From the opening phrase “You have now entered into a legally binding contract” to the closing smilie “;)” – I was spellbound. What could this be? The <140 character Twitter notification from @markhawker had captured my attention and my curiosity. The link, cleverly disguised as a shortened url, led me to an enlightening list of seven things about Mark Hawker that I was hitherto ignorant. (It’s well worth a look, Mark My Words). So, here I am; tagged and bound to share seven random facts.  What a great way to top off a very random year!

1. I have an insatiable appetite for learning new words and reacquainting myself with old words. It all started with my habit of ‘reading’ my Oxford English Dictionary (and any other dictionary I could get my hands on) and has evolved into multiple ‘word a day’ subscriptions. When I find a new word, I like to cross-reference the definition/s in multiple dictionaries, google it, check the etymology and then of course – use it! 
    
2. I love Jane Austen novels. I used to hate them.  My negative opinion was at its peak when a few were set for compulsory reading in high school. At the time, my grandfather would say he thought I should at least like Pride and Prejudice because Elizabeth Bennet and I are so similar. :S I wasn’t impressed. But now, I have nothing but admiration for the author’s ability to entertain while providing an accurate insight into human nature.  Her stories are timeless. The transition from loathe to love of Jane Austen’s novels occurred gradually and I cannot explain how it happened. Perhaps I grew up.
    
3. One day, I will own a Vespa. 
    
4. My first job was as a farmhand on a sheep and cattle property, during my school holidays. The experiences I had during the few short weeks of work have provided me with numerous oddball anecdotes to disturb polite company. 
    
5.  All my real names can be used as first names or surnames.  As the old expression goes, if I had a dollar for every person who has called me by my surname I would be a millionaire.  
    
6.  I am not a millionaire. 
    
7. I prefer 7 Up over Sprite. Both are supposed to be lemon-lime in flavour.  IMHO, Sprite tastes like regular lemonade.

Now to the part where I tag seven people to take part:

1. jeffreyleow
2. naimul
3. rdjfraser
4. JamesBateman
5. Dallas Knight
6. MicahElliot
7. medicalstudent

Rules as copied from Mark Hawker’s blog:

• Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post – some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter.