An Interview

Recently I discovered the Blog of Willow Manor. What a treat! I requested to be interviewed by her and here is the interview. If any of you who read this post want to be interviewed, the instructions are at the end of this post. This is really fun!

1. If you could have dinner with one historical figure, who would it be and why?

I want to have a very long dinner with Eve. Being a Christian woman, there are two cardinal questions I want to ask her: "What kind of fruit was it" and "Why did you bite into that damn thing?" This one act of defiance on her part did more harm to the female population of this planet, than any other deed since and I strongly suspect this is also where women's unhealthy fascination with and reliance on, food began. When I get to heaven, she will be the first person I will look up and once I have finished my conversation with her after the first couple of million years, I am definitely going to look up my Mother-in-Law. (Why did she not teach her son to pick up his dirty underwear and socks?)

2. Other than your loved ones, what is your most treasured tangible possession?

That would be my...no, no. I think it is my...no not really. Maybe it is my....also not. I guess I am just not so into material things. I like the little luxuries in my life, like my computer, my washing machine, my indoor toilet, etc, but I do not "treasure" any of it. It is all items that I need to live my everyday life, but I will not spend one day mourning the loss of any of it, I'll just regret the discomfort of being without it.

The one thing that I do value (and it seems it is a very old-fashioned commodity nowadays) is my good name. My father taught me that if you loose anything, you can always replace it, but if you loose your good name, you can never replace it. That is why I truly strive to live my life in such a way that, every morning when I wake up, I can say with honesty, "I am proud to know me".

3. What would you consider your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment I share with my husband of 32 years... OUR MARRIAGE! Eddie and I are two totally different people - I cannot think of one major issue, except our faith (and even there we have subtle differences), which we agree on. Ours is truly a marriage of agreeing to disagree!. Not only did we grow up in different language groups, we grew up in totally different sub-cultures and religions. I am an Afrikaans speaking Afrikaner from a Calvinistic background and he is an English speaking "Hanskakie" from an Anglican background. I like computer games, he watches TV. I am extremely tidy and organised; he is untidy and disorganised. He is a hoarder; I throw away. I am my children's friend, he is their father, etc, etc,....

Yet we have managed (sometimes I think it was through sheer stubbornness) to live together happily (even though we often did not even like each other much) for 32 years. For him to have lasted that long with me, and for me to have lasted that long with him is more than an accomplishment, it is a miracle.

4. How, if at all, has blogging changed your life?

I am still new to blogging, so I have not really noticed any change except that my available 500 Mb Internet Access now only lasts for 2 weeks instead of a month. One other thing is that because I am a closet introvert (yes, we do exist), blogging has become a way of communication with other people in a comfortable way by publishing something of myself and reading the thoughts and experiences of other people. I am not very good at socialising - groups of people terrify me - I definitely prefer one on one communication and I find blogging offers me that.

5. Before blogging, what, if any, was your main mode of personal expression?

I am not at all sure that I ever had, or have a personal mode of expression. Whenever I have experienced very strong feelings or thoughts, I have always had the habit of putting it on paper - my way of making sense if it - but I have also always destroyed it afterwards. I like crafts, but once I have mastered one I loose interest in it until the next one comes along. (I guess I am just lazy; I'll much rather loose myself in a book than in my workroom.)

If you would like to be interviewed by me, leave me a note in the comment section. After a day or two, I will send you five questions. Once you have answered these questions, you are welcome to interview others on your blog.

1. Leave me a comment saying: "Interview me".
2. I will respond by E-Mailing 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.
When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.