The Interview Game

I decided to play the interview game in response to Rob's recent post. The idea is that he asks me 5 questions, I reply and then if you want to be interviewed, you tell me and I'll ask you 5 questions and you reply and on and on we go. It can be interesting to hear what people think in response to someone else's questions. And, its always interesting to hear what people ask and thus find out what they are interested in!

Ok - here's my answers...

What are you up to in New York and what is it like?

Officially, I'm studying here on a 3 month placement doing some PhD research looking at how parents and kids with ADHD in America think about medication for ADHD. I'll then compare these to kids in the UK. Apparently I am having an intellectually enriching experience at a centre of clinical and research excellence that will provide a firm basis for my future career as a clinical psychologist committed to advancing the field by developing and applying innovative and practical interventions grounded in solid psychological theory and research. (Oh the bla we write to get grants, eh?!)

Unofficially, I'm making friends with people from work, exploring a new city, experiencing a different culture, rediscovering 'The Golden Girls',exploring Quakerism in Manhattan and seeing an entirely different side to the city volunteering in a queer youth shelter. In addition I am craving beans on toast, longing for dairy milk chocolate and missing my best friend & partner more than I imagined possible *sniff sniff*. He came to visit me this weekend tho and left me with 8 bars of dairy milk which I haven't touched yet *smug*.

New York is quite an amazing city - I love the ethnic diversity and the friendliness of the people. Work is an experience - Americans have different working habits but fit in a little social life around their work. I think Northern Irish people fit a little work in around their social life ;) Also, I'm attached to a private clinic and having to bite my tongue and control my facial expressions in case meetings when I hear words like, 'They can't afford this treatment so there's not much we can do.' Long live the NHS! Although it has its faults, disorganisation and bad management - the general ethos is one I subscribe to.

Do you ever plan to return to Northern Ireland? Please explain why/why-not.

Yes, I'm going back to NI in April to visit my family ;)

However, I can't imagine living and working in NI. There are more opportunities in England career-wise and I've built a life for myself in England and have a some very close friends here that I don't have at home. Also, I like the cultural diversity that exists in England - I've learned a lot from it and find myself thriving in it. I can't imagine going back.

Having said that, I'm not against the idea and if I felt my skills would be better used back home and circumstances were such that I could move back, I'd consider it. But my life, ties and friends are all in England so I don't think it is likely.

Your book list includes His Dark Materials by Philip Pullmann - what do you think of his stance regarding Chrstianity and the church?

I'm probably controversial on this one. I liked His Dark Materials and its reflection on the nature of religious authority was one that I could really relate to. I think the thing to bear in mind is that the Authority in the book is God in people's eyes, yet he is not the creator and so perhaps he isn't actually God! Religious power and religious authority has been employed in some truly tyrannical ways, and I think humanity has constructed gods of its own making and then employed those gods to justify torture, violence and bloodshed. On a less extreme level, God is employed to justify prejudice, lovelessness, judgementalism and intolerance. Its there, to hide from it does no-one any good.

I think the thing to remember is that Jesus was largely anti-power. And I think His Dark Materials can serve as a reminder of the dangers of religious power and the reality of religious tyranny and oppression.

I was also moved by his description of the Ancient of Days. He is as thin and fragile as tissue paper, terrified and demented with age, imprisoned in a glass display case. As the glass is broken and the Ancient of Days dissipates his last expression is one of profound relief. Perhaps God is relieved at the death of God? I liked this - it is a reminder that that which we think is God is usually not God, and that God may be a symbolic reality, damaged and imprisoned by our mistaken notions about who and what God is. My own perspective is that there are times when we need to be liberated from our notions of God in order to connect with the reality of the divine presence in the universe.

You are another food fan - your favourite recipie please!

Oh thank God - an easy question!! I cook creatively, seldom follow recipes and if I do, I'll usually play around a bit. So, please excuse the lack of measurements, quantities and oven settings!

Lets go for my favourite dinner recipe:

Fajita bake: I made this thing up based on a friends vegetarian creation and then remade it so many times adding different bits and pieces so feel free to add your own...

You'll need:

An Onion
A few cloves of garlic (I use about 6 but I usually make this for a certain garlic lover and we tend to go overboard)
Meat of some decription (minced beef works well, but I think chicken breasts cubed into tiny pieces is best)
Some vegetables (carrots, peppers, mushrooms)
Tin of chopped tomatoes or abut 6 freshly chopped ones (or try grating them - it really works!)
Kidney beans work in this if you fancy them, as does sweetcorn and that sort of thing
About half a bottle or so of Nando's cooking sauce (entirely optional, but add the extra hot one if you dare)
If you're using beef or just fancy it you can add chilli pepper or any other random herbs and spices that feel good at the time. Chilli goes well with beef)
About 3-4 fajitas
A generous lump of good strong cheddar cheese (grated)

Basically, you chop some onion and garlic (the basis of all good meals imo) and saute them in a little oil. Add some meat (I usually use chicken chopped into tiny bits) and stir fry, then add the vegetables - obviously bearing in mind how long different vegetables take to cook before adding them. Then add in the kidney beans if you're using them (they go better with beef I think). Finally in go the tomatoes and if you're adding Nando's sauce for extra kick, now is the time to add it.

Let that simmer until it looks kind of ready.

Lightly oil a large wide dish of some kind (I use a ceramic flan case) and add one fajita. Then plop some of the mix on top of the fajita, then add another fajita, and so on - finish with a fajita and just a little bit of the mix on top. Then take the cheese and add that on top.

Whack it in a hot oven for about 15 minutes til the cheese starts simmering and melts down the sides of the dish and yum yum yum yum yum. I usually make some side salad to go with it.

What do Quakers believe - in 100 words?!

LOL! Quakers are non-credal so we don't have a set of clearly defined beliefs. They say if you ask 2 Quakers you will get 3 answers. I like the idea that we are united in love, not doctrine. However, most Quakers believe that there is that of God (or the Spirit, or the divine) in everyone. Therefore all can experience this presence for themselves and we should seek to recognise it in others. This usually inspires Quakers to seek to live compassionately in our day-to-day lives and to oppose that which threatens or harms others, hence the early Quaker opposition to slavery. Quakers are often active in the in the fields of peace, justice, world development, education, homelessness, prison reform and working to challenge prejudice in whatever form it occurs. These practical concerns were the main aspects that drew me into Quakerism.

(PS. If you are interested in Quakerism, then the UK Quakers will send you a free book - just click here. Don't worry you're not signing up and they won't come knocking on your door or contact you again!

PPS. For Americans reading my blog - if you're interested in Quakers then this link might help you to locate some near you. If you're from elsewhere in the world, try this site.

PPPS. I really hope this doesn't sound like I'm trying to make converts :S. Just goes to show, you can take the girl out of evangelicalism, but can you take evangelicalism out of the girl? :S)

So anyone else for the interview game - let me know and I'll make up some questions for you!