as stupid and vicious as men are, this is a lovely day

1. Can “what you don't know” actually hurt you? YES--for the love of God, yes!
2. Are you pondering what I'm pondering? doubtful. I'm known for my pondering, ruminating, and contemplating.
3. What people or objects would you describe as “pure”? hogwash, malarkey, and balderdash
4. Are you into bookcrossing (If you aren’t sure, check out www.bookcrossing.com)? nope. As a former public library employee, I'm reluctant to have my hands on books that have had too many (unknown) hands on them; experience is a harsh teacher.
5. Have you ever had a pen pal? ha! The timing of this is almost painful.
6. Have you ever had a package pal (same as a pen pal but you send each other surprise gifts instead of letters)? a former friend used to send some great gifts... I miss the friend.
7. Is there a particular word or phrase that annoys you? anything that's used too much gets old quickly. "I am delightful" is a phrase that I hear too much these days.
8. Is there an online game you like to play? not at the moment
9. What group of people is the most discriminated against in your opinion or experience? that made me snort. It's a moving target.
10. What do you like best about bras and underwear? very strange question. Uhm, I guess the fabric? And sometimes the colors?
11. Are you afraid of living in oblivion? not really. Sort of. Maybe?
12. Before you were born you got to pick your life from one of these. Which do you pick?
    * You are successful from the start, a musical genius, good looking, wealthy. You become a rock star, get super famous, make your mark on the world and die at 27.
    * You are caring and compassionate. You love animals and adopt more and more as you grow older. You foster and nurture and care for them all of your life.
    * You sit home playing video games for 70 years. Ugh. None of the above. UGH.
13. What is broken in your:
    Car? one of the back windows won't open
14. School? all of the buildings are ancient and the school board can't figure out which ones to close
15. House? bathroom money-pits
16. Life? brain, heart, soul
17. Soul? stupid hope
18. Brain? patience
19. Which one will you fix first? house
20. Tell me all your thoughts on God: no
21. What is the strangest note you've ever received? a few years ago, I tried online dating. Toward the end, I met a guy who turned out to be lying about nearly everything. Everyone lies, but he pretty much took the cake. Before I realized the depth of his duplicity, I actually wrote him a couple of letters. They were eventually returned, since the address that he'd given did not exist--thank God--so he never managed to see what I'd written to him. The strangest thing was, though, that he also wrote to me.
    
    I never opened the letter. I still have it, sealed, as a sort of talisman against being that fucking stupid again. Seriously: EVERYBODY lies.
22. Of the following how many can be used to get in touch with you?
    Phone (at work)
    Beeper
    Voice mail
    Email
    Cell phone
    Snail mail
23. Are you always available/easy to reach, or do you give people a chance to miss you? it depends. Some methods are notoriously unreliable, and some people have no chance in hell of getting me on the first try. Even Chris used to have a running joke about how many rings he could get out of my phone before it would go to voicemail. (It's the rare person for whom I will answer my cell phone.) I'm probably too available by text, though.
24. If you got pregnant or impregnated the person you are with now (hypothetical if there is no one in your life just now) would you lean more towards keeping, adopting out, or aborting the baby? it's weird; I was thinking about this subject earlier today and actually discussed it, however vaguely, with a friend who is actively trying to have another baby. If pregnancy resulted from the relationship that I'm in now (which is not a pregnancy-resulting relationship), I would keep that baby. No doubt.
25. If your partner in the pregnancy did not agree with how you felt and pressured you to change your mind or just went ahead with what he or she wanted to do against your wishes, would that affect your ability to continue your relationship with this person? of course that would have an effect. Anytime a couple of childbearing age has sexual contact, there is a risk of pregnancy (or sexually transmitted infections). Failure to consider those ramifications, personally if not as partners, is not a sign of a healthy ego or basic human decency.
26. Who should have the final say in the decision to have a baby, the woman or the man? that is not an argument that I'm going to settle
27. Who is more responsible for educating children - parents or schools? Parents raise children, care for them, and prepare them for life. Schools (and by delegation teachers) are responsible for educating and socially controlling children.
28. Are you into 'new age' things? not across the board, but some of it - sure. I like to be surrounded by things that make me feel good. Some of it has "logic" behind it and some of it just feels right. I rely on intuition more than some other people do. I like Buddha statues, and Irish crosses, mandalas ... the spiritual and peaceful are welcome.

[From the 5000-question meme; this is the first quarter of the fourteenth part. The title quotation is by Kurt Vonnegut, from Cat's Cradle]