Five Facts About Me (I Jump on the Bandwagon Uninvited)
I was not nominated for this one, but I decided Tuesday is a nice day for a personal post and I'm going for it anyway. Five little known facts about me...
1. I used to be a teacher (for a while)
I was looking for a job in my early twenties and one of the jobs I found was a part-time gig as an English teacher. It quickly became evident to both me and my boss that I didn't really enjoy teaching children, but I excelled at teaching adults. It seemed I had a natural knack for explaining and categorizing this type of stuff and with a number of students being vocally happy about it, my schedule started getting full pretty quickly. Before I knew it, a number of part-time gigs had organically morphed into something like a full-time job filled mainly with courses for adults and corporate trainings.
A bit over a year into this, one of my employers asked me to start teaching English at her private high school. Working with bratty teenagers turned out to be something I really enjoyed and despite the fact that the money I was making as a teacher was nothing to write home about, I was really having fun both with the high-schoolers and with the corporate people. After a few years, the Physics teacher got pregnant and I was asked by the principal if I felt I could do that job too (all the faculty knew I was really into science and stuff). It was a total gamble, but I did teach high school Physics alongside the English and had a blast.
Unfortunately for me, when the financial crisis struck, a lot of the companies I was teaching at decided to drop the free English classes for their employees which erased a significant portion of my income and I was forced to get a real 9-to-5 for a while. I still miss teaching as it was kind of my calling. It was fulfilling and I seemed to be pretty good at it. I'm considering making a return.
2. I'm a proper metalhead with long hair, exclusively black wardrobe and black nail polish
I'm really into metal and I guess you can classify me as a pretty typical-looking metalhead. I discovered this type of music in my teenage years and it quickly became part of my identity. Unlike many of my peers, I didn't ease into it and started from one of the most brutal bands available back then - Cannibal Corpse. I pretty much destroyed my Gallery Of Suicide cassette from constant playing, but it did feel like a bit of a phase of getting the aggression, rebellion, hormones and energy out. For the uninitiated in this stuff, this is one of those guttural singing bands with fast brutal riffs, double bass drumming and the gory horror movie equivalent of lyrics. Back then they sounded like the heaviest thing possible though they currently seem much tamer and more melodic to my seasoned ears.
Soon after that I discovered Children Of Bodom and their album Hatebreeder which really changed my life. It was like the perfect amalgamation of speed, energy, melody, heaviness and virtuosity with no clean vocals. Metal was clearly not a phase. I had found what I had been searching for and I was now a convert. With time I started discovering more bands like In Flames, Arch Enemy, Dimmu Borgir, Slipknot and Soilwork and I even started venturing into metal melodic enough to incorporate clean singing like Amorphis and later Katatonia. I've been on this journey of discovering more and more of this music ever since and the latest bands that have conquered my heart have been things like Tessaract, Architects and Bring Me The Horizon among others.
I think I'll always prefer metal to other genres as it's really interesting and diverse musically. While many people might hear only noise, I hear the most complex and expansive genre of music out there and only jazz and classical music can come close to the musicianship and intricacy metal has to offer.
I still go to concerts and festivals as much as I can and I still look the part. I don't plan on getting rid of my long hair unless I have to (for maleness related reasons) and I love owning only black clothing as everything matches everything.
3. I'm a musician and I play the keyboards
I started playing the piano as a kid before I discovered metal and I always had fun improvising and coming up with corny little self-composed numbers. When I first started listening to metal, I wanted to ditch the piano and move to bass so I can find a band to be brutal with. But when I heard the virtuoso performances of the keyboard player of Children Of Bodom, I realized playing the keyboards can be bad-ass too. I started devoting a lot of time to learning to play as fast as any guitar shredder and with time I started getting pretty good at it.
I've played in bands ranging from gothic or progressive metal, to melodic death metal and black metal. Oh and even hard rock. There was a time in my life when I was doing this pretty intensively and I've had the opportunity to play all around my home country of Bulgaria and I've also performed in the nearby Greece, Serbia, Macedonia and Ukraine. I've had the honor of sharing a stage with acts like Dimmu Borgir, Septicflesh, Suffocation, Destruction and more (as an opening act or at the same festival of course). I've even had the chance to play a few concerts with "recognizable names" I won't share here and I've also performed with symphonic orchestras a few times.
I have a pretty intense stage presence with a lot of handbagging and silly poses regardless of the crowds. I've played for both 5 and 5000 with the same passion and desire. Oh and I do screaming vocals pretty decently and have co-fronted a band with that for bit too.
I'm not sharing clips or band names, but if you are curious, drop me a line on steemit.chat or discord and I might confess privately.
4. I have an awesome dog
I really love my dog and I have a soft spot for animals in general. Our dog is of an unknown mixed breed and was adopted after being found on the street. When he got to us, he was full of fleas and lice and you could see his pink skin through his fur. It seemed that he was 1 or 2 years old back then and he has been with us for 6 years now. He felt at home with us quite quickly and started being loud and playful right away.
He has few distinctive characteristics. He is relatively small (under 10kg/20pounds), he has a long tubby body and short legs. He has a piercingly loud bark that is rare for a dog of his size. He is quite emotional and curious. He barks a lot at other dogs, especially if they are larger than him and the whole neighborhood is familiar with his loud voice. I take him out on a long leash at all times as he is not very obedient especially if he decides to try and intimidate a larger dog (which of course is unsafe).
He is still really playful, loves stuffed toys and turns them to shreds with great pleasure.
5. I managed to bring my girlfriend to the steem blockchain, too.
I finally managed to convince my significant other of over 7 years @naydenova to start posting her photography on here and I'm very happy that I did (and I think so is she).
I adore her and I can't believe she keeps bearing with me and I hope she continues to do so in the future. She really brings out the best in me and I'm really happy that we are together. I feel like she's helped me grow a lot and that includes the fact that she initiated us becoming vegetarian and us adopting our dog.
I really want to thank her for everything she has done and continues to do for me.
Bonus Fact:
(if you feel 2 and 3 were too similar)
I drive a soccer-mom minivan and I love it! :)
So you drive a mini-van, but then you share all of THIS!
Okay, not going to kid you about the ride. Not after this.
My son is looking to become a teacher. It means more schooling (he already has a bachelor's) and then getting a teaching certificate. He started in the Fall as a bilingual assistant for ESL kids (they actually call the program ELD).
I enjoy teaching, but I'd have a hard time with any non-adult I think.
I like to wear black, too. I just don't wear it exclusively. :)
It sounds like a great relationship you have. I wish you both well.
And as always, thanks for sharing.
Oh, feel free to kid me about the ride all you want, I'm sharing it because I hope it's kind of funny or at least a bit unexpected. I don't mind a bit of friendly ribbing ;)
I would say teaching is not for everyone and not everyone enjoys explaining the same things over and over (apparently I do). I know a lot of smart and altruistic people who found teaching frustrating, grueling and unsatisfying. But it seems that the people that enjoy it find it quite rewarding. It's sometimes a matter of a financial decision and that's the only reason I'm still not doing that - it didn't allow me to earn enough. Your son should consider how much it will cost him to get educated and certified and how long it would take him to break even teaching and whether it is worth it financially.
Interestingly enough, as far as training goes, I didn't even finish my Bachelor's degree as I didn't have time for it because I gave priority to music and work. Technically, I was utterly unqualified to teach in a high school but since I had proven myself in practice, the principal was willing to stick her neck out for me (and had some legal loopholes that allowed her to do so). But you could bet that whenever there was an inspection or a certification procedure for an institution I was teaching at (be it the school or a company organizing corporate trainings), I was always the first person to get an in-class audit. Fortunately, that was not an issue and some administrators even threw me under the bus intentionally.
I don't have much of a way with children and I prefer adults and teenagers because it's OK to go deeper into things and you don't have to shy away from more complex concepts or language. And I'm a pretty verbose over-analyzer and that can benefit adults much more than it can benefit the youngest of children.
I moved to all-black as a teenager and got so used to it, I feel kind of unnatural wearing something else. And as I mentioned, it makes life much easier. Though I like combining black with a bit of pink here and there just to surprise people (for instance I have a bright pink tie that I sometimes wear).
Thank you and thanking for stopping by! :)
..its so nice to read sir @rocking-dave how you care and love your dog,they said its the dog who choses you to be its master not us who chose them to be our pet.😊
You're so nice for commenting on this post. For that, I gave you a vote!
Well, this pet was actually found and chosen by my girlfriend. The people who had found him and taken him in were looking for somebody to give in a permanent home on Facebook and she wrote them.
+3 for teaching. Truly an undervalued service.
+1 for being passionate about music. Even if it is metal, ha!
+2 for being musically talented
+4 for your kick ass dog
+5 for bringing your gf to Steemit
-8000 for driving a soccer-mom minivan, and liking it!
I'll still give ya an upvote for the first 5 though ;)
I'm happy you decided to overlook the -8000 then :P As far as my car goes, the most important function (and main reason to get it) is to be able to take my dog and girlfriend on nature adventures.
Lol, I totally get it. I swore I would never get one, and luckily we have been able to get by with a small SUV for now. But more kids are in the future, so hopefully a truck or larger SUV will do the trick.
The only reason we're considering an SUV now is the fact that our current ride can't get us everywhere we want to go the nature. But on the road and in the city, it's pretty comfy for us. It has even taken us to a metal festival across few borders.
Oh wow, dint know you were part of a band. I would love to listen to some of your music. I'm a musician myself.
I'm not ready to share that on the blockchain yet ;)
Steemit chat it is then
I'm rocking-dave there too :)
Uninvited: who cares? :))
I really fell in love with No. 1 - it sounds as if this is the thing for you and you felt devotion and motivation. Working with bratty teenagers is for many people a pain. Obviously not for you. I can sense the challenge as a good one, too. Doing this kind of work myself, only it's called "coaching". There is though a lot of teaching involved. I like to use tools which nobody came up before.
No. 2 I skipped reading. Not at all into metal.
No 3: you seem pretty consistent:
LOL. Can you still do it? What does that mean?:
can you scream a vocal right now and here? :)
No 4: Cute dog, you have. With dogs it's more fun for they stay often playful even when they become old, especially the small ones (I compared with cats and bigger dogs). Have you ever heard of Rupert Sheldrakes experiments with dogs? It was about dogs who knew when their owners came home (this experiment was set up like so, that the owners came home at a randomly chosen time and not with the usual vehicle but with a taxi).
No 6: must be a guy thing. I was dragged into steemit myself from my man:) Well done, I would say! And hello to your girlfriend! I like how you talk about her. That is really sincere!
Thank you for stopping by and being so kind.
I was trying to be cheeky. Doesn't always work out for me :P
I'm not sure I'm ready to share this type of stuff on the blockchain yet. Though with my girlfriend not being as anonymous as I was before she registered, it's kind of a lost cause. If you think you can stomach some metal, I can send you a little clip in the chat. But, yeah, I could do that right now too.
No, I haven't, but I'm going to remedy that right away. Btw, I'm convinced that our dog knows the sound of our keys, our car and even other family member's vehicles that he rides in regularly and always reacts when we are about to come home. Almost every time I park the car, near the apartment building where we live, I hear him start barking from the inside and if the door to the balcony is open, he comes out. Keep in mind that we live in the center of the city where it's loud and there are cars constantly parking and going all day.
Well done to him too! It's a guy thing because we just want to share the awesomeness :)
Thank you! :) I'll give her your regards though I see you already did that yourself under her latest post :)
It was a pleasure!
discord or steemit chat?
Have you found Sheldrake? He "gives" a lot of speeches on youtube.
Have a good day. I am about to leave the house. Snow is falling.
Both work for me, but I'm not always online. But since steemSTEM is moving to discord, maybe discord is better ;)
I read some stuff summarizing his research. A talk on YouTube sounds interesting, I'll search for him there.
Have a great day/evening yourself. Here we're back to rain and sometimes ice because of that instead of the snow. I preferred the snow.
I made a comment on one of the people nominated for the five facts challenge that they should include in their post something to substantiate each of the 'facts', but since you weren't nominated I will just enjoy the post :p
I have added you and @naydenova on my list of steemit couples. I am hoping to do something interesting with that list so stay tuned :)
The good thing about challenges is that you can always add your own twist to them :P
Let's see what you have in mind ;)
I have problem differentiating between fact and fiction most of the time (even about myself)...
That would probably be Fact 1 about me :D
LOL :D
I really liked the point about teaching in school. I have many friends who do not have pedagogical education, but has a talent for teaching. I think you take it to such talented teachers. When I studied German I had just such a teacher. It is cool to study with a talented teacher! Good luck in further career!
Thank you for your comment. Teachers without qualifications are quite common with languages. But abilities and aptitude should always be more important than a piece of paper.
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