beauty lay not in the thing, but in what the thing symbolized

Days 14-15: 'on the floor', 'movement'

1. Do you own a record player? no, not for years. I know that's very unhipsterish of me.
2. Do you use it? Uhm. No? I have no desire for one. If I were to buy something like that, a relatively expensive single-purpose item, it would likely be a bread machine.
3. How easily do you make friends? not at all. On a scale of 1-10, maybe 3.
   My last couple of good friends have strongly wooed me. That's a different thing entirely.
4. What is the difference between having character and being a character? to be a character is to behave in a cinematic or theatrical way, larger than life or peculiar or strangely memorable. To have character is to live life with dignity, composure, and responsibility.
5. Are there any animals you flat-out refuse to touch? yeah, I think I'm beyond the whole lizard idea. Their movements are too erratic for me. Some of them are quite pretty and their lives are fascinating, but I don't want to touch them.
6. Do you care about your weight? I do. By my next birthday, I'd like to reduce it by 21.875%.
7. Did you/will you go to the prom? I did not. It was a big deal at the time, but through the intervening time, it's been revealed as inconsequential.
8. Have you ever wanted to date twins? no, there's been neither opportunity nor desire
9. What one thing would you change about high school if you could? It's going to sound a little stupid considering my answer to #7, but I would go to prom with the guy who asked me. Not because of the prom aspect, but because of the ramifications of having not gone with him. I regret that, sincerely.
10. If you came with a warning label, what would it say? Non moveo in testimonium
11. Are you artistic and creative? sort of? I'm not a hippie, and I can't draw to save my life, but...yeah.
12. What were you (probably) doing on this date last year? the early part of last year was a very sad blur, and I spent a lot of time on the floor, head in hands, trying to get through the day
13. What are you obsessed with? it varies. At the moment, I'm into reading and watching movies. Hoping to shift gears toward working out and writing letters soon.
14. What was the last compliment you received? there were several on Friday night, a couple of which were accompanied by free drinks (which hasn't happened in long enough that it was a compliment in itself).
    The nicest thing I've heard in a while, though, is that I'm easy to talk to. That simple statement undid a whole lot of damage.
15. Do you have any brothers or sisters? I do
16. Who would you like to be alone with right now? it's Sunday night, a little later than I'd like to be writing this. There's an ice storm predicted over the next 36 hours, expected to affect travel for my next two work days. I've got two meetings tomorrow and one on Tuesday, dinner plans tomorrow and a house guest after, dinner out on Wednesday, lunch out on Thursday, an appointment after work Thursday, and I think something's planned for Friday but not on my calendar. In other words, the week has exhausted me and hasn't even started yet. So, really--being alone with someone else? No, thank you.
17. Do you push people away when you really want them to come closer? that's prehaps the question of the hour
18. Is a prenuptial agreement necessary or does it take the romance and trust out of marriage? I'm sure I'm not the one to ask that question.
    When I was young, I thought that keeping separate financials was a terrible idea, and that total trust and commingling was necessary for marriage--but what did I know about marriage? I've come to realize that different situations demand different responses. Inheritance, taxes, children, risk, illness: all of those can have an effect on the advisability of mixing funds, very much to the side of the 'romantic' aspects of marriage.
    And, anyway--marriage isn't just about romance. Anyone who thinks it is has a LOT to learn about it.
19. Do you lie your way out of things? I do. I mean, I have and I can. Law school was not for nothing.
20. Are you better at talking or listening? I'm better at writing than talking, and better at writing than listening. But better at listening than talking.
21. What will only happen to you once in this lifetime? birth
22. Know of any conspiracy theories you think might be credible? no
23. What are the most beautiful words that have ever been spoken to you? "yes" and "there"
24. If it were legal would you own a human slave (race unimportant)? uh, no
25. Have you ever read your own writing at a poetry reading? yes. The reading was not terrible, but I think that the poems probably were.
26. What is one simple thing that gives you the happy shivers? fresh lemonade
27. What do you do for exercise? park further from the door than necessary (except at home)
28. Would you rather have a strict teacher with a sense of humor or a lenient teacher that doesn't teach? strict, definitely. There's no point in taking a class where you won't learn anything.
29. If you ever have a baby what might you want to name it? Omega
30. If you won free tickets to a concert from a radio show and had to choose between INXS, Poison, Blondie, and Moby, which would you choose? INXS
31. Are you a good cook? I get by. I wouldn't win any awards, but I also would not starve.
32. Do you prefer when things come with no assembly required, even if they are a bit more expensive? the less expensive, build-it-yourself would probably be my choice unless it is vastly more complex. I'm a whiz with a hex key.
33. Start a sentence with the words: what if... ... I'd stayed in the Science groove, rather than falling for History somewhere along the line? How different would my life be, then?
34. Are you more spontaneous and unpredictable or loyal and routine? yes. My life has all sorts of routine on the surface, because of work and bills and habit. And I'm loyal, when it's deserved. But inside, I'm all kinds of spontaneous--which reveals itself in my peculiar buying habits--and unpredictable, as shown in my seemingly senseless romantic choices. So, really, I'm all of the above.
35. What is the highest number you can count to in your head? I don't know? That's something I've never been bored, or strange, enough to find out.
36. How do you go about losing weight? one finger at a time
37. Do you have street smarts? more than you'd think, to look at me, but less than I'd like
38. Do you have a lot of common sense? yup
39. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? vanilla. I know, it's basic, but it's also the best conveyance for all sorts of wonderful other things.
40. What's your favorite movie that involves dancing? Strictly Ballroom
41. Would you ever want to become a guest on a talk show? If yes, what would the show's theme be? God no. (I would have liked to be an audience member for one of those "You win it all! You win it all! EVERYBODY WINS IT ALL!" shows, though.)
42. Do you like the way you look naked? 'When all candles be out, all cats be grey.'
    [John Heywood {1546}]
43. Have you ever dissected an animal? only with my mind--and he was probably doing the same thing to me, so we're even
44. Who do you know who is brilliant? someone with whom I attended high school
45. Who do you know who is dull? 'dull', as the opposite of brilliant? One of my current coworkers; her IQ is in the 75-85 range.
46. Do you ever think about time travel? only in regards to speculative fiction
47. What is one interesting fact you know? around a dozen baby possum can fit into a teaspoon
48. Do you talk to yourself? not for extended periods. (The occasional verbal outburst while watching sports or driving is the exception.)
49. Do you talk to your pets? definitely. Who's my Fuzzy Boy?
50. Do you believe that humankind has a future in space (will we live there some day)? no
51. Would you rather wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty or more delicate outfits? I'm not a huge fan of doing laundry, nor of paying for dry cleaning, so I guess I would think of it from the other end--I would rather wear clothes that reject dirt or don't need special effort when they are need cleaning. But, given the choice, I'd rather wear comfortable clothes that can get dirty, with the occasional delicate outfit for special occasions. Friday evening, for the work Christmas party, I wore a velvet blouse that almost never makes it out of the back of the closet. It is big and soft and feels amazing. And I got whipped cream on it, so it's off to the dry cleaner we go....
52. How do you 'live life to the fullest'? that's a goal, not a destination. Anyone who thinks that they're really doing that all of the time is either delusional or completely irresponsible.

[from the 5000-question meme, of which this is the middle of the fifth hundred; the title quotation is by Thomas Hardy, from Tess of the D'Urbervilles]