Well here goes nothing!
1. I loved racing. And I mean the fast and furious style. I have so far written off 4 cars and have been the sole person in an extremely dangerous accident on the M1 motorway. My car which had just come out of the garage with a new set of alloys, was absolutely wrecked - the fault? The nuts on one wheel werent tight enough and progressively came off. The car did a 360 degree turn, hit the central reservation, bounced 360 in the opposite direction. Then hit the side of the M1, flipped over, landed upsaide down on a tree. The only reason i was saved was because with the second impact my seat broke and flattened. This stopped the indented roof from harming me. I walked away without a scratch!
The funniest thing about this situation was I rang my best friend to tell him what happened. He though I was joking and hung up. I had to take a cab home from the M1....
2. I have been brought up in Kenya up to the point of when I had to leave to go to the UK to university. Unfortunately, back in those days career advice to an asian boy would be to either study Ecoomics, Accounting, Medicine or Pharmacy. At random I picked Economics and chose my universities by selecting the top 6 (bar oxford and cambridge) in the league for Economics.
For some odd reason, al the universities loved my personal statement and I got in all 6 - with an unconditional offer (i.e I get in even if I failed) from 3, including the London School of Economics.
When decision time finally came -I picked my choice by simply looking at the map of the UK and picking the furthest one from London I wanted to be as far from relatives as possible :P!
3. I have broken both my wrists at the same time. Skateboarding accident. Laid up in bed with both hands in casts for 5 weeks. I refuse to share any further information on the issue.
4. I HATE travelling. Dont ask me why. I just dont know. My trip to Sri Lanka recently was the first time I was on a longhaul flight in 5 years and my first proper holiday in that time period.
5. In the last 2 years, I have probably seen EVERY female targetted TV series going, in sufference for my various female companions. I find it fascinating how some girls react to series such as SATC, DH and GG. It really opens up their exciting and funny side. So I watch. With them. And can probably quote Carrie and Big better than most ladies out there. And no, I am not ashamed of the fact either.
6. I learnt about SEO from SEOmoz. Less than 3 years ago. Yes I dabbled on my own, experimenting with domains etc, but I learnt the basics, the thought processes and the difference between real and pointless there. It is also where I met most of the SEOs I feel closest to right now. I owe them a large debt of gratitude.
7. I have been held up at gunpoint 7 times .
I am going to have a VERY difficult time nominating people, but here are some that I know havent yet and I would love to see what they have to say!
Sean Maguire - one of my sparring buddies from SEOmoz and I love this guy. He surprises me very often with the sheer volume of knowledge that he has. And I consider him one of my best SEO friends - odd for someone who I have never met in person.
JudithLewis - SEOChick, Chocolate Fanatic and Search Director at I Level. My first meeting with Judith was when I was an unknown N00B, checking out an SEO meet after I think SMX couple of years back. All I remember is her handing out loads of chocolates... which I am glad to say, she still does...
MelaniePhung - I know Melanie from Twitter and I think shes a cool cool cool writer. Its strange how sometimes you can feel affinity to someone you dont really know well, and I think twiter has helped me feel closer to plenty of people out there.
RobBothan - Rob is another person I got to know on SEOmoz and have had many drinking sessions by now with. He is involved in some major inhouse SEO, but not sure if I can say who for...
MelCarson In the SEO world, Mel needs no real introduction. He is Microsoft Advertising’s adCenter Community Manager based in London, and an all round nice guy.
JonDMyers I met Jon funnily enough on an SEO pitch a couple of years ago. I respect him quite a lot actually. At the present he is Head of Search and Associate Director at MediaVest
MelanieNathan She has had plenty of names on the social networks, but now she sticks with Melanie :P. I respect Melanies writing very much, but love her as a person too. She too is one of my SEOmoz starting point friends.
