List Your Specialist Subjects

This is a neat thread! Here are some of my random experiences:

- Homeschooled until High School

- Lived on a small island in Washington State with a tourist based economy

- Undergrad at a private Christian university in British Columbia

- Masters and PhD at Arizona State

- Topics studied: environment, ecology, marine biology, sustainability, Environmental impact assessment, social justice, primary and secondary education, local food systems, agricultural sustainability, farmers markets

- Lived in: Orcas and Seattle in Washington State, Langley British Columbia, small-town Northern California, Belize, Hawaii, Phoenix Arizona, Sydney Australia,

- Worked as: Hostess, Waitress, Curriculum designer, Front desk & environmental consulting @ architectural firm

Harpsichords, including tuning issues and technique.
Music history.
Music theory - harmony and counterpoint.
Latin.
A smattering of Tibetan language.
Buddhism
Ritual Magic
Pagan Mythology - mainly Greek and Roman.
History - some Roman, Greek, a little Medieval and Renaissance European.

Worked as a boiler attendant and a general dogs body in a power station and briquette factory.

Psychiatric nursing for 25 years.

Not too much to tell, but...

- Born in Moscow, Russia, in the tough times of 1990's
- Experienced family troubles (alcoholism and business crash in 1998)
- Unhappy parents who couldn't have got a divorce
- Extremely bad and abusive teachers in Junior and Middle School
- Death of a classmate when I was 13 years (8th Grade). There's a bit more to it, but that's not for public.
- Really long and weird family history, connected to Russian history and Fate's Irony.
- Experience with bad Russia's educational laws
- Getting a degree in Russian State University for Humanities
- I speak Russian fluently, also a bit of Hebrew and a little bit of Yiddish
- I study Biblical and Judaical studies (can answer lot's of questions concerning traditions and religion)
- Had courses of history of Witchcraft and Inquisition in Europe in Early Middle Ages
- Well, though I don't really like Russian history, I'm well acquitted (is that how you spell it?) with it. Especially I'm good with 16th-20th centuries, but also I have a point of interest in the city of Novgorod.

Well, that's all.

I'm a financial advisor (some people call me a stockbroker) at the top US advisory firm. If you have questions about that world or the characters within (some call them "evil bankers") please feel free to PM.

I've also worked as a radio news reporter and news anchor but that was 15 years ago and the technology has changed a lot.

Half Iraqi, quarter Welsh and quarter English, and had a very confusing childhood spent with significant time in all these cultures
A Londoner, and have been all my life, living in both West and South
Spent a lot of time in Wales - specifially South Wales, Swansea area.
Suffer from OCD

Attended a single-gender high school and sixth form
Journalism student, including the history of, laws pertaining to, and the actual technical art itself
Freestyle and Latin American dance qualified
Ex-Drama student
Have also studied (and still remember a lot of): Psychology, Government & Politics (UK), Geography (demographics, physical geography etc.), Film Studies, English Literature
Inca history is my specialist subject

Religion wise:
Bought up as being Protestant during the week, and Muslim at the weekends
Later became a Pagan, and know much of the practices and history
Now an atheist

A bookseller at Waterstone's
Have worked as a bartender at three festivals

I have Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, and can tell you how drugs and such actually affect us from a personal POV rather than the 'this works' POV of so-called professionals and/or parents. I'd wager some parents will also tell you that the kids sometimes become worse after having these drugs. I can tell you one reason that happens.

I also am someone who has grown up as a Mormon. Please note I am not referring to the Community of Christ or the sect that was/is led by Warren Jeffs. I'm talking about the mainstream Mormon Church. While I don't have any expertise on the temple ceremonies or what-not, I can tell you about whether something is part of Mormon culture or if it is nothing more than a myth. There are a number of them, so if you're confused, feel free to P.M. me.

Points of Experience I'm willing to share:

- Cello (Nearly 20 years playing, Bmus student)
- Suzuki Music Education (both student and teacher)
- Classical Music
- Autism (little brother severely Autistic)
- Educational Psychology
- Knitting, Crochet
- Vegetarian, Vegan, and gluten-free cuisine
- Dungeons and Dragons
- Have a room-mate who's a zombie (she's biting me right now...)

Here's my mix of eclectic (and fairly useless) skills:

- Modern Middle-East with a focus on Israel
- International Politics
- Iaido, a little kenjutsu, and general fighting
- Buddhism
- Personal experience with depression, and a smattering of disability issues
- Fair knowledge of anti-semitism and conspiracy theories
- And the most useless one of all, tabletop role-playing games.

i want to apologize for this being so long, but it is what it is.

English major
Journalism minor

grew up with my grandmother
raised on Social Security and food stamps
family raised a garden every year
great-grandmother was a bootlegger
lived in house with two aunts until they graduated and moved away
Appalachia (southeastern Kentucky)
coal mining
lost uncle to mining in 1980
was in the April 1974 tornado 'Super Outbreak'
total weather fanatic

used to have '80s big hair, wore obnoxious clothes, and talked like a Valley Girl
able to roller skate and chew bubblegum at the same time

divorced
left abusive relationship - two of them
two sons - one regular birth (with epiduarl) one with horrific c-section
oldest son has chronic kidney failure and is a transplant recipient on dialysis (know the agony of "hurry up and wait")
youngest son is a Marine living in okinawa

grew up southern missionary baptist, baptized chritistan, and went whole-hog Pagan 22 years ago
been practicing Gwyddon for 20 years, main focus ritual and ritual creation, Gwyddon history, and mythical lore

ADD with panic disorder (my apartment is very, very clean LOL)

was anorexic in high school and college
now have an emotional eating problem and am obese

am caffeine-free
able to name that tune in one note
got kicked out of a Hallmark store
total snoopy fanatic
started playing Dungeons & Dragons in early high school
have played Vampire the Masquerade since 1991 - own complete set of first edition books
was in 'gifted and talented' program from 8th grade through graduation, main focus was French, German, genetics, and creative arts

Hello guys, here are some areas I might be able to help with:
Vikings and the Viking Age
Norway, especially Oslo
Fly fishing in fresh and salt water
San Francisco
medical devices
video production
corporate advertising and marketing
Jaguar and Mercedes cars (limited)

Well I'm a physiotherapist, i work in professional sport with a premier league soccer team, but I've also worked in the health service so i can field a lot of medical/hospital based questions should anyone have any.

Also boxed as an amateur for a long time, including training with the English national squad, could probably give some pointers (on writing about boxing, not beating people up)

And I'm a Jew, although a Jew of the more secular variety. I do have some interesting stereotypical Jews in my family though, should anyone be interested in such things

Not sure I have much to add to the list above, but here are some fairly unique experiences I've had:

• Born and raised in Utah, though I am no longer Mormon
• Suicide in the family
• Peddled carnival games at an amusement park for several summers when I was in high school
• Worked as a contractor to the Air Force, writing technical manuals
• Producer / Project Manager at a large video game company for several years
• I've known at least three close friends or family who have been diagnosed with severe Manic-Depressive issues

Might think of a few more later, but there it is.

Education
Undergrad degree: Bachelor of Music - primary instrument voice, secondary instruments guitar & piano
Grad degree: MFA in Creative Writing - concentration in Writing for Children

Background
Have worked in NYC for 10 years, live in northern NJ all that time and grew up in that area. Went to grad school in the West Village of NYC.
First Generation American with an Italian background (parents are immigrants).

Random Info
Natural redhead (if you plan to write about about a natural redhead in depth and are not one, take a minute to touch base with one. Because the sheer amount of what's necessary to say go to the beach for an hour and not turn into a lobster is ridiculous).

Work Background
During high school was part of an NSF grant to study jumping genes in fruit flies.
During undergrad I worked as an audio engineer for the school of music. Have worked backstage at Carnegie Hall and interned in the publicity department of Columbia records.
Currently work at a non-profit putting together grant submissions for our research institute. I am knowledgable in compliance issues and regulations regarding research.

Experiences I could describe to you

Here are some of the experiences I could provide insight about. I thought I'd posted this before, but I don't see it..so here it goes again. Hold onto your hats!

1. Majored in communication at NC State
2. Grew up on the beach in North Carolina (the Wilmington area)
3. Went to a small high school in a small town
4. Diagnosed with bipolar/ADHD, but went without a proper diagnosis or treatment for several years (see #12)
5. Strong family history of mental illness/substance abuse
6. Lost my mom to cancer in 1998
7. In an emotionally/psychologically/sexually abusive relationship in college
8. Went from having no religion/humanist/agnostic/deist/Christian, became a Christian when I was 15
9. Former Southern Baptist, now Episcopalian, have done extensive independent study about religion of all kinds
10. Moderated religion-based forums for the past nine years
11. have worked in foodservice, TV production, sales, HR, administration, retail, basically all kinds of customer service
12. Have had the experience of people thinking that my problems are due to a 'demon' or 'spirit'/lack of faith/unresolved sin-my ex-boyfriend and his family believed in what is now called Word of Faith/Prosperity Gospel, and gave me grief about my taking meds for, well, anything.
13. I have five cats
14. When I was 13, I learned for the first time that I had brothers from my dad's first marriage. I met the first one at age 15 (he died when I was 18) and just met the other one in 2009. My dad's first wife had a mental illness problem and did a lot of hurtful things in their marriage...after the divorce, she took my brothers out of the country and actively kept him out of their lives for more than 20 years...
15. On disability
16. In 2005, I was hit t-bone style in my car by a Dodge Ram and broke my pelvis. I spent a month in the hospital and still have the arthritis effects. I don't remember anything at all about the wreck or the two weeks after, but everyone who saw me and the car said I should have been dead
17. 35 with no kids

As you see, I'm a train wreck. I might not have a lot of 'career' expertise like most of you do, but I've been through the wringer in other ways.

In addition to this, my husband is a gun collector (military rifles) and works in tech support, so he could give information on either subject.

Horticulture, US NE

I've spent almost ten years in northeastern America gardening professionally (longer if you count my geeky adolescence planting hosta gardens instead of shopping at the mall) at historic estates. I watched Cold Mountain and thought the end with the flowers was a subtle cue as to the season and how much time had passed, only to realize that they had goldenrods in a vase in May, arrgh!! I've read stories where peepers and bullfrogs sang together, wrong! I've read stories where fireflies were out at the same time as crickets, wrong!! I despair at people being aware of their environment in this day and age, but I'd like to help.

I'm English, living in Cumbria, with the following specialized interests: almost anything equine (I teach carriage driving, and am on the governing Council for the Cumbrian Fell pony breed); life in rural northern England; historical aspects of horsemanship including commercial coach driving in its "Golden Age" in England. Oh, and I'm pretty hot on spelling, grammar and general language issues.

I have spent most of my adult life working in prisons (including a fairly unique one that is completely populated by sex offenders) and mental institutions. I have met and worked with various types of convicts and people with extreme mental illnesses.

PM me if you have any questions.

Hi all, I can answer any questions about computers and internet use. Also consider myself knowledgable in parenting, philosophy, English literature and the psychology of addiction.

I am knowledgable in hamsters, budgies, mythology of all ranges, comic book characters and comic book movies. Oh and also story ideas.

My husband is a third-generation full-time farmer in the American heartland so I'm intimately familiar with the agricultural industry - both historic and modern. He is a part-time OTR trucker (it's his hobby - great way to see the country because you get paid to take a road trip! ) so I have second-hand experience with trucking. I have been an amateur ballerina, a ballet teacher, and a coach. I was a veterinary technician in college and have been riding horses since I was small. I've got experience training trail horses and gentling wild mustangs, and once you get me started on the topic of horses you might have to tell me to shut up. I've bred and raised Great Danes and now have a white German Shepherd, though I wouldn't call myself an expert. I'm also a SAHM and I've been homeschooling my daughter for the last two years, so I can answer questions about that, as well.

I'm an electrician and can offer up my experience in that field as well as my experience in general construction. How-to, terminology, people, etc.

Home brewing beer and some basic science behind it all.

wow, that's really all I can think of right now. I sound really boring. Oh well.

PM me if you need me!

So. Things I can help you with..? I'd say

╰☆╮ Spanish language / Spain related questions

╰☆╮ Bullying & Toxic friendships

╰☆╮ Babysitting twins

Thing's that I could help with:

Japanese Language, Culture and History

Epilepsy (Seizure's)

Cats and Dogs

Ohio

Psychology

Video Games (Ps2, Ps3, Pc, Psp and Wii)

Character Development

Cooking

Aliens

Bullying

Online Schools

Manga and Anime

BJDs (Ball Jointed Dolls)

And I know what it's like to chased by someone around a tree.....-_-;

PM me if you have any questions. ^__^

I could probably help you with this! When people ask what my accent is....I tell them educated redneck!

This is fun!

Ok folks....here goes.

National Gymnastics....circa 1980-88
Dysfuctional families...don't ask but yes, I'm a former expert
Thrice accomplished business owner...retired at 38
The tradeshow industry
Computers and audio visual of many different sorts
Smart humor...think Erma Bombeck or The Big Bang Theory, West Wing
Pregnancies and parenting...girls especially
Behavior modification
Former female Marine...general character assumptions can be decimated here
Drug/alcohol addictions...not my own. Still an expert
Fire from the burn victim perpective, sadly my own
I would call myself well versed in way too many things. Ask, I probably have some kind of answer/experience or at least know where to point you