Welcome to my space! I've been talking about and I spend a lot of time hanging around ask h2g2. The Post is a good read, and so is whatever you get when you click here. Probably . You might like to drop by our book club for a chat, or browse through what we've all been reading.

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I have noticed occasional gripes that people sometimes don't say enough about themselves here so to give you a more rounded picture of myself I will write a randomly edited story of my life so far.

I am a girl - probably a woman but am unsure where the distinction is drawn. I am in my (gaaaah!) early th*rties but still feel about 18, not sure what I will do when I grow up. I studied Neuroscience at uni but somehow deviated into IT after dropping out of the dullest PhD in the history of science.

I was made redundant from my IT Consultant job for christmas 2001 and then embarked on a venture with my own consultancy business (number of staff = 1) and do contract IT work. The market grew awfully quiet for a while and so at christmas 2002 I took another dramatic change of direction and began teaching.

I taught adults how to implement the technology I have been working with for the past few years. I liked teaching, getting paid to talk was fab and as I was teaching paying adults I avoided many of the problems teachers of teenagers encounter. The big problem was that I travelled a *lot* for that job, when I'd much rather have been at home. When my other half decided to propose he organised a romantic weekend away which was scuppered by the travelling I did for work -it was then I decided to change again. So here I am, a software developer, still working on the same system I learned in 1998. I'm bored, but the money is good. I don't have to travel and the first bit of stability in my career has meant I could invite Patsy and Edina into my life - they are two beautiful crossbreed Jack Russell terriers. I love them deeply and don't know how I managed so long without them!

I live with my husband we got married on 6th August 2005 and it was an amazing, wonderderful day. I have something of a social conscience and my husband says I am a wishy-washy liberal. This is mainly because I don't always agree with him when we discuss the world and he sometimes is forced to resort to name-calling, and although he is generally conservative (small 'c') we get on surprisingly well.

I love cooking, eating, wine, and consumption generally. My generosity of curves reflects these passions and I am usually in the throes of a major diet. I refuse to give up my cup of in the mornings though - I have an obsession with all things coffee related that I just can't shake. The current diet seems to be going well and I can be found in the gym most evenings, scaring everyone with my crimson, sweaty face. The purchase of a good sports bra has significantly reduced the risk of injury both to myself and to by-standers . You can read about my diet, what started it, and how it was going up until christmas 2002 here. Things were a tad slower in 2003/4 but I am hanging on in there, although I am really cross that despite trying for three and a half years I am STILL NOT THIN With the thought of my wedding dress to spur me on I shrank to a reasonable size, but comfort and security has resulted in an expanded waistline again. I'm back into my gym routine now so may one day achieve thinness again, possibly even in this lifetime.

About seven years ago I bought and decorated a flat and my proudest achievement (in true interview stylee) was tiling the bathroom and not making a complete hash of it. The husband and I now live in a real house (with an upstairs and an outdoors and everything) that needs tons of work so we will be busily DIYing every weekend for ever more. I'm learning lots about gardening and our first spring in our new home was wonderful - lots of life bursting out all over the place as the bulbs come up and the plants come back to life. I collect shiny things for my house with only barely more taste than a magpie.

I've just checked, and I've been hootooing since 20th July 2001. Gosh.

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