I opened my car boot, picked out an elegant shoebox fromit, andthenopened it. In it was a pair of black and brown shoes. Top end shoes. Jennifer would be upset to see me holding them, there are already over four hundred good quality shoes in brilliant condition in my walk-in wardrobe. I had to devise a way to slowly release them without her knowing. The problem is that I am a shopaholic. I almost have to be restrained from shopping. My favorite items to buy are shoes and jackets. It is not surprising; I never got the chance to wear a pair of good shoes when I was growing up. I only had a pair of sandals in secondary school and one shoe that I hung unto until they were worn out. Even at a University of Ghana Convocation, I wore my sister Veronica’s clogs. I made a vow to myself that when I became somebody in life, I would buy myself all the shoes that I wanted to. I love dressing up too. In times past, I used to be subscribed to all the male fashion magazines in the US, and there were stores in New York, Atlanta, Miami and LA that would send me videos as soon as they got new stock, to see if I would be interested in them. I inherited my good fashion sense from my father. When he was alive, he took great care of me, and dressed me well. In secondary school, my friends and I would braid our hair on Friday so we could comb them out and raise them on Saturday, then we would put on our shirts with suspenders, and our bell bottoms. The only thing I missed then was a pair of guarantee shoes. There was once that I tried saving for a pair of guarantees, but any time I thought I had enough money, the price went up. I remember my first day at Miami Valley Hospital, I was so well dressed that my colleagues asked me if I was traveling. But that was my normal way of dressing. Soon, I noticed that the other doctors began to be more conscious of their appearance, it changed the culture in the unit. I always encourage my students to dress well, a patient would have more confidence in a well-dressed doctor than in a shabbily dressed one. I also read in my pastime. I am an avid reader. I read espionage. I have a list of authors whose books I absolutely must have, including Daniel Silva, and Brad Thor. When I was younger, my father would make me go to the Cape Coast library to borrow books. For any book I completed, hewould givememoney to go to the Cape Coast Stadium to watch Abusua Dwarfs. As a result of this, I have an extremely good command of the English language. Although I was a science student in secondary school, I still was the best English student, even walking away with the first prize during the speech and prize giving day, when I was in Form 4. I also love music, especially highlife and dancing. I love parties, my wife is a renowned event planner, so I tend to meet a lot of celebrities. At my last birthday in Ghana, Kofi Kinata did a live performance. We also had Kwabena Kwabena at our wedding. I also love soccer; even when I am on call, I always have a game on my phone. I have channels to all the football leagues in theworld, the premier league, the la Liga, the Bundesliga, and a host of others. Whenever I come home, I watch all the highlights for the day. I am a very dedicatedManchesterUnited fan, to the extent that I travel to the UKonce every year to watch them play. This year will be no exception. Passions 37 The Birthday Journal
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