About daveb

by Squiffy

Born and raised in Newport, Wales but thanks to an English father escaped without too much of a sing-song accent (note however, the strange pronunciation of ‘tuthpaste’ and ‘sauspan’). Due to the proliferation of Davids in Wales, he soon became known as daveb and the nickname has stuck to this day. After a few wild years of partying, drinking, smoking and a couple of crashed cars later, daveb went to Cardiff University to while away another 3 years partying, drinking and smoking….oh, and studying Computer Science. On graduating he moved to the Big Smoke that is London, where his first job as a Computer Programmer for a telecoms company lasted a whole two months.

Unfazed by this, daveb took his 2 months experience and turned it into 2 years (well, it did span Dec 1998-Jan 1999) and confidently demanded 3 times his previous salary from a major bank. Having broken into the world of Investment Banking he was unstoppable. Apart from a 3 month ‘time-out’ to travel around America that is, in a gigantic motorhome named Edna none-the-less. Apparently, a good time was had by all. On returning to London and investment banking, daveb had the fortunate experience of meeting Claire, who he quickly named Squiffy due to her lack of drinking skills, at a pub quiz which he hated (the pub quiz, not Squiffy). It was not long until they nested together in the Palace. However, after his stateside adventures, DaveB had the dreaded travel bug and a desire to escape the city to see what’s out there and what his role in life really is. So he and Squiffy began to make plans…..and that’s where we’re up to today.

Likes

• Sitting in his office in our flat, wearing only pants and computing the hours away.
• Family and friends.
• Perfectionism.
• Reading the papers or ‘self-improvement’ books over a large latte at a cosy café.
• Browsing for aforementioned books in our local bookseller.
• Web 2.0 things.
• His own space.
• Drinking with the boys.
• NLP.
• KFC.
• Seeing Squiffy happy.

Dislikes

• Rubbish people (note: I don’t mean the bin men).
• Being told what to do.
• Logistics companies who can’t deliver things.
• Gyms, or exercise in general.
• Being late.
• The Mundane; that is anything that needs to be done more than once, like housework, cooking, washing up, laundry.
• Mediocrity.

Groovy bits

• Honest and open.
• Supportive.
• Blue eyes.
• Sticks out his tongue when he’s thinking.
• Techy knowledge and ability.
• Fun to be around (other than when in hot button mode, see below).
• Generous.
• Will watch endless episodes of Friends and chick flicks on request
• Wise.

Hot buttons

• Rubbish people being rubbish.
• Being ‘controlled’ (ie. being gently nudged into action).
• Touchy when in need of cigarettes.
• Grumpy early in the morning, or frankly anytime before lunch.
• When engaged in DIY.
• When in need of food.
• Watch out for slightly patronising NLP speak, ever present optimism and beer breath in the morning.

Most used phrases

• “So be it.”
• “I’d like to invite you into a space in which you might like to consider…”
• “I’m in work” (now to be less used due to travels)

Top 5 wants for this trip

• Trek Machu Picchu and the Inca trail.
• Smell the penguins in Antartica.
• Become a qualified sky-diver in Arizona.
• Talk business with the entrepreneurs in the Ritual Coffee Roasters coffee bar in Silicone Valley, CA.
• Walk parts of the Great Wall of China.