go then if you must, but remember, no matter how foolish your deeds, those who love you will love you still

1 If you could have avoid living one year from your past, which year would you like to have eliminated?

    2007 or 2015. Each was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year, in its own way. 

 

2 If you could be a member of any club or association in the world, what would it be? 

    I'd planned to answer this in a sarcastic/snarky way, but then I realized: I miss being a member of the American Historical Association. The AHA has a vast membership from various fields, concentrations, and professions. Mostly students and academics, it also appeals to those working in law, politics and government, religion, the rest of social science, and amateurs with deep interest in the world and how it came to be. I was a member during grad school and for a few years after, but fell away from it when things became extra chaotic.

 

3 If you could take away the vocal chords of any person, who would it be? 

    comedienne Kathy Griffin, whose nasal delivery is like nails on the chalkboard of the world. Also, one of my colleagues, RM. They are one of those people who, at the end of the meeting when the presenter offers but does not encourage, "Any questions?" always has a multi-part, deeply hypothetical, pointless question that cannot be answered briefly and invites their follow-up questions no matter how it is answered.

 

4 If you had to be a member of another family you know, which family would you join? 

    families are complicated enough, and the concept of joining another family at this point in my life is a serious deterrent to being involved with anyone.

 

5 If you could discover one medical cure (past or present), which one would you choose? 

     I'd love for there to be a cure for migraines, rather than just a hodge-podge of band-aids for the myriad symptoms, most of which have side effects that are long-term dangerous and making limited difference anyway. 

    In the alternative, I'd like to develop a migraine pain simulator, like the period pain simulation machine, so that people who give the "it's all in your head" response could find out just what it's really like.

 

6 If you could give your parents one gift, what would you give them? 

    one very large gambling win. They are not unrepentant wastrels and only gamble what they can afford to lose, but they've never had the sort of win that would take your breath away. I'd love to see them have that kind of joy.

 

7 If you had to choose the worst work experience you've ever had, what would you pick? 

    it's a tie between cleaning the grease trap in the bakery (which is like cleaning the smelliest sink drain you can imagine, but with your face in the sink the whole time) and even the best day with the law firm.

 

[from If...Questions for the Game of Life; the title quotation is by Sophocles, from Antigone]