Tag, I'm It.

So, David Edery just tagged me with the 'Five Things'...thing. I know some bloggers reject this form of 'pollution', but I don't know enough to find it distasteful, so will happily play along. Thus, the five things you might not know about me:

1. I am a passionate amateur carpenter (which, I guess you could theoretically have devised if you looked at my user profile...but I digress). A few years ago I needed a hobby and something creative in my life, and my childhood fascination with wood and machines came flooding back. I took a few part-time courses at Merlin Wood in Hudson, Quebec and to date the largest piece I've made is a 'Welsh Dresser' that looks surprisingly like this one. I then made matching bedside tables for my sister's wedding present that were heavily inspired by this. The whole 'Japanese/Shaker' aesthetic is very pleasing to me and I plan to make a dining room table for myself in this style next.
2. For years I was set to become a musician. My father was a professional musician most of my life and got me hooked on drums at an early age. I attended an arts highschool called F.A.C.E here in Montreal (stands for Fine Arts Core Education) where I performed in a variety of bands/orchestras. Had I not gotten hooked on computers thanks to a grade 11 science fair project, I would likely have applied to the McGill Conservatory and pursued music as a career.
3. I first met my wife in grade 7. We dated for one weekend, then she dumped me. Obviously, I've forgiven her.
4. I recieved my B.Sc in Computer Science from Concordia university with a software systems specialty (which is a fancy way of saying I focused on programming rather then hardware). Initially I was in their co-op program but dropped out after the first year - my grades were so poor that the only co-op jobs available to me were data entry clerk type posts. I can honestly say that Raph and Ultima Online almost caused me to fail out of school. At the time I was the Guild Leader of an online gaming group I founded in 1996 called 'OSC' (which, incidentally, is still around and active). As a side note, it turns out that I am the worst programmer on the face of the planet, and quickly got into project management. As they say, those who can't do, Produce.
5. I taught Aleksey Vayner everything he knows. Everything! I am _the_ model of personal development and the inspiration to many around me. okay, this last one is a joke, but I ran out of ideas. Sue me.

As for the five people I'm supposed to tag in order to help spread the love, that will have to wait until I get home and update.