when I am attacked by gloomy thoughts, nothing helps me so much as running to my books. They quickly absorb me and banish the clouds from my mind

Relationship status? 

    "work in progress"

Do you prefer spaghetti or shaped pasta? 

    I'm pedantic about it; some sauces are better for shapes, while other sauces are better for the twine-on-your-fork kind

Favorite TV show? 

    I'm midway through the fifth season of Elementary on DVD. Hoping that I get the last two seasons for Christmas!
Flip to a random page in a book that's closest to you. What is the first line on page 20? 

    The Stuntman, by Brian Laidlaw. It's poetry, and I'm finding it to be not quite what I look for in poetry. There is no text on page 20, so this is from page 19: "My song takes the form of papier-mâché made out of maps molded into the hills the maps depict; the maps are not making me cry per se, I am making me cry thinking about the maps"

What did you do last new years'? 

    I have no recollection at all. I was essentially unconscious due to pneumonia.
Have you ever watched anime? What's your favorite anime? 
    I could be wrong, but I don't think that there is any genre that I could possibly care about less than anime

Date: Movies or park? 

    going to the movies sounds like bliss. For that matter, going parking seems pretty great too...

Favorite kind of weather? 

    crisp, cool fall days - the kind of which we get prehaps three each year

Favorite quote about respecting others?

    "Knowledge will give you power, but character respect."

[Bruce Lee]

    Hint: it goes both ways...

What do you look for in a significant other? 

    I really, really don't look

What is your favorite word?
    'mallard' (at the moment)

Do you prefer mint ice cream or vanilla ice cream?

    if those were the only two choices, I'd go with vanilla in a heartbeat

Gel pens or ballpoint pens? 

    ballpoint - and I prefer brown ink

What do or did you like about school? 

    it seems simplistic, but the first thing that comes to mind is "learning." Reading course material. I loved homework. Taking tests. Writing essays. Longer papers were a pain (the irony!) and group projects are the very devil. I loved reading assignments.

Name the 3 most important people in your life?     

Favorite piece of art?

    in my house? I recently acquired a Heather Mattoon "cats in clothes" print. I'm not sure that I can explain exactly why, but it tickles me profusely.

Favorite clothing store? 

    I just ordered another blouse from Sundance Catalog, Robert Redford's conceit. My size is currently out of stock, is on backorder, and should arrive January 10. I am VERY excited about it!

Favorite job? 

    of my own? The previous one, at the library. If I could have that back—minus the bit about the sneaky panther turtle, of course—I would take it in a heartbeat, gratefully even and at a pay cut if necessary. (Don't tell 'em I said that part!)

 

[from here; the title quotation is by Montaigne, from Les Essais]