love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired

Deep Questions

1. What is more difficult for you, looking into someone's eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someone's eyes when they are telling you how they feel?
   the latter, I suppose--though it would depend upon what the feeling is that's being conveyed
2. Think of the last time you were REALLY angry. WHY were you angry? Do you still feel the same way?
   it was a work thing. Yes, I still feel the same way.
3. You are on a flight from Honolulu to Chicago non-stop. There is a fire in the back of the plane. You have enough time to make ONE phone call. Who do you call? What do you tell them?
   this is such an outlandish question, it's hard to answer. Um, I definitely wouldn't call Fluffy, because her phone wouldn't be charged or turned on, or it wouldn't be next to her at the moment. And I wouldn't call my parents because they already know anything I'd say at that point anyway, so what's the good in freaking them out? Ditto with The Cat, because our phone calls tend to be either very silly or very practical, and I wouldn't want to leave her with something decidedly unlike either of those things. I wouldn't call college BFF, because I would literally be unable to speak, which would render the whole process pointless. (I tend to get a little choked up at times anyway, and she brings out all the good and a lot of the sensitive in me.)
   So I think I'd call my brother. I might not "tell him" anything. I might just see what's new, talk for a bit, and leave it at that. He'd know.
4. You are at the doctor’s office and he has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? What do you do with your remaining days? Would you be afraid?
   what's to be afraid of? Nothing's there in the dark that's not there in the light. I would spend my days doing exactly as I wish--within reason. Nothing too crazy, but also nothing rule-abiding or dull. And I would share the information selectively, as needed.
5. You can have one of the following two things. Which do you choose? Why? Love and Trust.
   Trust. There is no love without it anyway, and it does so much more than that.
6. You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late even once more, you are fired. Do you take the time to save the dogs life? Why or Why not?
   I DO save the dog's life. Because that's the sort of person that I am, and because life's too fucking short to spend worrying and not doing.
7. Would you rather be hurt by the one you trust the most or the one you love the most?
   if those are not one in the same, then I'm doing something seriously wrong
8. Your best friend confesses that he/she has feelings for you more than just friendship. He/she is falling in love with you. What do you (or did you) do/say?
   depends. Most of my "best friend" situations are with married women, with whom it would be decidedly surprising to have such a conversation. The ones that aren't are with men who are either in relationships or Not That Way with me. It would be wholly weird, in any case, and I would not be amenable.
9. Think of the last person who you know that died. You have the chance to give them 1 hour of life back, but you have to give up one year of yours. Do you do it? Why or Why not?
   Jesus, what a question. The last person I know who passed away did so after a sudden but very painful illness. Would I wish another hour of that? Never! But would I wish another hour of his real life, for him and for his loved ones? I would. And I would give a year of my life for that, gladly.
10. Are you the kind of friend that you would want to have as a friend?
    sometimes yes, sometimes no
11. Does love = sex?
    one of the definitions of love is sexual, so it's not unexpected to understand it that way. Love isn't always "about" sex, and sex certainly doesn't always have even the slightest bit to do with love. They're not the same thing. But they're often not easily understood without the other, too.
12. Your boss tells your coworker that they have to let them go because of work shortage, and they are the newest employee. You have been there much longer. Your coworker has a family to support and no other means of income. Do you go to your boss and offer to leave the company? Why or Why not?
    oh, Hell no. Primarily because there's absolutely no point; nothing would be served by such generosity or foolhardiness. But also because my job is not duplicated, so my sacrifice would literally be in vain.
    Anyway, in this economy one would have to be literally insane to give up one's employment for that sort of "principle."
13. When was the last time you told someone HONESTLY how you felt regardless of how difficult it was for you to say? Who was it? What did you have to tell the person?
    I tell others exactly how I fell all the damned time. It was hard at first, but it's become easier over time. Honesty has its own redeeming value. Telling one's own truth encourages others to do the same.
14. What would be (or what was) harder for you to tell a member of the opposite sex, you love them or that you do not love them back?
    there's no such thing as "loving someone back." That's a foolish junior high concept.
    Hard truths are hard truths, and always depend on circumstances to give them relevance. It was easy to say those words to one person, literally impossible to say them to another. And so they went unsaid, and here we are.
15. What do you think would be the hardest thing for you to give up? Why would it be hard to lose?
    I would not do well without caffeine. It is an addiction, of course, and it's also become quite vital in the prevention of my migraine headaches.
16. Excluding romantic love, when was the last time you told someone you loved them? Who were they to you?
    I told Fluffy that, sometime within the last couple of days. Who is she to me? Um, plenty. Friend, sister, mother, caretaker, partner in crime, landlady, cab fare, coworker, confidante....
17. If there was one moment and one time in the last month what would you change and why?
    I can barely remember the individual moments from the last month. It's a blur of frenetic activity smooshed into four weeks of physical activity taking place in a surprisingly small area. One thing, though? Probably moved my bed to the other place when we moved all my furniture. It would've been a gigantic hassle at that time, but sooooooo much easier now.
18. Imagine it is a dark night, you are alone, it is raining outside, you hear someone walking around outside your window. WHO do you wish was there with you?
    the same person that I wish was here with me when it's not dark, when it's not raining, when I don't hear someone walking around outside my windows (which are not at walking-around level anyway)
19. Would you give a homeless person CPR if they were dying? Why or Why not?
    ! If I know CPR, I'm not going to ASK TO SEE VALID IDENTIFICATION before I commence attempting to save someone's life. Wow.
20. You are holding onto your grandmother’s hand and the hand of a newborn that you do not know as they hang over the edge of a cliff. You have to let one go to save the other. Who do you let fall to their death? What was your rationale for making the decision?
    I think I'm going to let go both their hands, so I can better scratch my head in wonder at what the fuck I'm doing grasping the hand of a woman who's been dead for either 35 or 27 years (depending which grandmother it is) and a newborn, off the side of a cliff. And then I'll likely wake up and wish, yet again, that I hadn't started this survey at all.
21. Are you old-fashioned?
    in some ways, yes. I believe in treating people as well as one can.
22. When was the last time you were nice to someone and did NOT expect anything in return for it?
    that happens all the time. Multiple times every day. Why wouldn't it? Why would one expect quid pro quo before taking decent actions?
23. Which would you choose, true love with a guarantee of a broken heart, or never loved at all? Why?
    if it's true, then there COULD be no guarantee of a broken heart. Idiot.
24. If you could do anything or wish anything, what would it be?
    wish for no rain tomorrow morning at 7:AM

[from the original source; the title quotation is by Robert Frost]