Monday
May232005
Interview Questions #5
Monday, May 23, 2005 at 09:28AM
If you could teleport to any time period (past or future), when would it be, and why?
This question and the "what historical figure or person, past or present would you want to have lunch with" question always leave me at a loss. I have no desire to know why someone did something - I find that the reason you had at the time becomes something else when you actually look at it later - or what they thought about anything. People do things and sometimes there's no reason and even if there were, why would I care? I admire people, sure, but I don't think they could tell me anything I don't have to learn myself anyways. This may sound hopelessly narcissistic but all I care about is me. And there isn't anyone out there who could answer any question I would ask - because they'd all be about me.
For the time period thing, the first reaction is to think in terms of "people-time", at least for me. So, Elizabethan times - when they never bathed and carried pomade to cover up everyone's smell? ack, no thanks. Medieval times, when they killed everyone all the time for no bloody reason (hey, I read "Timeline")? Nah. I'd never go near the witch-hunting era - I'd be toast for sure. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" made neanderthals sound kind of romantic but that'd be a NO. I can't even say I'd go back to a time when I didn't know Matt was leaving because I didn't appreciate / understand what I had (because I did) or I could have done it better (because I couldn't have). I wouldn't even want to go into the future. I'm perfectly, insanely, wonderfully happy with right here and right now.
If really pushed, I would return to a hundred different "Earth-thens". A time when the rainforest was whole. A time when the California redwoods weren't a tourist attraction. A time when there weren't 847 extinctions. There's a few animals I'd like to meet and a few places I'd like to experience. But no people.
What's one thing you haven't done that you absolutely must do before you die?
This question and the "what historical figure or person, past or present would you want to have lunch with" question always leave me at a loss. I have no desire to know why someone did something - I find that the reason you had at the time becomes something else when you actually look at it later - or what they thought about anything. People do things and sometimes there's no reason and even if there were, why would I care? I admire people, sure, but I don't think they could tell me anything I don't have to learn myself anyways. This may sound hopelessly narcissistic but all I care about is me. And there isn't anyone out there who could answer any question I would ask - because they'd all be about me.
For the time period thing, the first reaction is to think in terms of "people-time", at least for me. So, Elizabethan times - when they never bathed and carried pomade to cover up everyone's smell? ack, no thanks. Medieval times, when they killed everyone all the time for no bloody reason (hey, I read "Timeline")? Nah. I'd never go near the witch-hunting era - I'd be toast for sure. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" made neanderthals sound kind of romantic but that'd be a NO. I can't even say I'd go back to a time when I didn't know Matt was leaving because I didn't appreciate / understand what I had (because I did) or I could have done it better (because I couldn't have). I wouldn't even want to go into the future. I'm perfectly, insanely, wonderfully happy with right here and right now.
If really pushed, I would return to a hundred different "Earth-thens". A time when the rainforest was whole. A time when the California redwoods weren't a tourist attraction. A time when there weren't 847 extinctions. There's a few animals I'd like to meet and a few places I'd like to experience. But no people.
What's one thing you haven't done that you absolutely must do before you die?
I can never just give a straight answer, can I? For this one, I'm going to give you the list of 20 things that I wrote last year for Matt. The one's in this color are the ones I'm aiming to accomplish in the next two years.
- Walk the moors and then have a pint in a small pub in Ireland.
- Buy a motorbike.
- Succeed in actually making the astral projection thing work.
- Build a cabin in the woods, wake up every morning to birdsong and be able to see the stars at night, every night.
- Kayak the caves in Nelson, NZ (as well as go to Whispering Falls and Mt. Arthur)
- Climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
- Figure out what I'm good at and love to do and then do it for myself so I never have to work for anyone again. Ever.
- Sleep in a hammock and visit the rainforest in Ecuador.
- Swim with dolphins in the wild.
Quit smoking. For good.- Stand with my feet in the headwaters of the Amazon.
- Climb a mountain in Tibet. But not a big honking one. I'd actually like to enjoy it.
- Meet a lion.
- To visit a monastery or a church to hear the monks chant. (Italian, Tibetan, I don't care).
- Meet Jen,also.
- Have a Stella in London with Pob, a cider with Sal, a port with Vanessa and a pint in Glasgow with PornyBoy.
- Go to Java to circumambulate Borbodur .
- Be kissed underneath a waterfall. Preferably a warm one.
- Become fluent in another language (not French).
- Spend time with a crocodile.
Reader Comments (5)
And re: Sydney Harbour Bridge, I couldn't help but laugh at the write up in here this weekend.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1621641,00.html
Sorry, yet again.
oh, well, probably just as well.
They're famous, they're feted - we think they're rubbish. From pyramid-pounding with sweaty Americans to tropical islands that ruin romance, our writers reveal the destinations where the hype and the holiday don't match up
Everybody knows the feeling. You’ve been looking forward to this trip for ages, it’s a big item on your lifetime must-see list finally ticked off, but . . .
Maybe the crowds are inescapable, the food is inedible or the prices are inexcusable, but something’s wrong, and the gap between the myth and the reality just won’t close. So what do you do?
Well, many of us — particularly those who subscribe to the “Don’t make a fuss, dear, complaining is for the Americans” school of travel — won’t do a thing. We’ll grin through the disappointment, get home and start shaving off the worst details from the story, to avoid looking like we went to one of the most desirable spots on earth, but didn’t “get it”. We start telling people how much fun we had. And so the myth lives on.
Well, not today. Here, our writers drop their good manners and lift the lid on the travel megastars that don’t live up to their hype — and to ensure you don’t have to share their pain, we also track down
the magical alternatives that are far less famous, but far more fun. "
[...]
"CLIMBING SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE
The myth: they call it “The Climb of Your Life”. The Ultimate Experience. And they’ve got the raw materials, in terms of one of the most spectacular harbour views in the world.
*
Click here to find out more!
The reality: frankly, The Ultimate Waste of Time is closer to the mark. For a start, there’s the safety briefing. I understand why walking to the top of a 440ft-high bridge might necessitate a technical tip or two, but an hour’s worth? We’re not talking the north face of the Eiger here. A 100-year-old woman recently knocked it off — it’s a wonder she made it past the safety demonstration.
Then there’s the climb itself. I say climb, but a trundle is what it is. A long, tedious trundle. The Trundle of Your Life. Not that I don’t love shuffling along for 2 hours behind a man called Pete with bowels like Krakatoa. It’s just that as self-styled Ultimate Experiences go, it’s not what you’d call a keeper.
As for the commentary ... let’s just say that if the safety briefing doesn’t kill you, the repartee will. “The bridge has got six million rivets,” says Jarryd, our guide. “Riveting, don’t you think?”
I could whinge about the rain, but I do accept that not every one of the quarter of a million people who climb the bridge each year will get weather like Sheffield in Jan-uary. Let’s just say that when Jarryd directs our gaze towards a wall of driving sleet and announces that “From here, you can see the Blue Mountains”, it’s not the life-changing moment I’ve been led to believe will be mine.
contri.: Jeremy Lazell
The magic: if you don’t fancy the climb, but covet the view, then head for Altitude. You can tell it is pretty special, even from the ground: look up at the tower of the Shangri-La hotel (0800 028 3337, www.shangri-la.com) and you will see what appears to be a giant plate-glass window inserted near the top. That is exactly what it is, and behind it is Altitude, the hotel’s main restaurant, which features a 15ft-high, floor-to-ceiling viewing panel that puts diners and drinkers on a level with Blinkie (the flashing light on the apex of the bridge’s arch). So, you can watch the teams of grey wraiths slogging up to make their wish at the light while you tuck into George Jard- ine’s excellent Asian-Australian fare. As the bridge climb costs £80, it might even work out cheaper. Austravel (0870 166 2070, www.austravel.com) has five nights at the Shangri-La from £845pp, including flights from Heathrow to Sydney with China Eastern via Shanghai."