After seeing the brutal treatment I gave to Mr. Maujean in last week's article on chicken farming, our fellow Leisure Nouveau writers demanded of our board of directors that I be submitted to the same grueling torture.  Consequently, last Saturday, I was picked up by an unmarked white van containing two mysterious, hooded figures.  I was not quite able to make out their identities, but after minutes of harsh questioning beneath a bright light, I was left on a corner near a fine taqueria with the following transcript pinned to my rumpled suit.

LN: Can you describe a moment in your life which you feel has had a lasting impact on who you are?

EA: I think in recent history, the moment that had the largest impact on who I am (especially in relation to Leisure Nouveau and its mission) was when I took the step of leaving a large corporation I had been working for.  I think in some sense, I had finally understood what Timothy Ferriss meant when he wrote about one's time being one's true riches, and I knew that working too much and devoting my life to the acquisition, storage, and gregarious display of meaningless possessions was unnatural, uncomfortable, and not really for me.

After that, I spent about two years ridding myself of most of my belongings and planning the creation of this website, and I am certain that that moment was the root spark of a number of decisions that will continue to affect my life for many, many years.

LN: What do you really (as in while you're asleep) dream about?

EA: I have recently had dreams about tigers, bicycles, and old friends that were very poignant.  I also had a dream where some childhood friends of mine wanted me to open a bottle of champagne for them (it was a non-vintage Perrier Jouët), but by the end of the dream I had unwittingly broken several glasses and was stuck barefooted in the middle of the kitchen with an open bottle of champagne and broken glass all around me.  While embarrassing, I am grateful that my subconscious saw fit to leave the bottle in my hand.

Recently, I had the pleasure of visiting Mr. Maujean, fellow Leisure Nouveau writer, adventurer, and chicken farmer, and observing the great pleasure he gleaned from his new feathery hobby.  After enjoying some delicious eggy bread and speaking more with him on the subject, I learned that there was quite a bit more to keeping chickens than meets the eye.  He agreed to submit to a grueling, painful interview process, the results of which I am now happy to share.

LN: How long have you been interested in raising chickens?  What finally got you to start doing it?

CM: I wasn't really interested in chickens until we decided we were tired of paying for eggs, and that we'd get better eggs if we were raising them ourselves. The true impetus was that grandpa bought us the chicks and some starter gear.