Today I get the pleasure of sharing with you 20 Questions with one Patrick Beja. Patrick is now a delightful correspondent for the Daily Tech News Show headed by multiple 20 Questions Tuesday participant, Tom Merritt (interview 1, interview 2). He brings a very measured thoughtfulness to his reporting on technology and backs up his thoughtfulness with his own experience in the computer gaming industry. Most of his podcasts are in French, because he happens to be French and speaks French as his primary language. I have listened to Le rendez-Vous Tech in its natural French... I understood enough of it to know that I should stick to the Daily Tech News en anglais. Patrick is delightful to listen to because of his insight and his supple French accent. So without further ado... Voici nos Mardi de 20 Questions:
I am a cartographer and one thing I really love is looking at a person's geographic story. For example, I was born near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. My family moved to Montgomery, Alabama when I was a baby and then to Birmingham, Alabama when I was 3 or so. I grew up just to the northeast of Birmingham in a small town called Center Point and lived in the same house until I left for university when I was 17. I went off the school at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio where I met my wife. We moved to Columbus, Ohio when we graduated from college and have lived in the Columbus area since then. Question 1: What is your geographic story?
Ha! There couldn't have been a more complicated question to start us off... So, let me do this chronologically, as you did:
I was born in Lebanon, where I stayed for only a couple of years before my family left the country, chased away by the war. We found ourselves in France with not much more than a suitcase and my newborn baby brother. We stayed there for a year or two and "tried" to move back home, as my parents felt the war was winding down, which turned out to be wishful thinking. So after a few months we left Lebanon again and came back to France. Another few years, and my father's work took us to Cyprus for a year, and then to Beirut (again) for a year. I was 13 or so by that point, so it wasn't an easy change. Then back to France (thankfully!), where I had a hard time re-adjusting, as could have been expected.
I did high school (redoing my first year) and university in Paris (two widely different university courses: IT and Japanese), and then, as I turned 25, I decided I wanted to live in Japan, almost on a whim. So I did just that; I lived in Japan for about four years, split between Tokyo and Kyoto. A wonderful and trying experience; I left a part of my heart in the streets of Akihabara and another on the banks of the Kamo-gawa.
At almost 30, my time away had made me realize I didn't have to be what I thought I had to be, so I figured I'd forgo my pre-ordained path of working in the IT industry and decided to find work in the movie industry instead, and Paris was probably the best city to do that. So I came back and did just that, again. Half a decade later, I met my Finnish wife as she was swinging through Paris on a student exchange (she has a pretty complex geographic story herself), and it was love at first sight (which I wouldn't have believed existed before it happened to me). She went back to Finland shortly after, and the long distance relationship took me there every few months. Then she came to live in France, and we huddled in my tiny 20m2 studio for a couple of years, getting married in her countryside home town midway through. Now we've moved to another lovely apartment in the very close suburbs of Paris, and we're planning on staying here for a while... until we move to Finland for a few years, maybe? Time will tell I guess.
Wow, that is quite a geographic footprint. I love sharing with people who have moved all around the world. The shifts you made are impressive ones, not only geographically, but culturally and linguistically as well. So... You most likely speak Arabic from your Lebanese roots, you clearly speak French since you live in France, you have to know some Japanese, I would imagine you either can speak a bit of Greek or Turkish from your time in Cyprus, you most likely are learning/know some Finnish, and we are chatting in English. Of the languages I listed out, most come from different language trees. That is some crazy impressive polyglot action going on there. Question 2: So... how many languages do you know? and to what level of functionality do you consider your knowledge of them?
Heh, you like questions that will illicit lengthy and complicated answers, don't you!
Ok, so first, my parents' and my native tongue is French. They were both part of the French speaking community (Lebanon used to be a French colony, and kept strong ties with France after it got its independence. Actually it had strong ties with the French, English and Arab worlds and was a very westernized country before the war. But I digress). So yes, I do speak French, and it is my first language.
I apparently spoke Arabic as well when I was a kid (around 3 or 4 I think), but I've since forgotten 97.3% of the little I knew. I can kind of understand the topic of a conversation if I pay attention and your definition of "understand" is loose enough. My parents speak Arabic as a second - no wait - third language, and aren't fluent (my mom has a strong accent even). Their second language is English.
And I speak English as well, as you know. I wasn't totally fluent until I started listening to podcasts though. I spoke pretty well already: in Cyprus I learned practiced my English and not Greek or Turkish, and in Japan I lived with a kiwi for a year or so (a New Zealander, not a bird. Or a fruit), but I didn't speak very naturally until I got into podcasts; movies and TV shows will only get you so far.
I also speak Japanese reasonably well; I studied it for four years in college, and started really practicing there. We went back there for our honeymoon last year, and I was surprised at how conversational I could get, even after all these years…
And finally, I'm learning... Swedish! My wife is a Swedish Finn, so her family's first language is Swedish and not Finnish (Finland is a bilingual country with a Swedish speaking minority), and so I'm learning that of course. I learned by myself a bit and I can say a few things, but I'm not quite there yet. I'm starting serious lessons in 2015.
And in case you were wondering, my wife speaks more languages than I do. I think as a general rule of thumb, you can just assume that she basically does everything I do, and more, only better.
I knew that Lebanon had a French colonial influence to it, but I did not realize the strength of that French legacy. Also, I did not realize that Finland had a Swedish speaking minority. I just thought that since Finnish is such a small language group that the Finns would be a bit more isolationist about their official language.
This is my typical question 3, so without further ado a sharp left turn from geography and linguistics to Question 3: Cake or Pie, which specific kind and why?
Gluten and dairy free pecan pie. First because pecan pie is by far the best dessert pie ever conceived, and second because I can't really eat gluten and dairy nowadays (food intolerances; it's not allergies, it'll pass).
I grew up in Alabama with two pecan trees in my backyard... I still have never and will never like pecan pie... I understand the gluten and dairy thing. I have had to be gluten free for about a year now... I hate being gluten free. Absolutely hate it. France is known for croissants, baguettes, crepes, and other gluteny delectable ... I am not sure that I could handle the aroma of freshly baked European breads daily...
Question 4: If you do accidentally eat something with the gluten in it, how long does it take you manifest your symptoms?
Well, as I said, it's not an allergy so it's not very severe. It only gets annoying if I eat gluten a few times a week for a few weeks, and I've been observing a strict "everything-free" diet for a couple of years or so now, so hopefully I'll soon be able to eat it again. Although to be honest I'm not sure we're made / supposed to be eating gluten, intolerance or no intolerance. Or at least not as much as we do.
And yes, being deprived of croissants, pains au chocolat and warm baguettes has been very hard on me, as a French person especially. But surprisingly, among all the things I couldn't have (there were more than just those initially), the thing I craved the most was coca cola. For the first two or three weeks, I missed it more than chocolate, which was a surprise...
I have the intolerance pretty badly. It is not an allergy because it does not affect my immune system as much as it irritates my gastrointestinal system to the detriment of all around me.
You are now a correspondent on a tech news podcast that is based in the US whilst you are in France. Question 5: what are the technical difficulties that you are running into with this cross-continental kind of job?
The timezone differences are the main challenge. Not only because it's bloody confusing (especially around Daylight saving switches, which happen at different times in different places), but mostly because now that I'm doing this full time, I want to preserve as much of my evenings as possible to be with my wife... Given how much I work with Americans, it would be easy to get every evening filled with podcasts, and that's something I want to avoid as much as possible - it doesn't mean I'm never doing anything evening time for me (DTNS being the prime, and weekly, exemple), but there has to be a balance: I could very easily end up having three or four evenings a week eaten up by podcasts. Most of the time my US friends are kind enough to wake up early enough that I'll be done by 8pm my time, which I immensely appreciate.
The Phileas Club is also an interesting show to schedule in that regard : since we often have people from the Americas, Europe and Asia/Australia at the same time, finding a common time slot is... fun. I usually end up doing it on a Saturday afternoon my time.
My wife works with an international cadre of people, so she is constantly trying to coordinate schedules for people in the Netherlands, England, British Columbia, and occasionally Australia... how she manages to get people in relatively similar time zones to meet at the same time is dizzying. The fact that she is often having to coordinate intercontinentally is even more boggling. I would imagine the second you work becomes yours alone and you are the one responsible for content that the work/life balance is almost immediately thrown asunder. I know that since my wife decided to go it alone, we have been constantly renegotiating our own work/life balance. It is difficult to say the least. There is a saying that when you work for yourself, you are always working. The only thing that keeps us sane and our marriage intact is near constant communication.
I have consistently heard that prior to your recent striking it out on your own as an independent podcaster that you were in the "gaming industry," and I am sure you have gone into detail on some of your own podcasts and guest spots on other podcasts, but I am going to ask anyway. Question 6: What was your professional role in the gaming industry?
I've talked about it here and there indeed: I was working at the PR department of Blizzard Entertainment, in their central EU office, working mostly on World of Warcraft and Hearthstone (it's no big secret: I'm listed in the credits of all Blizzard games for that 5 year period). The question I often get when I tell people, especially gamers, what I now used to do is: "why in the world would you ever leave a job like that?!". It always makes me laugh, but I haven't looked back since I put in my resignation a few months back, simply that I'm doing something that I love even more... And hopefully I won't have reasons to regret leaving that awesome job! :)
It is a difficult thing to willingly leave a good thing to try something that might be more fulfilling. Honestly, I commend you heartily for doing it. I am in a dead end job that I cannot stand, and I am nearly immobilized by the fear of the unknown. I need a new job that allows me to grow and learn... I am getting a masters in User Experience Design all in expectation that I will do the work to find a new job, but this fear is hamstringing me from moving forward at a pace that would be helpful. It is time for me to get out of doing GIS/data warehousing of holes in the ground and get into something dealing with UXD. I really stand in awe of your ability to take that chance. I am so happy for you and your ability to create content unfettered.
Question 7: What creative endeavor have you wanted to do, but just not felt like there is an outlet for it?
Honestly, the steps to being happier (in work and elsewhere) are different for everyone, so maybe taking things slow and small are the right way to go. One thing I'm certain of though, is that you can spend your whole life saying "tomorrow". Not everything needs to happen immediately, but if you reach the point where not doing what you want has become routine, you're in danger of looking back at things years later and saying "I wish I had", which is the saddest collection of words in the the human language.
Anyway, to answer your seventh question, there are tons of creative endeavors I would like to initiate or take part in but don't. It's not for lack of outlet though; I believe that with today's tools and means (computers and networks) there is nothing that can't be formalized somehow. Sure you might not be able to direct a blockbuster movie from your bedroom, but you can certainly take up 3D graphics, or stop motion video, or something to convey your ideas. Similarly, podcasting will enable anyone's ideas to reach the world in an even more simple manner. Honestly, the things we can do today and the possibilities we have, they're almost endless.
I have a deep seeded aversion for the "back in my day" type of ideas, because most of the time they're rooted in preconceived and erroneous notions. Now is the best time to be alive, likely for almost anyone almost anywhere, but mostly for us privileged first world dwellers. Not making the best of it when we are afforded so many opportunities is an insult to... well, the world. There, rant over. :)
You are a simply wonderful, deep, contemplative man. I am fighting a tendency that runs deep in my family of dealing with "if only" and "not ready yet." It is conversations with you and people like you that get me to actually get myself moving.
You create an amazing amount of content through your large amounts of podcasting. I can only imagine that much creation takes up a huge portion of time. Question 8: What do you do to rest and relax? What are your hobbies?
Here lies my deepest problem: I've made my hobbies into my work. So when I want to relax for a bit, I basically get some work done (playing video games or browsing the tech and gaming blogs). I know, right?!
But aside from that, I also enjoy cinema quite a bit, and dinners with my friends. I'm not one for evening dancing in trendy clubs. Although there was a time when I did go out to bars around the city. But that's a story for another time... :)
I was curious about that. I have heard from some comic book creator friends of mine some similar issues. Some of the magic of doing "what you love to do" goes away because you are now forced to do that activity for your subsistence and not just for the love of it. It doesn't necessarily diminish the love someone previously had for an activity, but it does sometimes transform the joy of a beloved activity into the tedium of a chore.
All of this being said, Question 9: what is your favorite aspect of podcasting?
Definitely this: it's not radio. Radio has a very set tone and way of speaking even. It doesn't feel natural, it feels written, artificial. I love the fact that podcasters make listeners feel like they're part of the group, just talking it out and having fun while having coffee. That's, in my opinion, what creates the unique proximity between podcasters and their audience, and there's nothing quite like it in the "traditional" media. At least in France…
I would say there is nothing quite like the podcast/audience relationship most any place in the world at the moment. It is at both times a very intimate interaction and a global distribution methods.
Question 10: Fill in the blanks: I find that I am mostly _______. Others feel that I am mostly _______.
I really think I've never seen anything like a podcasting community anywhere on the Internet... It's a great place to be.
And to answer your questions:
I like to think myself as balanced, first and foremost. Interestingly enough, I think it shows very much in my work, as I insinuate that value anywhere I can. Well, almost anywhere I can. :)
And apparently others think of me as passionate, at least according to twitter... I like it too!
