OT Introducing me too

[dungrollin]

Thanks very much for the invite.

THE OLD CROWD – INTRO

***Name:
Dot

***Nicknames/IDs:
Dungrollin/Dung

***Age:
Does it matter?

***Family:
If that means offspring, no, but I am related to some people.

***Home
Currently south London, but will emigrate to West Africa in the next 
couple of months, and live a drizzle-free mango-rich mosquito-
infested life in a hammock. Overlooking the lagoon. With gin. 

***Birthday, Place of Birth:
April 16th, Kingston-Upon-Thames

***Education/Job/Role in Life etc:
Research entomologist, writing up and soon (ahem) submitting PhD 
thesis.

***Other things we might want to know about you:
I work on dung beetles in West Africa, and it's my dream job, and I 
love it, so stop sniggering. I get vertigo, which really irritates 
me, because I'm not *frightened* of heights, I just go dizzy. If I 
could hibernate through British winters I would. I have an unhealthy 
love of the Afrotropics: I've had malaria, which was not 
particularly nice, although typhoid was worse, (malaria was just 
surreal enough to be interesting, typhoid was rubbish). I can be 
quite frighteningly pedantic with regard to subjects about which I 
care. The best banana I've ever eaten was in Dabakala, and I never 
got over it, I now can't eat the *things* they sell over here under 
that name. I overuse punctuation... particularly ellipses... (and 
parentheses). I can't be bothered to force myself to like certain 
things because other people think I should like them (such as 
Dickens and Mozart). The most beautiful green thing I've ever seen 
was a baby green mamba. 

***First contact with Harry Potter:
Just after GoF came out I was in The King's Arms with a friend, a 
barrister, who is not at all given to child-like enthusing, and he 
started telling me about the books. After about twenty minutes he 
was jumping up and down in his chair and squeaking "Hurrah for 
Harry! Hurrah for Harry!" So I thought they might be worth a look.

***Favourite Potter things:
Snape, I suppose. And I like Phineas Nigellus. Though I'm fond of 
Hagrid too (I empathise with his fascination for creatures that 
others don't like much). 

***Ships:
Nope.

***Fics:
Nope. 

***Extent of Potter obsession:
Mild compared to some - a couple of lists like this. Only told one 
friend that I joined HPfGU, and she laughed so much that I haven't 
told anyone else.

***Other interests/activities:
General Entomology. Travelling, particularly the tropics, and 
particularly in Africa. General natural history. Read quite a lot, 
fiction (anything but Dickens), non-fiction (mostly pop-science that 
reminds me of things I ought to understand, but don't), occasionally 
try for the umpteenth time to get all the way through Tristram 
Shandy, and fail. Play the clarinet (though quite badly, these 
days). Gin, (ice and lemon – easy on the tonic). 

***Current/recent reading:
The Poisonwood Bible, Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation, and 
I'm half way through Tristram Shandy...

***Current/recent listening:
Not much that's recent, though I've got quite into Gillian Welch. 

***Current/recent viewing:
Don't watch much telly, but – hooray! Smiley's People is out on
DVD.

Dung