survey meme

[arguchik]

survey, ganked from shellefly



1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
my credit card bill, because it makes me feel stupid for having credit card debt.

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
hmmm. i think the most romantic meal i've had lately was brunch on sunday, but the why is a long story i don't feel like telling right now.

3. Last time you puked from drinking?
pretty sure it was about 4 years ago, after an alcohol soaked meal with friends, at the now defunct restaurant called gitano.

4. When is the last time you got drunk and danced on a bar?
i've never danced on a bar. i don't generally get all that drunk anymore, either. it's not fun, and if it's not fun, why do it?

5. Name one of your first grade teachers?
miss conant was my only 1st grade teacher. she was a rarity--a nun, teaching in the public schools.

6. What do you really want to be doing right now?
exactly what i'm doing. why would i be doing anything else? i'm on vacation!

7. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
because i was highly imaginative, i wanted to be almost everything at one point or another, but mainly i wanted to be a writer or a homicide detective. or a veterinarian.

8. How many colleges did you attend?
i'm on #4 and holding. this one should be the last.

9. Why did you wear the shirt that you have on right now?
because it was handy and clean.

10. GAS PRICES?
are only going to get worse. it's peak oil, man. time to invent a new kind of vehicle--or, head for the hills.

11. If you could move anywhere?
ooh...that's a tough one. ireland, maybe (one of the cities)? portland? berlin? santa cruz? pittsburgh? back to burlington?

12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
i don't use an alarm.

13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
mmmmsleepy.

14. Favorite style of underwear?
bikini.

15. Favorite style of underwear for the opposite sex?
probably boxer briefs. longer, but not loose. otherwise nothing. (is it me, or is this question heteronormative?)

16. What errand/chore do you despise?
going to the bathroom, i guess...but is that an errand or a chore?

17. If you didn't have to work, would you volunteer at an art gallery?
no, i'd volunteer for an HIV/AIDS services organization, a women's shelter, or a homeless shelter.

18. Get up early or sleep in?
get up early. not because i want to, though, just because i do.

19. What is/are your favorite cartoon character(s)?
gossamer (the red monster in the bugs bunny cartoons), bugs bunny...too many others to count, really.

20. Favorite NON sexual thing to do at night with a girl/guy?
talk over dinner and beer or wine. but even that's sexual, really...

21. A secret that you wouldn't mind everyone knowing?
why would i keep it a secret if i didn't mind everyone knowing? what qualifies as a secret? can it be somthing that nobody else knows simply because i haven't told anyone, or does it have to be something i am consciously keeping to myself?

22. When did you first start feeling old?
i don't feel all that old yet, but there have been moments. this one time...in a seminar on margaret atwood in 1998 (at UVM): we were reading the handmaid's tale. a minor element in the novel's setting involves the ubiquity of compact discs (which were cutting edge technology when the novel was written). someone in the class mentioned that she didn't find that element particularly "futuristic," and i assured her that people were still mainly buying and listening to vinyl in the early- to mid-1980's. the other students didn't believe me, so i said, "well, everyone i knew was still listening to vinyl..." my classmates breathed "wow" in unison, and i was like...you little fuckers, i'm only like 10 years older than you!

23. Favorite 80's movie?
does this mean...my favorite movie made in the 1980's, or my favorite movie that captures the elusive 1980's zeitgeist? applying both criteria narrows my list down to 4 films: fast times at ridgemont high, ferris buehler's day off, sex lies and videotape, and less than zero.


24. Your favorite lunch meat?
i'm going with the same answer that shellefly gave: corned beef. on a reuben sandwich, specifically. the kind with russian or 10000 island dressing on it, and lots of saurkraut.

25. What do you get every time you go into Sam's Club?
i've gotta agree with shellefly on this one too: Never been there. Sam is the owner of WalMart and I refuse to shop in any store owned by those assholes.

26. Beach or lake?
why choose, when you can have both--at lake michigan (or one of the other great lakes)? ask a michigan girl a stupid question...

27. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual that was invented?
what is this question asking? all rituals were invented sometime, under specific historical and cultural circumstances; so i suppose they all become outdated, too, once their historical moment has passed. but this particular ritual continues to have meaning for people, so let them have at it. my only objection to the insitution, as it's practiced today, is that the state confers privileges onto those who are married that those who choose not to marry, or who are legally barred from marrying, cannot enjoy. that's fucked up.

28. How many people do you stalk on Myspace?
i don't do myspace. i'm thinking about it...but i haven't dived in yet.

29. Favorite guilty pleasure?
marzipan with dark chocolate. pommes frites (i don't get these very often, alas). haagen dazs chocolate peanut butter ice cream.

30. Favorite movie you wouldn't want anyone to find out about?
i don't care if people know about any of the stupid movies i have enjoyed in my life. alas, i can't think of one right now. ok, how about weekend at bernie's?

31. What's your drink?
alcoholic? wine or a nice IPA. non-alcoholic? water.

32. Cowboys or Indians?
indians.

33. Cops or Robbers?
robbers. or sam spayde, as portrayed by humphrey bogart.

34. Who from high school would you like to run into?
um...not really anyone. eric or maggan, perhaps (the swedish exchange students from senior year).

35. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?
i don't have a car radio because i don't have a car. if i did, it would be tuned to KUOW or KEXP; or i'd be surfing for a good song, or playing a CD.

36. Norm or Cliff?
for what? aren't they a matched set?

37. The Cosby Show or the Simpsons?
the simpsons. like, duh.

38. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back?
breaking up with pat the redhead the way i did. he's a cool guy, and i was an icy cold bitch to him. i dumped him for my now ex-husband--can you say "instant karma?" (well...10-year karma, but that's "instant" on the karmic scale, i guess.)

39. Do you like the person who sits directly across from you at work?
that would be my students, i guess...or my office mates. yes, i like all of them.

40. If you could get away with it, who would you kill?
nobody. yes, really. i don't consider murder a viable solution to political problems (didn't we have enough of that in the 1960's?), or any other kind of problem, for that matter.

41. What famous person(s) would you like to have dinner with?
michel foucault. (alas, he's dead. and i had nothing to do with it, i swear!)

42. What famous person would you like to sleep with?
judith halberstam. heh. or james spader.

43. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended
purpose?
sort of. when i worked for a department store, we all had to go through fire extinguisher training, which entailed putting out a fire that was deliberately set in a 3-foot round pan, in the parking lot.

44. Last book you read for real?
what, people read books for pretend? i don't understand this question. i just finished william gibson's count zero.

45. Do you have a teddy bear?
yes. he's a polar bear, and he's dressed in a red, white, and blue striped old-timey bathing suit (kind of like a wrestling uni).

46. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
i have no idea. in a parking lot, probably, with bottled water.

47. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go?
to hike among the big trees.

48. Number of texts in a day?
this varies a lot. probably 2 or 3.

49. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship?
what kind of relationship are we talking about? if romantic...no, i'm happy with my current relationship (otherwise i wouldn't still be in it). if friendship...sure, i'm always open to new friends. as for the career, i kind of am in the process of starting a new career. i have been, for the better part of the last decade, and i want to stay on this track.

50. Do you go to church?
absolutely not. no church of any kind. it makes my head spin around, and then i puke pea soup...it's all very embarassing. (but not as embarrassing as the fact that i always misspell "embarrass." 2 r's & 2 s's, sharon...)

51. Pencil or pen?
pen--either roller ball or fountain (i have a pretty blue pelikan m-400 with an extra-fine nib, but most of the time i use a pilot precise v-5).

52. What do you want to achieve in life?
i want to work as a college professor; i want to write a good book or two, perhaps a novel or two as well.

53. How old are you?
40

54. Where do you see yourself when you are 40 ?
ahem. i'm in seattle. i'll probably still be here when i'm 41, unless something really drastic happens to the world. (cf. question #10, above.)