The wonderfully inspiring Older Mum has yet again given me a magnificent opportunity to expand my blogging repertoire by participating in a project that will enable us all to find out more about our fellow bloggers.  Well, the one thing you can all learn about me from the outset is that in this case, I didn’t read the instructions fully before writing the blog.  I just ran off excitedly and listed 10 random things you don’t know about me before coming back to the original blog and going “oh”.  And then “oops”.  Anyway, the original rules were:

1)    Answer 10 questions

2)    Tag someone to do the same

3)    Return to the original blog post when you have completed your 10 questions and comment, so we can all find out more about our fellow bloggers.

If you want to read a brilliant blog that follows these rules properly, then read Older mum: Question time – 10 things.  While you are there, check out her very entertaining & at times cryptic blog That’s not my name and her brilliant entry to the blogosphere, Big Dog. It’s a simple post but one that has stayed with me since I read it. When you read it you’ll find out why.

Then, read these random 10 facts that you don’t know about me, the first probably being that following instructions is not a strong point, but anyhoo….

1. In the face of near death, I can maintain complete calm.

On the morning we were due to go white water rafting down the Zambezi River in Africa, there was whispering amongst our Tour Guides of cancelling the event.  There had been heavy rainfall the previous night and the rapids were angry.  But we were on a strict timetable.  And so it was decreed that the show must go on.

Our life jackets were secured as tightly as Victorian burlesque corsets on opening night and, during our stern safety briefing, we were cautioned that the most feared rapid sequence during our white water rafting adventure would be “the three sisters”, precipitously followed by “the mother”.   We were told in no uncertain terms that these rapids were life threatening.  Soon after our lecture we were waved off with a chirpy, “enjoy the ride!”.

Oddly enough, I don’t remember being flung out of the flimsy raft at the beginning of the three sisters rapid sequence, but I do remember emerging briefly from the swirling, deafening waves to see my distraught husband being forcibly pulled back into the raft as our Guide gestured to the Raft Driver to carry on.  It was not safe for them to come back to get me.  I was on my own.

The three sisters lived up to their fierce reputation.  I remember not knowing what was up or down.  I had no idea which direction I should aim for to get the air my lungs craved.  So I didn’t.  I remained calm and waited for the churning whirlpools to indignantly and violently spit me back into the world to briefly reprieve my burning, bursting lungs … before dragging me back under again.

Caused by a constriction in water flow, the waves in “the mother” rapids are massive and engulfing, with the first wave being a peaking crest of converging waves.   By this time I had lost all concept of time and space and there were no thoughts in my head at all.  I was just existing.  Surviving.   Remembering to take a breath when I could.  Repressing the urge to cough when I misjudged the opportunities to breathe and inhaled river froth instead.  I remember feeling almost serene.  Or maybe that was just a sense of relativity given the brutal chaos surrounding me.

Then at some indeterminable time later, I spotted a sole kayaker heading my way.  My rescuer.  Finally.  I had confronted the three sisters and their menacing mother… and by remaining calm in the vortex of their formidable fury, I had defeated them.

As my skillful rescue kayaker navigated the rapids back towards my long lost raft, my stinging eyes turned wistfully towards the shore and saw a Nile crocodile basking lazily in the sun.  Without flinching, I steadily climbed back onto the raft and carried on.

2. I have only recently discovered that running through puddles completely destroys your running shoes forever.  Forever!  Apparently you should never wash running shoes as it destroys their dynamics.  I find this perplexing.

3. I love the rain.  I love running through the rain (refer #2). The sweet smell of rain sedates me.  The crescendo drumming of raindrops on the roof is hypnotic and fortifying.  The threat of an impending thunderstorm that lies below the threshold of our consciousness until the humidity drenches every effort is one of the cheapest thrills of summer.  I adore the fact that people always have something to say about the rain.  There’s always something.

4. Despite its revered presence in my life, it is only recently that I discovered my mother’s lifelong love of the rain.   I found this out when I interviewed her for a blog post that I haven’t yet published.  Stay tuned folks…

5. My favourite form of exercise is swimming.  Yet mostly, I run (refer #2 and #3).

6. I deliberately spend too long in the shower, despite the fact that I live in a drought prone country, because it is where I think, plan and find peace.

7. I don’t drink enough water.  Yet I nag everyone I know to drink more water.

8. I once jumped through the front window of our idling, unanchored speedboat onto the bow to avert an otherwise certain collision with a nautical beacon.  I used my hands to push against the beacon to redirect the course of our boat.  Dinner that night was sand-crabs.

9. Today, I touched a real saltwater crocodile for the first time and was surprised at how squidgy and soft it felt.

10. I have always wanted to write.  Always.  The Bling Buoy is a dream come true.  It is a buoyant blog that I cling to as I navigate the waters of my own life.  And the fact that it may inspire others to feel the same makes me feel more buoyant than a champagne cork on the Zambezi River.

So, A Hell of a Woman (aka The Last Slayer), now it’s over to you.  Anyone who has managed to successfully slay their way through a 12-day Buffyfest blogathon as you did must certainly be up to the challenge.  We want to know more, more, MORE! But please follow the instructions on Older Mum’s blog, not mine!  xo

To find out my views on how much is too much information to share on your blog, check out my weekly intro to Love New Blogs and then peek into the lives of the other bloggers listed there.

And of course I’m linking up with the gorgeous Jess for iBOT, just because she’s awesome.

(note: if the comments box does not appear, please re-click on the post title on the menu on the right hand side of this page and the comments box should re-appear.  I apologise for the inconvenience.)

Follow @theblingbuoy