What is your favourite kind of weather?
hard rain and cool
What is the last book you read?
I'm still slogging through Borderline by Nevada Barr
Where is your favorite place to go on a weekday afternoon when you have no plans or obligations?
walking on the nearby campus
Are you spiritual or religious in any way? If so, how?
not so you'd notice
Would you rather be anxious and intelligent or carefree and simple?
would I want to be blissful and ignorant? Sometimes that seems like the best thing in the world! But I don't think we're given that choice. I think that intelligent people, or people who want to be bright and like to learn things, people who are driven to be better in some way, are in some ways destined to be lonely and ... troubled.
Do you believe it is vital to everyday life to know what is happening in the world around you?
"world around you" is relative. I know what's happening in my neighborhood because the folks across the cul-de-sac (in their 80s or so) have "adopted" me. They bring vegetables from their garden, homemade bread, etc., to me every couple of days, and they stop me on my way to the mailbox to check in. I know what's happening in this little city because my parents and I talk about it when we have supper once a week. I know what's happening in the state and country because it is impossible to miss the discussions on FB. My bff and I also debate all of these things now and then.
Is it "vital"? No. Is it advisable, maybe? Yeah.
Do you still remember arguments or upsets from over 5 years ago? Do they still bother you today?
certain arguments or upsets have a staying power (see, e.g., any interaction with my sister). Otherwise, I try—hard—to remember the good stuff and let the bad stuff go. Nothing is ever solved or eased by recalling a slight, or harsh words, that have passed.
What did you love most about the place you grew up?
When I was young, I loved living in a place (the neighborhood) that was outside of town. There were fun things to do for kids all the time, none of which cost any money or required leaving the general area. We rode bikes in the parking lane along the road, shot baskets in the hoop on the garage, roller-skated in the garage, my neighbors' basement, or (now and then) on the dance floor at the bar nearby. We played softball and kickball and catch in the yard, volleyball off the roof, and tennis in the road. We slept out in our sleeping bags often during the summer/fall. We ran under the sprinkler and had squirt-gun fights with emptied dish soap and shampoo bottles. We played hide-and-seek in the cornfields. When I wanted to be by myself, I would sit in the back seat of the car and read, or hide out with my cat in the shed.
After I moved away, I came to love having lived in a place that is so naturally beautiful: the river, the lakes, the bluffs, the fields, the clear sky that gets truly dark at night. That is a realization that may be impossible for a kid to have, but hit me strongly as a young adult. Most places in the world don't look like this. City parks are not prioritized. Trees are not so common in an urban area. The blessing (and sometimes curse) of a big river and two lakes are not what most people experience in their hometown. It is also safe here, to the extent that I would feel comfortable walking pretty much anywhere in town, any time of day.
What's the best nickname you've ever been called? and what's the worst?
the bf is fond of nicknames, and one of the current ones always makes me smile. It's not unrepeatable or embarrassing, but for now it's just private.
The worst is a member of my extended family who calls me "chickie." Not sure why, but that has always grated on me.
What is the weirdest scar you have and how did you get it?
my left leg is scarred up the tibia with little round scars from embedded glass, from when I was thrown through a window (actually a French door) during college. I then proceeded to sleep with the glass still in my leg, wrapped extremely inexpertly with toilet paper (in absence of gauze, etc.) by my companion—who claimed to know First Aid. If I'd sought treatment at that time and gotten some butterfly bandages, there might be no scar. After around 12 hours, though, there was little that could be done by the nurse at the campus health service who treated me, beyond yanking the glass out, cleaning the wounds with rubbing alcohol, and covering them. And giving me a memorably painful tetanus shot, another painful shot of antibiotics, along with a stern lecture about not being so stupid when I was drinking.
If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
writing
If you could find out the date of your death, would you want to know?
God, no
What has been your biggest challenge in life so far?
paying back my student loans, which I believe is the moral obligation of any person who contractually binds themselves to borrow money.
What you ever lied about being ill to avoid school or work? If so, how elaborate have your stories been?
no, that always seemed to be tempting fate or karma
How did you meet your best friend?
college BFF and I met ... in college. We had the same major when we started school, and were lucky enough to have a couple of classes together. We've been inseparable ever since.
[from here, and modified for my needs; the title quotation is by Chuck Palahniuk, from Diary]
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