Bio

I grew up in South Africa, near Johannesburg (specifically, Boksburg, but I usually try to avoid telling people that). In 1995, I married a fantastic rooinek, which in Boksburg was still a contentious thing for some even a century after the big war. With him, I have had a whole stack of excellent adventures. He has enriched my life beyond my wildest dreams. The biggest one was no doubt our move from South Africa to Dundalk in Ireland.

The two of us have three kids, our oldest son born in 1998, then a daughter in 1999 (a year and a half after her brother), with a bonus boy joining us in 2001. Oldest, J, was diagnosed with high functioning autism at age 4 in South Africa. The diagnosis, carried out by a full diagnostic team, was confirmed in Ireland by another full diagnostic team. A kind of an overdosis. Youngest, N, tagged along happily, nobody noticing he was a bit odd because everyone else in this darn family is so odd already. But in 2011 a whole host of puzzling behaviours at school necessitated a diagnosis (he gets the extra help he needs because of fitting the label, and I have nothing but praise for the discreet and effective way the schools here handle this): Asperger’s syndrome. So we’re generally a bit weird, but not really. I’ve come to realise most people are weird. We fit right in.

In 2012, I reached a point where my kids are independent enough for me to look at pursuing some of my own goals with more particular effort than before. I decided to start formally studying something I’ve been casually fascinated with so far: positive psychology. The study of happiness. To that end, I’m directing the focus of this blog along with the focus of my life. Excitement abounds! Horns sound! Let’s weigh anchor, and hope this ship isn’t called Titanic.