Stylish Blogger - ummm wow ok

So, as part of my neglected online presence lately, it seems that Shepherd K went and tagged me in the Stylish Blogger award which has been floating around. Much appreciated sir, even if I am a bit slow in the reply.

So, part one of the rules is that we're supposed to cough up seven secrets about ourselves for the readers to enjoy. Not sure how many of these qualify as "secrets" per se, but I'll share some bits for you all.

* I have a whole list of places in the world I can never visit, due to my prior military and Government work and associated clearances. It also means I have to be careful what I write, say etc. due to agreements I signed. I only wish the background matched the intrigue of the story! But I will never again get the joy of visiting Hong Kong, won't write a best-selling memoir, and always steer clear of certain conversations in public.

* Much like my moniker Mal, I've gone through a number of variations of religious crisis in my life. Growing up in parts of the country infested with either overly pushy missionaries, or hypocritical Bible-belters left me with a sour taste in my mouth for many years towards organized religion as a whole; combined with an open-minded single mother, a broad education and a love of reading I came to realize that all of this was much bigger than what the small-town churches painted it to be. Yes, I believe in a higher power - but I'd be hard pressed to nail down a faith or label for things. I can also freely say that this is one area my lovely wife & her family (missionaries of the right kind) helped remind me of the big picture.

* While alluded to here & there, most people don't realize that despite my life of adventure, I actually suffer from a crippling disease - psoriatic arthritis, in a severe form. Fortunately it is controlled by medication, but I am technically disabled and have a number of effects that I deal with daily. My prayers are that it continues to stay controlled so that I can keep being there for my children, and keep doing work I love.

* Despite the fact I am a native English speaker, and don't speak anything else beyond a basic conversational level, there are a number of concepts and thoughts which I literally can't think of in English - having learned them in a particular language or milieu they are forever colored in that shade, and my brain will always treat them as such.

* I work on bombs and explosives daily, can handle most firearms armorer work with very little guidance or training, and can easily install car & home stereos, build computers etc. Despite that I have very little mechanical or electrical aptitude - car engines bother me past the basics, and I am fortunate enough to have a wife who loves getting greasy & working on stuff.

* My English grammar knowledge is severely lacking. Due to a change in states and school systems when a child, I basically missed a whole year of English. The vocabulary was never an issue due to my voracious appetite for reading, and spelling is not normally a problem for me - but if you ask me to diagram a sentence and work out parts of speech etc. I get lost. This is part of what has led to difficulties in truly "learning" other languages for me.

* I am a multi-tasker to an almost disruptive level at times. I think nothing of working online, writing emails, watching TV and talking with someone all at the same time - and fully tracking each event. I am never without at least three books in progress, finishing each at a rate depending on the level of interest. The best analogy I ever heard was that the mind works like tracks on an old magnetic tape in sound recording - the guitars on one track, vocals on another, drums on a third etc. - my mind is at least an eight and often a 12 to 16 track event at any one time. Unfortunately, this also affects my patience and dealing with people, as I have to force myself to remember that not everyone processes and works in the same way.

Part two is that we're supposed to nominate a number of others for the award in return - unfortunately it appears that everyone I'd choose has previously been tagged... the price of showing up late to the party as it were.