80 Lines about 1 Person

I have no idea these days who is actually reading stuff I put out here, but I was bored and saw this over on’s journal, so I decided to use this as a post generator.

1. What curse word do you use the most?
Probably “fuck”, just for it’s sheer versatility. I try to keep the amount of actual cursing I do to a minimum.

2. Do you own an iPod?
I own an iPhone, which has all the benefits of an iPod, plus when you spend the evening listening to your “Country & Western Breakup Songs” playlist, you can drunk-dial your ex-girlfriends without getting up off the couch.

3. What person on your flist do you talk to the most?
Well, almost certainly kitanzi, since we live together. After that, eloren, who I sit next to at work five days a week.

4. What time is your alarm clock set to?
I don’t use one. The only time I set an alarm is if I have to be up at a specific and unusual time, like 3am for a work-related task.

5. Do you still remember the first person you kissed?
I vividly remember everything about her except her name. She was the viola player in the orchestra of our community theatre’s production of South Pacific. We got to talking at the wrap party, got snuggly, and before she left, we kissed. Sadly, she was leaving the country shortly after that to take a job with an orchestra in Mexico and we never did get in touch again.

6. Do you remember where you were on 9/11/01?
Oh, vividly. I was in the shower when the news broke, and then went into work, where I failed to get much useful done. I do still have the chat transcript from #filkhaven that day. I hope it doesn’t take a similar disaster to get more folks on again; I really miss a lot of our old regulars who have drifted away.

7. Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture?
I’d much rather take the picture, but I’m not especially fond of being photographed.

8. What was the last movie you watched?
I believe the last movie I watched was (500) Days of Summer, which I loved. (Then again, I think I would watch a two hour clip of Zooey Deschanel smiling vaguely into the camera and occasionally blinking. My tastes are simple.

The last movie I saw in the theatre was Sherlock Holmes, which I also loved. Robert Downey, Jr. is becoming one of my favourite current actors.

9. Do any of your friends have children?
Quite a number of my friends have children. Enough so that and I used to buy a family membership to ZooAtlanta every year, just so we could take other people’s kids to the zoo for the afternoon, even though we have none of our own. It’s fun to be the adopted crazy uncle.

10. Has anyone ever called you lazy?
Oh yes. Not least of whom, myself.

11. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep?
Yep. I’ve suffered from insomnia all my life, and I finally asked my doctor for help. I try not to take it unless it’s really acting up, since it tends to make the following morning a bit draggy.

12. What CD is currently in your CD player?
“Music for a Sinking Ship by April Smith And The Great Picture Show. (Of course, it’s in there only because I ripped it when it arrived and never bothered to remove it from the drive. I’ll probably take it out when I buy another CD.)

13. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk?
It depends on what I’m having it with. As a standalone beverage, chocolate milk is hard to beat. But pure milk is a lovely thing all its own.

14. Has anyone told you a secret this week?
I can’t tell you.

15. When was the last time you had Starbucks?
Yesterday. I popped in for breakfast and got a caramel frappaccino and an egg, turkey, and cheese English muffin sandwich.

16. Can you whistle?
I can, though not always very well.

17. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Usually the eyes and the smile. Though if they’re not facing me, I will admit that a nice tush will often capture my gaze.

18. What are you looking forward to?
Flying up to Michigan to visit in a couple of weeks.

19. Did you watch cartoons as a child?
I did. I watch them now. Sometimes, I watch the same ones. (It’s entirely debatable that I’m still a child, whatever number of birthdays I may have had.)

20. Do you own any band t-shirts?
I do own a few, though not as many as I might otherwise like, due to the fact that they don’t always go up to my size. (I have on more than one occasion bought a t-shirt at a concert for no reason other than I wanted one and they didn’t sell 4XL+).

21. What will you be doing in one hour?
Preparing to go home for the day, as I write this.

22. Is anyone in love with you?
Several people are in love with, much to be great delight. I am a very lucky and blessed person, and I cherish each of my sweeties more than I can ever actually find words to say.

23. What was the last song you heard?
The last song I heard was “The Only Living Boy In New York” by Paul Simon, but that’s because I was doing a bit of guitar practice this morning before work and that’s what I decided to play. The last recorded song I heard was probably “Give A Little Bit” by Supertramp, which was in preparation for this essay over at Healthy Love Songs. (I keep looking for a legal music site that will l t me embed tracks into the blog. I haven’t quite found what I’m looking for yet.)

Oh yes, I also heard a fragment of seanan_mcguire‘s “Follow Me Down”, because that’s the ringtone that plays when she calls me. 🙂

24. Last time you cried?
Last night. It’s been a rough time for me the last month. Breakups suck.

25. Are you on a desktop computer or a laptop?
I’m on a desktop right now. I have both at home, so I might be typing on either at any given moment. (I sometimes post short things from my iPhone, but I wouldn’t type something this long on it. *grin*)

26. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos?
Not particularly. While I often admire tattoos on other people, I’ve never been compelled to get one myself.

27. Whatâs the weather like?
Miserable. It’s cold and rainy outside, and it promises to be right through the weekend. We might get some sun on Sunday, if the forecast holds.

28. Would you ever date a girl/guy covered in tattoos?
Sure. Which is to say that it’s neither something I select nor deselect for. If the person was intriguing enough to me intellectually and physically, , I certainly wouldn’t disqualify them for that.

29. What did you do before this?
Before what? Before taking this quiz? I was researching methods for finetuning SpamAssassin’s scoring system.

30. When is the last time you slept on the floor?
Probably when we visited seanan_mcguire a few years ago. (To be fair, we started on an air mattress. The air mattress apparently had other ideas, so we woke up on the floor. There are drawbacks to being this big.)

I generally won’t sleep on the floor if I can possibly help it. My back will not thank me for it, and I can usually afford to get a hotel room if the person I’m visiting doesn’t have a proper guest room.

31. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
About five or six, minimum, though if I get less than that too many days in a row, I’ll eventually crash and burn.

32. Do you eat breakfast daily?
I try to, though I don’t always succeed. But I find my days go better when I do, so I try to nosh on something every morning.

33. Are your days fast-paced?
Not usually. I’m a systems administrator for an ISP. Fast-paced usually means something broke, and we’re scrambling to fix it. I don’t *want* a face-paced day.

34. What did you do last night?
Last night I watched a couple of episodes of Pawn Stars with , then we went and snuggled for a bit, and then I played WoW until midnight.

35. Do you use sarcasm?
Never. I have never once used sarcasm in my life.

36. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
I’ll be 40 in June. As Laurie Anderson remarked, “I can’t decide if I feel more like four ten-year-olds or ten four-year-olds.” (I think lifted that quote from one of ‘s .sig files.)

37. Are you picky about spelling and grammar?
I tend to be, but then I take writing seriously. I’m less picky about it in informal writing than I am in stuff that’s presumably been polished for public consumption, but even in IMs and text messages, I can’t stand things like “u” for “you”. Seriously, does a three-letter word NEED an abbreviation?

38. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
I think I might have been when I was a small child, but despite having lived in Atlanta for over 20 years now, I have not been to Six Flags as an adult. (In fact, I don’t think I’ve been to any amusement park since I was sixteen or seventeen years old. I still regret having missed all those JediMUD gatherings at Ceder Point, back in the day.)

39. Do you get along better with the same sex or the opposite sex?
I generally get along better with women than men, but that’s primarily because I tend to prefer their company more.

40. Do you like mustard?
I do like mustard. I particularly like spicy brown mustards with horseradish in them.

41. Do you sleep on your side?
I prefer to sleep on my side, though that’s not generally possible when I’m using the CPAP (which I’m not as often as I should, because of complications with my sinuses. I’m just a mess in many regards.)

42. Do you watch the news?
I usally watch The Rachel Maddow show in the mornings on my laptop while I’m going through my wake-up rituals. I listen to NPR’s newsfeed on most days, and I get regular digests in email from Slate and The Washington Post. I keep up with politics largely from Talking Points Memo, and I usually scan the BBC News website at least once a day to see if anything catches my interest.

43. How did you get one of your scars?
You cannot see it because of the beard, but there’s a scar on my chin that I got when I landed on it in a bicycle accident when I was 15.

44. Who was the last person to make you mad?
I honestly don’t remember. Truth told, unless I’m still mad at someone, the odds are that I’ve forgotten being mad at them. Holding grudges is too much energy to expend on something that doesn’t measurably improve my quality of life.

45. Do you like anybody?
I like a lot of people. On the other hand, if you’re asking if I “like-like” someone, as we used to say in grade school……I like a lot of people. *grin*

46. What is the last thing you purchased?
Not counting food…it’s a secret.

47. What side of the heart do you draw first?
Whichever side I’m closest to. There’s blood in both halves. (hold hand up to imaginary receiver in ear) What’s that? Oh! Um, the left half.

48. Can you dive without plugging your nose?
I can’t breathe without plugging my nose, most of the time. But I know what you mean. Yes, I can. I learned the trick of exhaling when I submerge back in Boy Scout Camp.

49. What colour is your razor?
I don’t remember. I don’t use one, and I tend to let my barber keep my beard neatly trimmed when I go in for a haircut.

50. What is your blood-type?
I don’t remember. I have a card somewhere that has it, but I don’t recall what it is. I want to think it’s A.

51. Who would you want to be tied to for 24 hours?
Heh. Depends on the context.

52. What is a rumour someone has spread about you?
Why? What have you heard?

53. How do you feel about carrots?
They’re tasty and crunchy and nutritious. Though, those are honestly things i think about carrots. I’m not sure I feel anything about them. I like them, though.

54. How many chairs at the dining room table?
Four. About once every two months, they even get sat upon.

55. Which is the best Spice Girl?
Nutmeg.

56. Do you know what time it is?
Do I really care?

57. Do you know all the words to the Fresh Prince Theme Song?
Not off the top of my head. I can sing a number of TV themes from memory (sometimes, to my horror), but that’s not one I have at hand.

58. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator?
If I’m alone, sing to myself until I’m rescued. If I’m with someone else, chat with them until we’re rescued. If it’s with someone I really like who really likes me, mind your own business.

59. What’s your favourite kind of gum?
The gum I currently have in my desk drawer is Mentos Pure Fresh Mint gum with Green Tea Extract. The labeling seems very proud of its Green Tea Extract, but apparently it assumes that you, the savvy consumer, already know why this is a laudable thing to mention not once, but twice, on the label.

That doesn’t mean this is my favourite kind of gum, but it’s more interesting than anything else I could imagine to say on the subject.

60. T or F: All’s fair in love and war?
“I could sit you down and try to tell you all the reasons why
It would not be fair for you to go
You could sit there and agree, but I would not keep you here with me
Because all is fair….all is fair, I know.”
Tanya Savory, “Reason Enough”

In honesty, no, all isn’t fair in love and war. I don’t have a lot of experience with war, but have a lot of experience with love. And sometimes, all is decidedly unfair in love. Because when you love someone enough to allow them the freedom to make up their own minds and follow their own bliss, well, sometimes that means they make choices you don’t like. Sometimes, they make choices in their own best interests that are crushing to you.

It’s not fair. But that’s the way it goes, sometimes. Love is always a gamble, always a risk, always a step off the edge in the hopes of learning to fly. That’s why it’s called “falling in love”.

Me, I like flying. So I’m gonna keep stepping off the edge.

61. Do you have a crush on anyone?
Oh yes. I have crushes on more than one someone. Some of them go back 15 years or more, and haven’t lost any of their intensity. (Are they still crushes at that point? I don’t know.)

62. Do you know how to use some words correctly, but not know the meaning?
I don’t think so. I generally choose words carefully for their meaning, in the hopes of being better understood. Also, I’m a bit of a word geek, so when I come across a word I don’t know the meaning of, I tend to look it up.

How *can* you use a word correctly while ignorant of its meaning. I mean, how could you be sure the usage was correct if you didn’t actually have any idea what the word itself meant? I honestly do not understand this question.

63. Do you like to sleep?
No. I hate sleeping. I resent it. I resent the amount of time it steals from me, I hate the necessity of it, I hate that when it comes time to, I have so much trouble actually falllin asleep. I’d honestly rather do something productive with that time. (The exception is when I get to have one of the really *good* dreams. You know the kind I mean. Yeah, that kind. Those are nice.)

64. Do you know which US states don’t use Daylight Savings Time?
Not offhand, but I don’t especially care. Also, didn’t at least one of them recently finally cave in on the matter?

65. Do you know the song Total Eclipse of the Heart?
I probably know more about it than the person who wrote this question. I will say that I think the phrase “Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I’m only falling apart” is one of the best lyrics ever written.

66. Do you want a bright yellow ’06 mustang?
Good grief, no. Poor horse.

67. What’s something you’ve always wanted?
Enough money to not have to work and still travel as much as I wanted. Still waiting.

68. Do you have hairy LEGS?
Yes. Is that a problem? I can try and do something about it if it’s a big problem.

69. Would you rather swim in the ocean or a lake?
The ocean, definitely. Though I learned to swim in a river, which is neither an ocean nor a lake. But I digress…

I grew up about 90 miles from the Outer Banks in North Carolina, and spent many many weekends on the beach. I still think the Outer Banks is one of the prettiest places on earth.

70. Do you wear a lot of black?
Not as much as I used to. After the fire in 1998, I had to replace my entire wardrobe, and everything I bought was some form of black. In time, I started buying colours again. Right now, I seem to own a lot of clothes in purple, which is my favourite colour.

71. Describe your hair:
Absent without leave.

72. Do you have Entomophobia?
I resent that! Some of my best friends are Entomos!

I think bugs are fascinating, though I still prefer not to have to many of them wandering around my home.

73. Are you an adult?
Not when I can help it.

74. Where is/are your best friend(s)?
My best friends are all over the place. My very, very best friends are here, in Detroit, in Wisconsin, and in California. (Because if the people you’re dating don’t qualify as your “very very best friends”, well, then you’re not doing the dating thing properly.

75. Do you have a tan?
Not usually. I don’t spend copious amounts of time out in the sun, usually. Though, with spring coming up,and the promise of renfaires and swimming pools, well, that may change.

76. Are you a television addict?
Not really. I watch more television than is strictly necessary, but even then it’s much less than the statistical average.

77. Do you enjoy spending time with your mother?
I adore my mother. She’s one of my favouritest people, and she’s largely responsible for me turning out as charmingly odd as I did, so I have her to thank for that as well.

78. Are you a sugar freak?
I can’t answer this question right now, because I’m too busy fighting off the inevitable Rick James earworm.

Yeah, i have a sweet tooth. I’m working on it, but not terribly successfully.

79. Do you like orange juice?
I do. Are we running out of interesting questions but couldn’t stand to not end on a nice round tens number?

80. What sign are you?
Men Working In Trees