AskAwayFriday – Seems I’ve been cornered…

I’ve been invited to a linky party! I’ve been invited to a linky party!

I didn’t know what it was but excitedly said yes, cause I’m just that kind of guy.  It sounds like fun.  Some small part of me hoped it wouldn’t turn out to be one of those parties that Tom Cruise stumbled on in the movie Eyes Wide Shut.  That will be kinda awkward…

It wasn’t.  *wipe excessive sweat of brow* It’s an exchange of 10 questions with another blogger in order to learn a bit more of the people who abuse this site.  I was fortunate enough to be invited by the brilliance that is The Vanilla Housewife, as she wanted to get to know the small brain behind the ramblings that I put on screen.

In preparation of my planned interview with Ellen, which occurs every Thursday in my dreams, here goes:

1. What’s your daily routine like?

You mean besides waking up, assist in getting the kids ready for school, going to work, drinking coffee, working, reading mail, replying on mail, blogging, having lunch, attending meetings,  drinking coffee, blogging, plan a business trip, blogging, crap on subordinates, working, going home, have dinner, talk to the wife, entertain the kids, watch some TV, blogging and sleeping?

I get up @ 04h30 and go to gym for an hour.  And I don’t miss any episodes of Under the Dome, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Big Bang Theory and Grey’s Anatomy.  And NO, its not all showing on one night.  And on weekends I do nothing for it’s MINE!

2. Does your wife read your blog? What does she think of your antics on the web?

Antics, what antics?  I must admit she doesn’t read every post, something about teacher/mom/wife/cook/cab driver/doctor/daughter/nurse/shopper/sport coach/project manager/tutor that prohibits her from being a reader of my blog.

When I really want her to read a post of mine I tie her down with the random wips and chains we have lying around in the house.  (Oops, maybe that is too much information.)  Ah well.  She does have access to my blog, so I’m technically following myself as well.  She has printed some of the posts and then she puts them on the fridge with the camel magnet from Bahrain.  When I ask why, she replies: “Because I can”.

3. What one post are you most proud of and why?

That’s a difficult question Mrs Vanilla, I’ll rather share the secret of how to feed the hungry of Africa with this special bean I have, but since that wasn’t the question I’ll just keep that one under wraps for a wee little longer…

I enjoy writing A LOT so I cannot isolate a specific post.  It’s like Sophie’s Choice for me.  How do I pick one of my musings over another?  The unchosen ones will retaliate and delete themselves.  So it’s impossible for me to choose one.  I always appreciate every like I get and a comment gets me off immediately.  But I run around like a headless chicken when someone re-blog a post of mine on their page.  That’s the greatest compliment.  I think it’s happened three or four times since I got on this merry-go-round.

4. You’ve been married for 16 years, what spell did you use on your wife? I mean, what’s the secret to a long lasting marriage?

It was a powdery mix of mermaid scales, toad spit, chicken teeth and unicorn hair, scorched over the green flame of melted Kryptonite.

Seriously, that potion allowed me to marry my best friend and maintain an astronomical sense of humour.  We laugh constantly and we don’t take ourselves too seriously.  We sort of roll with the punches and shoot from the hip.  We respect one another immensely and NEVER shout when we fight.  When the clouds of trouble hides the sun every now and then, I remind myself of the things I adore.  Like her laugh, her sincerity, her support, her honesty, her kindness, her giving soul, her caring nature, her exquisite sense of humour and her beautiful blue/grey eyes.

It has to be said that if you knew the awesomeness that is my wife you would understand why being married to her is such an easy thing, like breathing.

5. I have never been outside my country. Convince me to visit South Africa and No, Madagascar alone will not convince me.

First off, South Africa does not have talking lemurs, lions or zebra’s.

South Africa as a tourist destination has everything you might want in a holiday destination.  Each of our nine provinces has a specific element of beauty.  My province KwaZulu Natal has the rolling green mountains and the warm Indian Ocean beaches.  We have Western Cape with Table Mountain and the wine lands.  There is Mpumalanga with the Kruger National Park and amazing waterfalls.  Gauteng with the city life and on and on and on.

Scattered throughout the country is an array of game parks one can visit.  What struck most people when they visit is the openness of the country, the wide expanse of space with fields of grass laying as far as the eye can see.  The sunsets in South Africa paints the sky with shades of amber, crimson, pink, red, orange and magenta.  It’s the most amazing screen saver you will ever behold.  And sitting on the West coast beaches with your feet in the white sand just watching the waves roll in, one after the other is as relaxing as any meditation would want to be.

Come and try it.  You’ll love it.

6. What exactly do you do for a living, assuming that you are not a business magnate in the mining industry.

I am a commercial manager for a chemical company, responsible for sales, marketing, logistics, purchasing and warehousing.  In layman’s terms I look after the elements of the business that brings in the money and the things that the money is spend on.

Do you now understand why I blog? ESCAPE!

7. Do you realize that you are really funny? Are you really funny in person?

Me funny?  What?  No.  I really don’t perceive myself to be funny like in stand-up comedian funny.  Yes, I have gotten a few laughs from other people in conversation but it just happens.  I LOVE LAUGHING.  My writing seemed to migrate into a style that is speckled with bits of humour.  My wife is the funny one.

8. You have amazing short story writing skills. Do you have plans of coming up with a children’s book? If so, what’s the title of your first book going to be?

Are we still talking about me here?  In that case, thank you very, very much.  You triggered that with your hilarious photo’s that you share with us.  I have never considered a children’s book, but always dreamt of one day writing a novel.  What’s weird is that I envisioned the novel to be a dark story of murder and suspense… Ironic isn’t it?  Maybe I should reconsider a children’s book called “The life of Whitey.”  And do a whole series.

9. About your first ever post “First time for everything”, I read that it was prompted by the death of somebody you knew, what else were running on your mind while you were writing that?

It was a tragic event that rocked the whole community.  I actually read that post again.  And there was a serious moment when I read your question: What was I thinking?

Life is short and I realised then that my kids might not know every little thing about the person whom they call dad.  They don’t necessarily know my opinions on movies or life or which things makes me laugh and what makes me sad.  Or how much I love them.  Parents get so busy with raising kids, that we sometimes forget about connecting with them.  So I started blogging.  One day when we are not together, they might want to read some of the stories that I managed to capture and pin down with words.   Maybe it will touch them in some obscure place and they might think “Ah dad…”  which is where the title of my blog comes from.

It’s like I am leaving a part of me for them.  Does it make sense?

10. Who is the boss? You or the wife?

The wife gave me permission to say I.  I am the boss.

And here is a photo of my blogging desk as requested.  I sometimes use it for work too. (You might recognise the mousepad…)

Check out her blog which is really impressive especially her accurate drawings of her family…