A '72 Zelazny, from the vines on the south side of the hill.

A few years ago, I decided that I should add some kind of personal information to my resume, give some kind of little hint as to what I did when I wasn’t at work.  After some deliberation, I added the following:

PERSONAL INTERESTS
Science fiction
Military history

Oddly enough, no one has ever asked me for my opinion of the relative merits of the Russian T-34 versus the German Panther or for an analysis of the Duke of Wellington's strategy at Waterloo, but for whatever reason the science fiction tag seems to evoke a response.  In a job interview with the ICBC about four years ago, one of the interviewers got this funny look in her eye and said, “So, science fiction…do you go to...conventions?”*  And, in the case of my recent change of jobs, I’ve already mentioned the questions about my blog, during the interview I was asked what my favourite sci-fi movie was**, and last week some co-workers solicited my opinion of Babylon 5, which for whatever reason had come up during their lunch conversation.***

Sigh...

Here I am with this comprehensive, almost encyclopedic knowledge of fantasy and science fiction, and no one ever asks me about anything but the pop culture aspects.

There are times when I feel like a connoisseur who has developed a vast knowledge of wines, liqueurs, whiskeys and other beverages, building it up piece by piece over a lifetime of sampling and evaluation.  I know histories, vintages, successes, failures; I can distinguish subtleties of flavour; and my shelves contain a complete range from the exotic to the traditional.  And what do people ask me about? The relative merits of wine-in-a-box.

- Sid

*  The answer is no.  To quote my friend Laurie, I'm not that kind of a doctor.

**  Star Wars, the first one.  Not necessarily the best science fiction movie ever, but I have my reasons.

*** Reasonable show, took it a couple of seasons to find its groove, but it was always hampered by the fact that all the supporting characters were more interesting than the leads.