I grew up in Frankston and always really enjoyed doing my English homework. After year twelve I enrolled in a journalism degree at RMIT. But before it started, I decided I wanted to become a doctor instead. I had to do year eleven and twelve again, this time with a lot of things about velocity and battery acid. (At least I got to drive myself home at lunchtimes.)

Once I finally finished high school, I moved to Hobart. It was the mid-nineties and there was a place near the waterfront that sold $2 instant coffee in polystyrene cups. (Now it is a very fancy bar, and I suspect instant coffee would set off some type of alarm there.)