...just remember, darling, it is pain that changes our lives

• Tonight I am so relieved that, earlier today, I completed the errand that's been weighing on me for more than a week. It wasn't precisely onerous, just stressful.
• Today was a stay-home-and-read kind of day.
• The weather was not yet raining to beat the band this morning.
• My favorite time of day is now, or even later: dark and quiet.
• The last thing I do before I go to bed at night is take out my contacts and brush my teeth.
• I wish that I could go home.
• The first thing I do in the morning is want to sleep for just a few hours more.
• I should have stayed in the office with the door locked all day yesterday.

What is your favorite...

• 
  Pair of shoes? it varies by the season, of course, and even then I tend to like changing them up more than wearing the same ones over and over. That being said, the ones I go back to more often than others now are those at right.
• Jacket? since this is absolutely not jacket-wearing season, it's hard for me to even consider such a thing. But for the sake of argument, I'll say my gray leather spring jacket from Territory Ahead. It's not a long-season piece, but it's stylish and comfortable.
• Scarf? the gray wool loop that Heidi made for me--beautiful, soft and warm, I hate to take it off in any weather below about 50 degrees
• Way to do your hair? anything dreamed up by Meg - she's always done wonders with me!
• TV show? meh. I can take or leave most of television
• Actor? ...except Kit Harington
• Actor over 50? George Clooney
• Actress? Natalie Portman
• Animal? I kind of like cats
• Age to be? whatever you've got, I think. Not much point in pining for anything past, anyway, or living for something not yet there.
• Shampoo brand? I'm phasing out of what I've been using for a while (Aveda Brilliance) and trying to settle on something new. It'll be a while before I accept a new favorite.
• Toothpaste? Ultra Brite. I don't like microbeads, and that stuff has the right degree of mint "power" for my needs.
• Place to buy clothes? I'm not much of a shopper. I'll get what I need where I can get it.
• Place to buy cheap stuff? Likewise, wherever I am is fine, and cheap enough
• Place to get ice cream? around these parts, it's frozen custard, more often than not. The best is Ollie's.
  My favorite actual ice cream is Stucci's in A2.
• Store to buy groceries? Hy-Vee
• Halloween costume? I'm terrible at Halloween costumes. My ideas tend to be too cerebral.
• College? favorite of those I attended? Or in general?
  My favorite unaffiliated college is the University of Toledo in Ohio. It's a gorgeous campus in a great city.
• Grade? A, of course
• Class in high school? who knows what it was at the time? I know I scored 103% in World History - that's probably close enough.

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• Do you have a green thumb? I do, yes
• Are you a good speller? Yep
• What kind of critters make you scared / nervous? canine
• Do you collect anything? If so, what? shot glasses. Buddha figurines (the kind they sell in some Chinese restaurants). Fancy notepaper.
• What is something that makes you cringe? people who say "LOL", out loud
• Do you have any weird habits? What? I'm sure that I do, but it may be more enlightening to ask someone else for details. My perception of my own weirdness isn't likely as revealing as an observer's.

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• What was your favorite movie or book as a child? Beverly Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle and Runaway Ralph.
• What qualities do you look for in a friend? In other words, what causes you to really “click” with someone? I have no idea. It is very hard for me to get to know someone, very hard to actually make a move toward becoming more than acquaintances. I don't trust people, and I don't exactly trust myself. Therefore, when I do become friends with someone, it is sometimes over vast periods of time, and usually because whatever "click" happened is indescribable.
• What can you tell about a task or project you have that you have been procrastinating about for a long time? I needed to write a letter, in response to a communication from someone else that was awkward and already fraught with expectations. I knew that the letter would be greeted with some dismay and possibly anger, but that there was no way through it but through it. After talking about doing it for several days, I finally pushed through it last night. I signed it this morning and delivered it (in the middle of a torrential downpour) this afternoon. No part of this process was easy, but it was both the right thing to do and not something that I could avoid. I feel better having done it, and I'm glad that it's over.

[from here; the title quotation is by Steve Martin, from Shopgirl]