50 Questions (I never do this, heh)
I used to stay away from these things like they were radioactive because some of the older ones were perfect fodder for social engineering. As in, hey let's learn about this person and be better able to guess their passwords. This seems less suspect than most, plus I've now already had my info compromised in reality - yay being in broken government databases. So why not.
See also:
1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
Once would have said closed. But in my current apartment the closet doors are metal and make awful noises when I have to get in and select my clothes - so yeah, they stay open. It's a shallow closet though, and nothing in there to hide behind.
2. Do you sleep with your sheets tucked in or out? Tucked in.
3. Have you ever stolen a street sign before?
Well, not personally. There was a guy who liked me in college and he went out and stole the sign to Batcave Road. Because of my nickname and all. I still have it because well, of course I do. Somewhere in a box.
I did however once steal a traffic cone. It was out in the rain and needed a home. I then kept it for a decade and eventually used it when I was photographing things alongside the road - ah, grad school. But seriously, people respect you more if you have a cone, you look more official, especially if you have a serious looking camera. These days I'd actually just buy a cone, as you can find them pretty easily. Not so much in the 80s.
4. Do you cut out coupons and never use them?
Yes. Always. I rarely remember to use them.
5. Would you rather be attacked by bears or bees?
Neither. This is one of those "which level of hell would you prefer to live on" questions.
Oops sorry, meant circles of hell: Dante's Nine Circles of Hell
I keep going into video game mode when I think levels.
6. Do you have freckles? Yes.
7. Do you always smile for pictures?
Yes but you can look in my eyes and tell that what's really going on in my mind is: "Are you going to take it now? Hurry and take it now! I'm giving all the smile I can and it's going to give out soon! Also boy do I not enjoy this." I've been on the other side of the camera a lot and am much happier there. When I'm the one getting the photo taken I just can't relax and look happy, I'm too busy thinking about it.
8. Do you ever count your steps when you walk?
No and I'm really glad I've never thought of this because I think I might have gotten a bit nutty over it.
9. Have you ever peed in the woods?
Oh god I hate peeing in the woods. I had relatives who could pee anywhere and everywhere and would often do so (even if a national park restroom was nearby). I've had drunken friends think nothing of hopping out of the car and peeing in someone's shrubs in the suburbs. I don't get it. It's uncomfortable, messy, and requires that you have tissues and something to clean your hands with. (And then you have to carry those tissues back with you to dispose of them later.) I'm a woman though, and it's just different for us.
There is a subset of folk who pee in the woods and are oddly proud of it, and think anyone that doesn't want to is odd or wimpy. To find these people look for those who 1) are seriously into camping, and/or 2) have seriously odd ideas about being a Wilderness/Nature Person and it being some sort of badge of honor.
I have had to pee in the Narrows, but it was worth it for the view.
10. What about pooped in the woods?
No. And it's not fun to come across this when one is hiking in the woods.
11. Do you chew your pens and pencils?
I broke myself of the habit decades ago - definitely stress related. It helped me stop when I once chewed my pen until ink leaked out in my mouth and on my sweater and I didn't notice right away. Friends were amused.
12. What’s your song of the week? Erm, I am without one atm.
13. Is it okay for guys to wear pink?
Of course. Guys are often forced into buying really dull colors and clothes by the whole "society expects" thing. At least in the US.
14. Do you still watch Cartoons?
Yup. It's most of what I watch on Netflix even though I say to myself that I'll start a series of some sort.
15. What do you drink with dinner?
Water. Dull but it won't keep me awake like caffeine. I am a caffeinated soda addict.
16. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
BBQ sauce. But I haven't had a nugget in eons. I am not sorry.
17. What’s your favourite food?
Pizza. Or lemon meringue pie with a graham cracker crust and a drizzle of raspberry sauce and fresh blackberries. I might have just had that dessert last week. I'm still kinda in love with it.
18. Were you ever a boy/girl scout?
Brownie and then girl scout. The badges are SO much more fun now! There were so many that were difficult or impossible to do on your own when I was in it. I would have adored all the computer and book related ones.
19. Would you ever strip or pose naked for a magazine?
Nope. See my feelings about photos in 7. You'd be able to look at me in the photo and know that I was hating every minute of it.
20. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Yup. Thankfully have only had 2 of them in my life. Random story - there is a speed trap that consists of an entire tiny Texas town where there's a speed limit sign every few miles through out the town - and one major road through the town. The signs are there because the local cops would pounce on you as soon as you sped the slightest bit, and thus they now inform you of exactly where each speed change happens. Everyone local (as in the entire state) knows not to speed in that town - I expect they only stop tourists now. No idea how they fund anything via tickets now.
21. Favorite kind of sandwich? Turkey club.
22. Best thing to eat for breakfast?
Bacon and eggs. Or chilaquiles
Sadly I normally just eat breakfast bars.
23. What’s your usual bedtime?
I am one of those folk that have to unwind before bed or I won't fall asleep for eons. So I begin my Movement Towards Bed around 8:30 or 9 if I'm being good. After doodling around and getting ready for the next day, I then spend a good 30 min in bed reading something dullish so I'll get sleepy. Seriously, I have multiple books on my kindle that are interesting yet not TOO interesting just for these times. Except now I can't use them since light from ereaders is supposed to wake up your brain. Sigh.
24. Are you lazy?
Well, it depends. I call it resting after using up too much brain energy.
25. What is your Chinese astrology sign?
Fire horse. Which I only know thanks to the placemats at an asian restarant I ate at the in 80s.
26. How many languages can you speak?
English, and I can read in French. I am rotten at speaking it because I have never been great at verb tenses. If folks speaking it aren't using too much slang I can usually follow a conversation - granted I'll be about a minute behind in comprehending it.
27. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
No. This reminds me that I need to send some to my mom though.
28. Are you stubborn?
In some things. With age I'm learning that it's totally ok to give up on some things and not consider it quitting if you're just not enjoying something. Long books for instance.
29. Are you afraid of heights?
I have what I call a Forgetful Fear of Heights. Or Fear of Descent. This means that I tend to want to climb up buildings and things because I'm all excited about the view - and then I get to the top and remember "oh crap, I hate climbing down, why why why do I always forget this part?!" Luckily this occurs mostly when I'm traveling to new places in cities, which doesn't happen that offen anymore.
Worse experiences in descending:
Sagrada Familia
There were no handrails or guardrails anywhere, and lots of long plunges down.
St Peter's Basilica
Climbing up to dome was ok - down was in the same narrow corridor stairway with stone steps that had been worn smooth and indented in the center and suddenly was much more slippery and stressful. Also it was crowded with people in front and behind so you had to keep moving. There are over 500 steps for the route we took. I learned that afterwards. We didn't take the elevator. Whee?
You can see a photo of the narrow stairway here.
30. Do you sing in the car? Yes, as long as no one else is there with me.
31. Do you ever dance in the car?
This is the moving your upper body around, right? Yes sometimes. But my foot is on the brake at the time.
32. Ever used a gun?
Nope. Have loads of friends and family that have them, because we're from Texas. But I can injure myself with hand tools, so a gun is not something I need to have. (I'd also be less worried about people with guns if there were stats that all of these folks are spending lots of time practicing shooting and knowing gun safety - as in where the safety is on the gun - but in the US we don't bother to keep helpful stats of any kind on guns if we can help it. Because reasons.)
33. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? About 10 yrs ago.
34. Do you think muscles are cheesy?
They are useful for things like walking and lifting and keeping my bones in place? Otherwise I don't think of them much at all.
35. Favorite type of fruit pie? Cherry. And peach. But I'll eat any fruit pie really.
36. Occupation you wanted to be when you were a kid?
I have a drawing I made for a class speech in 4th grade (I think?) of the book store/publishing house/printing press I wanted to own one day. So I'd have all the books I'd want to read all around me. Aside from that I also wanted to work for Jim Henson.
37. Do you believe in ghosts?
I always say that, after extensive reading of ghost stories where the people who stridently claim that there are no such things as ghosts and are almost always the first people to be nabbed by said ghosts/monsters/etc., that it's best just to say that I've never seen one. That I'm aware of, and I'm ok with it. I'm more likely to be scared by what other humans will do to me than ghosts.
38. Ever had a deja-vu feeling? Yup.
39. First concert?
Mom took me to Helen Reddy, during the I Am Woman era. Somehow I never knew she's Australian, which seems silly of me.
40. Nike or Adidas?
Um neither? I get whatever fits. These days it's Sketchers or whatever's cheapish.
41. Ever take dance lessons?
Ballet for 5 years as a kid, until I was supposed to diet down to 90lbs in 6th grade, which seemed nonfun. But there's a reason you want to be that thin when you're in toe shoes. Also getting to look at other dancers feet with toe shoes off is a great way to make a girl have second thoughts about that form of dance. Short version: your feet are not pretty looking, and it looks as painful as it apparently feels. (According to the other dancers.)
And I took several dance classes in college for PE - ballroom and folk dancing. Lots of fun. Was in the class with friends and now I never know if I remember the steps where you lead or follow.
42. Regularly burn incense? Nope. Whee, allergies!
43. Who would you like to see in concert?
The Hoodoo Gurus. For nostalgia's sake. I think I've seen them the most - they used to swing by the colleges on US tours.
44. Hot tea or cold tea? Both.
45. Tea or Coffee?
Tea. My family is notorious for being caffeine fiends, but I never got the bug. It never tasted as good as it smelled. Probably didn't help that my parents drink it without sugar or milk. So tea it was and is.
46. Can you swim well? Fairly well.
47. Are you patient?
I have a 70+ mom that I regularly have to teach how to use computers and smart phones.
48. DJ or band at a wedding? DJ
49. Which are better, black or green olives?
Neither, I fear olives. They are slimy. Have had too many slimy olives on pizza to ever like them. I know, I know, they were probably all canned and not "real" olives, but the damage is done and I'll never love olives. Olive oil and balsamic vinegar - totally different thing.
I try not to discuss the olive thing - but my "I don't like cheesecake" thing is worse. In the US people are VERY serious about cheesecake. If you don't like it the response is often "but you haven't tried X cheesecake, here I'll make one!" - and it will be tasty, but still cheesecake, and I'll still not be a fan. So I'm now very, very quiet on the whole cheesecake subject. People are way less passionate about the olives thankfully.
50. Would you rather live in a fictional world or the real world?
Some fictional worlds can be even worse than reality - though I know sometimes that's hard to believe. I'll go with real world for the same reason I don't want to travel back in time. I note that most folk with medical problems, or vision problems, usually are in agreement on this. Remember, we haven't had decent glasses for a huge chunk of history. I do love being able to see!
Actually the real question is: am I in control in that fictional world?
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