11 More Things, and an Interview with Ann

So last week I posted 11 random things about myself, prompted by a tag from my friend Ann.  Ann writes at Ann’s Running Commentary, and is the editor of the Beyond Limits e-magazine, and is also one of my long-term Twitter friends turned Facebook pals turned into a real life honest to goodness friend.  I’ve had dinner at her house, and swam in the Chesapeake Bay with her, and am thoroughly grateful to have met her (both online and in real life).

I told Ann I would participate in this 11 Things madness if she would oblige me with a mini-interview for my blog.  I’ve taken the liberty of paraphrasing her answers into a monologue of sorts, kind of a string of her thoughts from the Skype conversation we had last week, and I hope I chose a collection of responses that capture what a wonderful person she is.  I hope you enjoy it, and please check out her work (links above) as they are some of my favourite online fitness / healthy living stuff to read.

Interview With Ann

One of the things I vowed never to do online…

…was to rant.  I can easily rant about things.  Like the guy who had his iPad in the middle of his steering wheel when he was driving.  But I choose not to.

One of the most rewarding things about being online…

…has been getting an email from someone which said “I only did this because you said I could – you gave me the confidence.”

I always have sunglasses on in my photos…

…because it masks my self-doubt.

The hardest thing with multisport is…

…getting the balance right.  This is particularly true with nutrition, which I have to focus on and get right.

My number one piece of advice for parents is…

…to teach your children independence.  Do this by giving them a chance to make mistakes at a young age, by giving them responsibilities.  And my other piece of advice is to teach your kids about money from a young age.  I know I won’t need to worry about my kids and money when they go off to university – they will already know how to live as independent people.

My Answers to Ann’s 11 Questions

1.  Who was your favorite teacher and why?

I’m assuming this means elementary school.  In such case, probably Mr Zeller, my 6th grade science teacher.  He made me love all things science. 

2. What were your sports of choice when you were younger?

I really didn’t play any sports when I was younger. I was accident prone and spent a lot of my youth managing dislocating joints (making me loathe to play sports in case I would suffer another dislocation).  But I did love the beach.  I spent huge chunks of my time from age 12 to 17 at the beach. I used to do my homework on the beach, in between body surfing.

3. What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be an orthopaedic surgeon. My mother told me that orthopaedic surgeons needed to be really strong, which I wasn’t. So rather than workout I decided I wanted to be an international business person so that I could travel the world.  Little did I know what I was getting myself into!

4. What profession did you ultimately end up in and why?

I am currently a negotiator for a major international company – thus an international business person that travels the world (be careful what you dream of!). I chose to join a natural resources company because I wanted to be in an environment which handled day in and day out business-government interaction (my grad school focus was business government relations).  I certainly do have that now.  And then some!

5. What is the single most important thing you think parents should teach their children?

The value of a thank you. Including thank you letters. A well timed thank you can really change a situation.

6. When you run, what is the one thing your mind turns to the most often?

Running is not always the most pleasant experience for me, so I often turn inward and listen to my breathing and focus on my gait and form.  This keeps me focused on doing things so that I do not hurt myself.

7. What is your favorite book and how many times have you read it?

I don’t have a favourite book. I do however go through “author phases” and have worked my way through modern writers such as Isabelle Allende, Salman Rushdie, Milan Kundera, Banana Yoshimoto, Margaret Atwood, William Gibson, Haruki Murakami.  Right now I am in a George RR Martin phase (Game of Thrones).

8. If you could only pick one movie to watch for the rest of your life what would it be?

That’s a toughie.  Like books I go through movie phases.  Since I travel so much for my job I can have many hours to kill on a plane!  That said, I’ve probably watched Lost In Translation by Sofia Coppola 100 times – I never tire of the film, or the soundtrack.  And the Park Hyatt in Tokyo (where the bar scenes were filmed) does have a live jazz singer most nights – I had a lovely watermelon martini there

9. Are you more comfortable in the city or the country?

The country.  But I love my city life.

10. If you had the option of having spending three months of the year in another place, where would you choose?

I’d spend my winters somewhere warm, probably back home in Hawaii.  Although I am developing a love of Maine and could be persuaded to spend three months of summer there without much arm twisting!

11. What is your all time favorite museum to visit?

This is a tough one.  But I will choose one…

IMA – Institut du Monde Arabe (the Museum of Islamic Art) in Paris.  Besides a fantastic collection, the building itself is truly special as it is covered in a metal shading system that responds to the amount of sunlight to adjust the light in the rooms.  The shading is designed to look like a Moorish tile.  And the rooftop café – where you can take a mint tea like they make in Morocco – has some of the best views of the Seine and Paris from the left bank.