sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself

May 7: circumlocution

Simplicity is all well and good in its place, but circumlocution cannot be beat when it comes to obscuring some of the alternate purposes for which one might be speaking. 

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1. What is your origin of your first name? What about any nicknames?
   it's the Hebrew word for 'beloved'.  Most of my nicknames are in English.
2. Have you any claims to fame?
   
   not in the literal sense, no. I'm just a small-town girl, living in a lonely world.
3. If you were famous, how would you introduce yourself to someone who had never heard of you?
   
   that would depend entirely upon for what I'd become famous. Since there's nothing in my arsenal for which I could even come close to that at the moment, it's really hard to even make a guess.
4. Which of your country's achievements do you hold in highest regard?
   
   wow, that's a good question. Hmm. I suppose that we've managed to last 147 years since our last civil war. For a country this geographically large, with such disparate people, that's pretty amazing.
5. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
   
   bigger.
6. What was your most prized possession as a child? Do you still have it?
   
   Randy, pictured in this post. Yes, I still have him--he's upstairs in the second bedroom. I don't really think of him as a 'possession', though.
7. What would you change about yourself, if you could?
   
   I would definitely have a different shape. And I would know krav maga. And I would employ its principles without compunction upon people who piss me off.
8. What are you obsessed with?
   
   maintaining perfectly hair-free underarms. Don't ask; it's a long story and it started with Nick.
9. What is your greatest achievement so far, or the high point of your career?
   
   Ugh. Dear GOD I hope I haven't gotten there yet! If I have to choose something right now or die, then I'll go with the winning of the writing contest as a 3L.
10. When/where were you happiest?
    
    can I give the same answer that I gave the last time--that I hope I haven't gotten there yet? In all seriousness, much of the time when I've thought I was happy, I was only waiting for the axe to fall, without realizing it. 
    But there was that one night, with the Two-O'Clock Man...that was perfect.
11. And the lowest point in your life thus far?
    
    the night my marriage blew up. There's no way something like that can't be terrible, even when it's handled that well.
12. What was the best decision you ever made?
    
    Damn, this is weird. Um...ending my marriage? I was the hardest, but most-right thing that I've done.
13. If you have any body modifications, which was most painful, or which do you regret the most? If you haven't got any, do you have any planned, or would you ever consider getting any?
    
    OK, lots of questions here. First, I do have: 6 piercings, 10 tattoos. The most painful? The tattoo on my right pinkie toe. The one I regret "the most"? I don't regret any of them, though I wish I'd made the Celtic knot on my right foot a bit smaller. I have three more tattoos planned, and at least one more piercing.
14. What is the most idiotic thing you have ever done while intoxicated?
    
    his name on the blog was Toby.
15. What is your favorite joke?
    
    I don't recall the punchline, but it starts like this: "So there was this guy..."
16. What is the coolest/most impressive thing you own?
    
    depends what you're impressed by, I suppose. Maybe this computer. Or my thesis. Or Lego Yoda.
17. When did you last cry, and why?
    
    I cried a lot on the way up north last week. The songs that my iPod chose to shuffle up weren't kind to my already-bruised psyche.
18. What's the best piece of advice you've ever had?
    
    lately? It came from the lid on the case for my contacts: "Discard Solution Daily." I think that means that when I'm sure that I know, I should stop being sure and start asking again.
19. Similarly, what's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for you?
    
    the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me is to allow me a place to stay when I needed one, without knowing how long I would be there, or indeed even what it would be like while I stayed. That sort of open heart is something I'd never experienced to that degree before, and I've learned so much from being a part of that, to this day.
20. Have you any vices?
    
    no, but I have fourteen sets of pliers
21. Do you regret anything?
    
    every.damned.day.
22. What is the best invention ever?
    
    it's a tie between hugs and flaxseed eye-pillows
23. How would you describe your relationship with your family?
    
    "well, y'know."
24. Who is your biggest inspiration?
    
    my dad. He'd be horrified to know it, but I think he's got the Zen thing down (or at least a damned good start on it). If I ever grow up, I'd like to be a lot like him.

[from The Cat, who got it here; the title quotation is a Zen proverb]