the really, really long one - vol. II

Part 8: The Media

1. How important is the media (TV, music, movies, etc.) to you? I always have a CD in my car, and they usually switch about once a week (currently: James, Laid). I listen to music at home less often than I would if I didn't share walls, but more often than I did before I got the iPod and docks. I'm pretty much always working on CD mixes for my friends; there are currently new ones for Fluffy, G, The Cat, Popeye, and Sam that are nearing completion.
   I watch TV for maybe an hour, maybe 3x/week, except for sports. (Cubs!)
   Movies are a sporadic thing. Sometimes I'm loving them and watching 3-4/week. Sometimes I can't force myself to watch even something to which I've been looking forward for ages. I haven't been to the theater since Matt and I saw Juno.
2. Does it influence your inspirations? Definitely! Music has always been a big part of the way that I conceptualize my experiences. Certain songs or artists always take me back to specific experiences. In addition, I've come to make use of others' creativity when engaging my own; I'm working on a short story (at least) based on a song that I can't get out of my head.
3. Do you idolize any particular celebrities, or do you think that's stupid? "Idolize" is stupid; there is no greater guarantee of disappointment than holding someone to an unrealistic expectation. That being said, I admire certain people who unfortunately fall into the category of "celebrity" for their skills in certain areas (e.g. acting or sports).
4. Have you ever met anyone famous and got their autograph? I have one autograph, and I treasure it.
5. What is your favourite kind of music? For me, it's not about the kind of music so much as the way it makes me feel. I like the surface-is-as-deep-as-it-gets literalism of Bowling with Soup and Barenaked Ladies as much as the subtleties of Sister Hazel and Vertical Horizon. I love the raw emotion of Staind and Puddle of Mudd, and the simple oddness of Regina Spektor. Classical and honky-tonk country. Instrumental and a cappella. It all has its place.
6. Movies? Action/adventure (esp. martial arts). Comedy (intelligent, please). Costume drama. Documentary. War. Whatever!
7. TV Shows? I've been spending way too much time watching crime & law shows - I'm starting to have nightmares.
8. Do you prefer to listen to music or watch movies? Music, hands-down.
9. Are you addicted to any particular song, movie, or TV show right now? One of the mixes that is nearly finished is haunting me.
10. Would you ever want your career to go in the direction of media? I was "supposed" to be a photographer. We can see how well that went. I would like to get into publishing, one way or another. Does that count?

Part 9: Literature

11. How often do you read? Daily. Obsessively. I read 2 novels and 2 books of poetry this weekend, and started another novel and pecked away at another.
12. Have you ever become obsessed by a particular book you have read? I think I have periodic obsessions of this sort. It usually leads me to read other books by the same author or similar types of books, or to explore nonfiction on the same subject. Wise man say that our politics (and philosophy) are all over the choices that we make.
13. What are your favourite novels? Depends. At the moment, my top 5 are...The Brothers K, The Train Home, Housewrights, Lucky Us, and Nice.
14. Authors? Alisa Kwitney, Elinor Lipman, Paul Preston, Jim Kokoris, and Pam Rosenthal.
15. Do you judge a book by its cover? Hell yeah! All the time. Crap covers turn me off - and we've seen what happens when I think the author photo sucks. I am very susceptible to book marketing.
16. Would you call yourself a bookworm? No, but I suppose other people do.
17. Have you ever read any classic English literature and enjoyed it? Yes. Dumb ass.
18. Have you ever read anything for school and actually enjoyed it? Duh, yes.
19. What are your favourite bookstores? Anything independent (now that the hideous one in the college town nearby has closed). Amazon. Borders. B&N. Whatever. Any bookstore (with the exception of the one now closed) is a good bookstore.
20. Do you like to read poetry? Yup
21. Do you write? I can.

Part 10: The Outdoors

22. Do you prefer to stay indoors or go outdoors? Indoors. I really don't like moving around all that much.
23. Do you love nature? Certain aspects of it are wonderful.
24. What is your favourite season? Autumn
25. Weather? Depends. I suppose I like the changes more than I like any one of them individually.
26. What are your favourite sports? To play - tennis, I guess, but I like shooting hoops occasionally. To watch - baseball.
27. Do you like to walk in the rain? I *love* to walk in the rain.
28. Do you prefer hot or cold weather? See above.

Part 11: Animals

29. Do you have any pets? Not for years, and probably never again.
30. If so, breed, name, and age? n/a
31. What is your favourite animal? man
32. Do you like wild animals? The wilder, the better.
33. If you could tame any animal for a pet, what would it be? man
34. Does any particular animal scare or creep you out? I have a strong, ingrained fear of dogs. I find most cold-blooded animals sort of creepy.
35. Have you ever ridden an animal (if so, which one)? Yes. Horses, once or twice when I was really little, and my grandpa's dog Burt - once.
36. Are animals important to you? yes.
Part 12: Food

37. Do you eat meat or are you a vegetarian? I am a meatatarian.
38. If you eat meat, have you ever considered going veggie? No
39. If you eat meat, what is your favourite? Bacon. Steak. Chicken. Pork chops. Turkey. Ham. Burgers.
40. If you're veggie, when did you first become one? n/a
41. Was it because you hated the thought of eating animals or simply because you didn't like the taste? n/a
42. Do you eat fish? Maybe once or twice a year, I will crack a can of tuna. Other than that, I avoid it like the plague. I *greatly* dislike fish.
43. Do you love dairy? I like it well enough. Not sure if I'd call it "love".
44. What is your favourite dairy product? Milk. Or mozzarella cheese.
45. What is your favourite food? Bacon. Or strawberries. Or bread.
46. What food makes you want to gag? Most vegetables. Ranch dressing. Cottage cheese - which seriously looks like alien barf anyway. Tiramisu.
47. What is your favourite restaurant? Depends. There's a Chinese place in my hometown that I will *die* if I cannot visit soon.
48. What is your favourite fast food? Taco Bell
49. What is your favourite dessert? Depends. I've been in a canned-frosting-on-graham-crackers mood lately. (Though I haven't had any.)
50. What is your favourite vegetable? Fresh peas or corn.
51. What is your favourite fruit? Peaches. Or raspberries.
52. Ever eaten anything really exotic or strange? Sure
53. What food do you refuse to go near? H used to make a VERY smelly fish curry.
54. Are you a fussy eater or will you eat anything? I somehow manage to survive despite appearances of fussiness.

Part 13: Relationships, love and sex

55. Did you get uncomfortable at the sight of the word sex? No
56. Are you single or taken? I am not dating anyone, but I am still, alas, taken.
57. If you are single, are you looking? I suppose that I am single, but I am NOT looking.
    
58. If you are taken, who is the lucky man? no comment


59. If you have a boyfriend, describe what he looks like: my imaginary boyfriend would look like this: short (maybe 5'8"?), blond spiky hair, blue eyes, perfectly shaped red lips, slightly sticky-outy ears, and a much more muscular frame than appears through clothes.
60. Are you in love or have you ever been in love? I have been.
61. Do you think it is the best feeling in the world? No. Love is pain.
62. Are you a virgin? Not hardly.
63. Do you hate that question whenever you see it? No. If it asked "why not?" or "give details" or "...or are you a skanky whore?", then I would hate it.
64. Who was the last person you had sex with? I refuse to answer on the grounds that it will make me want to poke myself in the eye with my Teflon-coated scissors.
65. Do you have casual sex? No. Other people might, but I do not.
66. Do you believe that you have to be in love with the person before you actually have sex? I believe that two people can have sex within seconds of meeting. It's a dreadful idea (under most circumstances - is it the lawyer or the romantic in me that can think of an exception??). In love before sex is something that I may have only done once, to be honest, but I've certainly fell not too long thereafter.
67. Sex is the act of love - true or false? Sarah Katherine Lewis wrote, “If there’s anything I’ve learned it’s that love is an unstoppable human drive, fierce and universal, and that sex is the physical manifestation of love. And that sex without love is missing the whole damn point. Sex brings us home to love.” That is how I would have liked to say it.
68. Do you have a high sex drive? It's all relative
69. What is the most amount of times you have had sex in one day? I have, once or twice, spent the majority of a day involved in something along this line.
70. What are your favourite positions? I'll spare you the details.
71. When was the last time you had sex? It's been a while. Unfortunately not long enough.
72. Is sex very important to you? Yes

Part 14: Experiences

73. What was the greatest experience of your life? Knowing my niece.
74. And the worst? The death of a family member.
75. What about the most memorable? In a lifetime of memories, many of which I wish I could shake? That's impossible to answer.
76. Have you ever been drunk? Yes
77. Have you ever smoked a cigarette? No
78. What about a joint? Sort of, I think? I plan to remedy this sooner rather than later.
79. Have you ever done any drugs? Mostly the prescribed kind.
80. Would you? Hell yeah
81. Have you ever broken a bone? Not since I was an infant.
82. Have you ever had to stay in hospital overnight? Not since I was born.
83. Have you ever thought you were going to die? Yes
84. Have you ever suffered from severe clinical depression? No
85. Ever seriously contemplated suicide? Yes
86. When was the happiest you have ever been? Taking this in the acute sense - that perfect moment with Josh.
87. Do you want to travel the world? Not really. There are some places I'd like to see, but the traveling part wearies me.

[from The Cat]