he taught me the hardest lesson in love I've ever had, and I have the scars to prove it

1. What lesson has failure taught you?
   that sometimes failure is a blessing, because success in something you didn't really want would be ten times worse. That sometimes failure is temporary. That failure isn't necessarily fatal. And that I'm bigger than my fears.
2. What decision are you glad you made?
   all of them, I suppose? Except the bit where I had anything to do with Nick.
3. I've been a little bit surprised to see fully lit and decorated Christmas trees popping up for the past several weeks in friends' Instagram feeds. So tell the truth--is your tree up and decorated, and if so, when did that happen? If not, when will you be decking the halls?
   the decorations are still up, but they'll likely come down this week. (This is obviously a leftover quizlet from sometime pre-Christmas!) Everything would be cleared out already but for the arrival this very night of the prodigal son. Not mine, of course, but the son of the housemates, home from Cali.
4. Solitaire--Poker--Rummy--Hearts--Go Fish--Old Maid...which game of cards would you most like to join?
   meh. I'm not so much of a card player. Hearts is all right. I played a lot of 500 as a kid. Cribbage is fun when I can play with someone who's got skills.
5. This question comes to you courtesy of a Facebook friend, who once upon a time had a blog...When you're feeling stressed do you snack a lot or are you more the 'can't eat' type?
   I'm not a nervous eater, but if someone else around me is, I'll eat along with them. Does that make me a sympathetic eater? Or empathetic? Or just...pathetic?
6. Have you ever reviewed a product or service online? Was your review favorable or less than favorable?
   I tend more toward positive than negative feedback, but I have given some scathing reviews of customer service when appropriate
7. What was the best conversation you had recently?
   the Lickster and I have had an ongoing dialog for the past few days about various topics, most of which cannot be repeated but that I have enjoyed tremendously. He's a character.
8. Insert your own random thought here.
   "I'm what people call a modern girl. The kind who works for a living in a man's world. I can hold my drink and I'm a good sport. I'm the kind who has her own place and sometimes invites a gentleman in for a nightcap. The finer the gentleman, the faster he slides from his end of the sofa to mine, the more roughly he gropes me. But his lips are soft, his tie is loose, and his arms have me pinned anyway." from Styx & Stone by James W. Ziskin.

[from The Cat, who got it here; the title quotation is also from Styx & Stone]