February 2, 2009

Getting to know me...

I was lucky enough to live as an expat in Tokyo for a few years. It was a big change for me since I didn't speak the language and had to quit my job quickly before our move. The experience was an adventure and I found that coming from San Francisco helped me greatly, as did having an open mind and curious nature.

Being back in San Francisco and working in the blogosphere, I am still curious and reaching out to meet and learn about others. Brian at Life in the France Lane is one such fellow I met recently through Cate, my new friend from Caffeinated Traveller.

Brian posted on a great experiment that involves five questions and curiosity. Here are the questions he had for me - and at the end is how you can participate too:

  • If there is one thing about your country that really makes you proud and you would like to tell the world about, what would it be?
The one thing that stands out about the US for me is its foreign born citizens and their children. I appreciate that the fabric of our country is made up of so many people from other countries - from those who choose to come here to even those that did not. Through the decades and beyond the lives and dreams of so many have created such a unique place. I grew up appreciating diversity, and looking for it in my travels around the world. It is when I feel most comfortable.
  • If you suddenly found that you were financially secure for the rest of your life and no longer needed to work, what would you do to fill your days?
Travel more, write more and spend more time on photography. When I am doing any and all of these things, my days are filled with joy. When I travel, meeting others and learning about their lives motivates me to write. When I write, the conversations I have with others or in my own head motivate me to get out. When I get out more, I take more photos of the world around me. And so on....
  • I don’t know if you have children, but if you did have children which camp would you sit in, the ‘you have to make your own way in life camp to learn the true value of life’ or the ‘I am here for my children camp and will provide for you in every way I can, irrespective of the personal cost to me’?
I would fall into the first camp. My feeling is that you learn more completely in the first person. When you make a mistake, you get the chance to learn from it, again and again. If someone is there to stop that natural course of life, then I feel that the chances of you making more/prolonged mistakes is greater than if you were allowed to fall/fail. For most, touching the hot stove once, is enough.
  • What in the past has made you laugh out loud and every time you think of it, it still brings a smile to your face?
Watching Cleo, our rescue dog from the SPCA, become more playful and aware of her place within the family. We adopted her when she was about 2-3 years old. She is a Husky/German Shepherd mix so she was big when we brought her home, and after more than 3 years with us, she is now 90 lbs. She pounces like a cat. One of her nicknames is Kitten Feet. Her stoic personality is still present, but more than ever she does things that make me laugh out loud.
  • When you walk down a street and everywhere you look there is a CCTV camera recording everything you do, what do you think?
The era we live in has created this need to balance safety through 'watchful eyes' with 'secretive' big brother. So many people have given up on personal accountability and responsibility for their actions. People seem to believe it is acceptable to behave badly until they are caught - whether by big brother or their boss/parent. When I see CCTV it is disturbing on one hand, but comforting on the other.


So……would you like to be interviewed?

Just follow these instructions:
  1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
  2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
  3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
  4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
  5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.


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