Seven things you didn’t know about me

Katrien's tag hit me ... so here I go :

1. I didn't study informatics and only headed towards information technology the year [1997] I had to choose a side track when I studied Applied Economics in Leuven. Since then it became obvious that I finally found what I was looking for. The person who hired me at Compuware in 2000 (my first job interview) was convinced that my lack of programming experience and technical background wouldn't matter in the long run. Eight years later, I'm still working at Compuware Belgium ...
2. Before I went to university I was heavily involved in sports [Tennis / Soccer]. During high-school I was an internal student at a professional tennis academy in Belgium where I was trained 5 days a week and because I couldn't let go soccer, I kept on playing soccer as well. I had some talent for both sports but in tennis I belonged to the top 12 players in Belgium for my age category. Due to some injuries and a lack of time in the years to come in that period, I had to let it all go. I still miss the competition rhythm and I still hate to lose in whatever game I take part. My idols from that period were John McEnroe and Marco Van Basten.
3. In Leuven during my university period, I was member of a regional student club and our main occupation was slowly getting drunk in our favorite pub. Going home on time wasn't easy in those days and I was always afraid I would miss something when leaving early. I did not have a GSM and wasn't addicted to a computer, so I needed to go out and meet my friends in person with a perfect drafted Stella Artois. It still is my favorite brand of beer, but over the years I became to appreciate a good glass of red wine and since then I'm increasing the number of bottles I stock at my parents cellar.
4. Playing all kind of card games was also very common when I studied, but since I got to know Texas Hold'em Poker, there's only one card game that still gets my full attention. Just before the birth of my first daughter, I sneaked in on a trip to Las Vegas with some friends to gamble a bit.
5. My ex-colleague Steven Wilssens - who now works at Microsoft in Redmond - pulled me into the board of the Visual Studio User Group in Belgium.
6. A while ago I was a huge fan of 24 and Jack Bauer pushed me to see the first three seasons as fast as possible, but I still need to find the perfect time to start with season four.
7. Some people keep telling me that I have two left hands, so don't ask me to help you with practical jobs.

My turn to tag some people :

• Tim Van Wassenhove
• Stijn Guillemyn
• Laila Bougria
• Jelle Druyts
• Yves Goeleven
• Christophe De Baene
• Stefan Cruysberghs

Here are the rules if you are tagged:

• Link your original tagger(s), and list these rules on your blog.
• Share seven facts about yourself in the post - some random, some weird.
• Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
• Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs and/or Twitter