Reluctant blogger Maddie Grant has tagged me with the task of divulging eight things about myself here in plain sight on the web. So, here goes:
- In spite of the fact that I have made my living from sales, business development, and leading start-up companies over most of the past decade, I am a hardcore introvert according to Myers-Briggs . (So publishing eight things about myself is definitely not something I would ever decide to do on my own!)
- I have a ten-month old son named Cy, referenced briefly in a recent posting titled The Will to Learn.
- My wife, Cy, and I live in Carrboro, which is adjacent to Chapel Hill but considers itself to be something else altogether from Chapel Hill. It is the self-appointed “Paris of the Piedmont.” To get the flavor, check out “It’s Carrboro” on YouTube. (Really, it’s worth it–can your town compete with this?!)
- I wound up just shy of a doctoral degree in comparative literature (a state referred to in the back alleys of academia as “ABD”—All But Dissertation) at UNC-Chapel Hill, mostly as a result of succumbing to my more entrepreneurial side and running off to participate in the whole dotcom phenomenon.
- Owing to the above-mentioned doctoral work, I have taught Great Books of the Western World, various levels of Russian (though you would never know it from my current proficiency), and Freshman Composition at the university level. My favorite book to teach was probably Absalom, Absalom! . Precisely what that says about me, I’m not sure.
- In spite of the background in high brow literature, I am a big fan of pot boiler mysteries. Particularly P.D. James and John MacDonald’s Travis McGee series.
- I play the guitar and have been known to write a song or two.
- Like Maddie (remember, the one who made me do this;-), I have traveled a lot. I have not made it to Sydney as she has (yet), but I have been to her birthplace Bangkok and have many fond memories of it. Most notable travel memory overall is probably spending the night on the Great Wall of China.
I think at this point I am supposed to tag eight other people. Well, maybe that is a 9th thing to reveal about myself—I need to ponder a bit longer whether I extend the meme, and to whom.
That’s it. If any of this strikes a chord, please share your comments.
JTC
Jeff, I found your blog thanks to Stephen Downes, who linked to the Learning 2.0 book (impressive job on your part). I wandered over here and was amused by the MBTI introversion comment.
I tend to think of Myers-Briggs as corporate astrology, but it can open discussion and trigger reflection. (I was very surprised to find myself nearly midway between intro/extro.)
I’m glad you cope with the introversion as well as you do.
Dave–I think the first time I tested I was at least close to being balanced between “e” and “i”. Next time, I had tipped far to the “i” side. Maybe it was a fluke, maybe graduate school did did it to me. In any case, I guess I must have a little “e” in me to be willing to write a blog at all!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, and for posting about the Learning 2.0 book on your blog.
Jeff