it happens in every upheaval. Some people survive; others don't

Through all of life’s twists and turns, who has been there for you?      my parents, my brother, and a handful of friends

What or who has been distracting you?     money, my leaky faucet, and being sentenced to wear glasses for another month and a half

What are you looking forward to in the upcoming weekend?     I have plans on Saturday to visit the BFF's for jigsaw puzzles, intro to needle felting, and chocolate tapioca pudding. Mmmmm

Who is your mentor and what have you learned from them?     I've lived with some awesome examples over the years. 

    • My favorite undergrad prof was a prickly, arrogant, enormously thoughtful person. I learned from him to think like a historian and how to write - in particular, not to babble!

    • My grad school advisor taught me how to rigorously defend a position. He is a
History channel regular, former guitarist in a hard rock band (who once auditioned for Styx), and now a bigwig at a war museum in Louisiana.

    • Another grad prof - a gentle, kind man with a delightful sense of humor - taught me that being academically scrupulous and conscientious is not boring or stifling.

    • My law school independent study advisor taught me to roll with the punches (which he dealt frequently) and to trust my unique perspective.

    • Personally, Fluffy Knutson has been steadfast and remarkable since we very first met. There are no words for how much, and what, I've learned from her. Patience, perspective, humor, an unbelievable recipe for chicken with noodles....

What are you uncertain about?     how to go on, under the circumstances. The answers will reveal themselves in time, but from this vantage it all seems overwhelming.

What do you think about when you lie awake in bed?     loss

What makes you weird?     absolutely everything about me. My priorities, my personality, my appearance, my choices, my background, my attitude. My intelligence, my preferences, my experience, and my hopes and dreams. Everything.

 What’s something most people don’t know about you?     I don't feel "smart" at all.

When you have an hour of free time, what do you usually do?     read

If you could relive yesterday, what would you do differently?     less time wasted on something that ultimately didn't matter. I'd move to a different gas pump. And always keep my hair pinned up when I eat Mexican food.

What do you do over and over again that you hate doing?     bite my lip

Would you rather your child be less attractive and extremely intelligent or extremely attractive and less intelligent?     wow! So, the question really is, how superficial am I? Or, on the contrary, how condescending am I?

What white lies do you often tell?     I'm fine. I don't need anything, Thank you for offering but....

 

[from here; the title quotation is by Margaret Mitchell, regarding Gone with the Wind]