A Bit About Me

And now a little bit about me. I decided to start with the absolute basis and a few questions that I hear often.

1. How old are you? 30. I turned thirty a few months ago. It's not like I didn't know it was coming, but it was a bit of a surprise. I made the most of it, and went through two months of birthday parties in Las Vegas (overrated, but necessary as the home of weightless flight), New York, Washington DC, London, Berlin , Belgium and Dubai (that's a separate post, or possible posts), but in the end I still turned 30. I even have white hair! (although I blame 85% of that on the Taliban, a story which is a lot less likely to ever be a post than my never-ending 30th birthday celebration, although other Afghanistan posts will most certainly be here).

2. Are you married? No. I get asked this a LOT, especially in certain areas of the world. My family likes to pressure me as well, if somewhat more subtly. All of the pressure is actually a small part of why I've resisted it so long, despite two separate proposals in the past four months (the big reason is fear). I'm contrary like that. There's more to it of course, but that's enough for here and now.

3. Do you have family? Yes. They are a bit dispersed, living in eight cities and one village in three continents, bu I do my best to see them as often as possible. There are also friends, love interest (interests?) and the occasional source of drama. I also have a horse and a dog, both of which I love more than most of the people I know.

4. Where are you from? Where are you? I don't know! I spend a lot of time in the US and in Dubai, get to Austria at least once a year and am currently spending a few months in Russia (Moscow). I was born in a Middle Eastern country, am a dual citizen of the US and an original EU country and currently live in a fourth country, one of the five in which I've lived, and I move around quite a bit. For example, in the past 12 months I was in Las Vegas, Atlanta, Washington DC, New York, Long Island, London, Berlin, Austria, Belgium, Russia, Dubai, Yemen, Bahrain, Thailand, Burma/Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka. There are probably a few more, but that's all that I can remember right now. So really, it depends. My main failure is the Southern Hemisphere; I've been within four miles of the equator and even saw the Southern Cross, but a trip to Australia this Spring will be my first time to cross it.

5. What do you do when not working/starting new blogs? I read a lot, particularly history, sociology, politics or good old fiction. I like blogs, if they tell me something about the places or situations they cover and don't just talk about people's personal lives. The one exception is Crystal. She lives in a different universe and can sometimes put me off with some of the vulgarity, but I still find her so very funny. I also travel, play polo (on horses and on elephants), and am getting ready to compete in the summer 2008 Mongol Rally London-Mongolia car race. When not engaged in "official activities," anything that involves dancing, be it clubs or the Mariinski Theater, is likely to attract my attention.

6. Why are you writing this blog? I grew tired of hearing "you should write a book," so I decided to try blogging first as practice, both to see if I like it or if I'm any good.

7. What's with the veil in the picture? That isn't accurate you know. Er, yeah. I drew the black over a real photo in paint. I generally appreciate emails, but if you are sending me messages about th, ye lack of a strip of fabric between my eyes, you need a hobby. :)