But Philipp said he’d like to know my seven things more than anyone else’s (which I really quite liked), and my new year’s resolution was to get blogging, so here I am. And here are my seven things:

1. I was a judge in a transgender beauty pageant

While volunteering at the Triangle Project as a counsellor and public educator in 1998 or 1999 (when I was 18 or 19), I was asked to sit on a panel tasked with choosing the queen of the year. The only nice white lady in a packed and heaving night club in Athlone, I didn’t feel particularly qualified to be judging Miss January, February, March etc. But it was a lot of fun, and something that most girls from Thornville don’t get to experience.

2. I learned how to fire a rifle when I was about 9

My Dad taught my sister and I how to shoot with a variety of guns when we were quite young. We would go down to the dam on the farm and shoot at tin cans on the opposite wall. It was only when I moved to Cape Town to go to university that I realised just how far out a lot of the stuff that we experienced growing up on a farm near Richmond in the 1980s really was.

3. I have had a scintillating and star-studded musical career

In junior school, Mrs Cherry organised for her star recorder players (Zoe, Marimba and myself) to perform outside the Pick ‘n Pay in Hayfields. We played this song, and we played the recorders with our noses (much to Mrs Cherry’s disgust… we only did it for a very little while though so we didn’t really get in trouble). Later, I played keyboard in Zoe’s brother‘s band. (He was about thirteen, and it was only for about two days in their parent’s garage. We played Jimi Hendrix. We rocked.)

4. I had bright pink sticky-out hair

I was about 18, and it was extremely cool.

5. I’m extremely lucky

I’m so lucky. I don’t have a real job; I get to spend my time doing all the stuff that I really want to do and work with amazing, inspiring people. I get to travel even though most of the time I have hardly any money. And somehow, my travel has twice fortuitously coincided with big world events: The day I arrived in Rome, the Pope died, and I spent the evening outside the Vatican before barricades were put up. And in November, I was in Washington DC for the elections!

6. I was told I probably have about two years to live

… over three years ago, and it was before the doctor had the test results from the chunk he cut out of my leg. But it’s true and makes me seem really hardcore. haha.

7. We bent a fork with our minds

I’m serious. Very. It was about 1992, and Uri Geller was on television. He said something along the lines of, “put a fork on the television, stare at it, and will it to bend”. My Dad, sister and I followed his instructions. We concentrated intensely on the fork in silence for a few minutes. And when I went to fetch it from the top of the television, I was incredulous to find that the fork had bent! Seriously!

The main thing that appeals to me about this chain-blog nonsense is that I get to pass it on to seven peeps. Choosing them has been quite tricky (there are so many people whose lists I’d like to read..) but here goes:

Al – Because he’s a male, Australian version of me… and a new friend so I’d really like to read his list. (Haha Al, I’m only going to take away the link to this film when you post your seven things!)

Anthony – Because even though he doesn’t have time to blog and should be working on his screenplay he just might do this.

Francesco – Because even though I didn’t think he had a blog I just found one!

Jane – Because she’ll have a great list.

Leigh – Because she’s one of the coolest people I know. And she started a free university at the age of 23 – how cool is that?!

Lukhanyo – Because we care about the same things.

Ndumi – Because she’s Ndumilicious.

Here are the rules of this silly game:

• Link to your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged.