kiss (and that’s saying something!).
What are you all time favourite starter, main and dessert?
I’m a vegetarian, not a huge foodie, and without resorting to my favourite pasta dish (baked macaroni and cheese), this was actually quite difficult!
Starter: Tomato and Mozzarella salad with a really good balsamic dressing.
Main: Black Bean and Rice Burrito with hatch green chilli sauce and a side of sour cream.
Dessert: Pavlova or good ice cream. Or both!
What are your thoughts on climate change?
In my previous life, I was a Design Engineer, before moving into Project Management. My focus, and passion, was sustainable and low energy building design. I was lucky enough to work on some fantastic projects with some wonderful architects. My last Client (with my Project Manager hat on), before we moved to the US, was a Government funded Resource Efficiency organisation.
In my opinion we have a problem, one that is still not being addressed as fully as it should be. From the perspective of the built environment, legislation is not yet as strict or as far reaching as it needs to be to have the impact that is necessary to make sufficient change.
On a day to day basis, we are all guilty of making unsustainable choices. I know I am and I count myself as someone who is aware, and should know better. It is harder than it should be to access sustainable choices, whether that be in products, foods or services. Convenience has become paramount.
But, we are all responsible for the choices we make, and we need to make better ones, or our children and grandchildren will live in a very different world.
Do you self-reflect?
Too much. I am prone to introspection, but I don’t believe in regrets. I do believe, however, that we should know and understand ourselves, and learn from our mistakes. Self-reflection can be a powerful tool, if you use it to move forward.
Adrian Mole, love or loathe?
I loved the earlier books when I was a teenager, but I haven’t read any of the later books.
Tell us three things about yourself that you usually do not share!
Hmm. I think I have a tendency to over-share, when prompted, so this is a tricky one!
1. I played the violin from the age of seven until I became (stupidly) self-conscious about it aged fourteen and stopped. Something I regret now.
2. I used to sing, both in amateur dramatics performances and the school choir. Now, I can’t even sing to my children; somewhere along the line I lost all confidence.
3. I am incredibly competitive, to the extent that I don’t do something if I don’t believe I will excel at it…
So, there we have it. Some more random facts about me :)
Based on how bad I am responding to these tags, I am not going to tag anyone else, this time!
My first trip abroad with a friend was Belgium, too, randomly! I loved roaming through Bruges and eating chocolate :) x
I love Belgium, Bruges and Brussels are two of my favourite cities x
I never get bored of these posts, and really enjoyed finding out more about you lovely. To be honest I could have written half of it myself! So interesting to get your perspective on climate change… we really should all be doing more shouldn’t we xx
We really should, but I am as guilty as any of not doing enough, and I really do know better!
we share the same favourite starter and dessert, not sure what my favourite mains would be
It was actually really hard to think of one!
I love these memes, it’s always nice to learn more about the people behind the blogs. :)
Thanks, they are fun, aren’t they :)