from "250 conversation starters"
1. What was the last funny video you saw?
while I make dinner, I often have clips from Whose Line is it Anyway? playing on my Fire or phone. A couple of days ago, I lucked into one of my favorite "Scenes from a Hat," which is Wayne Brady singing to Kathy Greenwood, "Every time I kiss you, I think of Rick" - which reminds me of a couple of my colleagues.
2. What do you do to get rid of stress?
take drugs
3. What is something you are obsessed with?
figuring out how to stop obsessing
4. What three words best describe you?
complicated, internal, pale
5. What would be your perfect weekend?
long
6. What's your favorite number? Why?
seven. It is, statistically, the favorite number of most people. Why is anyone's favorite, anything? I am drawn to odd numbers and asymmetrical things. Matchy-matchy does not interest me.
7. What are you going to do this weekend?
thus far, it has been a little extra sleep, breakfast, reading, taking pictures of my African violets' unexpected new blooms, and writing. The weather looks a little gross (upper 80s and pretty high humidity with some thunderstorms here and there) but I am going to try to get out for a walk both days. I have gotten out of the habit and want to ease back in.
8. What's the most useful thing you own?
flexible cutting mats
9. What's your favorite way to waste time?
sleeping, eating, reading, taking pictures, writing...
10. What do you think of tattoos? Do you have any?
they are fine, if that is what you want. I have 10. At this point I wish I could go back and undo a couple of them, but I am not vain enough to bother. "The rest of your life" was a concept that made little sense at certain junctures, though.
11. Do you have any pets?
I do not.
12. Where did you go last weekend/what did you do last weekend?
weekends under the current circumstances tend to be a blur, since each day looks much like the others. My parents' birthdays are clustered around these last two weekends, though, so there is extra communication with them.
13. What is something popular now that annoys you?
unhappiness
14. What did you do on your last vacation?
it was a road-trip and a couple days in a city I had not visited before. Relaxing, a little adventuring, some new experiences. Pretty simple and quite lovely.
15. When was the last time you worked incredibly hard?
I struggled, at work, to write a complicated letter to some difficult-to-please people. Taking that part of the job too seriously and too personally is one of my big hurdles. I am learning to separate from the attacks that are directed at my position and not to take them as if they are directed at me, but that is a challenge. Most of the time, I believe that it is a challenge that I cannot overcome, because I have no strong desire to do so.
16. Are you very active, or do you prefer to just relax in your free time?
Both? If I am still for too long, I get fidgety - particularly when emotions are unsettled. Being able to take a break or two midday for a walk is infinitely good for my mental health (as well as the physical). Of course, I also really like to relax, and can curl up and plow through an entire book in one sitting sometimes, too. A mix of both is best!
17. What do you do when you hang out with your friends?
watch movies, eat, talk a lot, do our own thing but together
18. Who is your oldest friend? Where did you meet them?
Jennifer - we met in kindergarten. I have always thought she was a "cool kid." We are still friends and very oddly have come to work in the same field, which never would have appealed to either of us when we were younger. She is more outgoing than I am, but also an introvert and somewhat (personally, not politically) conservative. We have a vague plan to get together once this whole health thing is under control, because it has been a while since we have seen each other. I am also friends with her brother, husband, and daughter on FB, and we have 28 other mutual friends.
19. What's the best/worst thing about your work/school?
The best: some of my colleagues.
The worst: it is a traditional field, and my company in particular is old-fashioned in its corporate-think. My tendency to fly in the face of that mentality has done me no favors.
20. If you had intro music, what song would it be? Why?
I could not choose just one. My love for music is too varied, and it is all about the lyrics of the moment - which, obviously, change regularly. There is no one theme song for me, alas.
21. What were you really into when you were a kid?
Not dolls, for sure. I liked toys that you build stuff with, blocks and Tinker-Toys. Books, of course. Sports things. I was constantly asking my mom to move the car out of the garage so we could roller-skate, and then asking her to move it back in so we could play basketball in the driveway. I liked music, and making shitty tapes of my favorite songs off the radio. The rare times when I was allowed to borrow the family camera to shoot my own roll of film was particularly thrilling. I wrote stories, and real letters to my friends. Played with the cat a lot, too. It was a good childhood.
22. If you could have any animal as a pet, what animal would you choose?
no more pets
one of my dear friends maintains that I saved his life, when he was facing the collapse of his marriage and we stayed in regular contact. Not sure how true that is, but it is a good feeling to know that I made a difference.
24. If you opened a business, what kind of business would it be?
I would make a great personal assistant, for the right person. Taking care of the stupid, annoying details that they do not want to deal with, so that they can be free to do what they like and are good at. Managing projects. Finding the unfindable, online. Answering questions quickly. Maintaining supplies and keeping things the way that they like. Making myself essential.
25. Who is your favorite entertainer (comedian, musician, actor, etc.)?
like the song question above, there is no one that stands out in my mind. I have widely varying interests when it comes to comedy, music, movies, and so forth.
26. Are you a very organized person?
in some ways, I can be. In a lot of ways, I am a disagreeable slob who only springs into action and forces the chaos into order when absolutely forced into it - such as when someone is coming over and I need to muck the stall. Do not open any stray closets because it may pour out upon you!
27. Have you ever given a presentation in front of a large group of people? How did it go?
whenever I am nervous about speaking to someone (such as for an interview), I think, "If I could make it through moot court (in law school), I can get through this." Over the many years that I was in school, I probably gave hundreds of presentations of assorted lengths. I have done the same throughout the iterations of my career(s). None of them was as inherently difficult or outside-my-comfort-zone as moot fucking court. And, hey! I survived. How did it go? It was wretched. Probably no worse than half of my classmates, though it seemed like I scraped the bottom of the barrel. Public speaking nauseates me, and attracting attention in any way does not come naturally to me.
If I can be forthright with you, please recognize the rarity in that trust.
[excerpted from here; the title quotation is by Henry Adams, from The Education of Henry Adams]
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