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me in brief So you know my name, but if you're on this page you presumably don't know much else. I'm a programmer for Data Connection - one of the top 5 firms to work for in the country, according to the Sunday Times. I program in my spare time, too, so I guess you could say I'm a computer geek (hey, I've got a personal website). I was always called "middle aged" at school, which was probably justified as I'm a married homeowner with a 9-5 job at 22. Spent three years supposedly studying Economics & Management at Oxford, where I spent as little time as possible studying, and the rest running every student society I could find. And I eat too much. |
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a short history
Born in Surrey and grew up in Martock in Somerset. I attended Martock's VA primary school before going on to Huish Episcopi, a nearby state comprehensive. I have some fond memories of school, where I was Deputy Head Boy and did far too many GCSEs and spent far too long waiting for buses. Incidentally, it's also where I picked up the nickname Pants, something that has been with me since. I had an even better time at Richard Huish College in Taunton, where I did an equally silly number of A-levels and spent even longer on buses. College was lots of fun as I whiled away most of my time chatting and playing cards in the canteen, and had a pretty successful run at debating. From 2002 to 2005 I "studied" at Lincoln College, Oxford, and since then I've been a software developer at Data Connection. I married my lovely Beth (née West) in June 2006, and we live in Enfield. Wasn't that exciting?
more on me
As previously mentioned, computers are my main hobby. I'm half-proud, half-ashamed to say I've been using them since I was four and programming since I was five! I do quite a lot of stuff - I browse a number of forums online, play computer games, create and maintain websites (well, duh), program for fun (!) and check my email about every two minutes. To go all technical on you, I do my web work in ASP (example), ASP.NET or PHP and my hobby-programming in Visual Basic or C#, and at work I use Java (and occasionally C). Fear not, I'm not about to go listing the specs of my PC as well; even I think that's sad.
I love playing badminton, but due to being king-size with no stamina, I'm not particularly good at it. That'd also be why I play "Duffers" football at work! Table tennis is good fun, too, but since the local sports centre wants a tenner an hour to play it, it's strictly an occasional hobby. A few times a year I pretend to be an accountant, and on occasion I shoot people with replica BB guns. It's a sport, honest guv! Airsoft - like paintball, but more fun, even if the missus does get mad at me leaving guns around the house.
Speaking of whom - my beloved wife and I have been together for nearly five and a half years now (no, not married all that time). We've had more than our fair share of long-distance love: one year with her in Aberystwyth and me in Somerset, two with her there and me in Oxford, and one with her studying in Spain! She's studying the Legal Practice Course at the College of Law, hoping to become a solicitor. (Funnily enough, I'm hoping she'll become a solicitor, too...)
I'm not heavily into music, but when I do put some on it's typically dance/trance - no comments please, I know in advance you think that's not music and frankly I don't care :-) To continue on the theme of unpopular likes, I'm a big fan of Jeffrey Archer - well, his books, anyway. Other than that I read mostly sci-fi, especially Asimov, and tend to prefer sci-fi films as well.
I like food! I'm no gourmet - quality is close to irrelevant - I just like eating. Lots. Especially Pizza Hut. You can tell quite easily from my figure - I love the way MySpace puts it: "More to love!" I'm a good-humoured fellow, notoriously laid-back... which also means, I'm afraid, that if you email me you should allow three months for a response.
Other likes: double vodka red bull, microwaved ham sandwiches, cornflakes (with full-cream milk, of course), my bed
Dislikes: mornings, summer heat, household chores, people taking offence, political correctness
where you might know me from
Data Connection - my full-time job, where I also worked in my university summers
Wraith Squadron - my Airsoft team
N-E-X-U-S - my Live Action Role-Play guilty secret
Tutor2u - I'm a regular on the forum there
The Student Room - another forum
UKAN - Airsoft forums
AIESEC - I was Local Committee President in 2003-04
Future Flyers - I've was IT Director for most of my time at Oxford, and yes, I did the website - though they seem to have let it fall into disrepair
Uneek - I was Managing Director of this Young Enterprise company
European Affairs Society - I was IT Secretary for a couple of terms, but they've redone the website (countless times) since
ESSA - I was a friend of the founder, and did their website
any vacancies?
I take on freelance web development work, specialising in database-driven sites. See examples here and here. If you're after a site that keeps things simple style-wise (or you have someone else to do the graphical design) but is hot on interactivity and has immense power to support your business, I can help out cost-effectively. If you'd like your organisation's website to do more for you, get in touch using the form on the main page.
I'm not currently looking for full-time work. My job is awesome and five minutes from my flat. You can make me an offer, but it'd have to be a good'un!
Copyright (C) 2004-7 Chris Paterson
All rights reserved
