1. Is there a purpose to life? If so, what do you think it is? connection. Relationships, friendship, love.
3. Do you closely identify with your immediate surroundings? my immediate surroundings, as I answer this question, are my living room. Everything in this room is mine, except a gift that I acquired to give to someone else. I identify with all of this stuff reasonably, but not too, closely. It's only stuff after all.
4. How would you define the term "a good life"? with allowances for personal variation, it is contentment, some happiness, comfort, companionship, friendship, material success, satisfaction, and some protection from undue pain and hardship.
5. Where does your self-worth come from? spleen, I think?
7. Do believe that you're completely and truly free? no, and neither would I wish to be
8. What's the best way to achieve lasting happiness? stop looking for it
9. Do you value intelligence or wisdom more highly? this question makes me want to punch something. There is a movement afoot that calls for posting things to one's workspace or social media saying things like "I don't value titles or letters after names or promotions or salaries; I value experience blah blah blah." The only problem with that is, how does one achieve a better title, or letters after one's name, or get a promotion, or a higher salary? Through hard goddamned work. Through sacrifice, negotiation, and compromise.
My point in this rant is to say that it's fine not to give automatic passes to people just because they possess something that you don't. But it's not fine to use that as an excuse to discriminate against them as a result. Where are we going overall, if we start pretending that's OK? Backward.
11. What are the standards you use to judge humans? metric
12. Do you desire to be in a position of power? now and then, very much so
13. What types of things or topics do you tend to avoid? I prefer not to talk sex or religion with most people, nor politics with a lot of people
14. How important is health in your day-to-day life? it is a major concern lately. I am hopeful that the time and energy that I'm putting into it now will pay off in relief from it in the not-too-distant future.
15. Do you often feel jealous or envious? every. fucking. day.
16. What do you imagine your future self to be like? Judy Jetson, but with better fashion
17. How much of your life do you spend online? one half to two thirds
19. What is the best possible way to discover truth? ask the questions you need the answers to. Even if you don't get the answers, there are often truths to be heard through the telling of the lies.
20. Does everything have order or is it all random? somewhere in the middle
21. How would you define yourself in three words? stubborn, loving, cheeky, and loopy
22. What impact does language have on your beliefs? language is part of everything I do. No one could hope to earn my friendship—much less win my love—without speaking my language.
23. Do you think creativity has a limit? yes
24. Why do we resist doing what's good for us? because what's bad for us often feels extraordinary
25. How accurate do you think your memory is? 93.3%
26. Does morality apply to animals, or just humans? we have a moral obligation to deal 'humanely' with animals
27. What obligation do we have to improve ourselves? only the obligation that is internal
28. How does the concept of beauty influence you? as much as anyone else, I wish to be surrounded by it. I am drawn to it, aspire to it, and desire it. There is more hanging on my walls than ever before. Internally, though, I think it's become less about "looking good" and more about feeling and being well. My money doesn't go toward buying new clothes or jewelry for "fashion" but exercise equipment, clothes for working out, a new mattress to replace the one I got 17 (!) years ago after my marriage ended - good God, that thing has moved house seven times - and now prehaps a piercing to control my headaches. Good sleep, no headaches, more and better exercise... all that will mean "beauty" to me.
29. When do you label something as "evil"? almost never, because I am not the judge and because setting a concrete limit for what 'evil' means only creates a target for others to meet or exceed
30. How do you measure the productivity of a day? that is not the way that I live, at all. That's so Type-A, ugh.
32. Do you highly value your personal privacy? what a dumb, dumb question
33. What would the world be like without laws? mayhem
34. How many kinds of love have you given or received? 17
35. Is it ever okay to do the wrong thing? yes
39. How much money would a year of your life be worth? depends who you ask. My best friend would give a different answer from my boss, who would give a different answer from my dad, who would give a different answer from my sister.
40. Are emotions more positive or negative for us? emotions just are—like weapons. It's what you do with them that makes them positive or negative.
41. Do you believe in the concept of fate? absolutely
42. How much does your name impact your life? it can be limiting or empowering to some extent. I think I have a somewhat silly name, and have joked in the past that it's hardly a Supreme Court Justice name. Well, I guess I was wrong about that.... Still, it does not make me think 'distinguished', so much as 'sweet' or 'froofy'. Just like some other names have the opposite connotation.
43. Is it possible to create something completely new? no
46. How far do you go to avoid personal suffering? not very. I believe that suffering is necessary for learning, changing, and figuring out who you are.
47. Is the concept of "you" always changing? I certainly hope so
48. When do you feel most alive and present in your life? when I'm actively engaged with the people that I care about - but also have time and space to be on my own
50. What question would you like someone to ask you? "Will you run away with me for a weekend?"
[from here; the title quotation is by Paulo Coelho, from Veronika Decides to Die]
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