never retreat. Never explain. Get it done and let them howl

from Questions to Get to Know Someone

128. What is something you can never seem to finish?  a bottle of ketchup

129. What mistake do you keep making again and again?  haven't been eating the right things lately, and it shows. I'm thinking of trying a modified "Atkins diet" for the next month or so, to see what kind of change that makes.

130. What's the best thing you got from your parents?  big blue eyes, curiosity, and loyalty

131. What is the strangest thing you have come across? 

as mentioned a few times, I am rereading my journals. They are enlightening, embarrassing, revealing, revolting, funny and florid. There are whole sections that I cannot or will not read because the contents are already ground into my memory. And then, once in a while, I come across something so ridiculous and haphazard that it trips me up and makes me wonder, again, where my brain goes now and then. Case in point, this photo.

132. If you could make a 20-second phone call to yourself at any point in your life past or future, when would you call and what would you say?  I would call myself late-2004 with specific instructions about how to buy Apple stock with every spare cent (and then some)

133. What's the best and worst thing about getting older?

• best: not giving a fuck about what a lot of people think about me

• worst: feeling the press of time, tighter and heavier, more and more

134. If you could have a never-ending candle that smelled like anything you wanted, what

fragrance would you want it to be?  I'm not a huge candle-burner, but it would probably be something like vanilla or lemon. Maybe "clean t-shirt" or "sleepy guy."

(The candle pictured here, by the way, is supposed to be a 'man scented candle.' "Seductive and mesmerizing, this candle features the scent of mandarin, cedar, jasmine, sandalwood, amber, and dark musk." Huh. Sounds powerful.)

135. What is something you are certain you will never experience?  I will probably never get a face tattoo

136. What challenging thing are you working through these days?  learning how to balance asking for what I want without being demanding or creating expectations

137. What is one responsibility you really wish you didn't have?  oil changes. For no logical reason, it is the thing about car ownership that causes me the most frustration and procrastination.

138. What do you wish your brain was better at doing?  turning off!!

140. In your group of friends, what role do you play?  I listen, make snarky comments, and organize the things. (I can pack brilliantly.)

141. Which of your scars has the best story behind it?  see photo of my left shin...

142. What have you created that you are most proud of?  friendships, memories, a library (including movies and music), some wonderful photographs, a real art collection - and defined muscles in my legs!

143. What do you strongly suspect but have no proof of?  pretty sure that I talk in my sleep

144. What were some of the turning points in your life?  my second kiss; starting college; the Brian-the-Army-Guy revelation; an in-grown hair; getting a cell phone; the trip to Norman; Chris' death; a handwritten note and a call in reply ...

145. What bends your mind every time you think about it?  how rear-view mirrors can work when you flip them up or down due to lights from behind. I've had it explained to me—very patiently—by a damned physicist, and it still makes my brain melt! 

[from here; the title quotation is from Benjamin Jowett]