100 things about me

Inspired (or silently and implicitly challenged ?) by Ashleigh and her list, here are 100 things about me:

1. I am approximately 1.78m tall
2. I weigh 70kg (154lbs)
   
3. I was born on Saturday 7th December 1974, making me 30 years old at time of writing
   
4. I hold a South African passport, and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa...
5. ... but my paternal grandparents came from Lithuania...
6. ... and my maternal great grandparents from Latvia
7. I am Jewish
8. I got married on 17 December 2003
   
9. I moved to London (UK) when I was 22, to pursue my career
   
10. I moved to Zürich (Switzerland) when I was 24, also on offer of a job
    
11. My first computer was a ZX Spectrum 48K, in the early 1980's
12. I represented my school numerous times at math olympiads, and got four distinctions for first year engineering, but failed mathematics in first year university... this was due to laziness and lack of work
    
13. I dropped out of university to pursue my career - my highest qualification is matric
    
14. I wear glasses while at work - but not always ... only infrequently.
15. I joined MENSA to see if I would qualify
    
16. I have visited 24 countries in my life - not counting transit countries where I remained on an aeroplane:
    Austria
    Belgium
    Canada
    Cayman Islands
    Denmark
    France
    Germany
    Great Britain
    Haiti
    Hong Kong
    Israel
    Italy
    Jamaica
    Liechtenstein
    Luxembourg
    Mexico
    Monaco
    Netherlands
    Singapore
    South Africa
    Sweden
    Switzerland
    United States of America
    Zimbabwe
    
17. I attended a private school
18. We are expecting our first child (by due date) in 101 days from now
19. We don't know the gender of the child (by choice)
20. I have only ever bought one car in my life - the one I currently drive
21. I hold both South African and Swiss drivers licences
22. I speak English fluently, and can hold a very basic conversation in Hebrew, Afrikaans, German, and Swiss-German
23. I do almost all the cooking at home
24. I don't watch a lot of television...
25. ... but I more than make up for it with time online
26. I enjoy silence way more than I enjoy noise
27. I'm one of two children - I have an older brother
28. I'm married to an identical twin
29. My father died when I was 15
30. I nibble on my fingernails - a habit I've staved off at times, but somehow always seems to get the better of me.
31. I hold a private pilot's licence, and have around 250 logged hours in assorted single-engined aircraft
32. My favourite colour is blue
33. I have brown eyes
34. My favourite drink is fresh fruit juice - but not orange... probably apple
35. I am a dog person, not a cat person
36. I was religious/observant for just under a year - but decided I didn't agree with the principles and ideals on which it is founded
37. I have familial hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), so I take lipitor
38. I have never smoked - not even one drag
    
39. I have never "done drugs" - not even a taste
    
40. I sang in a choir for 11 years
41. I was in two professional musicals as a child
42. I learned to play violin as a child
43. I played piano as a child
44. I can play neither violin nor piano anymore
45. I bought a Roland keyboard to learn to play, but I've been too apathetic to learn again
    
46. I think the results of the majority of parenting decisions become apparent as the children raise the grandchildren
47. I prefer Coke to Pepsi
48. I've never had a cheeseburger, or a meat pizza, due to keeping some semblance of kashrut (kosher)
    
49. For the same reasons, I've never tasted seafood or pork
50. I love to travel
51. I could read and write before I started school
52. I used to love reading... now I read the newspaper and some news sites, but very little else
53. I'm rather an untidy person
54. I have a terrible short term memory ...
55. ... but can recite PI to over 50 decimal places, and first 50 or so elements from periodic chart in order
56. I've shaved my legs before ... for cycling
57. I have size 7 (UK) / 6 (US) feet
58. I don't swear
59. I've been thrown from a horse (fortunately into snow)
60. I fear sharp knives if being used close to me
61. I hold a NAUI Open Water 1 SCUBA certification
62. I enjoy snow skiing
63. ... and cycling - I used to cycle 3 or 4 times a week
64. I use my mobile phone while driving, without a headset ... but almost always on speakerphone
65. I've driven at [indicated] 260km/h (162mph), legally [German autobahn]. I was alone in the car at the time, and the road was relatively clear. I'll probably never do it again though
66. I've never had a crash while driving
    
67. I need around 8 hours sleep per night, but I seldom get it
68. When I was about 2 years old, I accidentally caused a fire that burned out a room in my parents' house
69. My favourite movie genre is comedy,followed closely by action/suspense
70. I have a truly lousy sense of direction
71. I've worked in large and small companies, and prefer small [I'm currently in a company with 6 employees]
72. I bought a motorcycle when I was 16, brought it home, and had to sell it because of disapproval by my mother
73. A table collapsed on me when I was young - the corner left a nice gash in my forehead, blood poured out, etc .... so now I have a nice scar there
74. I prefer summer to winter
75. I've appeared on radio and television, and not as part of a passing crowd
76. My jokes and puns are often misunderstood
77. I don't like salt on my food
78. I started a computer hardware+software company while I was at school, to earn extra money
79. I would rather go without something, than get into debt to buy it (eg, I like to pay off my creditcards every month)
80. I made a H2S stinkbomb in class once at school
81. I'm sometimes unnecessarily and unjustifiably overly generous (according to my wife), whether financially or in kind .. but I think she's just a selfish tightwad ;-)
82. I iron my own clothes
83. I'm level-headed and unemotional when things turn sour ... I see this as a small character flaw, because I'm TOO unphased by some things where most people would explode, and rather just give it some time and then think about it. I think for the same reason, I don't feel euphoria or jubilation where most would.
    
84. I have a passion for supermarkets - in any new country I visit, I have to visit a supermarket there
85. I don't pay attention to fashion, and happily wear the same clothing for years as long as it's not damaged or stained
86. I did karate for a few years, stopping just before reaching brown belt
87. When I was cycling frequently, I had a resting pulse rate in the high 40 bpm.
88. I use the standard factory-provided cellphone ring. I've never downloaded any ringtones
89. Biggest prize I've ever won was a bicycle, in a lucky draw
90. I have 5 cousins, and 2 nephews
91. I dislike rap and heavy metal music, preferring pop and easy-listening
92. I have terrible handwriting
93. I'm fiercely independent
94. I don't get pleasure from rollercoasters
95. I am a blood donor, with O-negative blood type
96. My best friend from Junior School emigrated in Standard 5 (grade 7); I've been trying to track him down ever since
97. I enjoyed school and was sad to leave ... my favourite subject was physical science
98. I don't know where I'll be living 5 years from now, but I hope that it's still in Zürich
99. I've never been hospitalised for anything
100. It took me almost a whole day to complete this list