About Me

## Hello!

Here's a little bit of information about me! Nothing too personal, mind you, only the basics! Nevertheless, this everything you could possibly want to know about me (that I'm willing to tell you, that is). have a read and enjoy!

## Background

I was born in England, in a place called "Sidcup", which is in the London Borough of Bexley, on 15th July 1998 (which makes me age 21). I actually lived in a different region of Bexley, called "Belvedere", which is located near a place called "Erith", which many people will have heard of....if not then try Google Maps....I am an only child, thus I have no brothers or sisters. I lived in Belvedere until 2007, when at age 9 my parents and I jumped ship and emigrated to New Zealand. I now live in Porirua, in the region of Wellington (New Zealand's capital!). I've lived here ever since emigration, and I absolutely love it here....better than living in England any day!

## Asperger's Syndrome

I have what is known as Asperger's Syndrome. Affected children and adults have difficulty with social interactions and exhibit a restricted range of interests and/or repetitive behaviors. Compared with those affected by other forms of Autism or Asperger's, however, those with Asperger syndrome do not have significant delays or difficulties in language or cognitive development. Some even demonstrate precocious vocabulary – often in a highly specialized field of interest. My strain of Aspergers is only mild, thus I am not a deeply affected by it as some others are, but as I have got older, I have become more aware of the effects it has on me, in particular social interaction, as well as paranoia and anxiety.

Some people now refer to Asperger's Syndrome as "Autism Spectrum Disorder", or "ASD". I do not like this, as it gives the impressions that Asperger's is the same thing as Autism, when in fact it is very different and the effects of it are not the same as they are for people with Autism. By now you will have noticed that I still refer to it as "Asperger's Syndrome", and not the new term "Autism Spectrum Disorder", or ASD for short. .

I attribute my Interests in Buses, Lifts and other things to my Asperger's syndrome. I do not see Asperger's as a disability, simply just another way of living and I wouldn't have it any other way. I was diagnosed from a very young age, but my parents did not tell me until I was around age 7, as they felt it was best to wait until I reached an age where I could better understand what it means....yet still it has taken me years to even get a grip on exactly what it means, as it is different to everyone who has it. At College (secondary school), I made friends with other people with Asperger's, including my best friend!

## Education

I have always loved going to school. I love learning (subject dependent) and have such a great time in the classroom. For most of my primary school days I was pretty average across all areas, with the exception of P.E. or anything physical, which made it hard to pick out favourite areas, becuase I enjoyed and was good enough at most things I did. I wasn't very good, mind you, at anything practical, as while I enjoyed it I simply "didn't have the knack" for them. I also discovered in my later primary years that while I can read very well, I don't like doing it very much.

In years 7 and 8, students take part in practical lessons, but as a primary school we didn't have facilities, so every Thursday we'd jump on 2 charted buses and head off to an Intermediate school to borrow their facilities (and their teachers). We did a variety of stuff, most of which I liked, but sucked at, including, art, woodwork and textiles. I was, however, good at IT, and excelled at using MS PowerPoint and Video making. The same teacher also taught music, with which I had some success....I never did master playing that bloody guitar! I actually wasn't bad at Cooking, plus the teacher was a really lovely lady!

It wasn't until secondary school that I began to develop areas of interest and areas of hate. I attended Tawa College from 2012 to 2016. It quickly became apparent that maths was my weak area, and I began to absolutely hate it. Nevertheless I still carried on doing Maths year 12, despite not having to, as it would be very useful for getting a job in later life. In Year 13, we were able to take courses that focused on particular fields, rather than just maths in general. I chose Statistics - the only part of maths I like. This turned out to be a good decision, as that year I failed algebra, and Statistics was the only course that did not require you to pass it to enter. Another subject I hated was Art. year 9 was good, as the teacher was so lovely (she was an Australian lady), but sadly she left and the teacher I had afterwards I just could not get on with, and she hated just about everything I painted...

What also became clear was my love of History. All through school it was my favourite subject and I did better at it that any other subject I did. I also enjoyed doing English and Media Studies, however Media was only available from year 12, as there is only one teacher. I also loved DIT (Digital Information Tech....basically IT). In year 11, the course split into two, one based on Design and one based on Computer Science. I chose Design, as I was much better as it (I could've done both, but did not want to). I did this right until my final year and was always quite good at it. I never made top of the class though, as there were some other people in the class who were just amazing and astonished even the teachers.

Whilst at Tawa College I did many things in my later years, including an epic 5-day trip to the West Coast for History, helped out with two Open-Evenings and also helped with many other school events. I was a member of the Debating teams for all 5 years and participated in over 25 debates. I started out in the First Speaker Position, as I was said to be every good at it, but in year 11 my coach wanted to try me out as a 3rd Speaker and I excelled at it. I am very good at doing rebuttal, thus since then I mostly spoke third. In my final year I was one of 30 students to be voted into the role of Prefect, and I also worked at the school Canteen. Sadly they don't pay you, but you get free pies and sausage rolls at the end of your shift......

## University & Teaching Dream

From as early as Year 8 I have always wanted to become a Teacher. I love education and I love school, and now I want to work in one. I am studying for a Bachelor of arts (BA) degree at Victoria University of Wellington. I am double-majoring in History and English and doing a minor in Philosophy. After this degree, which will take 3 years, I intend to train to become a teacher, and hope to teach History and Social Studies at secondary level.

## Interests

The fact that I am interested in Buses and Lifts goes without saying. I have been into buses since I was 3, and since then they have become one of my main hobbies. Lifts has a more interesting tale, as I actually used to be terrified of them (thanks to a TV Documentary and one of Dad's practical jokes). However I discovered that I had an interest in them and decided to get over my fear of them via my own accord. I started out my going in glass lifts, as I found these less scary (becuase if I got stuck someone would see me). The first lift I rode solo was the one at the Wellington cable car museum - a basic, slow, glass hydraulic lift that only went between two floors (G and 1). Nowadays lifts are my other main area of interest within my hobbies.

My interest in buses has caused me to have a fantastic relationship with the staff at Mana Coach Services, and I am very friendly with most of the bus drivers in Porirua. The company has even given me a few free items over the years!

I also have interests in many other things too. Level Crossings are one, which I developed an interest in after seeing one after moving New Zealand. When living in England I think I only ever saw one once and was sitting on a Coach at the time, interested in ther fact that it caused us to be stuck in a traffic jam for ten minutes. I also am quite interested in Sirens. Not the kind you find on a cop car, I mean the type used to call out the fire brigade or warn of danger, such as a Tsunami or Air-Raid.

One of my more stranger interests in Airliners. Why is that strange? Because I'm not keen on flying. I hate turbulence, and don't like long flights....partly becuase at 6"4 I don't fit int he seats properly. However give me an ATR 72 turboprop to fly in and I won't say no (unless the weather is really bad)....I do enjoy a short hop on a turboprop. i'm also a fan of the Airbus A320 and A380. I like Boeing 777's too, but I prefer Airbus planes over Boeing. I haven't been on a Boeing 787 yet, mind you, so that could change!

Lastly, I love sailing on the ferry. I don't go on the Interislander very often, probabaly becuase Mum is so easily seasick, but I love it! I have excellent sea-legs and always enjoy a journey accross the cook straight.

## The Orange Hat......which is now a red one!

A few years ago I received an orange hat for free somewhere (probabaly some kind of event). Being my favourite colour, I wore it whenever I went out. As I continually wore the hat in public it became synonymous with me, particularly bus drivers who saw me wearing the hat.

The following year, I began wearing the Orange Hat (along with a pair of sunglasses) for many of my skits on TC NEWS. As year 13 students did not wear uniform, I always carried them with me ion case the sun came out, as I hate bright light. I usually called that cap & specs combo the "fashionable sunhat and swag glasses".

Eventually, the hat wore out and needed replacing, so after searching for ages I finally found another orange hat! Orange hat II served me for 2 and a half years.

I couldn't find another orange hat, so my current hat is a red one.....only problem is that it looks very similar one of Donald Trumps "Make America Great Again" hats....should've thought about that before I bought it! I think trump is a t\*\*t.

## Television

I am not huge on films, and tend to mainly watch TV. Mostly I watch British TV, especially comedy. My personal favourites are My Family, One Foot in the Grave and Only Fools and Horses. I also enjoy Blackadder, Mrs. Browns Boys and stand-up shows like Live at the Apollo. My parent are huge fans of Crime Drama, and I've developed a liking for a few of them (mainly British ones - the US ones are too unrealistic). My favourites are New Tricks and Death in Paradise. I've also enjoyed the recent Maigret TV Movies, starring Rowan Atkinson, and am looking forward to two more later this year.

But no TV show can compare to Doctor Who. My favourite TV show of all time! I have been watching the show since 2010 and I love it to bits. For many years I said that I didn't have a favourite incarnation of the Doctor, until 2017 when I decided that my favourite was probabaly Patrick Troughton, the second doctor. The Troughton era is well known for several encounters with my favourite Doctor Who Monster - The Cybermen. My favourite Doctor who Story is "The Moonbase", one of the very first Patrick Troughton stories. It was made in 1967, and features......The Cybermen.

I've also been a big fan of Top Gear, and since then The Grand Tour. I enjoy several documentaries too, mainly those about history, science and technology. I've watched quite a lot of planes and airports, and several of those made by James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.....their documentaries are much better than people give them credit for! in particular, I'm a huge fan of James May's "The Re-assembler".

More Recently, I've become very fond of the old "Carry On" films from the 60's and 70's. Can't beat some classic British Comedy! My three favourites (in order) are "Carry on Again Doctor", "Carry on at your Convenience" and "Carry on Matron". I don't have a favourite carry on actor, but I love all the regulars (Sid James, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor, Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Jim Dale, Bernard Bresslaw, Kenneth Connor).

## Collections

Over the years I have built up a couple of small collections of items. Firstly there is the small number of items given to me for free by Mana Coach services, including a model Coach (which was gifted to them by the Volvo Bus

Corporation). I also have small collections of old and/or foreign coins. Lastly there is my collection of tickets....bus, train, ferry, flight, roller-coaster.....you name it, I've got a ticket for it!

But the pride of my collections is my huge lift button panel I got in 2015. The 1990's Schindler panel comes from an old Express lift that was located at Moore Wilson's on Tory Street, Wellington CBD. The panel was recovered by a fan of mine,w ho works in the store. Trouble was, I was due to move house the following week, so I couldn't collect it straight away. However, the staff were more than happy to hold to it for an extra week for me until I could collect it and bring it home. After sitting in the garage for a couple of weeks, I cleaned it up, polished the front and put in my bedroom, where it now sits to this very day. The lift itself was removed and the shaft demolished. A brand new, larger lift (a Schindler 5500) was installed in a brand new shaft nearby to replace it.

## What else is there to know?

Well, to be honest there's not much more to know about me. I've told you about my background, my interests, my favourite TV shows and my education. I think the rest of the information about me is best found by looking at the other pages of this wiki!

Thanks for reading!