what matters is not the idea a man holds, but the depth at which he holds it

March 23: burgeon

I drove through the "outskirts" of a small nearby town today, and discovered that what was, less than six months ago, farmland, is now a burgeoning subdivision filled with what looks like cookie-cutter condos and town-homes. Just what we needed.

March 24: inselberg

After thinking, for most of my life, that my brother is a sort of metaphorical human inselberg, I'm coming to realize that I was only seeing the tip of the iceberg. It's made me chagrined for my lack of awareness and imagination, and glad, too, that things are not always what they seem.

---

1. Do you know how to french braid?
   I do - and I also know that "French" is capitalized.
2. Two guys are walking down the street. One drops his hat and reaches down to pick it up, the other kicks him in the ass. Do you laugh?
   
   no, I kick the kicker. Is it funny now?
3. You wake up one morning and dogs are meowing and cats are meowing - what are fish, elephants and crocodiles doing?
   what the birds & bees do.
4. You are going to your high school reunion. What award are you going to win?
   'least likely to actually show up at this reunion'
5. You find yourself stranded on a deserted island. Soon you find a laptop with a lifelong battery & internet connection, then you find a cave with an endless supply of food and a spring of fresh water. A cruise ship comes along to save you - do you get on it?
   no - cruise ships are extremely dangerous.
6. How many shortcuts do you have on your desktop?
   technically: zero, since this is a Mac. However, in my dock, there are 15, of which I use 12 very regularly.
7. I offer you a pie... the most delicious pie you have ever seen. You either have to eat the entire thing in one sitting or allow me to slam it into your face, which do you choose?
   I'll eat the tiny, delicious, one-serving pie. Thanks. Jerk.
8. Are you a pen stealer?
   no - and neither am I a pen thief. One of my very best friends has been known to unload stolen pens from her car trunk by the dozens, though. With plastic flowers, spoons, and even metal chains attached. *tsk*
9. A dude from China comes up and offers you german chocolate cake, french fries and a boston cream pie... what color is your car?
   still Polished Metal Metallic, as it was before you started mumbling (and failing to capitalize. Is it really so difficult?!)
10. Sometimes you just have to tap your foot to your favorite song - which tv series season finale are you watching?
    the only regular television I ever see lately is The Big Bang Theory.

[from The Cat, who got it here; the title quotation is by Ezra Pound]