Awesome Blogger Award

This Door is Alarmed was nominated for this award by my cherished friend Novus Lectio . She is a very well read writer, with a curious mind for investigation. She presents a nimbly versatile blog, which includes a tranquil nemesis of enquiry through her ‘inspiring’ snapshots, her pictures, which demonstrate her unique style as an artist, and her wonderful real-life stories. I recommend a perusal when you are passing through!

“This is an award for the absolutely wonderful writers all across the blogging world. They have beautiful blogs, are kind and lovely, and always find a way to add happiness and laughter to the lives of their readers. That is what truly defines an awesome blogger.”

Rules: On this site: rules do not exist. Instead of the R word, we have the easy-going and eternally more satisfying G word: ‘guidelines’. Where the R word ensnares your footsteps, spilling your smiles sideways to cruelly evoke our strict shirt and tie schooldays, guidelines comfort and caress, making compromises alongside necessity.

Thank the person who nominated you
• Include the reason for this award
• Include the banner in your post
• Tag it under #awesomebloggeraward in the reader
• Answer the questions which the nominator gave you
• Nominate at least 5 awesome bloggers
• Give your nominees 10 new questions to answer
• Let your nominees know that they’ve been nominated

Novus’s Questions:

1.) Why do you read books? To live many lives in many places, to expand my mind, sometimes to send me to sleep, depending on content. My job also requires me to be widely read.

2.) What is your favorite magazine or periodic publication? New Scientist; it has clever thinky thoughts.

I like clever thinky thoughts. Why do I like clever thinky thoughts?—because I have an embarrassingly small head.

—Oh sorry, does that need a little more explanation? Well, I hope if I learn enough, that one day my head might grow bigger to contain all those big thinky thoughts, and then I will be able to wear adult-sized hats and helmets. My choice of headwear is currently limited to the comic book and Barbie doll rainbow-vomitorium that comprises the children’s section. Sometimes, I argue that although my brain is small, it is very dense—and somehow this has only triggered laughter!

3.) What is your favorite dessert? I do not eat desserts, partly because lactose intolerance waves a long and pointy stick between me and cheesecakes and ice cream or chocolate, but also because I think my figurative sweet tooth fell out a very long time ago and I still have not been able to find it. Due to this, I will side-swerve the question’s root and answer it on its head, in true politician style; I will tell you about my favourite name for a dessert, irrespective of dairy.

My favourite dessert is Spotted Dick (and not for the reason you are thinking of!), for the reason that my workplace is so proper that they cannot write ‘Spotted Dick’ on the menu board above the innocent pudding, despite that being the correct designation for this dessert through the indisputable recognition of time-old-tradition. Instead what is written is ’Spotted Richard’! To me this sounds like an English king with a severe acne problem. Don’t tell me people are getting offended by pudding now!  These days it seems you cannot step outside your front door without offending someone, next they will think those suffering with acne will also get offended, and so will change the pudding’s name to ‘Slightly Pimpled—Don’t Worry, It’s Not Noticeable—Richard’.

4.) If you’re doing the cooking, what’s for dinner? Something simple, heavy on the veggies and healthy.

5.) Who is your favorite poet? Honestly, I do not think I have one. Preference oscillates with mood, and on occasion, I am in no humour for verse whatsoever 🙂

6.) What is your favorite social media platform? ‘Favourite’ might be stretching it, but Facebook takes the lactose-free biscuit, only because I use this one and not the others. I only check it about once a week.

I have a question related/ unrelated to the question, specifically relating to the word ‘favourite’. When English moved from England to America, where did all the ‘U’s go?

Colour – Color

Favourite – favorite

honour – honor

favour – favor

Did the Us just drop out of spelling books and publications and litter the streets? Were they swept up, lonely and rejected into the skip of archaism? Is that the real reason it was called the US, it is actually plural ‘U’, referring to all the lost letters?

Clearly ridiculous thoughts such as this are not helping the rainbow-vomitarium headgear situation.

7.) If you could have a “do-over” in your life, what would you change? Nothing. I know things worked out quite happily with the path I chose. What is the point of gambling an alternative outcome?

If it were possible to reverse the changes afterwards, I would have applied to a different university; I had another one in mind at the time, but not the courage to apply. If I had been accepted (and that is a big IF), and walked that path, the repercussions could have caused some dramatic and very interesting ripples. I would be curious to find out what these would be.

8.) Why do you travel? To wipe clean naivety, to widen understanding, and to appreciate other cultures, peoples and religions. I travel to discover the severe face of hardships people endure day-to-day—and if I can, to help make things a little less difficult for them. I travel to gain wisdom and experience, I travel to see life through a wide-angle lens—I travel to view the beautiful blue marble we call home.

9.) Pets? I find the power of inference a wonderful thing. Despite being one word rather than a fully formed sentence, and despite the word ‘pet’ having several possible meanings, we all know Novus is asking whether I keep tame animals.

I am sure you have all read multiple times about my wonder-kitty Amanita, with one hundred-and-one names, who likes to walk on her lead along the beach, and wrestles the letters out of the post box. Our postal worker would think we had an excitable dog unless he had heard the furious chirrups behind the door. (Yes, my cat chirrups— XD) Clearly, we have a very confused postal worker!

10.) Do you hike or camp in the wilderness and, if so, what do you like about it? As many of you know, I just spent a month camping in the wilds of Africa, so yes, both. I like to connect with nature, and I enjoy genuine experiences over contrived hotel excursions. I find everyday life can become claustrophobic in both time and space, yet the outdoors is neither; there, only the sun dictates your day.

Bonus: If you could commit a crime, and knew you would get away with it, what would it be? I would rig the National Lottery so I won a lot of money.

My Questions for Nominees:

1. In your opinion, what is the happiest food, and why?
2. What would you think I was referring to if I told you to ‘put it down’?
3. Who is the most interesting person you have met, and what made them so memorable?
4. Would you be a superhero or a sidekick, and what would your name be?
5. If you could remove one letter from the English alphabet, what would it be, and what consequences do you see coming from it?
6. What was the last thing you lost and never found? What do you imagine has happened to it?
7. What significance does the number seven have to you? What memories do you associate with it?
8. Young and completely broke or old and disgustingly rich?
9. If a giant squirrel had commandeered your mode of transportation, whether car, moped, bike etc., and seemed to know how to make it work, what would you do to stop him?
10. If you had your own coat of arms, what would I expect to find on them to describe you/ your family?
11. How straight is straight?

Nominees:

As usual, this is a non-obligation nomination. Complete if, and when, you like. There is absolutely no time limit on completion if you do choose to take part.

Plants and Beyond

Ward Clever

Veiled Facet

Pia Majumdar

Shreya Jindal