This is going around the blogsphere these days and I, too, have been tagged. So here goes.

First, the rules:

• Each player lists 8 facts about himself/herself.


• The rules of the game appear before the facts do.


• The player ends by tagging 8 people, which means (a) listing their names in your blog, (b) going to their blogs to tell them that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog for details, and (c) going back and commenting on their lists.

There are various versions of the "rules" going around and most bloggers (myself included) have changed the rules' wording to better reflect their writing style. I guess that's only fair. There biggest difference among various postings of this, however, is in the third rule. In one variation you're supposed to tag 4 people while in another you're supposed to tag 8. More on that later.

Next, the facts:

1. I was given four other first names (Ameer, Sameer, Adeem, and Aleem...I think) before they finally settled on 'Ameel', about a month after I was born.


2. I was named Ameel because my grandmother really liked the name Emile (after Emile Zola, one of her favourite authors) but they couldn't exactly give a Pakistani boy a French name so they found a similar-sounding Turkish substitute. Ameel, in Turkish, means "full of hope".


3. I am a drummer and I own a drumkit (1 snare, 3 toms, 1 kick, 1 pair of hi-hats, 2 crashes, 2 rides, 1 tambourine), a set of conga drums, a pair of bongo drums, a darbouka, a dhol, a dholki, a couple of tambourines, a couple of shakers, and a whole bunch of drum sticks and brushes. I also have access to a dumbelek that belongs to Nadia. When we moved to Australia, I brought with me only one pair of drumsticks and one pair of shakers. I haven't played the drums -- of any kind -- in over a year.


4. If I had enough money, I would quit my day job to work as a record producer and session drummer/percussionist.


5. I have been using computers for 23 years now (starting with an Apple IIc). I wrote my first computer programme 17 years ago (in BASIC) and made my first web page 11 years ago (using notepad, in pure HTML).


6. I am obsessed with (convertible laptop/slate) tablet PCs these days and would love to own one. I would specifically love to own the Lenovo X61t though I would settle for the Fujitsu Lifebook T4220 as well. Of course, I won't be able to afford either one for at least another year and a half.


7. I find all kinds of wordplay to be a lot of pun.


8. When (not if!) I can afford to do so, I intend to build a home cinema (or, more likely, model my TV room) in the style of USS Enterprise's main bridge. I already have it all planned out. (Yes, I know. Yes, I am.)

Finally, the tagging: 

Er, I can't think of anyone I can tag. Maybe I'll just add this bit later.