7 Things about me......

I have to cut and paste the rules.
Here they are
Here are the rules:
List 8 facts/habits about yourself
Post the rules at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed
Tag 8 people and post their names, go to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and ask them to read your blog.

This was initiated by http://incoherent-ish.blogspot.com

7 Thingies about me.
OK. This is difficult. Now I am not going to be intimidated by a list of numbers 1 to 7, or by tradition. See this rambling as a picture with 7 hidden objects that you have to find. Like those pretty books we had in Primary School.
My Father was English. Came out to the “Union of South Africa” many moons ago, when the Brits were still running the show out here. My Mother was of Dutch stock. 5TH generation to be precise. This union gave birth to a Liberal Conservative, (not an oxymoron where I come from), with a wicked sense of humor.
Virtually all South Africans are at least bi-lingual and many, many are multi-lingual. I can read, write and speak English and Afrikaans fluently, and can help myself in Spanish. Flemish I can read and listen to with no problems, but cannot write. Dutch I can read OK, but have to listen very carefully to understand, Dutch is often spoken very quickly, and I get lost. If I was alone on an Island with a German we would get by. (Per definition all Germanic languages)
Postgraduate qualifications in Economics, never finished my Masters due to a very dark period that lasted a couple of years and changed my life forever. (We are not talking drugs, alcohol, incarceration etc here, but that’s another story). I have never smoked pot or done the substance abuse thing. Some of my friends did for a while but it never appealed to me. That obviously excludes the consumption of fruits of the vine and malt products. Also qualified as an Accountant, Forester, Cobol programmer, Systems Analyst et al. (Can anybody remember Cobol?) plus a couple of other stuff I’m too lazy to remember.
Turned 17 during my last month at High School and passed all my exams, which amazed all my teachers and parents. Was too young to go to University and I wandered off and became a Forester. I really wanted to “go to sea”, but I was told to grow up and come back later. Thank heavens for that, I would have been a bad sailor.
Have traveled a bit, both local and international, more than most I am friends with, but much less than others I know. I believe I have been to 80% of all villages, towns and cities in this country. I am obsessed with South America; A magic place. The Apartheid years denied us the chance to travel.
Live in a Village in the country, about 100 miles from Cape Town. Population 17,000. Only one traffic light, and that got damaged during the last floods. Never been repaired, and most don’t even know its busted.
Have I done 7?
I have been told I am a lateral thinker, and one of the organizations I worked for spent lots and lots of money developing this “skill”, and I am still not sure what the big deal is.
Geez…., and as the saying goes “ That’s all folks!!”
Now to tag 7 others, will do that tomorrow