The end of the interview

At last! I'm sure that's what you're all thinking. But here are Shania's last few questions and my answers:

4. Do you have any further news on the abused little boy who used to live in your complex?

Yes. He was eventually removed from the home for his safety. I'm not sure where he's been placed for now, but his grandparents have hired a lawyer to try to get him back to them in the Ukraine.

5. Did you resolve your feud with "L" over the story miscommunication?

Yes and no. We emailed back and forth and supposedly sorted things out, but we haven't spoken since and it's still a touchy point.

6. You've lived in a lot of places. Where is your favorite and why?

I honestly don't have a favourite. Every place was special for me at a time in my life, and there's things I love about all of them. I loved the chilled lifestyle in Durban and the fact that everything's quite close together - you don't have to drive very far for anything. And I love the subtropical climate and plants and the amazing fruit. Not the mokeys though or the tourist season in December.

I loved the beauty of Cape Town and the summers. I miss going for sundowners on a beautiful beach with my Cape Town friends and I miss knowing where everything is (Table Mountain is a great landmark that makes it easy to know where you are). I loved driving through to Stellenbosch and the wine routes and being so close to my best friend, Nicola. I don't miss the heavy winter rains and the salaries there were rubbish, so we found it incredibly difficult to make ends meet.

I loved being close to my family in Pretoria and also being near to my friends from my Gap year. I love the afternoon thunderstorms in summer and the history of the place - the monuments (old and new) and the union buildings. I love being able to find my way around; I love the Irene Country Market. I shopping is good and there's lots going on. But the people can be snobby sometimes and there's still a lot that hearkens back to the apartheid era.

And Joburg... I hated Jozi for the first while I was here, but now I've learnt to enjoy the arts and culture, the friendliness of the people, the opportunities and the diversity (of people, places and everything else). I love owning a house here and I ADORE my church. I've been a member of numerous churches before, but this is the first time I've been this passionate about it. On the downside, traffic sucks, the pace and ratrace are insane and there's less to do that doesn't involves spending money.

7. Are you unpacked from the move?

On the whole, yes. Aside from a few boxes that I'm pretending I can't see ;-)

8. Have you ever thought of opening an internet store for your jewelry? Or something like etsy? Just curious.

Yes, but never seriously. I'm a bit scared of it, for some reason. Probably because my jewellery has always been a hobby, so it needs to take the back seat to work and family. I guess I worry that I'd let people down. Or that people wouldn't like my stuff enough to pay for it!

The end.

I promise ;-)

Interview with me!

The oh-so-lovely Sleepyjane did an interview post on her blog, and invited anyone who wanted her to make up some interview questions for him or her to drop her a comment. Despite being so humble and modest (mwahahaha), I took her up on her offer, and here are her thoughtful questions and my (probably less thoughtful) answers:

1. If you could choose any talent to be blessed with, anything at all, what would it be and why?

First question and I'm already regretting this ;-) Ummm... I guess it would be helping people. I so often want to help out and end up just feeling awkward and useless when I try.

I'd also love to be really musically talented. Or to be incredibly good at making money. Hehehe... how shallow am I?

2. If someone said that they would pay you X amount of money but you are NEVER allowed to blog again, what amount would you accept?

Not blog?! Sheesh... hard one. Realistically, now that I've made such awesome blogging friends and have most of their email addresses, I'd accept enough money to cover four months' salary so that I could get set to start freelancing full-time. So long as I could still read and comment on everybody else's blogs!

3. If you could have been born in any other country, which one would it be and why?

Ummm... Zambia? Because it's where my mom was born, I find the people incredibly friendly and it's not too far away from good old South Africa ;-) Or France... Just to have a cool French accent, decent public transport and holidays in Spain! Not too keen on the French men though.

4. Tell me something that you are proud of, like some goal you reached?

I'm still proud every time i see my name in a publication. It never wears off. Even if nobody's ever heard of the magazine or book. Which is usually the case ;-)

5. If you could be a member of the opposite sex for a day, no strings, would you do it and why?

YES! Who wouldn't? Especially if the guy had to be me for a day and I could arrange for the swap to happen at "that time of the month" so I could miss a day of that hell. And educate the dude a little. *evil grin* But yes... I'd like to know how it feels to be a boy, to be able to pee standing and whether people treat you differently at work, in shops and so on as the other sex. The best would be if TSC and I could swap for a day. I'd love to know how it feels to be him when we're in bed ;-)

That was fun. If any of you would like me to send you five interview questions, leave me a comment and let me know.