cryptic crossword

Who are you Ariel? Whoever you would like me to be - your perception of my words will build a unique mental picture.

Cagey then? No.

So who are you? Bumps on the front, 33 years-old, 5'7'', long reddish hair, big surprised green-blue eyes. Will that do?

Yes, thank you. Where do you live? Here, there and everywhere owing to the peripatetic nature of my job. I am still officially based in the UK but seldom there - this year, I have spent more time on a rock in the middle of the Atlantic and in the US than anywhere else.

So what do you do? I help people make memories, I put words together.

Cryptic. Why do you liken your on the road work to life in the circus? It is an acting job in which we are under constant pressure to perform and often requires us to set our own personality and life aside.

Are you also a professional writer? Freelance journalist.

What did you do before you hit the road? Things with sounds, things with words, things with people in suits and lots of zeros, and many others.

Why the anonymity? To protect the privacy of those I write about and mine.

You do go into intimate details though! Anonymity gives me this freedom. Writing about such things gives me some distance.

Why the blog? Mental hygiene first, then to reach out to others and finally because I need a good laugh every now and then.

You don't post very regularly. Why? Logistics. No easy or affordable internet access in some places plus a chronic lack of time.

You have mentioned vocation a few times. What is yours? People, places and painting pictures with words.

You occasionally lapse into German, Swiss German or French. Any reason? My tongue sometimes goes all foreign on me - fluent French and German speaker.

Where do you come from? I yet have to put down roots. Home is where the heart is, and this heart travels.

Who takes the pictures on the blog? Most of the time, I do. Every now and then, I borrow.

Why don't you caption them? So you can make them your own and let your mind drift for a while.

Personal life, partner, pets? Little time for it, debatable, not yet.

Lastly, who's The Oik? The creature on whose sofa I was shipwrecked for about a year.

Are you contactable? Yes - e-mails are always welcome, ditto constructive criticism and creative insults. And offers of work, natch.

[revised Nov. 27, 2008]