Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it...

1. What takes your breath away? allergies, very cold weather, and one certain set of cloudy hazel eyes
2. What did you do today that you regret? let a couple of opportunities pass
3. Will you ever do it again? of course. Not because I want to, but because life is like that.
4. Is happiness something to be achieved and sought after or is it something to be retained and held onto always, no matter what happens? it's the journey, not the destination
5. Would you rather live in a world of perfection or do you like the world the way it is? I guess I like it the way it is. "Perfection" isn't happening anyway--lumps, remember?
6. Is a frightening world an interesting world to live in? we don't really get a choice. The world is frightening, and interesting, and we just kinda have to deal with it as it is.
7. What gives people depth and character? their humanity. Personality, upbringing, circumstances, education, trauma, drama, psychology, health, resilience, support...
8. What band, together or not, would make you want to JUST FLY after seeing their show R.E.M. I'm so sad that I never got to see them play.
9. Recently a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich in which some people saw the image of the Virgin Mary sold on eBay for $10,000. What do you think of this? people find peace and solace and inspiration wherever they can, and more power to them
10. Who is the next person you will hug? I know who I want it to be, who I wish it were. But, more likely? It will be one of those who know that--
    Way down inside me was a pilot light
    That good friends tended and fed with tiny kindnesses
11. Where was your last vacation to? my last extensive vacation was Los Angeles
12. Where was your last car ride to? uh, home from work?
13. Where was your last bus ride to? probably something associated with that L.A. trip
14. Where did you last walk to? I took an afternoon walk yesterday with "my walkin' buddy." In 15 minutes we usually go about a mile.
15. What is the worst band in the universe? there are plenty of acts that I don't enjoy, but I'm hardly the ultimate critic
16. What is the next book you want to read? I'm about 2/3 through A Game of Thrones for the second time. After I finish this, I'll read something quick and easy, and then plow back into A Clash of Kings.
17. What are the 3 most useless items on the planet? those seals that Hallmark plunks into the bag with your cards (thrown away, every time); the packaging on my generic Imitrex (it's a blister pack that requires scissors to open! with a migraine!); and plastic soup spoons (I always. always. always. cut a bloody rut into my tongue with those sharp little bastards)
18. What gives you a peaceful feeling? backrubs, sleeping until I wake up without any outside interference, or personal mail. That's a start.
19. Do you ever stay up late watching infomercials? never
20. Did you ever BUY anything from an infomercial? never
21. Are you a light sleeper? increasingly, yes. It doesn't much help that my across-the-street neighbors love their outdoor lights as much as my next-door neighbor loves his truly dumbass dogs who have teeny-tiny bladders and need to be reminded to pee, always at ungodly hours.
22. Are you a T-ysR-s kid? under no circumstances whatsoever
23. Are you part of the mile high club? wouldn't that be something? Wouldn't that just blow ya mind?
24. Do you like...
    pena coladas? please tell me that's supposed to be piña coladas. ?? And no, they're too cloyingly sweet.
25. getting caught in the rain? yup
26. yoga? sure, though I personally prefer Pilates for a more challenging workout
27. intelligence? uhm, kinda
28. making love at midnight? no objection
29. health food? eh
30. champagne? if I have to drink wine, it's the only one I'd actually swallow
31. the feel of the ocean? very, very much. "It's been so long since I've seen the ocean - I guess I should."
    
32. What was the funniest way that you ever misheard the lyrics to a song? I'm not sure? I'm sort of good at that sort of thing.
33. What have you never seen anything lovelier than? those eyes, from question one? They're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life.
34. Have you ever painted...
    a wall? uh, yeah. Many times.
35. ceramic? yep, though not well
36. a painting? "painted a painting." Oy. Um, yes, I've even hung one canvas of my own in my house.
37. model? I don't think so
38. sun catcher? no, that trend happened after my "art" phase ended
39. face? nope
40. body? ha!
41. If you believe in heaven, are there separate heavens for different animals (kitty heaven, dog heaven, bird heaven, etc)? doubtful. I think we're all one big happy family up there.
42. If you could build your body from scratch using the parts from different celebrities who would you combine? I don't think I can do that. It's been a while since I blatantly took people apart like that, even for my own use.
43. If you could build your perfect match from scratch using the parts from different celebrities who would you combine? Likewise, it seems both disgusting and mercenary to think that way--and also, what's the point? There's no "perfect match," much less one created with parts snagged from celebrities. Ick
44. Avril Lavigne or Michelle Branch? Avril
45. Vanessa Carlton or Britney Spears? Vanessa
46. When you sleep next to someone, do they fall asleep first usually or do you? with someone else present in the vicinity, I'm an even lighter sleeper than usual. I might doze but I don't think I really sleep.
47. If they do, do you watch them sleep? unless I'm fully awake, I don't "watch someone sleep." Even then, it's kinda creepy.
48. How many people have a piece of your heart? I don't know that this is a quantitative sort of question. But lately I have been listening in the car to a mix CD that Chris made for me, and I am reminded just how big a piece of me remains with him. As I work my way through the mix, I hear the songs (obviously) which have a theme (which is clear to anyone who gets the sort of mixes that I make, which is also the way that he made them)--but I also hear the subtext, the meaning that he was putting in there just for me. Our inside references. And it makes me laugh and sigh and catches me unaware, tears in my eyes and a hitch in my breath, how rough my feelings are and how close we still are, will always be. He spoke to me in ways that no one else did, that no one else could. I miss him viscerally.

[From the 5000-question meme; this is the first third of the twenty-first part (there was no twentieth); the title quotation is by James Kenneth Stephens, in The Crock of Gold]