Do Reivers have Nine Lives

So what does a lone male trailing corporate spouse actually do to justify their oxygen consumption on this crowded planet?

The otherwise excellent ‘Love Guide to Bangalore’ (no its not like that really!) suggests that one should spread the love – Mrs Reiver might have more than a little to say about that.

Lapsing into coprporate speak – ‘One explores relevant local opportunities to deploy and develop ones skills and experience to continue to grow as a person and make a significant contribution to the collective economic, social and environmental well-being at a micro and macro level’ Ok but what do you do…..

The answer to this is still very much work in progress, you know still running a few things up the flagpole to see who salutes them, and putting up a few strawmen which cascaded from the ongoing brainstorming situation – but enough of a life as a feeder for on-line bullshit bingo – what have a I tried so far:

1. The Efficient Househusband – mmm immediately disintermediated by our staff and the Indian ‘processes’
2. The Pampered Love Kitten – think I got this one wrong yesterday when I accidentally washed my hair with bitter orange massage oil and smelt like a left over Cointreau for the rest of the day
3. The Socially Aware Contributor – well I have made a start here with an NGO, which has provided some of the highlights to date including Lionel the Warthog (see previous blog)
4. Embrace Indian Culture – the RSC at Stratford has set the bar very high!
5. Take Time to Reflect and Smell the Flowers – big problem here – although clearly well-endowed in the proboscis department – slight sensitively problem: Typical dialogue:
1. Mrs Reiver – ‘What on earth is that strange overpowering smell’
2. ABRiB – ‘What smell’
6. Write that book you always mean to – I am afraid I am probably just a shallow sound/blog bite person, the collected works of which are probably only of any value to my therapist rather than my literary agent
7. Study – I think I am more likely to feel well-rounded by finding a good cake shop than filling in the MBA gap in my CV
8. Take up a hobby, art for example – well I am pretty visual but unfortunately within Mrs Reivers outrageously talented family I am unlikely to do better (see enclosed example from today) than raising myself to 4^th place if I can demonstrate superiority in technique compared to Emma – who is after all a very artistic cat.
9. Sit Back in the Sun and Chill – I go more crème brulee than mocha
10. Contemplate Your Inner Self – Well …. the mischievous 8 year old who liked to build go-carts from old prams and scraps of wood could prosper here – if only he could find a bit of continuous pavement for test runs.
    

I should probably add – reflecting on my earlier blogs – an additional challenge of not turning my entire life into 10 point lists…but the answer inevitably is quite simple – I may have to actually decide what I want to be when I grow up, and that is a lot scarier than Bangalore traffic and bomb threats.