It seems I’ve been tagged by Rebecca and now must undertake one of these new-fangled meme things! See what happens when you’re not paying attention?

This one is six things about me not mentioned previously in Make Me.

Okay, so here goes …

one

After I left school I worked in the music industry for about seven years. Firstly for a recording studio (which was more advertising than music, really) and then for a big record company for several years. And after that for a music magazine doing odd jobs while I was working out what to do with my life.

Being obsessive about music, it had been my dream to work in the music industry. It turned out to suck, which was a bit of a shame.

It was incredibly poorly paid (the theory being that everyone wants to work in the music industry and you should consider yourself lucky that we’re not *charging* you to do it); it turned music into a ‘product’ for me and instead of enjoying it I’d think about marketing it; the industry was (and probably still is) so incredibly male dominated that as a female you’d either be stuck in dead end jobs forever while doing most of your boss’s work for him or would need to behave incredibly aggressively to get anywhere; etc.

Me (purple scarf in hair), some ex-colleagues from the music industry and some relatively famous people at the time (ie. a long time ago!) who were actually fun and coped with the fact that one of my more eccentric colleagues decided to dress up and take the piss out of them! I also particularly like the ‘toilet upstairs’ sign in this shot.

Oh and I worked something like 60 hours a week for my pittance of a salary - this would include going to see every band on the label who came to town, which sounds like fun until you find yourself doing things like watching Dire Straits perform tedious 15 minute versions of all of their songs to such dull perfection you mostly want to axe murder them … and this while you’re coming down with a serious bout of tonsillitis … but have been told your job is on the line if you’re not there and looking like you’re enjoying yourself.

One day I just walked in and resigned. And the rest is history.

two

My degrees of separation with all sorts of famous people are excellent - two from me to the Queen, for instance. This is because I met Elton John and he’s met *everybody*! So that was one upside of the music industry I guess! Sort of.

three

Other than my contemporary jewellery-making friends and people I’ve met through Etsy and the like, my friends are almost entirely males. And despite going to a girls’ high school it’s been that way for most of my life. In fact, my only remaining friend from my high school days is a male - he was the friend of a female school friend’s boyfriend!

My best friend throughout kindergarten and primary school was a boy (he’s a man now, of course!). People thought we were weird - sometimes we’d lie and say we were brother and sister to avoid being hassled.

Here are a couple of my closest friends:

four

I lived in London for about two and a half years. And I would never ever have come back to Australia if it wasn’t for my deeply irritating Australian passport and the lack of foresight of my parents with regard to not to have been born in Europe.

Two of my very favourite photographs of London - taken by me about ten years apart.

I had kind of recovered from this horror, but I went back for a visit early last year and realised I’d still much prefer to be there than in Sydney. Although these days it would only be if I could afford to live there reasonably comfortably.

five

I have no pets. I did used to have a really lovely and intelligent dalmation called Kitty (the name was not my fault!). However, I left her behind with my soon-to-be ex-partner when I went to London and she very sadly passed away a couple of years ago at the ripe old age (for a pedigree dalmation!) of 14. Whenever I was in Adelaide I’d always pay her (and my ex) a visit.

Sometimes I think about getting a cat, but I’m not sure I’m ready for the responsibility. I like that I can pack up and disappear overseas whenever I want - even if I don’t do it often at all.

six

I am left-handed. My best friend is left-handed. I was once sitting at a table in a hostel in Nice, France with about eleven people from all over the world … every single one of them was left-handed.

* * *

Phew … it’s done! But it was fun and I even went to the trouble of scanning in some ancient photographs to make it vaguely more interesting - if you move your mouse over them you get a bit more information.

And I now tag Shae of The Butterfly Collector (to whom I also offer congratulations for her recent news!).