A few days ago, Shut Up Smiley left a comment on one of my posts, to let me know I had been nominated for the Mystery Blogger Award. I’ve never heard of, or been nominated for this award before, but it was allegedly started by Okoto Enigma.
Rules
- Put the award logo/image on your blog.
- List the rules.
- Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
- Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well.
- Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
- You have to nominate 10 – 20 people.
- Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog.
- Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question (specify).
- Share a link to your best post(s).
Questions Asked of Me
I like when questions come with these awards, especially the ones that allow me to use my past to share a lesson, and the ones that require a stretching of my imagination. I had a bit of both this time around.
If you were on an island and could only have 5 things with you, what would it be?
If I were on an island (I’m an island-native, so this is kind of hilarious to me), and I could only have five things with me, I would choose:
- Laptop (for writing and reading)
- Unlimited WiFi (for researching, blogging, and downloading books)
- Paddleboard (for the free exercise)
- My cat (he’s a great hunter and kills bugs!)
- Super Hot Survivalist (to do all the survivally stuff for us, like build a shelter, and rub my feet)
What is your ultimate favorite book, tv show, and movie that you would recommend to me?
- Choosing just one book is hard, but my favourite book of all time is Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu.
- My favourite TV show is Game of Thrones, but I am so bad at watching things that I haven’t made it pass season 3. I did read all the books though.
- Since I suck at watching things, I’m not much of a movie buff, either. If I had to think hard and choose one, I would say any one of the Lord of the Rings movies would make a good answer for me.
If you could spend a day with a famous person, who would it be and why?
I would spend the day with Nathalie Emmanuel, who plays Missandei in Game of Thrones. We could bond over our shared West Indian heritage, and talk about our views on feminism and women’s rights.
If you could act in a movie what movie would it be?
I would love to be a part of Pirates of the Caribbean, another favourite of mine. I think my dreads and black eyeliner would help me blend right in. Argh!
What’s your best childhood memory?
This is a tough one. My childhood memories are all either “traumatisingly” terrible, or ridiculously awesome. So, let’s see… I think one of the most profound was the first time I found and bought my first Black doll.
I think I was in the second grade, and I was so shocked to know that one even existed, I decided I had to have it. My mom thought it looked absolutely horrendous, which it probably did, but I wanted it.
Since she wouldn’t buy it, I saved up and bought it myself. I was pretty darn happy when I finally paid it off, and could take it home. I was always more of a rough-and-tumble-roll-in-the-mud type of kid with a preference for teddies, but it was nice to have her.
This was also the first time I saved up and bought something “big” for myself as a kid, which would influence my sense of independence for a lifetime.
Three Things About Me
Believe it or not, this was the toughest part of the this post for me. I had no idea what to write here, and started and deleted pointers a kazillion times, before I finally remembered that the slogan for my blog is Activist. Writer. Explorer., so I’m going with that.
- Activist. I’ve had to tone it down since the recent election, and the loss of many of the rights usually awarded to green card holders, but I still consider myself an outspoken activist. Through volunteer work, charity runs, personal interactions, and blogging, I spend a lot of time trying to influence change in all of us (including myself), for the better.
- Writer. Most of you know me as a blogger, or as a publicist, but my real writing passion is fiction. I’ve been writing fiction since kindergarten, and have finished about 2 dozen novels or more — possible 3 dozen, now that I think about it. The series I’ve been working on recently though, are the first ones written for large-scale publishing, in the hopefully-near-future. The others, I only shared with select groups of people.
- Explorer. Travel has been a big part of my life, since I was a kid. My family and I moved around a lot, and we spent a lot of weekends taking beach trips around and across Jamaica. I’ve been in and out of the U.S., since I was 9, and almost moved here at 11, but Columbine happened and Mom sent me straight home. This time around, I’ve been in the U.S. since July 28th 2015. This is the first time since my pre-teen years that I’ve been in any one country for this long, and I’m getting antsy. So this year, I’m considering the risk of hopping over to Canada for one of my usual 5-day trips. If not, Alaska is about as other-wordly as I can get on U.S. soil.
My Nominees
As usual, you’re under no obligation to participate — just giving a shout out to a few bloggers I have enjoyed connecting with on WordPress. The rules say I “have” to nominate 10 -20 people, but I resent “having” to do anything, so as per usual, I’m doing five.
My Questions
The questions aren’t just directed towards the winners. Anyone who comes across this, is free to respond in the comments below. I’m especially interested in advice for number 5 — asking for a friend…
- What motivates you to be happy and successful in life?
- If life as we knew it came to an end today, what is the one thing you don’t believe you could live without, and why?
- What is the main lesson you learned from your parents in childhood that remains with you today?
- Funny Question: What is the most ridiculous meme you’ve seen online, lately?
- Weird Question: If your husband kept getting abducted by aliens, and has now had 3 children you’re not the mother of, do you [a] kick him out? [b] send the babies back to the mothership? [c] kick all of them out and go be single and fabulous?
My Best Posts
Anything I write about Jamaica becomes wildly popular. This year, the favourite on my blog so far, is my article about how Jamaicans get under a foreigner’s skin. It generated both laughter and positive comments, so I’d call that a win-win, and a great opportunity for my readers and I to talk about our cultural differences!
Congratulations dear
Well deserved
Thank you! Sorry for the late reply. I didn’t get a notification for this, for some reason.