above all, don't lie to yourself

• If you could write a daily column in any newspaper of your choice, which would it be and why?
  The Chicago Tribune, because it seems to generally fall into my realm of interest--and has a huge readership, still!
• What is your favourite type of cheese? Have you ever been afraid to eat cheese before bed in case you got nightmares?
  mozzarella, I suppose, though I'm not all that into cheese, really. It causes nightmares? I never knew.
• Are you happy? If not, when were you last happy?
  I am. It seems to be what you make of it, and in that vein, it's just not bad at all. A warm bed, good food, the best of all known friends, loving family (200+ miles away), new books to read....
• Many families have been on camping trips at some point, tell us about one of your tent/caravan experiences.
  when I was about 10, I was invited along with a friend's annual family camping trip. It ended up being a bigger deal than I'd initially thought--there were three families, and the group slept in a large tent (big enough for 6 or 8?), a standard (not pop-up) camper, a pickup with a topper, and sort of an overhang deal off the side of the truck. There were quite a few in the original families, and almost everyone had brought extra friends along as well. We were out in the middle of nowhere, but we had lots to do, and the weather was just right. The only problem?
  One of the families had brought their dog, and I didn't know about it until we arrived. It was a German shepherd, the source of my fear of dogs. It had worked as a police dog until this family had adopted it at retirement.
  I spent the week in desperate fear of that dog. I did everything--I mean, absolutely everything--with the conscious thought of where the dog was, who it was with, and where I could go to get away from it if I had to, always, always in my mind. It was the most stressful and agonizing period that I had every gone through. My friend's dad eventually picked up on what was happening and actively (though covertly) helped me get by. I was so grateful but did not yet, at that age, have the social ability to acknowledge what I was going through or to thank him when it was over. I just try to remember that and be more receptive to others' discomfort when I can.
  Camping is not, in my mind, a happy memory.
• Do the personality test here and copy & paste your results.
  No surprise, but a great description of my results. (The "at work" section was particularly enlightening.)
  
  
• What do you wear to sleep in? How do you feel about sleeping naked?
  these days, it's PJ pants and a tank top. As for the second question, I feel like it's something one might do if one lived alone.
• Do you have any secrets from your parents? Give examples.
  I do. Ten tattoos is probably the big one, and one I wish I'd never kept in the first place. There are lots of little ones.
  Johnnie would've been a doozie.
• What were your favourite toys to play with as a kid?
  I liked stuffed animals, and toys from which one could build other things--Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, etc.
• Do you like girls or guys? i.e. what is your sexuality?
  hetero
• Send me three names for ‘fuck, marry, kill’.
  I'm assuming this is supposed to be famous people? Since the non-famous would be also non-interesting and nothing but trouble for me?
  ** On film:
  Jason Statham/Edward Burns/Will Ferrell
  ** Or, the sports version:
  Ben R./Troy P./Kobe B.
  ** Or, why not? The for-reals:
  Systems Administrator/Monkey-man/Monstru Roșu
• Have you done anything you’re really ashamed of?
  besides telling too much truth, selectively?
  Seriously: I've failed to obey my conscience, in matters that are too important to allow to continue, because I'm afraid of what threatens me on the surface. For that, I ought to be ashamed, and ought to stop, think and regroup, before it's too late.

[retrieved from here; the title quotation is by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, from The Brothers Karamazov, and reads in its entirety: “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”]