This is a kind of a chain blog post in which one blogger tags you on their blog and challenges you to answer some questions and then pass the ball to eleven more bloggers!

magic eye // I have been tagged
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: SnaPsi Сталкер via Compfight

Doug Peterson tagged me in this blogging meme.  This is the first time I take part in a blog tagging sort of challenge and am doing it as a break from a pretty heavy weekend of work. This will also give me a chance to tag some pretty cool bloggers myself (who may or may not take up the challenge) but it will give my readers the opportunity to pop over and have a look at their blogs.

So here is the task…

  1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger- in this case it would be me…
  2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
  3. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.
  4. List 11 bloggers.
  5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer, and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. Don’t nominate a blogger who has nominated you.

11 Random facts about myself

  1. I love playing word games – like Scrabble on Facebook, which I play with Shaun Wilden – and that’s how I met Doug online – he beats me senseless on Word Scramble but I retaliate on Words with Friends (helps to  keep some of my dignity…)
  2. I am not a bad watercolour artist, albeit an erratic one and even as I write these lines, I feel a watercolour coming on! You can see one of my watercolours here – scroll down and be kind please.

    Serifos-1998

    Sunset on the island of Serifos

  3. I spent a few summers in my wild and distant youth living in the windmill of a dear friend on the island of Mykonos

    mykonosa

    Summers in Greece are very special – but those summers were magical!

  4. My favourite food is pasta – of all kinds – but especially with seafood
  5. I don’t care much about buying new clothes but I cannot resist buying new shoes – it has not reached a fetish level but there you are. I have dozens of pairs of shoes and never want to throw them away.
  6. I write songs that no one will probably ever hear and which my brother, my one-man fan club, claims  are brilliant. Of course, I don’t believe him! He’s my brother and I think his excellent judgement of music (he is and had been a professional musician all his life) is slightly skewed in my case. But I love him for saying it.
  7. I studied classical singing but few people know that I spent two years working as a night club singer before I turned to teaching English. I don’t like singing as much as writing music. So, unlike most teachers who claim to be secretly wishing they were on stage instead, I dream of bands and studios and groups playing my songs. Go figure.
  8. There are 46 draft posts in my blog right now, looking for the time to write them up. A few are rave posts, I admit, which may be what is holding me back. I like writing them though, even if I don’t post them. Helps me let off steam!

    46 drafts - two private - which are also drafts :-)

    46 drafts – two private – which are also drafts 🙂

  9. I have a thing about doing only one thing at any one time and have been like this all my life. Which is why I love the training classroom; it is the one place where I remain totally focused on my trainees, the tasks and the content and I feel totally happy there.
  10. I came close to settling down in the UK long ago but chose to come back to Athens and build my own school. This choice has brought me a lot of happiness as well as a lot of headaches – running your own teacher-ed centre is really hard! Especially when most people think UK first – but being an optimist and hoping these attitudes are changing helps me keep going.
  11. Ummm…. I am running out of ideas re random facts. Oh, here is another: I am a very good cook (though a rather indifferent pastry chef), but I have completely lost my interest in cooking preferring to spend time networking online!!! Food for thought, is my argument, and another one, is life is too short to miss out on the good things happening online! (You can invite me for dinner any time though!)

The 11 Questions that Doug asked me

My answers in blue

  1. When was the last time you backed up your computer?  Haven’t backed up for a while now but tend to use the cloud a lot more instead.
  2. If you could speak any language other than English, what would it be? German. Somehow I have never been able to get around learning that language. My singing teacher always told me to wipe the grin off my face as I was singing about death, unrequited love and desperation. I still remember that. 
  3. Where would you go for your dream vacation? Southeast Asia; all that area attracts me tremendously. 
  4. Have you ever received a parking ticket? Never. I don’t drive, so probably that explains it. 
  5. You’re in control of the thermostat.  What’s your ideal room temperature? Very warm – 28 C in winter, 22 C in the summer
  6. Have you ever taken an online course? Yes, I have. I took a course with Scott Thornbury on seeta.eu and one more with Nik Peachey – I enjoyed both courses tremendously
  7. What was the last educational conference that you attended? It was the Annual IATEFL Conference in Budapest just a couple of months ago. 
  8. When was the last time you were in a public library? Not since I was a university student. I have my own library at my school which is regularly updated. 
  9. Have you ever dabbled with Linux? No, never, although I have often been tempted. 
  10. What would you consider to be the best photo you’ve ever taken? I am not an accomplished  photographer but I am pretty pleased with the photo below 
  11. What, and where, is your favourite park? I love Kew Gardens and Richmond Park in London. 
A view of Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro - nostalgia and Joao Jobim!

A view of Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro – nostalgia and Joao Jobim!

11 Bloggers tagged in this post

For this challenge, I am going for 11 bloggers who participate in #ELTchat regularly and  have contributed a multitude of great summaries/blog post for #ELTchat ! I have not tagged bloggers who appeared in Doug’s post.

  1. Sue Annan -@SueAnnan
  2. Lesley Cioccareli – @cioccas
  3. David Pietri – @teflgeek
  4. Lizzie Pinard – @lizziepinard
  5. Andrea Wade – @worldteacher
  6. Martin Sketchley – @ELTexperiences
  7. Phil Longwell – @teacherphil
  8. Russell Maynard – @EBEFL
  9. Wiktor Kostrzewski – @Wiktor_K
  10. Rachael Roberts – @teflerina
  11. Bob Knowles – @BobK99

 

My 11 Questions 

  1. How long does it usually take you to draft and finalise a blog post?
  2. Which ICT tools do you actually use with your classes?
  3. What is your absolute dream job?
  4. Which classroom activity do you absolutely enjoy using with your students? One is all I need
  5. How many of your current friendships  were started through a social network?
  6. Which household chore do you hate the most and which one do you love the best?
  7. Name your 10 desert island CD’s
  8. Do you wish you had studied something other than what you did study? Do say what, if the answer is yes.
  9. Describe the naughtiest thing you have ever done – within reason, of course
  10. What artistic aspirations or skills do you have?
  11. Which TV series or film do you keep watching again and again?

I hope you out there take up the challenge so we can learn a few things about you and get to  know your blogs better!

 

Thanks Doug!

 

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