Hey all!
nominated a few days ago for the „Five Fun Facts About Me Challenge“. So here it goes...a little bit about me:
nominated a few days ago for the „Five Fun Facts About Me Challenge“. So here it goes...a little bit about me:
1. I was born on the opposite side of the planet
Yes, it's true... I live in New Zealand but I was born in the Netherlands, which is technically pretty much on the opposite side of the planet. Whenever I fly 'home' (I still call it that quite often, since I've only been in NZ for about 3 years now...), I spend at least 23 hours on a plane...which is a lot of movies...trust me...
This is the famous town of Giethoorn in the Netherlands...
2. I'm a scientist by day...
I'm currently in the last year of my PhD research at a university here on the North Island of New Zealand. I am a coastal researcher. A what...? Ok, let me try to explain. I basically study anything related to waves (in water), currents, sand movement, beach erosion, sea level rise, etc. My current research however is focused on estuaries and the changes they undergo with regards to changing climatic conditions. This involves a lot of hydrodynamic modeling (no catwalks involved...). Want to know more? Then leave a comment! :)
An example of a hydrodynamic modeling figure that I've published in a recent scientific paper
3. ...and a music producer by night
At least, I try to be...when I have time... I have released a number of tracks and a few EP's under the artist name 'Mindseye' (or 'MindsEye') in recent years. Those were official releases; I have been producing music for a lot longer though. Probably about 10 years now. Some of my earlier creations, that cannot be found on Spotify etc, are available on SoundCloud. In a way, I would love to be a full-time producer/DJ but I know that realistically that's probably not going to happen. Still, it's great to see that my music is starting to get some more love on streaming services! And on Steemit as well, of course (more to come soon... :) )
My Spotify artist profile
4. I love the ocean
The ocean has always had an attraction on me, and that will never change. It gives me inspiration when creating new music but also for life in general. Whether surfing, scuba diving, snorkeling or simply walking on the beach, I always feel recharged and re-inspired afterwards. Back in 2014, I decided to take a few months off from 'normal life' and focus on improving my scuba diving skills. After a few weeks on northern Bali, I ended up spending 3 months on the small Indonesian island of Gili Air. Here, I was in the water every single day, working on my skills and assisting dive instructors. This eventually lead to my Dive Master certificate. I have to admit that lately, I haven't been in the water nearly as much as I had hoped. The most simple explanation: water temperature. New Zealand waters never quite reach the oh-so comfortable 28-30 degrees Celcius of the waters around the Gili's... :)
The waters around the Gili Islands are teeming with turtles!
A few Dive-Master-in-action shots
5. Music, music, music....
Yes, back to the music...because I am a music freak. There, I said it. I have been (and still am) into a lot of different music genres. I've had a Eurodance phase (those amazing 90s!), followed by a Hip-Hop phase (favorite album: Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star), an alternative/rock phase (Foo Fighters, Incubus, Pearl Jam, etc..), and currently a mix of indie/punk rock (Jeff Rosenstock, PUP, Wavves, etc..) and electronica/triphop (Jamie XX, Bonobo, Tycho, etc..). I suppose my own music creations mainly fit into the latter category. One of the plus sides of being 'stuck' behind a computer doing science most of the time is that I can listen to music pretty much all day. Which is great...awesome even! But New Zealand is such an amazing country, that I will always eventually break out of the office again to do some outdoors exploring... I do bring the music with me, of course.. :)
Lastfm top track played by me in the past 90 days...
I hope you enjoyed this "5 Fun Facts about Me" post! Thanks again for nominating me! This was a fun post to write :)
Taken last year on Rarotonga (part of the Cook Islands) --> Fun fact 6: I love to travel!
Photos were taken by me, except for the very first and last ones obviously!
That's all I've got (for now...). Any questions? Do leave a comment!
I'd like to nominate 
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