My name is Sarah Henderson. I have lived on Waiheke Island all my life and I had a very normal kiwi childhood. I spent all day every day at the beach 2 minutes from my house. I could run around the rocks with no shoes on and I knew all the places to hide. The neighbourhood children and my sister and I would ride our bikes up and down the road and around the block for hours, we would play ball games and cricket-like games in the middle of the road. I attended primary and secondary schools on Waiheke Island, and now attend University in Auckland city.

Lets see, at high school in my final year I studied English, Calculus, Statistics, Physics, and Chemistry. So naturally everybody thought I would go on to University and study sciences. For a while I thought I wanted to be a nuclear physicist. I was quite interested in computers and the Internet, but thought that doing a degree in computer science might be too technical, so I decided that I would like to be a Systems Analyst and enrolled in a BCom degree. Then I discovered that I liked programming quite a lot, and enrolled in a BSc in computer science degree as well.   I was invited to do honours and accepted.  After my honours was completed I decided to continue my research with a PhD.

The first computer my family had was a Commodore 64, and we had tons of games. I dabbled in a little BASIC programming and I think I was quite decent for a twelve year old. Later on we got a DOS/Windows machine, and I got my own Internet connection at the age of fifteen. I bought my own computer midway through my last year at high-school, and then another one in July a couple of years ago. That time I installed Linux as well as Windows 98. I currently have an awesome Dell Inspiron laptop running Windows 2000 (pretty stable so far).

back to top
 

usual list of interests

Well, actually with doing my PhD and lecturing at least 2 papers a year, I don't have much time for anything much. I do enjoy catching up with friends, catching a movie occasionally ...

Music: I like listening to music while I'm studying, and listen to a wide range. Some of my favourite artists are Clint Black, the Bee Gees, John Anderson, John Michael Montgomery, Lee Kernaghan, Shania Twain, Boyzone, Meatloaf and John Farnham but I will listen to almost anything.

Gardening, Craft, DIY I used to quite like gardening. I had two flower beds totalling about 20 metres square and small vege patch and experimented with seed raising. I do a bit of cross-stitching, although haven't for a while. I currently have about 2 years worth lined up waiting to do, when I get around to it. I would also like to try tapestry and candlewicking, if I ever get the time. I do a bit of Do-It-Yourself around the house. I built and varnished a low bench/table to hold my pot plants, a set of spice racks for the kitchen and a set of shelves for my bedroom out of timber and painted concrete blocks. My current project is to restore a rimu chest of drawers that I have had since I was a baby, which has more than 20 years worth of coats of paint on it. I started it before Christmas 1998, so I hope to have it done by Christmas this year (and I do mean 2003). It's just finding the time...

Reading: At this stage of my life, I have an insatiable thirst for knowledge (which is a good thing for a student) so I read as much non-fiction as I can get my hands on. A lot of what I read is related to computers, but not necessarily directly to my studies, but I also read books on almost anything that captures my imagination. I tried for a while to read through the Whitcoulls top 100 books of the century, but only got through about 25 before I gave up. I did quite enjoy Lord of the Rings and am really looking forward to the movie.

Language:  I have always wanted to learn spanish, but so far have never had the opportunitity or the time.   This year I intend to enrol in spanish courses in the second semester.

Snorkelling: Have been to the Goat Island/Leigh marine reserve a couple of times and am hoping to make it a semi-regular thing.  It takes me back to when I was a kiddie spending all my time at the beach or in the water.  

back to top