Ten Things I've Done That You Probably Haven't
01) Made myself into a nuisance to the late great Freddie Mercury by calling him on his home phone number one summer -- and even if I only called him maybe 5 or 6 times before he shamed me into leaving him alone, and it was years ago (I was about 14 at the time), I still remember the number!
02) Prepared a huge pot of 'hutspot' for the NYC homeless at one of the city's many church run shelters
03) Spent some time as a glorified office dogsbody at the UN headquarters in NYC
04) Worked my way around Italy going from excavation to excavation (Ostia, Satricum, Paestum, Pompeii)
05) Worked on emergency excavations on the West Bank (Israel)
06) Published dreadfully boring articles on utilitarian architecture (dikes, sluices, powerhouses) in Dutch civil engineering mags
07) Spent some time in retreat in a Greek-Orthodox monastery in Belgium
08) Converted to Catholicism at age 32
09) Won medals as a champion fencer (on épée)
10) Having torn most of the tendons in my right thigh and groin 3 days into my holiday, carried on (and even climbed a mountain in that condition) for another 10 days before seeing a doctor.