the first half of life is devoted to forming a healthy ego, the second half is going inward and letting go of it

1. True or false: When someone hates you it is because:
   ...they're jealous of you? false
2. ...the things you say are frightening to them, because what you say makes them think about things they would rather avoid thinking about? possibly true
3. ...they don't understand you? maybe true
4. True or false: When you hate someone it is because:
   ...you're jealous of them? sometimes true
5. ...the things they say are frightening to you, because what they say makes them you think about things you would rather avoid thinking about? false
6. ...you don't understand them? false
7. Have you ever been fascinated by someone who hated you? oh, definitely
8. Since the human brain has defense mechanisms against feeling bad (meaning the brain lies to itself to avoid feeling bad about something it said or did), how can we ever know if we are truly being honest? I think that the appropriate question is whether we know we are being dishonest. We do still have the ability to know the truth about honesty, just not the dishonest realm. Right? So I guess the trick is to be honest, and the rest of it will take care of itself.
9. How do we know our brains are not tricking us into believing we are good people when we aren't all good? we don't
10. How highly do you value innovation? for its own sake, it's worth nothing
11. Is there a name where all the people you've ever met having that name had something in common with each other (ex. all the Jens you've ever met had blue eyes)? pretty much every Renee I've ever met has wanted to murder me (for good reason), and Brians tend to be black holes (though there are two who currently aren't behaving that way, so maybe I've turned the corner on that)
12. Are you focused more outward or inward? inward, definitely
13. What is the most affectionate nickname you ever came up with for someone? if it's affectionate, then it's probably too personal to be thrown out here
14. Are the questions STILL still interesting this deep into the survey? if they aren't too repetitive. The point isn't the questions, but the places where the answers take us.
15. If someone else makes their decisions based on their intuition instead of on facts and proofs, what do you think of that person? it depends on the person. Just because I'm an intuition person, that isn't necessarily right for everyone.
16. Do you trust your own intuition? of course
17. Finish the phrase...
    ...danger is the: best drug
18. ...just keep: coming
19. ...never trust: a boss
20. ...the way I live my life: sometimes works for me, but isn't a universal plan
21. ...don't change: for me
22. ...maybe someday: it'll happen
23. Would you rather live in Frodo's world or Harry Potter's? ugh, I would--to paraphrase my dear friend--rather live in the porn realm!
24. Do you believe that the dead are with us? If yes, in what form? not "the dead" as in, all of them. That seems a bit crowded and creepy. But certain people...yes. Definitely. My best guy friend, he's here. I can feel him in the sting in my eyes when I wish more than anything that I could talk with him, get a hug, hear his voice on the phone (or in my voicemail, making fun of me for not answering, again!). My uncles, too. A coworker from the library. An old boyfriend.
    Whether they are with me because they choose to be, or because I cannot bear to let them go--they remain..
25. Are you made of timid stuff? 'timid' is part of my genetic if not natural or preferred make-up
26. Is there anyone in this world who is not crazy? for sure. Lots of people can't give up control enough to be crazy, and it's pretty sad.
27. What word becomes shorter when you add two letters to it? short
28. Can you mashed potato? no
29. Can you do the twist? of course
30. What does your family do for Thanksgiving..or, if you don't celebrate it, what do you picture when you think of Thanksgiving? lately we do a pretty mellow thing, get together midday for a smallish meal (turkey, potatoes, gravy, pie), and watch a movie or do a puzzle or both. Generally just me and my parents, because my brother's current wife is such a pill that we don't enjoy spending time with her and she definitely does not appreciate spending any more time with us than absolutely necessary.
31. What is your earliest memory? playing in the yard with my brother
32. Have you ever taken an IQ test? many, many times
33. What'd you get? ...scores?
34. What do you think of those things? I think they are generally known to be a valid method by which to measure intelligence
35. How do you make 'fishcakes'? eeew
36. Which is the better band..the Offspring or the Damned? Offspring
37. Do you ever think about world destruction? nah
38. Do you think humans are becoming more robotic? not in so many words, no
39. Do you think we'll ever be replaced by robots? I think that a lot of lower-level jobs will probably be phased out eventually, but it won't necessarily be for the better
40. What do you feel a part of? a family, friend groups, a company, a city, a state, a country (within reason), many other smaller groups within those groups--and an incredibly vital, impossible to describe, abhorrent to explain relationship
41. Does it freak you out to know that yogurt is ALiVe?? no
42. What current band do you think is doing something particularly interesting or innovative? I still like Elbow a lot
43. Which is more important, books and cleverness or friendship and bravery? sorry, those things cannot be separated
44. If I promise to miss you, will you go away? that question has come up more than once this week
45. stool, ball, powder...Can you think of a 4th word that connects these three? yes
46. Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? lots of little girls, for instance
47. Why are blondes considered 'dumb'? not going there
48. What's more important..intuitiveness/creativity or factual knowledge and practicality? to me? intuition and creativity
49. Who are the two worst terrorists you can think of? complacency and fear
50. What is Jello made of? love and wiggles
51. Do you have strong opinions? yup
52. Do you do what it takes to stand up for those opinions? questions like this are annoying.
53. Have you ever been to a rally, protest or demonstration? If yes, was it effective and in what ways? yes. No, it was not, except that it made us feel better about our effrontery.
54. When people say, 'yeah, it sucks, but there's nothing I can do', do you believe them? sometimes, yes
55. Do you know what you can do to make this world a better place? sure
56. Do you care? not your business
57. Why is peace so important anyway? and that question is incredibly dumb
58. Why is freedom important? surrender it and see for yourself
59. Do you try to avoid anything involving work? there are days when I'd love to do that. But since they still trade me money to be there, I still go in and do the work.
60. Are you in denial? thank God for denial, or we would all lose our minds

[From the 5000-question meme; this is the second half of the thirty-fifth part (questions 3351-3400). The title quotation is by C.G. Jung.]