First, I would like to send a big thank you out to girlygeekgirl for nominating me for this award.  I had read a few of these and really wanted to try it out and now I have my chance, so here… we… go… (said in my best Joker voice

1. What career, if any, did you want as a child?

I wanted to be a professional athlete, either baseball or American football (I’ve gotten used to adding the “American” part recently because I live in Japan and have come to learn from the other English speakers of the world that there is more than one sport considered, “football”). This was mainly because I spent my young life idolizing my father and he loved sports. I did too and still do but there you have it.

2. If you could be guaranteed a gold medal in an obscure Olympic event, or only have a 50-50 chance at a bronze medal in one of the super popular, highly televised and commercialized Olympic events, which would you choose and why?

I would choose the former. This is mainly because I would love to get a gold medal in archery or the biathlon. Hello? Skiing and shooting a gun? Who the hell thought of that? And why is it a sport? But I digress. I don’t think the popularity of the sport is important but my love of the sport. I would rather finish last in a sport I love than to train in something just to ‘win’.

3. What is your favorite museum you’ve ever visited (either in person or virtually through a website or documentary)?

Sadly, I haven’t been to many museums. That is something I need to rectify. But the museum I would really love to go to is the American Museum of Natural History. I love dinosaurs, archeology and the study of time and history. As a writer of stories it’s impossible not to appreciate the history of man. That is the greatest story every told.

4. If you could have any painter in all of history do a portrait of you, who would you choose and why?

I am going to go with Michelangelo and I would want it to be a sculpture. Not because I am The David or anything, but because that is the form of art that I appreciate most. Michelangelo is also my second favorite ninja turtle, but that is neither here nor there. (Raphael is my favorite there. Sarcastic jerks always make me laugh)

5. What is your favorite flavor?

This is really hard because it doesn’t tie it down to one variety of food. I would have to say the one flavor that constantly satisfies me is ‘apple’. I love the fruit, I love the crunch of it, but I also like it in so many other things. The apple flavor they put in Japanese curry is amazing. Apple tea is also amazing. Same with apple cider and apple flavored sake (Japanese rice wine). Apple in anything tastes good to me.

6. Morning person, night person, both, or neither?

I would have to say morning. I am more productive when I first wake up. I do good work at night too but it is really scattered. It’s harder for me to focus at night. (Partially because my 4 year old is harassing me to play hide and seek)

7. How often do you hit snooze on your alarm clock? If you don’t use an alarm clock, what wakes you up? (Baby, dog, just naturally wake up on time, etc.)

I used to do this all the time. Then I learned that I would actually sleep through the alarm at times and be late places. Now I get up as soon as the thing beeps. I feel like an android sometimes, rocketing out of bed and trying to pretend like I was totally ready for the thing to go off.

8. Did you ever have an imaginary friend as a child?

No. I imagined myself being a million things but I was always the star of my own fantasies and I usually ran solo.

9. Name one thing that truly terrifies you.

Suspended heights. I can handle rollercoasters because they eventually go down, and quickly. Put me on a Ferris wheel and you will see utter terror. My wife and I went to a famous snow festival in Sapporo, Japan the first year we were dating. There is a famous tower in Sapporo along the boardwalk where the snow festival is and the line for the elevator was two hours long. They told us we could take the stairs with no wait so we decided to be brave. The staircase was outside in a caged up zigzag that ran along the spine of the tower. I am not joking, I had to struggle not to cry. The wind was howling and the tower was moving back and forth. I was certain that would be the last night of my life.

10. How often, if at all, do you go out to the movies rather than watching them at home?

Almost never nowadays. Movie theatres in Japan are incredibly expensive. Not to mention I have lost my love of movies of late. I prefer television because the narrative is longer and more thought out. 2-hour movies don’t pack the punch they used to. There is too much focus on just making money and not making a good story. I did watch the new Star Wars in the theatre though. It was my first movie theatre movie since “The Dark Knight Rising.” It was awesome.

11. For books you own, do you break the spine?

Not on purpose, no. I am anal retentive about my books. I see them as trophies. When I finish them I make sure they are on display so that people can see what I have read. It drives me crazy when they look ugly, or the sizes are all mismatched. I also hate it when a series of books get made into a film and the cover changes to the stupid movie promo cover. I love my books though. They are my most prized possessions (outside of my wife and my daughter, of course).

11 Random Facts About Me:

• I failed Spanish in high school, failed French in college, and somehow mastered Japanese… which is infinitely harder than both of the other two for an English speaker.
• Following in the vein of girlygeekgirl, who tagged me with this post, I write my upper case E like a backward 3. It drives all the Japanese people who read my notes crazy.
• I can fall asleep anywhere and in any ridiculous position. When I am tired, I turn off (again, like an android… there may be something to that…)
• I love mint-flavored things. Not as much as my aforementioned apple obsession, but mint flavored Ice Cream, Mint chocolates, mint gum. Good stuff. Those mints they put on pillows at hotels are one of the things I look forward to most about staying in a hotel. When it’s some other stupid chocolate I always drop one star in my rating of the hotel.
• I have a paralyzing fear of flying insects. I hate them with a passion. If I see a bee I will be running like a diva quicker than you can say, “fabulous!”
• I am a sucker for anything to do with Alice in Wonderland or The Nightmare Before Christmas. I love Alice and Jack.
• I have written a novel, begun two others and am working on a series within my blog and in all of them the lead female character can beat the crap out of everyone else in the story. I really like girls who kick ass.
• I love to be cold and I cannot stand being hot. If the house is freezing I am in heaven. Wrapped up in blankets is the best way to live. I own a leather work chair though so when it gets to the summer in Osaka it is really hard to work at my desk. Peeling myself off a leather chair with sweaty legs? No, thank you.
• I am a sucker for all things Irish. I have some Irish in my blood and I am obsessed with the history and culture of Ireland. I am actually reading, “Finn MacCool” by Morgan Llywelyn right now.
• I would rather see a million people gutted and murdered in film than watch someone hurt an animal. Animal cruelty to me is intolerable. If you have ever seen the movie John Wick, which is not a fantastic film by any means, I kept watching it just to see the prick that killed the dog get it. That made me angry beyond words.
• I have no boundaries when it comes to finding something to like about anything. I am not a snob. When my daughter wants to listen to Taylor Swift I don’t go into macho mode. I can admit that I like some of her music. I also like watching My Little Pony sometimes too. Pinky Pie is funny, man! I can find something redeemable in almost anything… except Twilight and 50 Shades. That is where I draw the line.

My 11 Questions to You:

• If you had to live the rest of your life in a book/movie, what would it be and why?
• If you could be any animal, what would it be and why?
• Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what? If not, why not?
• If they took your computer away and you had to write long hand, how would that change your writing?
• If you had to spend the rest of your life in one season what would it be and why?
• You just got an unlimited access to funds. You can do anything. What do you do?
• What is your dream job? Are you doing it? If not, what do you have to do to make it happen?
• Have you ever been given a piece of advice that stuck with you for a long time? It can be a quote or saying as well. Did it change you? If so, how?
• When you imagine yourself as a writer, who are you? Name a writer you would love to become or believe to be the ideal you are aiming for.
• What is your weakness? This can be about your writing of about you in general.
• When we come to this point in time next year what do you want to have accomplished?

Now I Will Nominate 9 People to Tag:

Before I do that I would like to thank girlygeekgirl once again for nominating me.  I am really looking forward to reading your story as you get going on it!

1. In Sync With the Universe
2. Dirty Sci-Fi Buddha
3. Storyville
4. Conquer the Now
5. leet_g33k
6. Setting Up Camp
7. Redneck Co-Workers: The Series
8. Motorcycles, Books, & Colitis
9. The Runaway Palate
10. Anyone and everyone in the Blogging101 course!  Come one, come all!

For anyone new to the Liebster Award, this is how it works –

• In a post – answer the questions that your nominator posted for his/her nominees.
• Share 11 random facts about yourself.
• Make up 11 new fun questions for your nominees.
• Give some love back to your nominator , include a link back to their blog and their post.
• You must nominate 5-11 bloggers.

Nominees – any questions, please just ask. There is no timescale to do this but please add a link to your new post below when you done it. The aim is to raise the profile of your blog. I’m looking forward to reading your answers.

Happy blogging!