I used to worry that I would inadvertently uncover secrets I didn't want to know. This was a low-level worry based on something like finding a stash of Christmas presents, and then needing to pretend that I didn't know what was coming. I'm a terrible liar about stuff like this, and my not-poker-face gives up the game right away.
3 What’s a project you’re proud of that not many people know about?
keeping track of the movies I've seen and what I thought of them, so I don't rewatch what I don't like and thus waste the opportunity to watch something that I do (or might) like instead
4 Describe the circumstances around one secret you’ve kept.
I commissioned a custom ring for my then-spouse. This is maybe the first time I've thought of that since the divorce. It was a great gift. It also took forEVER to pay for it. I had to save money on the sly (we were making so little money then, that alone was a big deal) and then sneak it to the jewelry store to make payments—and I had it made in my hometown, which was 550 miles from where we were living. A dear friend of mine from college designed and made the ring, which made it even more special to both of us. It was beautiful, and he loved it and wore it every day. That was a big secret.
5 What’s something you’re glad your family doesn’t know about you?
ahh, almost anything from four years of college or the first several years after my marriage ended. I wasn't murdering and pillaging, but there was widespread misbehavior that I'd rather not have associated with my good name.
6 What’s the best lunch you’ve ever had at work?
contemplating this brought up lots of memories, but most of them were not work-related and some of them were not good. Example of the first: lunch with a library colleague after I'd moved away, when she and her family happened to be in the town where I live now. It was brief and casual, and exactly what I needed to feel like I was still connected to my old life. Example of the latter: my boss at the library invited me out to lunch. She wanted to strategize some project or other. We went to the pub, two blocks' walk. When the bill came, she "discovered" that she hadn't brought her purse; could I pick up the check? She'd pay me back. Needless to say, she never paid me back. And when she tried to do that again, I (surprise!) had "forgotten" my purse as well. I offered to stay at the restaurant while she brought back the money. Crazy brat.
7 What’s your favorite memory from any team-building activity?
we had regular team-building events at the library. Dumb games and programs, mostly, that were generally disdained except as an excuse to do something different for a whole day.
I always loved doing those with Fluffy and Mumbler. Each of them had a unique perspective on the library and our jobs there, and kept me entertained and sane, as much as possible. I miss them both.
8 Which conference or professional event did you enjoy the most and why?
my swearing-in ceremony was a surprisingly big deal. I hadn't expected to be moved by it. My family made a bigger deal about graduations, but that was really the experience that felt transformative.
[from here, divided and adapted; the title quotation is from Cicero]
