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| 1.Q |
Tell me
about the first time you remember being thrilled. |
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| 1.A |
I remember
the first time being scared – by a worm, very Freudian.
As for thrilled – probably running away from home, unfortunately
I didn’t have any clothes on. It was one of those hot
late 70s summers. |
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| 2.Q |
What’s the slightest thing
to have thrilled you? |
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| 2.A |
The first
computer magazine I every saw. Ha how sad, I must have been
8 or so at the time. It summed up something I didn’t know
anything about, but I knew it was new and exciting – and
American. |
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| 3.Q |
What’s the most frightening
yet thrilling thing you’ve done? |
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| 3.A |
Going with
my friend Paul to see a prostitute in Rome. Things like that
happen with Paul cos he’s a complete nihilist. Of course
I didn’t indulge, but it was pretty scary and sordid –
been driven out of Rome to god-knows-where. |
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| 4.Q |
Tell me
why you’re not completely sensible. |
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| 4.A |
‘not
completely’? well you have to meet someone to know that;
how they pause; how they talk, their exciteability. But there
is a story about me involving Ben Schniderman in a Jacuzzi. |
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| 5.Q |
What’s
the most uninhibited thing you’ve ever done? |
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| 5.A |
well there’s
the usual “shagging-on-the-beach” type thing, but
that’s not really my inhibitions, it’s others. Probably
talking to strangers, I find that quite terrifying. |
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| 6.Q |
What have
you considered doing for pleasure but were too concerned about
the risks? |
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| 7.Q |
Describe
the event in one sentence (there’s time to expand later) |
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| 7.A |
Arriving
in New York for the first time; it’s autumn. No no, first
time I was in paris |
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| 8.Q |
Tell me
a bit about yourself around this time. |
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| 8.A |
I’d
just finished working for a big bank as a summer job in London.
I’d had a great summer but the land of merchant banking
wasn’t for me. I didn’t have any money but I wanted
a holiday, so I read the ‘hitch hikers guide to Europe’
and off I went. |
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| 9.Q |
List the
sequence of events leading up to your thrill. Try to remember
how you felt at each stage. The smallest detail could be important
(this is your chance to expand). |
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| 9.A |
So I
get into Paris, a hostel. I’m travelling on my own.
I’m excited and I’m walking along the banks of
The Seine. It’s autumn, it’s beautiful (of course,
it’s Paris).
I thought I was pretty worldly wise – I’d lived
in London all summer after all, but here I am I just got ripped
off by the guy in the underground station who sold tickets.
And there’s these pet shops along the banks of The Seine,
they keep the animals in cages in the street, and it’s
rush hour so they’re taking the cages back into the
shops – animal feathers everywhere. And everyone’s
rushing past me pushing me aside, and there’s leaves
everywhere, and well… it’s beautiful. I never
travelled at all when I was young, and I think this was my
second trip to Europe or something. |
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| 10.Q |
What were
your thoughts and feelings at the precise moment of thrill? |
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| 10.A |
well the
thrill comes now, ten or so years later. I think about the memory
and it makes me happy and its important. Not sure if I noticed
it at the time except being in a state of “wow”.
My memory arranges it makes it work, noticeable, I guess. Things
are better in the remembered, if you know what I mean (although
that doesn’t take away from the event) |
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| 11.Q |
What did
you do afterwards? |
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| 11.A |
went out
for a drink. Met this American girl who was wearing Clarks-style
sandals. I really fancied here, but wasn’t competent enough
to arrange a holiday romance… |
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| 12.Q |
What were
the risks? |
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| 12.A |
Well I
got sexually assaulted on the way out of Paris, by this guy
who kept wanting to know if I liked boys or girls. That was
a bit difficult. |
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| 13.Q |
What did
you imagine other people thought of you during and after the
event? |
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| 14.Q |
How often
do you think about the event, and why? |
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| 14.A |
Not often.
I like to tell the story of the whole holiday, because I was
brave (for me), and I’m proud I was so brave. |
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| 15.Q |
Some people
probably don’t understand how such a thing can thrill
you; explain it to them. |
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| 15.A |
I love
travel, and I love cities. But the excitement here was just
being part of a city beyond me, those feelings you get when
you’re young, the excitement and butterflies. |
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| 16.Q |
What three
changes could have made the experience better, and why? |
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| 16.A |
Money,
sex and a good travelling companion. Each of those would have
totally spoilt the experience! But how can you make a memory
better… I guess when I’m old and I have more time
to reminisce. |
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