• Question: do you have a life outside of science

    Asked by to Anna, Elaine, Fiona, Kevin, Darren on 23 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Fiona McLean

      Fiona McLean answered on 23 Jun 2014:


      Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it! But yes, I do! I have several hobbies including horse riding, netball (although I haven’t played in a while-need to get back into it!), playing the piano, yoga and hanging out with my friends. I really like going on holiday too and taking weekend trips to places. What is really great is everyone who works in my lab is lovely and really good fun so we always have a laugh in the lab as well!

    • Photo: Elaine Cloutman-Green

      Elaine Cloutman-Green answered on 23 Jun 2014:


      Very much so!!

      I do something called freeforming as a hobby where I write interactive plays for about 40 people in different settings. Some of them are historical, some of them set in situations from books or favourite TV series like Game of Thrones.

      On top of that I try to run a half marathon every year to raise money for ACT; which is a charity. I’m not very good at it as it takes me a long time but I think it’s good for me to try and do something with my body as well as my mind.

      Apart from that I love spending time with my family. We’re really close and so we go to the movies together a lot and watch TV and play computer games. My family mean everything to me.

    • Photo: Kevin O'Dell

      Kevin O'Dell answered on 23 Jun 2014:


      Most of the people who I work with work a 50 hour week, and often more. (Today will be a 12 hour day). I’m sure it’s similar for Fiona, Elaine, Darren and Anna. So your question is a good one as it’s absolutely essential that you do something that is nothing to do with work!

      Over the last couple of years I’ve been doing a bit of singing. It all started after I was given some singing lessions as a birthday present. Somehow I seem to have a voice that’s more suited to musicals, and in May I made my stage debut in ‘Lend Me a Tenor’ at a theatre in Glasgow. Absolutely amazing experience, but very scary at the same time. I’m definitely going to do it again, and will be auditioning for the panto Cinderella in a couple of months.

      I also write for a small football magazine.

    • Photo: Zhiming Darren Tan

      Zhiming Darren Tan answered on 24 Jun 2014:


      As a kid, you learn that science is important for the natural world, but there are so many things to do with being human that aren’t quite science – such as how to convince your parents to do something.

      In school, I enjoyed science classes and other classes like literature, as well as sports like hockey.

      In my career so far, I have done work that is not all science – such as teaching and policy work.

      As a graduate student who is doing science full-time, I still do plenty of other stuff when I’m not working, such as playing sports (floorball) and writing poetry – but these days much of my time is spent taking care of my kids!

    • Photo: Anna Bramwell-Dicks

      Anna Bramwell-Dicks answered on 24 Jun 2014:


      Definitely!

      I feel really lucky because I love my job and the work that I do. Not everyone can say that. So, I do spend a lot of my life doing work, or reading things that are related to my work, but that’s just because I find them interesting and fun.

      Outside of work, I like to spend time with my friends and my family. I like to play board games (okay, I like to WIN board games), I love to read fiction books, I am a bit of a music and film geek, I like going to music festivals and gigs, I really enjoy playing around with makeup and creating fun looks as well!

      My favourite thing to do though, is to explore new places. But, I don’t get a lot of time to do that really. I am lucky that my job sends me abroad sometimes which means I get to explore a bit for work. But, I recently went to Paris for a weekend which was really fun! Wandering around the city by myself in the pouring rain, getting lost and then figuring out where I was eventually was really good fun 🙂

Comments