DSC01965 smallI am a fan of blogs having personalities and for the author to shine through in terms of being their honest selves (see here for more). But non-personal blogs, like this one, provide one facet of the author and I agree that the person does not come through completely because some personal context is missing.

With that in mind I have agreed to participate in the game of Blog Tag that has been going around the blogosphere. It originated with Jeff Pulver, and I was “tagged” by Dave Gale who is a peer blogger from South Africa.

The objective of the “game” is really simple: Share five things about yourself that relatively few people know, and tag five other bloggers to be “it”.  I know it sounds like a ponzi scheme! :) But never the one to miss doing the wave in a stadium, and what with it being the season of sharing and what not, my list of five is below.

Before we go on here are my “you’re it” bloggers: Aaron Shear, Andy Beal, Aurélie Pols, Justin Cutroni & Jonathan Mendez. Guys are you up for some fun? :)

Five Things You May Not Know About Avinash Kaushik:

1) I have had the privilege of experiencing three different religions to a small amount of depth. I grew up and am a Hindu (which is really not a religion but rather a way of life). Having lived in Saudi Arabia for a few years I was exposed to Islam quite a bit (in all its flavors as applied across the Middle East). When I did my internship at Delco (GM at that time) in Indiana I went to Bible Baptist Church for three months, every Sunday and listened to the wonderful Pastor Tice.

It amazes me how much is common between religions (especially Islam, Christianity and Judaism) and yet how different they have managed to become. They all preach inclusiveness and just being good in this life, yet……

2) My favorite sport is badminton, though it is hard to find courts in the US and so I play racquet-ball here (when I have time because I spend 14 hours a day in front of a computer, and atleast one in front of a blackberry). I used to play badminton every day during my youth in India (on a nice indoor wooden court no less) and I have such fond memories of the sport, the people and in general that time of my life. I wish I could play more now, it is sport of such amazing skill, grace and speed.

The only American sport I am into now is the NFL. It is perhaps a nod in some weird way to the fact that I played lots of soccer in school and represented my school at several state level competitions, or that my MBA school, Ohio State, is in the National Championships. GO Buckeyes!!

3) I love all kinds of live music (though I don’t get to hear enough of that now, do you sense a story about time management here! :)).  Somehow everything sounds good when the volume is cranked up high.

I not financially well off during my school years and I was so desperate to see my favorite band U2 when they came to Columbus, OH, that I volunteered as a Usher for the event hoping to get a close glimpse of the band. While I did get selected I spent most of the night directing people to their seats with my back to the stage (and very far from it).

You would think once the concert starts people would sit (or stand) and watch. :)

4) This is perhaps going into the deep end but…. My Myers Briggs Personality Type is ENTJ (Extraverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging). If you know anything about MBTI then you know a lot more about me now. :) If you don’t know MBTI click here for summary descriptions of the different personality types.

If you want to take the test you can visit http://www.kisa.ca/personality/, though it is a shortened version of the full MBTI test (which costs $150 or so, but this one is free). For more detailed descriptions of all the types you can go to http://typelogic.com/. The whole exercise can be quite helpful in terms of self awareness (it is important to note that all Types are equal, there is no such thing as a good type).

5) This might not be so much of a secret but my life are my kids (its not my blog,  even if my wife Jennie will disagree :)). I always wanted kids, a long time before I had a spouse, and I can attest to their power to change lives. My goal in life (the one single goal) is to leave two individuals behind me on this lovely planet who are better than me. You have met Damini already, here’s our wonderful and precocious two and half year old son Chirag.

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This is only the second off-topic post on the blog, hope it was interesting in some way. We’ll get back to Web Research & Analytics next week.

Please share your feedback via comments.

PS: As my "tagg'ed" friends post their own Top Five You Don't Know About Me lists I will add a link to their posts here, more fun for you all! :)

Aaron Shear's list
Andy Beal's list
Aurélie Pols
Justin Cutroni's list
Jonathan Mendez's list

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