And Now For Something Completely Different

Well, I just got back today from visiting my brother in Utah. But while I intend to write a post about that, it's late enough that I don't really feel like doing that right now--I plan to make that post tomorrow (and, despite what happened the last time I said I'd try to make a post "tomorrow", this time I expect I'll actually do it).

In the meantime, having finished off the series of posts I wanted to make about callings (well, originally I'd really only intended that to be one post; it kind of got longer than I'd expected), and so having managed to post two days in a row after a very spotty schedule, I think I feel like breaking things up a little with something a bit more frivolous. Namely, a meme copied from N@ked Under My Lab Coat by way of Pooflingers Anonymous. I don't plan to clutter up this blog with a lot of memes, but I figure one can't hurt; there'll be a more serious post tomorrow.

So, here we go:

1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? I suppose I probably did look at myself in the mirror today, but if so I don't remember what was the first thing I thought. However, if it was like most times I look in the mirror, it was probably one of the following:
   
   1. Hey, I'm good-looking. (Yeah, I admit I'm not without a touch of vanity.)
   2. Dagnabbit, I still haven't gotten rid of this gut.
   Or possibly:
   3. I need a haircut
   
   
2. How much cash do you have on you? On me as in with me right at the moment? None. On me as in the pocket of the shorts I'm not wearing right now? I think about ten or fifteen dollars; I don't feel like counting it right now.
   
3. What’s a word that rhymes with “DOOR?” The first one that comes to mind is "floor", but that's kind of boring. How about "dinosaur"? That may not quite rhyme with "door" depending on your dialect, but in mine it does.
   
4. Favorite planet? Well, given that there's only one planet with which I have personal experience, I don't have a lot to choose from. Can we choose fictional planets? Because if we can, I might be tempted to choose Smintheus. Except that's from a book series that hasn't been published or even mostly written yet, so I don't know if it would count.
   
5. Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone? My cell phone just lists the last 10 received calls, whether they were missed or not, and of those 10 only one was missed. (And it was from "Name unknown".)

   But while I was up anyway to check that I went ahead and counted my cash for #2. Turns out I only have $5.50.
   

6. What is your favorite ring tone on your phone? Never really bothered with ring tones; my phone just has the standard ringing sound it came with.
   
7. What shirt are you wearing? At the moment, none, but earlier today, a dark green shirt. Then again, pretty much all my shirts are green. Makes St. Patrick's Day easy.
   
8. Do you “label” yourself? Eh...not really, I don't think. Should I?
   
9. Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently wearing? Again, at the moment, none. Earlier today I was wearing sandals (about the only time I wear actual shoes as opposed to sandals is when I'm teaching or at church), but I don't know the brand. Okay, I just checked: Sonoma, apparently.
   
10. Bright or Dark Room? Right now, relatively bright, but usually fairly dark. I don't often bother to turn the lights on unless I'm looking for something or it's too dark to see, and given that I apparently have above-average night vision that's not very often.
    
11. What do you think about the person who took this survey before you? I don't know much about her, but may add her to my blogroll.
    
12. What does your watch look like? I don't own a watch. Well, that's not true. I do own a number of old watches ("old" as in from the 90s, not antique), but they're stashed away somewhere and I haven't worn a watch in years.
    
13. What were you doing at midnight last night? Trying to sleep in the back of a truck with four dogs in it. And having little success in the endeavor.
    
14. What did your last text message you received on your cell say? "VZW_FREE_MSG: Your VZW bill is ready to view on-line. Your current bal is $117.95, for acct ending [number redacted]. Visit verizonwireless.com or dial #PMT SEND to pay." Yeah, exciting, I know.
    
15. Where is your nearest 7-11? According to the store locator, about three blocks east and one block south from my apartment.
    
16. What's a word that you say a lot? Egad. No, seriously, I really do say that.
    
17. Who told you he/she loved you last? Okay, as corny as this may be, my mother. Hey, like I said, I just got back from Thanksgiving with my family, so she and my father are the last people I saw.
    
18. Last furry thing you touched? The dogs mentioned in my answer to #13. Though which of the four it was, I couldn't say (though I can rule out the smallest one).
    
19. How many drugs have you done in the last three days? None, unless you're very liberal in your definition of "drug" and count things like chocolate. I'm not even sure within the last three days I've had any caffeine...
    
20. How many rolls of film do you need developed? I think I have a roll of film somewhere I haven't developed, but it's old enough I'm not even sure it would still be good. For the last few years, I've just used a digital camera.
    
21. Favorite age you have been so far? Um...heck, I dunno. I was always hoping the best times were just around the corner. Still am, I guess. We'll see how that turns out.
    
22. Your worst enemy? Myself.
    
23. What is your current desktop picture? The generic blue "Dell" screen the computer came with. I generally have lots of programs open at once on my computer; I don't see my desktop enough to care too much about customizing it.
    
24. What was the last thing you said to someone? I think probably "See you", or possibly "Have a good night". (See #17.)
    
25. If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be? A million dollars I think I might conceivably have the ability to eventually make on my own. It may not be likely, but it's at least conceivable. Flying, on the other hand...not so much. So I guess I'll take the flying. (Though really, if I could choose any superpower, I'd prefer shapeshifting.)
26. Do you like someone? Wow. Is there anyone who really doesn't like anyone? That would be depressing. Unless by "like" you really mean "have a crush on", in which case, uh, maybe sort of, but it's more complicated than that, and not something I'm going to go into now.
    
27. The last song you listened to? Heck if I remember. Very possibly the Pirates of the Caribbean closing credits music, given that that's what the family was watching on DVD at my brother's house last night, and I don't remember listening to any music since then. If that doesn't count, and it has to be a song I listened to just by itself, and not as part of a movie, then I really don't remember.
    
28. What time of day were you born? I honestly don't know.
    
29. What’s your favorite number? I think it used to be 513.8 for some reason, but now I think I'll say 5020. That is, if you're talking rationals...though I do admit to a certain fondness for surreal numbers.
    
30. Where did you live in 1987? In 1987, I was in my mid-teens and still living with my parents in the suburbs.
    
31. Are you jealous of anyone? Hm...jealous? Not really, I don't think.
    
32. Is anyone jealous of you? Not as far as I know, and I don't know why they would be. At the moment, it's not as if I live a particularly enviable life. I intend to change that.
    
33. Where were you when 9/11 happened? At home, I think, but I didn't hear about it until I got to campus for the lab I was going to teach (I was a teaching assistant that semester), whereupon the lab director mentioned it--as the reason why attendance might be low that day--apparently assuming that I already knew what she was referring to. I didn't, and after the lab checked the news on the web to find out.
    
34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? I don't remember the last time I used a vending machine. Well...I take that back. I don't remember the last time I used a vending machine for food or soda, if I ever have, but I have used vending machines for stamps and bus passes. I don't remember one ever stealing my money, though. I guess I've been lucky.
    
35. Do you consider yourself kind? Yes. Of course, I may not be the most impartial judge of the matter.
    
36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? Hm. I guess if I absolutely had to get a tattoo, it would be on the sole of a foot. Hey, I like my skin the way it is.
    
37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? I already am reasonably fluent in Spanish, but there are a whole lot of other languages I'd like to learn. I have a bookshelf full of foreign language dictionaries and "teach yourself" books, and am currently working my way through "Teach Yourself Welsh"--though that was chosen more or less at random from my collection, and doesn't necessarily represent that I want to learn Welsh any more strongly than any of the other couple of dozen languages I have books about. None of which really answers the question, I suppose, but then there isn't really a single answer to it; there are a lot of other languages I'd like to be fluent in, and I don't know that I could really pick one I'd like the most.
    
38. Would you move for the person you loved? Yes. I think so.
    
39. Are you touchy feely? I don't think so, but I'm not entirely clear on what the term means.
    
40. What’s your life motto? So much to do, so little time.
    
41. Name three things that you have on you at all times. A pencil, my calendar, and paper. This makes me sound somewhat more organized than I actually am.
    
42. What’s your favourite town/city? I don't really have one. I'm considering moving to Vancouver when I'm done with school and have the means to do so, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's my favorite.
    
43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? Um...to the best of my recollection, a pair of special edition Tunnels & Trolls adventures. Not that I'm really into Tunnels & Trolls; in fact I played it for the first and possibly last time at a convention last week. But that happens to be what I think was the last thing I paid for with cash.
    
44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? Er...wow. I think that may have been last December. Unless you count queries to literary agents or submissions to magazines, in which case...somewhat more recent than that, but still not too recently. (I need to get back on that.)
    
45. Can you change the oil on a car? I'm not much of a mechanic, but I could change the oil on a car if I had to.
    
46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her? To answer that, I'd first have to figure out exactly who my first love is. This is a bit of a complicated question; what differentiates an actual "love", per se, from a mere crush? And it's not a question I really feel like pondering right now.
    
47. How far back do you know about your ancestry? Some relatives have traced my father's ancestry back along one line all the way, supposedly, to Adam and Eve. Needless to say, I am extremely dubious about these projections past a certain point. However, I think as far back as the 1700s or so it's probably fairly reliable. My maternal grandmother's ancestry has also been traced back fairly far; my maternal grandfather's, not so much. I've been making some attempt to trace that back on my own, but have been having a hard time getting back past his grandparents, who all separately immigrated to New York City from different countries.
    
48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy? How fancy is fancy? If you mean fancier than church dress...hm. I don't know; I really don't dress up very often. In fact, the last time might have been at a close friend's wedding in New York City. (The fact that two consecutive answers have mentioned New York City is completely coincidental; in fact, this wedding was the only time I've ever been to that city, though I wouldn't mind visiting it again sometime.) I was one of the groomsmen, and, of course, wore a tuxedo. It being a Jewish wedding ceremony, I also wore, like all the males in the wedding party, a kippah (yarmulke).
    
49. Does anything hurt on your body right now? Not really.
    
50. Have you been burned by love? Hm...that's kind of an--odd question. Have I loved someone and not had that love requited (at least, not in a romantic sense)? Yes, certainly, but, as I said with regard to #26, it's rather complicated and not something I'm going to get into right now. Have I been betrayed by someone I loved? No, fortunately, I don't think I ever really have.

There. I don't think any of those answers ought to be too damaging toward my anonymity. (Sure, if certain people, like my family or the friend whose wedding I referred to in #48, read this they may be able to identify me, but I think the chances of them running across this blog are pretty much neglible.)