Once again, it's not the middle of the night. Well, at least my stress-induced facial tic is making my eye twitch. That's sorta crazy, right?

Somehow when I do this in the afternoon, my free associations are less insane than when I do them in the middle of the night. Sigh. I like insane.

Associations have been freed from the seething turmoil of my mind.

Or something.

Free associations. Get them while they're hot!

I am so paying attention to the review.

You've got SERVED! ... a fine helping of free associations, that is!

... Plus, I suck.

At nearly three in the morning, the contents of my mind are laid before you, in a free-associating style. Or something. Listen, I had to write an intro and I have to do it every week and I never know what to say. And are you really reading this part anyway? Let's just get to the "good" stuff.

Heavily influenced this week by L. Frank Baum and G. Stupid Lucas...

Here thar be meme regarding international... relations.

Thinkety think, then perhaps a little sleepety sleep.

Yarrrrr, mateys. Thar be treasure below deck! Looted from the finest mind of North America then crammed into the hold! (And I think I am correct when I say that there is not one who would rob thee of this inestimable treasure, which all the world holds dear!)

My free associations are very very boring. Bah!

Thanks and congratulations to everyone who participated in Language Week, most of whom did much better than I did: Stuart, Jez, pea, Armin and Annica.

See you again in another 14 months or so?

Silence, silence from the blog.
Naught is heard but the mutterings of the unconscious,
whistling through the trees
and making a noise that sounds like 'Phwoaaaaaar, criiikeeeeey...'

(We shall return to more interesting blogfare, I hope, with the advent of the new scholastic year)

I am the worst founder of Language Week ever!

Je suis la pire fondatrice de la Semaine Linguistique!</half-assed attempt to use foreign language>

Thanks to Jez, Stuart and pea for participating! If you're playing along in your blog, please let me know!

Une experience intéressante... j'ai écrit l'article en anglais, et puis je l'ai traduit en français lors de son enregistrement.

Vous pouvez écouter cet article (j'ai dit 'poste' dans l'enregistrement, parce que je n'avais pas encore cherché la traduction) en français, et puis le lire en anglais dans l'entrée étendue*.

-----
* Note to manager of the Multilingual Bloglossary: Why is it an "article" but an "entrée" étendue?

My subconscious is very boring this week!

Bueno. Es de nuevo La Semana de los Idiomas y hace dos años desde la última vez que aprendí el castellano. No hay mucho necesidad para el español en Michigan o en Francia. El padre del Pato es en los Estados Unidos por el momento para visitar su hijo y no habla mucho inglés, entonces quizás voy a necessitar hablarlo este fin de semana. Si no necessito el español solamente para entender el Jezito, que me habla tal vez en el español Canario, lo que no entendería incluso si había estudiado el español recientemente.

(All words and phrases in italics were cheatingly stolen from Babelfish or the Multilingual Bloglossary)

Para la traducción...

A repeat of Language Week has been requested and shall be granted. Yes, I know it happened in June last year, but I'm in charge and I say it happens in August this year. Ah, power! So I bring you:

Here be ze rhools:

Blog in a language that you don't usually blog in. You don't have to blog a lot if you don't want to - a few sentences will do, as long as you continue, once a day, through the week (or at least Monday to Friday). What the hell. If you only want to blog in Swedish on Tuesday, go for it. You can blog in one foreign language for five days, you can blog in five different languages or you can find some medium between the two.

It would be nice, but not necessary, to include some kind of translation into your usual language. I usually do mine in <span title="translation"><i>other language</i></span> tags. You might choose to write it all out and translate at the end. You could hide it in the post's extension. Whatever. Be free! Be wild!

You can link back to this post if you want. Or not. If you don't want. There is a new icon this year, or you can use last year's old crappy MS-Paint-produced one if you'd rather.

If you're participating, please leave a comment or a trackback and let me know. This way you can all read each other's and be inspired when you can't think of anything to say* and you can make new blogging friends and we'll all live happily ever after.

-----
* Because as any multilingual knows, the worst thing to be asked is, "Ooooh, say something in X-language," because you always end up saying something like "Well, I can't think of anything to say, but you asked me to say something in X-language so here I am and I'm speaking to you in X-language and I'm going to stop now."

Last one from France! Hurrah!

On Sundays, or sometimes on Mondays, I get an email that tells me to do this, and so I do it. It's a good thing I don't get many emails telling me to KILL KILL KILL!

Guess that wasn't very hard. The lie was...

Alright, here they are! Two are true, one is false. Leave your guesses as to which is which in the blahblahs, if you please. In honor of the nearing end of my internship, all three take place in FRAAAHHHHNCE. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find anyone to run them past in advance, so who knows - it could be very easy!

(The directions are here if you want to play along in your own blog, or you can guess on other people's stories.)

Some kinda weird Star Wars kick all up in this joint today. Free associations, coming your way anon. Pea gave me words, I thunk things up.

Peace out.

This posting is a community experiment started by Minding the Planet to see how a meme represented by a blog posting spreads across blogspace, physical space and time. It will help to show how ideas travel across blogs in space and time and how blogs are connected. It may also help to show which blogs are most influential in the propagation of memes. The original posting for this experiment is located at: Minding the Planet; results and commentary will appear there in the future.

Please join the test by adding your blog (see instructions, below) and inviting your friends to participate — the more the better. The data from this test will be public and open; others may use it to visualize and study the connectedness of blogspace and the propagation of memes across blogs.

It's Obfuscation Time again! Prepared to be fooled, and hopefully more successfully than last year!

The Game:
On Friday, August 13 you’ll post 3 stories.

Two false and one true or

Two true and one false

Readers have to pick the false story(ies), leaving their guess in the comments. (Make sure you let them know which version of the game you’re playing.)

On Monday, Ausgut 16 you’ll post the correct response.

The stories can be as crazy as you want them to be. But you want to make them all believable enough that the reader has to give the game a little thought.

Here are my posts from last year's game: stories and solutions. I'll be in England the weekend of this year's game, but perhaps my host will be kind enough to let me publish my questions from his computer if I prepare them in advance.

*bats eyelashes*

"How much would you be willing to pay for associations, Colin?"
"Well, I'd be willing to pay upwards of one dollar, Ryan!"
"Well, how about downwards?"
"I don't know..."
"Because these associations are FREE, yes FREE!"
"Free? You must be CRAZY!"
"..."
"... Who told you that?"

Righty-o. Free associations. I done 'em. I typed 'em up. I put 'em in the extension for your viewing pleasure.

ARE YOU SATISFIED YET????

I feel like doing a crappy meme. You got a problem with that?

Yet another post! Aren't you, the reader, lucky? So go read it already.

Here be the free associations made by me...

Thinky thinky thinky.

TJ and I are never awake and posting at the same time, so somehow this has turned into a "Wednesday or Thursday is Chooseday" for the past couple of weeks.

Would you rather:

1. be constipated for a week at a time and only poop on fridays OR have to go pee every hour on the hour?
   Would this be, like, painful or would it just be that you only have to poop once a week? As long as it's not painful, I'll go with that, because sometimes you can't find a bathroom every hour on the hour. Then what? You'd also never sleep!

2. never forget a face OR never forget a name?
   There are some funny names out there, whereas there are some ugly faces you'd rather forget. Although really, what's the use of one without the other? I actually already have this power, in a limited form, whereas Robin has the other one. She spots people from high school when we're out in public and I tell her what their name is.

3. when you orgasm, uncontrollably sing "wake me up before you go go" by wham OR "i'm too sexy" by right said fred?
   Better song. Slightly...

4. stub your toe every day for a week OR get a zit on your nose?
   Have one already, thanks.

Terms have been provided and free associations imagined up. Ford's in his flivver, all's well with the world.

Would you rather:

1. hear somebody breaking into your house and all you have is a bat OR an unloaded gun?
   My arms aren't very strong and anyone threatening me could look at me and know that. They wouldn't know if there were bullets in the gun, though...

2. walk barefoot over 6 feet of roaches OR 6 feet of thumbtacks?
   Gross. But still better than Ouch.
   
   
3. after playing a game of beach volleyball for over an hour, have only a pitcher of milk to refresh you OR a pot of fresh-brewed coffee?
   I don't like milk or coffee, but I guess the milk would be cold and easier to swallow down.

4. at a neighbor's party, be caught picking food out of the trash and eating it OR going through their dirty laundry and sniffing it?
   "I was just... um... looking for a clean shirt... because I need to change mine. I have a nosebleed..." *turns around and punches self in the nose* "See?"
   

Act your age? No, I don't. But it's 23.822 unless I've miscounted...
Born on what day of the week? Tuesday's child is full of grace.
Chore you hate? Washing dishes.
Dad's name? Bill.
Essential makeup item? Chapstick?
Favorite actor? John Hannah.
Gold or silver? Gold... I guess...
Hometown? Ann Arbor, MI
Instruments you play? I can play the piano a little... but I don't.
Job title? Intern! Glorious Intern!
Kids? If I had enough A-1 sauce.
Living arrangements? L'abbaye.
Mom's name? Mommy. What? She has another name? Oh, Marilyn.
Need? A DFE.
Overnight hospital stays? When I was born?
Phobias? Bridges. Knives. Things pointing at my eyes. Knives pointing at my eyes. On a bridge.
Quote you like? My screensaver right now says: "People are often frightened of Parisians, but an American in Paris will find no harsher critic than another American." - David Sedaris
Religious affiliation? - Nine. Oops, I mean nein.
Siblings? Alfie.
Time you wake up? 8am.
Unique talent? Don't think so.
Vegetable you refuse to eat? Can't think of one.
Worst habit? Getting lost in the computer and forgetting about real life.
X-rays you've had? Teeth and a couple of delightful chest-ones including the one in a strange, creepy French x-ray van.
Yummy food you make? Cookies. Brownies. Waffles (in the Bathroom). Stir-fry. Poulet à la Claude Andrés Renata Sarah. Things From Cans.
Zodiac Sign? Virgo.

[via swirlspice]

While all those poor suckahs in the US are fast asleep, I am unconsciously muttering.

Unconscious Mutterings... now from FRANCE!

[Alrighty, masses, here is a little something to placate you while Isidore is still not hooked up to the network...]

Would you rather...

1. wear the same underwear for a week OR not bathe for a week?
   Yechhhh. But a decision had to be made.
2. eat a plate full of boiled earthworms, covered in gravy OR fried bird feet with a tangy teriyaki glaze?
   Um... I love gravy with an undying passion... but the earthworms horrify me. And the fancy glaze might distract somewhat from the texture.
3. drop your wallet and keys in a thick patch of cacti and have to dig in to find them OR play dodgeball naked?
   Erm... the not-naked one.
4. get caught spitting in your boss' coffee OR mooning your neighbor?
   Um, depends on the boss. Because it's not so much about getting caught as being able to do it in the first place. *dreams*

So very sleepy... Here'sh shome free ashoshiations.

Would you rather...

1. be trapped in a room for an hour with 15 scorpions OR one rabid dog?
   I guess it would be easier to run away from or fight off. Plus, it wouldn't crawl on you. *shudder*
   
   
2. grow hairy palms OR go blind?
   Palms can be shaved or waxed... if I were blind I wouldn't be able to enjoy Isidore half as much.

3. be addicted to alcohol OR gambling?
   Hmmmm. If I can be an artist and produce lots of tortured works, then sure. I don't really fancy gambling, so it doesn't seem like it would be as pleasant to be addicted to.

4. save an old lady from a flood OR a dog from a fire?
   Human being over canine! Plus, she might leave me money in her will! Plus... hot dog!

Step right up and get your associations! Today, and today only, we are selling them at an impossible fraction of the cost! "How much?" you ask? FREE! Yes, that's right, free associations! Just step this way...

... even if this is Friday.

Would you rather:

1. your best friend overhear you telling somebody else a deep secret about them OR your child overhear you venting your frustrations about your significant other?
   Best friends are resilient and will talk to you and yell at you; children will only be silent and hurt and scared.

2. learn an obscure language only spoken by 15 other people on the planet OR be able to guess somebody's exact birthdate, just by looking at them?
   Um, language?!

3. have eyebrows that grow in VERY bushy, daily, no matter how you try to prune them OR make a sound like a tuba whenever you blow your nose?
   I don't blow my nose as often as people have to look at my face.

4. have a job that makes $200,000 a year, but you only get to see your family once a week for 3 hours OR make just enough to survive from check-to-check, but be able to see your family whenever you want?
   Maybe I am being self-centered in imagining that it would make my family happy to see me, but happiness is more important than money. As long as we are surviving check-to-check... maybe things will get better later and we won't have missed out on the family time.

Free associations lurk lurkingly within the extension.

Back by great demand (too bad there's no archive or I'd go back and do the weeks I missed because I keep forgetting!)

Would you rather:

1. while visiting new york city, fall from the 4th floor of a building OR get hit by a bicycle messenger?
   I feel like it would be more easily survivable.
   
2. kiss somebody with severe chapped lips OR eat lunch next to somebody picking a scab on their arm?
   How severe? Would it hurt them to kiss me? Well, I pick the one that gets me kissed.
   
3. live next door to a registered sex offender OR a recently released murderer?
   I think it might depend... like if the murderer had killed his brother in a fit of passion, that would be different than if he went around killing tiny girls and making tiny coats out of their skins. And if the sex offender only molested small boys, then I would be safe, as long as he didn't mistake me for a small boy. I guess I'll go with the sex offender because he's probably had to go through a lot of counseling and, well, if he attacked me, at least I wouldn't be dead.
   
4. always talk like your nose is stuffed up OR talk with a lisp?
   Lisps are kind of cute.

Look into the depths of my subconscious... it's scary in there.

I am so happy that I got to use #8... Voici mes 'free associations'.

I feel like we're starting to get back up to my normal level of insanity and inanity...

Invent a memory of me and post it in the comments. It can be anything you want, so long as it's something that's never happened. Then, if you're so inclined, post this to your journal and see what people would like to remember of you, only the universe failed to cooperate in making it happen so they had to make it up instead.

[via threegoldfish]

Would you rather:

1. have the lifetime channel make a movie out of your life OR the playboy channel?
   Yeah, no?
   
2. lick a cat's nose OR give it a proctology exam without gloves? (thanks nicole)
   I would kiss a cat's nose. And I would probably unthinkingly lick my lips afterwards. So it's not a far stretch to lick the nose itself. Besides, cats' noses are soft and dry and cute and wee.
   
3. find a bag containing $20,000 and turn it in before you find out it belonged to an known mob boss OR not turn it in, spend it all, and find out it belonged to an orphange?
   With that choice, I get to be a good person and maybe I will make a Mafia-friend. That's always a valuable thing to have!
   
4. find out your parents kidnapped you when you were a baby and raised you as their own OR find out you had a twin that died at birth that they never told you about?
   This is a hard one, because both sound cool. Am I totally off base for thinking that? A little intrigue in the ol' life? No? Okay. Well, I guess I'll go for the latter, then because it doesn't involve my parents being carted off to jail and maybe my dead twin could haunt me.

t r going to read my free associations.

1. Leave me a comment asking me three questions. Something silly, something serious, whatever floats your boat.
2. I will answer your questions to the best of my ability, at my earliest convenience.
3. Go back to your own bloggy house and implore five people to ask you three questions apiece. (I'm skipping the 5 asker limit.) (Watch nobody ask me.)
4. Kindly trackback and watch the questioning propagate.

[via swirlspice]

Or if you'd rather, go back here, leave a comment and I can ask you questions...

Q & A follows in the extension!

Would you rather...

1. eat pickled herring with every meal for the next year OR eat just one live monkey's brain?
   How much pickled herring? I've never had pickled herring, so I'll go with that, because I refuse to eat living food.
   
2. assuming they paid the same, clean up elephant poop at the circus for a living OR be a senator's aid?
   Depends on the senator! Ha ha, no, not really. If it were someone I liked and agreed with, I could probably have a good time. And if it weren't... well, I could slowly poison them until they died. :)
   
3. have every joint on your body be double-jointed OR be able to jump 6 feet straight up from standing?
   Jump! I don't know what I would do with all of those double-joints. I don't actually know how double-jointedness works. Couldn't your knee just suddenly slip out of joint and you'd fall over? Better to jump high, I should think.
   
4. choke the very life out of a cute, little bunny rabbit OR sleep in a vat of maggots for a month? (thanks nicole)
   Bunny! Maggots are gross. As much as I love bunnies, I would rather strangle one than be covered in wriggling all night long. And then I'd eat the rabbit.

If you change your mind, I'm the first in line
Honey I'm still free (associations), take a chance on me...

(This is the lamest Unconscious Mutterings intro I've ever done and I apologize.)

Would you rather:

1. live in a place with the constant threat of volcano eruptions OR the constant threat of tidal waves?
   Drowning seems more lingering than burning, somehow, and maybe I could get knocked out by flying hardened lava before I burned. Of course, I could also just suffocate from the gases and ash or be buried alive like at Pompeii. But it still seems like there's something totally lame about tidal waves.
   
2. go through an operation that would make you absolutely gorgeous, able to win any beauty contest OR one that would make you able to run faster than anybody on the planet?
   I think this is the hardest of the week. Attract suitors or run away from them? Hmmm. Exactly how fast can I run? Will it make a significant difference in my daily transportation? Will I have super endurance too, or will I only be able to win the 5-yard dash? Will I be beautiful or fast when I'm old? I think I'll go with fast, because otherwise people might compliment me all the time and that would annoy me. This way I would be superior in a measurable, objective way.
   
3. have warts on your face OR on your genitals?
   It's probably best to be upfront about things like warts. Right? I dunno. How many warts?
   
4. scream in pain everytime you comb your hair OR cry like a baby when you brush your teeth?
   How loud is the screaming? Does "combing" include "brushing"? I cry too much anyway, so I guess I'll just do that, because I'm more likely to comb my hair than brush my teeth outside the privacy of my own home.

Free associations in the extension!

1. What do you do for a living?
My current part-time job doesn't (and couldn't) support me in the style to which I have become accustomed. So for a "living" I am a student, in that I am doing this so that I can one day earn a living.

2. What do you like most about your job?
I enjoy learning and being around similar-minded people. I like thinking that I will one day have a job in this field and figuring out how I will be able to apply what I'm learning.

3. What do you like least about your job?
Bureaucracy and lack of direction or clear structure. I never feel like I really know what's going on in the school and I always find myself wishing people had told me things sooner.

4. When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____...

I knew I was forgetting something...

Would you rather:

1. go through 5 years of poverty and get $10,000,000 OR go through 1 year of poverty and get $100,000?
   $100,000 is plenty for me.

2. date someone who is fabulous looking but has unmaskable, horrible breath OR someone who is simply average but has great breath all the time?
   Yuck!

3. hand wash the poopy cloth diapers for 50 babies for a day OR hand wash the poopy cloth diapers for 5 babies for a week?
   It seems like a simple multiplication problem, but I think I'd rather get it over with. Once you're messy, might as well stay so, rather than getting messy over and over again.

4. be fat, dumb, and happy OR in excellent shape, sharp as a whip, but melancholy or depressed all the time?
   Ignorance and bliss for me, please. Smarts are important, but being melancholy and depressed is horribly unpleasant.

Step into the dark recesses of my mind with these handy-dandy free associations...

Five characteristics that I really like about myself:

1. I like to laugh and make people laugh. I think I am rather good at it.
2. Deep down, even though I may not show it, I am really quite a nice person.
3. I am tiny and compact. I am travel-sized for your convenience!
4. I am good at writing and editing things. I am generally a good speller, too.
5. I try to look at things from more than one angle.

What about you?

[via Kazoofus]

My free associations are in the continuation. Now go play along in your own blog!

Would you rather:

1. get an inner ear infection that leaves you feeling off balance for the next 2 years OR get a compound fracture in your arm that leaves your dominant hand useless for the next 6 months?
   Who needs hands, anyway?

2. discover a new species of plant OR write a book?
   If I wrote a book, it would be about three paragraphs long. Blogging is my thing.

3. push the button that launches a nuclear missle at another country OR pull the trigger that kills just one suspected terrorist?
   If I'm going to kill innocent people, better one (and a suspected terrorist at that) than millions.

4. your parents tell you that you were conceived doggy style OR reverse cowboy?
   Gak! Gak gak gak! I am going to pick the second one because I don't know what it is.

Where could the free associations be? Find them and win a prize!

A new meme (to me). We'll see if it catches on...

Would you rather:

1. walk to school OR carry your lunch?
I'm not one of them fancy downtown-dwellers... it takes about 20 minutes to drive downtown, so I'm definitely not walking. That said, at least I wouldn't have to look for parking.

2. drink green beer and throw up for the next hour OR drink green beer and pass out and wake up in an unknown place?
This is hard. That doesn't sound like a good answer, but I really hate throwing up.

3. catch a leprechaun and he give you his pot of gold but the police think you stole the gold and you go to prison OR have to run away from a leprechaun that's evil like the one in the movie?
srah is all about adventure. As long as that adventure is not prison.

4. call in "sick" to work so you can go celebrate st. patrick's day with your friends OR go to work and your boss takes you all out to party?
There are one or two fun people at work... and this way, I get paid.

Please, step into the inner workings of my mind.

Once upon a time, there lived a happy little meme called Unconscious Mutterings. And then it was eaten by a bear. The end.

It's a meme. It happens every week. You can do it too, if you would like. The Pea will not mind.

Here there be free associations.

Delayed but not forgotten...

Something wicked this way comes...

Okay, I'm a little late.

"Your task today will be to pick someone (or sometwo or somethree) off of your blogroll and let us know why you feel that they are linkworthy."

All month I've been planning who I was going to blog forward and now I've forgotten. Yippee! There was some kind of theme in my mind, but I'll just have to pick a few unrelated ones this month.

Ain't It Cruel - Justin's Movable-Type-published blog is a beauty to behol-- What's that? Still at LiveJournal? Oh. Well, it's still okay. Justin is always full of lovely links and introduces me to wonderful music like the greatest band of all time. Plus, he's dreeeeeeeeamy.

the text obscured - I've always felt like Ismat is one of the cool kids in The High School that is The Blogging World, so I was quite flattered when she emailed me out of the blue earlier this year! She's back in Ann Arbor now after a tumultuous life change, and I wish her the best of luck getting back into the swing of things...

Geese Aplenty - Greg is another of those Cool Kids and is adored by the female blogging community and some of the males as well. Sometimes I am convinced that he's actually a group blog, because I don't quite see how one person could be so consistently funny. Is also dreeeeeeeeamy.

Free extensions? In the association. Or something.

I just like this because my answers are ridiculous:

EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS = Favorite Spice + Last Foreign Vacation Spot

Herbes de Provence Antwerpen

SOCIALITE ALIAS = Silliest Childhood Nickname + Town Where You First Partied

Sammy Abigail Albion (partied?)

"FLY GIRL" ALIAS (a la J. Lo) = First Initial + First 2 or 3 Letters of Your Last Name

S-Mc (The SMIC is the French minimum wage. Sounds about right.)

ROCK STAR ALIAS = Any Liquid on the Bar + Last Name of Bad-Ass Celeb

Crème de Menthe Rock

DIVA ALIAS = Something Sweet Within Sight + Any Liquid in Kitchen

Carambar Palmolive

GIRL DETECTIVE ALIAS = Favorite Baby Animal + Where You Last Went To School

Monkey Westhall

BARFLY ALIAS = Last Snack Food You Ate + Your Favorite Drink

Chocolatecoveredalmond Tea

SOAP OPERA ALIAS = Middle Name + Street Where You First Lived

Abigail LaSalle

PORN STAR ALIAS = First Pet's Name + Street You Grew Up On

Taddy LaSalle

[via The Broken Lyre]

My free associations have been removed to the extension and Sanitized For Your Protection.

For a limited time only! Free free free! Associations!

Yo yo yo, mah peeps. Wassup? Free associations to follow. Peek not!

"The rules are really simple. For those of you who are new to this, all you have to do is pick someone from your blogroll and post (on your site) just what makes them blogworthy."

And so I bring you... three random sites from my blogroll. And when I say random, I mean I have my eyes closed! I have my eyes closed and I'm mousing around and now I'm going to click and-- That wasn't my blogroll. I have my eyes closed and I'm mousing around the general area where my blogroll should be and the winner is... Blogrolling. Crap. I have my eyes closed again and I'm mousing a bit higher and the first winner is...

1) Jezblog

No, seriously, it is. It's good old Jezzles, who doesn't blog nearly as frequently about the horrors of Paris now that he's moved to Yorkshire (fancy that!).

Jez found me (or I found him, I don't know which anymore) last year while I was in the médiathèque de Vichy, struggling with the computers that like to reset when you don't wiggle the mouse often enough. It's actually kind of strange that I remember that! The first interaction I remember with Jez was when he asked me why I was a friendless loser. And it's all been downhill from there.

Anyway, Jez is a good blog, listens to (and sends me) great music, always comes up with wonderful, terrible jokes and insane badger-related links and is a fantastic Blackadder-war opponent. He invited me to an imaginary party and someday I hope to take him up on that. Now let's see who comes up next...

2) me(ish)

I've always considered Meg one of my blogparents because hers was one of the first weblogs I was aware of, having come across this post on one of my daily John Hannah googlings back in the day. I was surprised to learn that there were people who recorded their daily comings and goings and thoughts and musings on the Internet and knew that it was far too much work for me to do! Eventually I caught on to that thing called Blogger and became a writer and reader of blogs myself. So now you know whose fault that is.

Here is one of my favorite Meg-posts: Wie sagt man "confused" en français?. And now we move on to our third guest:

3) The November 2002 archives

I remember my first experience with November 2002 archives.... I believe it was November 1, 2002. Funny how we remember these dates-- WAIT! This isn't on my blogroll, is it? Scratch that.

3) swirlspice

"Well," as the Church Lady would say, "Isn't that conveeeeeeeeenient?" Now I don't have to link back to this post, which is where I heard about this whole Blog it Forward malarkey in the first place. Erica very happily seems to be online whenever I am, which means that in my obsessive screen-refreshing, her link often comes up as --swirlspice--, indicating that her site has been freshly updated and srahs are happy. Erica is a Michigander, although she is temporarily displaced in Minnesota. When she worked in Ann Arbor, I always imagined that I would run into her somewhere, but I haven't done so yet. I hope that she will come back soon so that we can wear our Blogger sweatshirts and go skipping hand in hand together down the street.

Oh yeah, and her blog is fun too.

Thar be free associations in them hills. Free associations, I tell you!

Oh, by the way, I'm INSANE this week.

Sum up your 2003 in twenty words

Tried to teach. Came home. Tried to learn.

Read on, MacDuff.

My answers are hidden so as not to influence you if you'd like to do the meme yourself...

Need content. Am tired and depressed lately and have blogtopics but not the will to blog. Encourage me? In the meantime, it's memetime.

1. List your five favorite beverages.
Tea with milk and sugar, chai tea, bubble tea, peach iced tea and apricot juice.

2. List your five favorite websites.
SI webmail (when it works), IMDb, Technorati, The Onion and... uh... srah blah blah.

3. List your five favorite snack foods.
Junior Mints, my grandma's Nuts and Bolts (basically like Chex Mix), chips and salsa, gingersnaps and cheese.

4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.
Trivial Pursuit, Rummikub, cribbage, Upwords, Taboo

5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.
The Sims, Freecell, Minesweeper, Karaoke Revolution, uh... computer Jeopardy?

The free associationses have been hidden somewhere where you'll never find them... because we wants them! They are precious to us...

Cleo says:

I know very little about some of the people on my friends' list. Some people I know relatively well. I read your fic, or we have something else in common and we chat occasionally. Some of you I hardly know at all. Perhaps you lurk, for whatever reason. But you friended me and I thank you.

But here's a thought: why not take this opportunity to tell me a little something about yourself. Any old thing at all. Just so the next time I see your name I can say: "Ah, there's so and so...she likes spinach."

I'd love it if every single person who friended me would do this. Yes, even you people who I know really well. Then post this in your own journal.

So c'mon, my little chickadees. How would you like me to remember you?

Yarrrr! Thar be some free-associations in the hold! Get below deck to see the treasure!

The free associations are hiding in the extension, so as to avoid affecting your own.

She gives out words, we free-associate. Read on for The Association.

1. Using one adjective, describe your current living space.
disastrously-messy (to protect the honor of Srah's Mother, Beloved of All Srah Blah Blah Visitors, I will point out that I'm talking about my room and not the rest of the house, which is pristine and only has this one horrific blight at the end of the hall)

2. Using two adjectives, describe your current employer.
helpful, disorganized

3. Using three adjectives, describe your favorite hobby/pasttime.
entertaining, enlightening?, lazy (watching movies)

4. Using four adjectives, describe your typical day.
hysterical, jargonriffic, stressed, mostly-happy

5. Using five adjectives, describe your ideal life.
happy, relaxed, entertaining, entertained, moneyed

Allow me to free-associate for a moment...

Haven't done one of these in a while...

1. What food do you like that most people hate?
Mushrooms, olives, blue cheese.

2. What food do you hate that most people love?
Coffee, beer, dark chocolate.

3. What famous person, whom many people may find attractive, is most unappealing to you?
Lots of them. Most notably Jennifer Love Hewitt. She's so dreadfully average that the fact that some people think she's beautiful makes me want to kick her in the face. Also Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. *shudder*

4. What famous person, whom many people may find unappealing, do you find attractive?
I used to think Vladimir Putin was kind of cute. What the hell?! Quickly, come up with someone better so that people pay no attention to what you just said. Um... Kevin Spacey and Alan Rickman are kind of oldish... Darrell Hammond? Steve Buscemi?

5. What popular trend baffles you?
Those stupid scooter-things!

I've decided that this post is a meme. The theme is clothing and language. Go blog/comment your own thoughts or stories related to these two words, then read mine afterwards and we'll see how differently people can interpret and relate the two concepts. I imagine it will either be fascinating or you will all ignore me.

If you like it, then perhaps we'll do it again sometime with two more words. If you don't like it, then perhaps it shall never happen again. Or perhaps I'll keep inflicting it on you in a sad, desperate attempt to make you love me.

Read on, MacDuff.

A widdle bit of wine, a widdle bit of fwee associations... 'sall good, right?

Nothing to do. So I have done a very long meme.

Update: I decided to flesh out some of my answers because I'm trapped at work.

[via Katie]

A bit early this week, but still jam-packed with flavor and free-associated goodness.

All of the cool kids are reading my free-associations. You know you want to.

Everyone else was doing it, so why shouldn't I?

A - Act Your Age: 23. And I refuse.
B - Boyfriend: None. And I'm all good with that.
C - Chore You Hate: Washing dishes.
D - Dad's Name: William.
E - Essential Make-Up Item: Uh... chapstick?
F - Fave Actress: Claudette Colbert. Hermione Gingold. Audrey Tautou. I dunno.
G - Gold or Silver: Gold.
H - Homeland: Ann Arbor, Michigan.
I - Instruments You Play: I took 5 years of piano and 3 of flute. I hated them both, never practiced, never learned anything, and forgot what little I did learn.
J - Job Title: Librarian/Webmaster/Peer Advisor.
K - Kids: None. Not sure if I want them in the future.
L - Living Arrangements: At home with Mummy and Daddy.
M - Mom's Name: Marilyn.
N - Number of Women You've Slept With: I can think of six off the top of my head. Unless you are using "slept with" as a euphemism for sex, in which case, none.
O - Overnight Hospital Stays: I probably had to when I was born, but I don't think I have since.
P - Phobia: Gephydrophobia.
Q - Quote You Like: So many...
R - Religious Affiliation: None. Very much so.
S - Siblings: 1 sister.
T - Time You Wake Up: On weekdays, I wake up at 6:30 and actually get up closer to 7.
U - Unique Habit: Playing with people's earlobes? I don't know if that's a habit.
V - Vegetable You Refuse to Eat: None. Any vegetable can be made tasty in one way or another.
W - Worst Habit: Procrastination.
X - X-Rays You've Had: Teeth, chest. Perhaps others, but I don't remember them.
Y - Yummy Food You Make: Poulet à la Claude Andrés Renata srah, cookies, brownies, vegetable stir-fry.
Z - Zodiac Sign: Virgo.

[via monochromatic girl]

Meh, why not?

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
Things that belong to me or I am particularly attached to: Thursday evening's chipati leftovers, cran-grape juice, peach iced tea, mushrooms, horseradish mustard.

2. Name five things in your freezer.
Cooooookies, ice cubes, frozen peas (much better than canned), blueberries, mixed nuts.

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
Onions, potatoes, dishwasher detergent, vases, more dishwasher detergent.

4. Name five things around your computer.
Empty tea-cup, address card box, piles of scrap paper, a print-out of today's Get Fuzzy cartoon, a French postage stamp.

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.
Scary mascara, tweezers, two-year-old Chilean vitamin C tablets, perfume, q-tips.

Read on, MacDuff.

Don't blame me. It was Justin's idea. Same disclaimers, play nice, yadda yadda.

1. I _____ srah.
2. srah is ____.
3. srah needs _____.
4. I want to ____ srah.
5. srah can ____ my ____.
6. Someday srah will _____.
7. srah reminds me of _____.
8. Without srah _____.
9. srah can be _____.
10. Meeting srah is _____.
11. Worst thing about srah is _____.
12. Best thing about srah is ______.
13. I am _____ srah.
14. I think srah should _______.

Travelers, halt! Be ye brave enough enough to venture into the depths of the continuation? There be frightening things there which no one need read. For it is told that there lurk the free associations of the fearsome srah. Enter at your own risk!

The free-associations are hiding in the extension, as they are wont to do.

The Friday Five is not on this week, but I meant to do last week's and never got around to it.

1. Who is your favorite singer/musician? Why?
The Beatles because I grew up with their music... well, second-generation, by listening to my dad's albums. Renaud because, although I couldn't see any value in his music at the beginning of last year, Stefan won me over and made me realize how clever his lyrics are. Neil Diamond because... he's The Neil. Serge Gainsbourg because he has clever, somewhat hidden dirty old man lyrics that make me feel superior because I get them.

2. What one singer/musician can you not stand? Why?
One? Only one? I guess I'll go with Britney Spears because I feel like I can stretch things to find value in most other singers, but she seems to be Disney/Coca-Cola/McDonalds: commercialism personified.

3. If your favorite singer wasn't in the music business, do you think you would still like him/her as a person?
I suppose the Beatles would be okay, but I can't imagine having much to talk to Paul and Ringo about. I think Renaud would be belligerent and annoying, but at least he's sobered up these days. The Neil would just frighten me. Serge is deid and probably would have scared me more than The Neil when he was alive.

On the other hand, I don't listen to his music much anymore, but I always said from reading his tour diary that Moby and I would be friends. I've been watching Newlyweds, and Nick Lachey makes me laugh.

4. Have you been to any concerts? If yes, who put on the best show?
I have been to very few concerts: two Dave Matthews Band and one K's Choice. I'd say the K's Choice was the best because it was a huge event for members of their fan club, so there was a lot of energy and it was people they cared about, who had come from all over the world to see the show.

5. What are your thoughts on downloading free music online vs. purchasing albums? Do you feel the RIAA is right in its pursuit to stop people from dowloading free music?
As a person who wants to be able to download music, I am, of course, against the RIAA. I can, however, sort of see another side to the argument. Most people I've heard from say that they use it to learn about new music they woudn't otherwise discover, to preview albums before buying them, and that they download the music they wouldn't have spent money on anyway. But these are people of my generation and older, who like to have their music concrete and in their hands. Today's kids are growing up with music being something that exists in digital form as files. I'm not sure that they will grow up valuing CDs as much as we did. I suppose there's no way of telling that right now.

Avert your eyes!

Guaranteed to put songs in your head... or your money back!

I've buried the answers where ye'll never find them, ye scurvy landlubbers! Seek them if ye dare!

More quotes from movies and music, folkses, because Katie is sad that she missed the last one.

1. Which gentleman among you am I to have the pleasure of making love to?
2. What a fabulous window treatment!
3. Knock down the old brick wall and be a part of it all.
4. You should be very glad I'm not 12. I was a very straightforward child. I used to spit.
5. I'm kicking through the Autumn leaves and wondering where it is you might be going to.
6. There is no medicine for what I have.
7. Hey! Hey! Her head don't come off!
8. Don't look at the fat-ass losers or freaks, look at me!
9. Touch it, stroke it and undress it.
10. Moisture is the essence of wetness.
11. Put away your raincoat and make your bed.
12. That's the fire escape, and that's a table, and this is a room, and there's the door and I wish you'd use it.

If you wish to delve into srah's subconscious, you may do so in the extension.

I've run out of musicals. Or maybe I haven't. These are quotes from all kinds of music and movies. Identify them or perish.

1. When he's underwater, does he get wet? Or does the water get him instead?
2. Maids like me - I'm neat. I like maids - they're neat.
3. 1: You know carpentry. Can you do anything else? 2: Whacking. I'm hell at whacking.
4. 1: This sausage is moldy! 2: Shut up and drink your gin.
5. My friends would think I was a nut, turning water into wine.
6. We're living in a material world and I am a material girl...or boy.
7. 1: But why are you wearing these clothes? 2: Because I just went GAY all of a sudden!
8. The computer has the evidence. No need to abort.
9. Pretty eyes, pirate smiles.
10. Just think of it as you're being let go, that your life's going in a different direction, that your body's part of a permanent outplacement.

It is time for the answers to be revealed. At last you will know the truth! And the lie! You won't care, but you will know! And knowing is half the battle. Shut up, srah, and just tell them the answers already.

Most people recognized that story #2 (College Jeopardy) was true. That's because this story sucked. I do appreciate that you were so willing to believe that I couldn't come up with anything interesting to say about myself, though. I'm going to go cry in a corner, even though it is true. The other 'story' I came up with was about how we used to eat a lot of cheese in high school, so I guess you can feel blessed that I didn't make you read that one. It was really crap, as opposed to this one, which I consider only mostly crap. Yawn.

Although a popular choice, story #3 (the p0rn theatre) is true. They do have p0rn theatres in France and this one was right on the corner with a real cinema down the alleyway. Going to this one didn't have anything to do with my French skills, so much as my lack of observational skills. The big red X, as I said, should have given it away. But hey, we were looking for a theatre and we found one! I was surprised to search my archives and discover that I hadn't told that story.

Story #1 (the trip to England), therefore, is... not entirely true. This is why I said you were going to hate me when I told you the answer. Everything in the story is true except one detail: I danced on the high altar at Winchester Cathedral and not Salisbury. Sneaky wench.

Correct guessers: Kim, Dae, Jez, Patricia, otto, granni39, Jen, gish, windy and Heather.

Thanks for guessing! I look forward to doing it again sometime.

It is time, once again, to venture into the extension.

Here are my three stories. Two are true and one is false. I will warn you that I have a reputation for being quite good at this sort of thing, although when I've done it as an icebreaker it's usually a factoid rather than a story.

You may pick which you think is the true FALSE (oops - forgot to change that when I changed from 2F/1T to 2T/1F) story, leaving your guess in the comments. If you'd like, I'd also be interested to know why you think one or the other is true or false. On Monday I'll post the correct response.

Eligibility: My family and close friends may guess as long as they don't influence anyone else's guess by announcing that they know for sure which is the correct answer. If you sound like you're not quite sure, but you think it might be #X, I probably won't have to kill you. But don't all agree or anything. If you would like me to know that you know but don't want to ruin it for everyone else, you may whisper it quietly in my ear or email me.

Story #1: My parents and I went to England in 1982 and I ended up spending my second birthday there. We were there for a wedding, but we also used the trip as a chance for my dad to familiarise his wife and young daughter with his mother's native country (which he had often visited growing up). Sometimes I think they would have preferred to leave the daughter at home, although she did provide them with some interesting stories.

We went to the Tower of London and I was not very interested in the tour. I was, however, quite interested in the ravens.

"LOOK, DADDY," I exclaimed, "BIG BLACK BIRDS. WHAT ARE THE BIG BLACK BIRDS DOING HERE, DADDY? WHY AREN'T THE BIG BLACK BIRDS FLYING AWAY, DADDY?" Apparently I was loud and annoying enough that the beefeater actually stopped his speech and walked over to me.

"Do you know," he said, bending over me and trying to exude an air of authority and respectability as I grinned up at him, "what we do to little American girls who can't be quiet and listen to the nice beefeater's talk?" I shook my head, still smiling and not realizing I was doing anything wrong by asking my dad about those fascinating birds. The beefeater continued: "We CUT OFF THEIR HEADS!"

My eyes widened at the death threat. I went and hid behind my mother and apparently didn't speak another word for the rest of the day.

Another of our tourist excursions was to Salisbury Cathedral, which was undergoing some construction restoration. As my parents listened politely to the tour guide and observed the beauty of the cathedral, little srah got antsy again and squirmed away. When they caught up with me, I had ducked under some construction tape and barriers and was dancing on the high altar. My mother didn't want to cross the barrier herself, so she had to call to me and cajole me into coming back and behaving myself.

Story #2: I tried out for College Jeopardy over the Spring Break of my freshman year in college. The tryouts were in Ann Arbor, so I decided to give it a shot. I went to Pierpont Commons and took the first level quiz. I don't know if they were actually basing anything on these answers, or if they were just to let people know what kind of questions they would be facing later. I must have passed, because I was given a time slot to return for the next part of the tryout.

When I came back, I was in a classroom full of student desk/chairs. Growing nervous, when asked if there were any questions, I asked if we were ineligible if we weren't U-M students. Everyone in the room turned to look at me like I was some kind of mutant. They said that it was fine as long as I was a college student somewhere.

We took the written test and got our results back almost immediately. The top scorers were asked to stay and advance to the next round. It could have been my imagination, but I felt like there was some "She isn't even from Michigan" grumbling going on when my name was called.

This round consisted of a quick-answer competition. We took turns coming up to the buzzer and practicing ringing in and answering. I did pretty well, but my problem came when they did a mock-interview thing.

Clearly they were looking for people with sparkling personalities who would look good and be interesting on TV. I, unfortunately, fell short there. I couldn't come up with any interesting mini-facts about myself (not that that stops anyone on TV - their factoids are usually so stupid and pointless that I want to hit them, like "My boyfriend calls me Boo" or some crap like that) and I was so nervous and tense it was making me nauseous. So, needless to say, I was not the one they called back. And the one who was called back got severely trounced, so it made me feel better.

Little tiny Albion did get its day to shine the next year, though, when my friend Kurt managed to make it to the show and twice build up a lead and lose it all in Final Jeopardy.

Story #3: When CKane and I were very new to Grenoble, we decided to go to the movies. Grenoble's Petit Bulletin listed the movie theatres in town and the films that were playing in them, as well as giving the cinemas' addresses, but we were new to town and didn't know where we were going.

In the Mood for Love was playing at Le Club, so we looked at our map to find the street that the cinema was on. Makes sense so far, right? We took the tram to that area of town, got off, and headed in the direction of the cinema.

Straight ahead of us, we saw a cinema so we went in. "Une place pour In the Mood for Love, s'il vous plaît," I asked.

He looked at us funny and informed me that they didn't have that movie.

"C'est le cinéma?" I asked. He confirmed that it was.

"Je voudrais un billet pour IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE," I tried repeating it, thinking that he hadn't understood my American pronunciation. He repeated that they didn't have that film. Cheryl and I looked at each other, confused. Maybe the movie was no longer playing here.

"Mais ici c'est un cinéma? Donc vous avez quel film?"

He leaned over the counter and over-enunciated the words for our obviously confused foreign ears, "Ici, SEX films. P0RN0?"

Our sheltered Albion eyes opened wide and we hightailed it out of there. Turns out Le Club was hidden away down the alleyway, not nearly as well-advertised. The big red X on the front probably should have clued us in.

1. When was the last time you laughed?
I believe Becky remarked on my hamster laugh last night as we were on the phone.

2. Who was the last person you had an argument with?
With Jez, I guess. I'm so nice and easy to get along with! Or passive-aggressive!

3. Who was the last person you emailed?
La Sofinette

4. When was the last time you bathed?
Approximately 6:55 to 7:15 this morning.

5. What was the last thing you ate?
I had a chocolate last night and before that it was dinner - chicken noodle soup and corn on the cob from the garden. The corn, that is. We do not have a Soup Garden.

1. Are you good at responding to emails and/or Blog comments?
Blog comments, yes. Email, not so much. I still owe Johanna an email from over a month ago...

2. Does it make you crazy when people won't reply to your emails even though you know good and well that they are reading them?
In some cases. If it's someone I see in person, I'll usually ask them about it. If I've sent a mass email to everyone I know in France and received no reply, I'll just cry and cry and cry. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it will depress me.

3. I recently watched the FOX special "101 Things Removed from the Human Body" which was quite disgusting in a can't-help-but-watch kind of way. It got me to thinking about many of the accidents I had as a child. I remember climbing over a fence after T-ball and catching my palm on the top of the chain-link fence. Went through my hand and tore it right open. What's the most unusual thing you've had inside your body?
What an atrocious question. It is giving me scary, nightmarish flashbacks to visits to the "women's doctor", so I'm going to move on.

4. What person from your past would you most like to run into and visit with for an afternoon? Why them? What person would you like to not ever see again as long as you live? How come?
There are a lot. The more I move on, the more people I leave in my past (duh). I'd like to see Sophie and the rest of my host family (including the extended family), Agnès, Aline, Damien, Angelique, Philippe and the other S2OLs, everyone else from Valéry Larbaud, Juliette, Ioanna, Renate, Andrés, Molly, and Dominique from Grenoble, Jillian, Jen, Erin and everyone else from Albion (most of whom I haven't seen in over a year), Renata, Jennifer, Andrés, Stefan, and Johanna from Vichy... I bet you've had enough of me listing off people you don't know. I'd like to see everyone.

Strangely enough, when I do see someone from my past, it's usually someone from high school, and I usually hide behind something until they go away. As to the second part of the question, if I never saw my English Translation teacher from Grenoble, it would be no big loss. I don't hate him, but it wouldn't bother me never to see him again.

5. What was the last bad meal you (or your special someone) paid too much for? What's the story there?
I went to The Mexican Place on Washtenaw (I can never remember the stupid name) and they brought me chicken tacos when I'd asked for ground beef. I was hungry, so I just ate them, even though I didn't want chicken and they weren't very good. I pointed the mistake out to the waitress, though, so we ended getting them 50% off. They were still overpriced, in that I was not being paid to eat them.

6. If out-of-the-blue you were forced to find a new career, if there was just suddenly no need for your field of expertise, just what job do you imagine you would seek out? Do you have any skills you can "fall back on?" (If you stay at home or are a student, adjust to fit your situation)
Hmmm. I don't know how to adjust it to fit my situation. I'm going to be studying Human-Computer Interaction, so assuming I get a job in that field, I suppose I could fall back on my language skills once that electro-magnetic pulse bomb goes off and there are no computers left for me to interact with.

7. If you were to open up your own restaurant, what would it be called and what type of food would you serve? Describe the "feel" of the place (the decor, the music, etc).
Thank you for asking. Jennifer, Renata and I are going to start a chain of fondue/crêpe/waffle/sandwich/I've forgotten what else restaurant, of which I've forgotten the name. All I really remember is that we will have live music played by the naked Colombian street singer Shakiro. Of course I, as the Assistant Whore, remember that part. Keep an eye on the comments and we'll see if J and R can fill in the blanks.

Patricia at Lunaniña is doing a new meme this week.

Here's the deal. On Friday, August 22nd you'll post 3 stories.

Two false and one true or two true and one false.

Readers have to pick the false story(ies), leaving their guess in the comments. (Make sure you let them know which version of the game you're playing.) On Monday you'll post the correct response. The stories can be as crazy as you want them to be. But you want to make them all believable enough that the reader has to give the game a little thought.

So as not to influence your own answers, I have hidden the questions away.

I am hiding my very deep thoughts from you. Please look into the extension, folks.

A meme from Erica.

Wanna play along?

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

[Read answers to questions I've asked: Alfie, Katie]

Here are the Five Questions she asked me:

My kinda Friday Five!

1. What's the last place you traveled to, outside your own home state/country?
My last trip out of the state was our trip to Virginia, New Jersey and New York. Before that, it was France, and before that, a very short trip to Belgium.

2. What's the most bizarre/unusual thing that's ever happened to you while traveling?
It once took me 29 hours to get from Grenoble to Aberdeen. I participated in an English quiz night. I met John Hannah...

3. If you could take off to anywhere, money and time being no object, where would you go?
If time and money were no object? Everywhere. I would spend the rest of my life trying to visit and explore every country on Earth.

4. Do you prefer traveling by plane, train or car?
I suppose I like cars, because you can stop and get out and walk around. But I only like them if someone else is driving. I like trains because we don't have them in the US (or don't use them, anyway), so there's something exotic and exciting about them. I like planes because they're the only way to get to France (until that bridge is built).

5. What's the next place on your list to visit?
I'd like to go to Quebec, Iceland, Egypt, French Guyana, Japan, Zimbabwe, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and return to Belgium, France and Scotland. Hopefully, though, my next trip will be to London next summer for the JHAC convention (money willing).

When I was little, I had to have a Favorite Everything. Favorite TV show, favorite color, favorite character in every movie I watched, favorite daddy (I always told mine he was 288th or so... but that's how our family is), favorite member of the British royal family, etcetera etcetera etcetera.

Not only did I have to have a Favorite Everything, I had to have a Second Favorite Everything. And a Third Favorite Everything. And so on and so on, until I'd run out of possibilities or lost interest in the list.

And so I ask you to consider: What's your second favorite...

1. movie?
2. color?
3. celebrity?
4. British monarch in history?
5. band/singer?
6. name?
7. TV show?
8. composer?

1. When you take a vacation, do you ever suffer from Internet withdrawal? Or maybe the nagging urge to blog or read blogs? Or are you glad to be away?
I always suffer Internet withdrawal, and especially blog-withdrawal. I often keep notes, although I find myself frustrated when I return and have to type them all up.

2. Have you ever been "furloughed" (told to take time off work without pay) or laid off? How did that impact your family dynamics? Your finances? If not to you, have you seen it happen to anyone you know? How did they handle it?
No. And I don't think it would make much of a difference, except that I would get yelled at for sitting on my butt all day.

3. If you fell on hard times, what is are some non-essential reoccurring luxury expenses (cable TV, TiVo subscription, cigarettes, high-speed net connection, newspaper, daily Starbucks coffee, etc.) you would give up to save money?
I could get rid of my one magazine subscription, but I'm not even sure I paid for that.

4. On the same thought, what is the one non-essential expense you would NOT give up?
DSL! I have tasted heaven and refuse to return to Earth.

5. Would you ever ask your family (parents, in-laws, relatives) for financial assistance? What would be some of your concerns about asking for help? Have you ever asked for it before? Did it go well?
Soitenly. When I was in France, I didn't like to ask for help. Now I live at home, so that's financial assistance right there.

6. Has a friend or relative ever borrowed money from you? Who were they and how much did they want? Did you ever get paid back, or did it matter? Did you feel compelled to keep an eye on them to see if they spent it wisely?
Not significant amounts. This is actually a good thing for me, because I tend to forget that people owe me money, and am quite surprised when they pay me back.

7. Imagine you won a tax-free gift of $7,000. The only stipulation on the gift is that it must not be invested or saved, and must be spent before 2004. How would you use the money?
I would either go on a great big trip at Christmas Break or chuck grad school plans out the window and run away to France to live in my cheap cheap apartment again and write my novel. I'm not sure how far $7,000 would get me, though, so I might have to get a job. That sucks. Mucho travelo, and staying in nice hotels and eating nice meals.

Into the extension you go, to wait for a woman of less discriminating tastes. Hey maw! Git off the dang roof!

Shan't spoil it for the rest of you.

1) DVD or VHS? DVD! My family watches everything with subtitles on, because we never understand anything anyone says. We are movie-readers. I like to watch things in Spanish with French subtitles or in Japanese with German subtitles or in Swedish with Pig Latin subtitles. My family prefers English All Around. I like DVDs for the extras, too.
2) Best Literary/Movie Villan: Voldemort (Harry Potter) or Sauron (LoTR)? Awww, they're two different species. I suppose I prefer Voldemort because I know more about him and who he is and why he went bad. I'm sure if I read some of the other Tolkien books, that would be revealed to me about Sauron, but I haven't done so yet.
3) Meat: rare or well-done? Somewhere in the middle. I like it pink and tender and I don't mind a bit of reddish juice as long as the blood isn't gushing out.
4) High Speed Internet-Cable or DSL? DSL! DSL! Actually, High-Speed Internet Cable might be faster, but the word "cable" is taboo in our household.
5) Women: 1-piece bathing suit or Bikini? One piece, down to my elbows and knees, full of ruffles and flounces and with a little cap to go with it.
6) To be fair--Men: Boxers or briefs? Boxers, because you hardly ever see plaid briefs. And I don't really want to, thankyouverymuch.
7) Beer or Liquor/Wine? Beer is icky-poo.
8) Coke or Mountain Dew? Pop is also icky-poo, but sometimes I have a craving for Coke with pizza or some other junkyish foods. Mountain Dew is vile.
9) In honor of my 10/18/03 nuptials: Morning or Afternoon/Night Wedding? You can have a night wedding? That sounds like fun. Then you could serve waffles and scrambled eggs at the reception.
10) Carpet or Hardwood Floors I think I prefer vacuuming to mopping, but hardwood floors are prettier. So I'll go with carpet until I have my own horde of slaves.
11) American cars or foreign? Furren. I liked my Honda Civic and I like the VW Jetta because I sat in one at the Detroit Auto Show and it had adjustable up-down seats for short people. I want a plaid Mini.
12) Cutest TV Twin: Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen? For real. What? Who cares?
13) Coffee: Caffeinated or Decaf? Ice cream.
14) Thought-Provoking Question of the Week: Computers: Do they make life better or worse? Why? Life is neither better nor worse for computers - just different. I don't think life has improved because of computers. I think it's changed, but I don't think we can make judgments about the quality of life in the past. Either that or Yes, my life is vastly improved by computers because I love them to bits. You know, one or the other.

I thought I might put in an ad for my partners in the Burn It! CD Swap (and make it easier for me to find them by having them all in one place. I like to pretend I'm doing this for non-selfish reasons, though. So ignore everything between these parentheses. You're already reading it? Drat.). They are:

Kyle Flood at KFlood Dot Net
Naked Armed and Dangerous
single smash

Hope you folks like furren music and The Neil, because that's all I listen to. Ha ha!

Once again, I'll hide them in the extension for your non-spoiling pleasure.

This is more of a survey than a meme, I find. Care to answer yourself?

1. Do you have a disclaimer on your blog?
No.

2. If yes, what prompted you to post one?
Haven't got one. And I don't have one... because I don't think anyone would read it anyway.

3. When you go to a new blog or read one that you've visited before, how often are you offended by the content? What do you do when this happens (email the writer privately, comment, ignore it, etc)?
Not very often. I usually ignore it, unless someone says something that's flat-out wrong, in which case I might take a moment to correct them. If they're blogging opinions, though, I leave them alone. This is their space, and if I don't like it, I leave. I am rarely offended by the content of my regular blogs, which is why they are regular blogs. If I'm regularly offended, they'll eventually drop off the blogroll.

4. On the blogs that you read, how much of the content do you think is dramatized?
If by "dramatized", you mean "made-up", I think very little is. I think many of the blogs I read are, however, expressed rather dramatically. That's what makes them fun. Things are presented in a way that makes them stand out from the everyday, even if they are everyday things.

5. Do you dramatize your own posts?
I don't make much up, but I do tend to lean to the creative. I may present things in a different way than others might see them, but I don't think I invent.

6. If you do dramatize your blog posts, why do you do it?
See question #4. I want to be interesting. I want to see my life as something exciting and unusual, and I want other people to do so too. If I get bored with life, what's the point?

7. If you do dramatize your blog posts, do you keep a separate journal (online or off) where you document events and emotions that are more realistic/accurate?
No. My life is odd because I see it that way, or vice versa. I don't think I need a separate journal at this point.

8. Have you ever blogged something that was totally made up but blogged it as though it were real?
Not intending it to be taken seriously. I probably threaten to kill people and claim to explode, but it's all hyperbole.

9. How did your blog come to be?
I had come across not.so.soft several times while doing John Hannah searches, because she mentioned him once. It seemed strange to have your life online. I think I read Annica's next, and since An was doing it, it seemed to make sense. I fiddled around with Blogger (because both of the previously mentioned blogs were done with that service) while I was in Grenoble, but didn't get into it, then it clicked for some reason in the fall of my senior year in college. The time was right, I suppose.

10. Some blogs take on a life of their own that is totally unexpected, would you say this is true with your blog?
Only that i didn't expect to actually get into it and that I don't think I would have imagined it would have the place in my life that it has.

11. Describe, in general, what a blog is as if I had no idea what it was.
A blog. Weblog. It's like an online journal. It's like a journal, but it's online. I write about things that happen to me or things that are going on in my life. Other people sometimes just post links. What's the point? I don't know. Listen, just take a look at a few and maybe you'll get it.

12. Describe, specifically, what your blog is to you.
It's my Pensieve. It's where I put all of my thoughts so that they stop knocking around in my head. I work out a surprising lot through my blog, given the dearth of serious content. In France, it also managed to replace a lot of letters and emails and phone calls and help me keep in touch with the folks back home.

[via stuff and whatever]

So as not to spoil the free association for others... (warning: they are more insane than last time)

1. Do you remember your first best friend? Who was it?
I believe my first best friend was Nathan, who I like to call my ex-fiancé because we were going to get married (whether he liked it or not) when I was four.

Worth mentioning, however, is my second best friend, Jenny, in whose clutches I was, to varying extents, from kindergarten up to fifth grade. From kindergarten to third grade, I wasn't allowed to have any other friends besides Jenny. If she was absent, I had to play alone. She, on the other hand, could take off with whoever she wanted, whether I was there or not. It's so young to be trapped in an abusive relationship.

2. Are you still in touch with this person?
Neither. I have actually blogged a story about how not in touch with Nathan I am.

3. Do you have a current close friend?
Robin and Cheryl are my best gal-pals here in Ann Arbor.

4. How did you become friends with this person?
Cheryl's family lives down the street from me, and our moms used to walk the dogs together when they were pregnant with us. Later, we were in the same elementary school, but in different classes. We were in the same gymnastics class at one point, so I sort of met her then, but we went our separate ways once we got back to school. In second grade, there was a school post office, so I wrote to her because she was the only person I knew outside my class. In third grade, we finally had the same teacher, so we became friends. Cheryl can probably tell these stories better than I can; that's why we call her Rain Man.

I bumped into Robin on the kindergarten playground once. Then we both got up and met each other. It took her a while to pry me away from Jenny, but we've been pretty good to go ever since.

5. Is there a friend from your past that you wish you were still in contact with? Why?
I guess I would like to see people like Grace (she's the one who first called me "srah"), but I haven't seen her in so long, I don't know if we would have enough in common to stay in contact. So... just the Vichy crowd then.

I've never tried this one before... she gives you a list of words and you make free associations. Given the state of my dreams, this could be interesting.

1. Fashion show:: sashay
   
2. Boundaries:: frontiers
   
3. Roadkill:: skunk
   
4. Narcissistic:: Draco Malfoy
   
5. Authority:: Percy Weasley
   
6. Martini:: James Bond
   
7. Personality:: quiz
   
8. Comfortable:: armchair
   
9. Symptom:: bronchitis
   
10. Dating:: orange
    

ORANGE? What?

Thanks to everyone who participated in Language Week, including:

Ain't It Cruel?, annicapannika blog, Beatniksalad, Blethers.com, Jezblog, Ministry of Propaganda, monochromatic girl, So Joyful!, and What You Can Get Away With.

Hope I haven't forgotten anyone - let me know if I have! Perhaps we'll have to try it again next year. I'll let you know then.

(Except posted on Saturday, because we were having Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and a National Holiday on Friday.)

Bon, ben, voilà, je suis trop paresseuse pour écrire en espagnol, même si j'ai inventé cette semaine pour pratiquer cette langue-là. C'est trop difficile sans dictionnaire, et je n'ai pas très envie de chercher chaque mot sur Babelfish.

Je suis très heureuse d'avoir réçu un mél d'Agnès, qui m'a dit que les résultats des examens finaux au lycée ont été affichés et qu'elle me les a envoyés. En travaillant en France, ça m'a choqué que là-bas, les résultats des examens sont affichés, sont annoncés en classe, et sont publiés dans les journaux. Ici, les notes sont privées, à être partagées par les élèves s'ils veulent.

Bon, comme c'est publié dans les journaux, je peux vous dire que presque tous mes chers THOT ont eu leur bac, mais qu'on attend toujours les résultats des S2OL.

Hoy llevo calcetines con monos. No manos, monos. Calcetines con manos no existen. He tenido calcetines con dedos de pie, y no me gustan. No son muy cómodos. No me gusta la sensación de tener algo entre mis dedos de pie.

Bloguo [gracias Jez!] cosas muy importante en español. Bueno... no es mejor en inglés.

No tengo muchas cosas que decir en español, y no tengo más vocabulario en chino, entonces hoy voy a escribir en el idioma francés, lo que conozco bien porque lo he estudiado desde la media de mi vida.

J'aime bien la chanson Mon fils, ma bataille de Daniel Balavoine. C'est une chanson qui parle d'un père divorcé qui risque de perdre son fils, comme dans le film Kramer vs. Kramer. Mais ce qui me gène, c'est le refrain, qui raconte « Je vais tout casser/ si vous touchez/ aux fruits de mes entrailles/ fallait pas qu'elle s'en aille ».

En anglais, déjà, la phrase « fruit of my loins » me dégoute pas mal, mais le français, « fruits de mes entrailles », me semble même pire.

Mais dans tout cela, ce qui me fait le plus peur, c'est qu'Amandine Poulain a le même probleme avec cette expression... et que je n'ai pas très envie de finir comme la mère d'Amélie.

Ni-men hao! Ni-men hao ma? Wo hen hao, xiexie. Wo shi zai tushuguan. Wo shi meiguo xuesheng. Wo xue faguoren. Wo bu he pijiu. Wo yo meimei.

As you can probably tell, my Mandarin Chinese has suffered great losses since I took a semester of it, in the fall of 1999. I, myself, have suffered the great loss of my Chinese textbook (where are all of my language books disappearing to? There is some kind of vortex in my room, sucking them in), so I can't even check to see if what little I remembered is correct.

1. Lemonade or Ice Cold Beer?
Beer is heinous. Beer tastes like sweat.

2. Swimming pool or beach?
Beach, I guess. You can go for walks, fully clothed. They usually make you wear a swimsuit at the swimming pool.

3. Long weekends here & there, or a 2-week vacation?
If I have no money, long weekends. If I have money, a two-week vacation in some far-off foreign land.

4. Destination: Acapulco or Hawaii?
Acapulco, but I'd sneak out of the resorts, off into Real Mexico.

5. Destination: Mountains or Beach?
Mountains. I miss mountains, and no one expects you to wear a swimsuit. I think I have issues.

6. Hotel/motel/B&B or camping?
Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! If you had been chez Katie recently, you would know the answer to that. Fiends! Bugs, heat, and dirt begone! I'll go to a B&B and eat scones!

7. Carefully planned vacation, or play it by ear?
There are things to be said for both. I guess I'd go for carefully planned, but with flexibility.

8. Sneakers or sandals?
Sneakers, because my feet fall out of sandals and I get fixated on the hair on my toes and start feeling like a hobbit. When it gets hot, though, I guess I'd rather sweat in sandals. This is an entirely disgusting and embarrassing answer. Let's just pretend I don't have feet at all.

9. Air-conditioning or fans?
Air-conditioning is usually excessive, but fans blow around too much. I'll go with a/c set on 'low' and me at the other end of the house.

10. Concerts in the park or baseball games?
How about going to the dentist or baseball games? Concerts in the park.

Quiero comenzar, pero he perdido mi diccionario español-inglés, lo que es un problema, porque no tengo mucho vocabulario y olvido siempre donde van los acentes.

¿Que voy a hacer? Je ne sais pas.

Voy a 'cheat' con Babelfish. No me gusta Babelfish. Mi colega me dijo que es un website que traduce muy bien y que debo tratarlo para ayudarme con mis traducciones. HA!

Bueno. Hoy, no voy a estar cerca de un ordenador, porque voy a trabajar con mis manos, porque soy muy FUERTE! ARRRR! No, no es la verdad. Voy a trabajar con mis manos porque voy a ayudar los que mueven los muebles de la biblioteca. Porque no tengo otra cosa para hacer.

There may already be a Language Week on the calendar somewhere; I don't know. All I know is that my Spanish needs practice. So I'm going to declare next week (June 29 - July 5)... Language Week. This is a departure from my original idea of una semana española, because - surprise of surprises - not everyone speaks Spanish. And I think it would be fun if everyone could participate.

So.

Here are the rules of participation:

You can link back to this post if you want. Or not. If you don't want. I have created a really crappy image in Paint that you may use. Or not. If you don't want. The code is
<a href="http://www.srah.net/weblog/2003_06.html#005173"><img src="http://www.srah.net/weblog/lweek.gif" border=0></a>.

I believe that is all. Have fun. Be multi-lingual.

I called Alex in Mexico the other day, and he answered the phone.

"¿Puedo hablar con Alex, por favor?"
"Está."
"Hola!"
"Ehhh... hola. ¿Quien es?"
"Soy La Sarah!"

He didn't recognize me speaking Spanish. I'm assuming that's a good thing, like I've made progress or something. He didn't say so, but-- HEY! I'll assume what I want, buster!

I have decided to declare next week (Monday to Friday, anyway) La semana española. I am going to make an effort to blog a few sentences of Spanish each day next week, just to keep in practice. Would you like to join in and make it into a meme, instead of me just being a loser by myself? You could do it for any language you like...

This post is going into hiding to prevent spoilers for those who haven't read Book 5. Read on, MacDuff.

1. How are you planning to spend the summer [winter]?
Working to make money for grad school. Drinking wine and going to Meijers. Thinking about writing - but not actually writing - a romance novel.

2. What was your first summer job?
During high school, I worked at the public library during vacations, but I also worked there during the school year, so it wasn't really a "summer job". My first one of those was at the evil evil Hallmark shop at the mall. I asked for 35 hours a week and often got anywhere from 0 to 5. In order to actually have money and something to do, I had to take a second job. Here. And I've been here ever since.

3. If you could go anywhere this summer [winter], where would you go?
México, DF, para visitar a mi pololo querido.

4. What was your worst vacation ever?
I don't think vacations are ever bad. We tended to get sick of each other and Myrtle Beach when we would be stuck in the car together driving down there and back up every spring, but I wouldn't say it was bad. We even learned history, even if I didn't appreciate, at the time, stopping at every historical landmark between Michigan and South Carolina.

5. What was your best vacation ever?
I love vacations. Each one has merits and drawbacks. We'll say Summer 2001 in France and England, just because I haven't met John Hannah on any of my other vay-kays.

1.What is the difference between spirituality and religion?
I'm sure people have differing definitions, but I think that to be a religion, a belief has to involve a god or gods and often deals with the issue of faith in the unknown. I think one can be spiritual by believing deeply in a philosophy, with or without believing in a god.

2. What is the difference between someone listening to what you say and hearing what you say?
Listening involves a conscious effort to understand.

3. What's the difference between a Father, and a Daddy?
Daddy belongs to me, and fathers belong to other people.

4. What's the difference between being married and living together?
I think being married is a bigger commitment, because you're more responsible for one another, being linked under the law.

5. What's the difference between growing up and growing old?
I am doing the latter and trying to resist the former. Growing old is aging, growing up is maturing. The two aren't as linked as people would like to think. Growing old can bring you experience that makes you more mature, but doesn't necessarily. And you don't necessarily have to be old to be mature.

6. What's the difference between getting what you want and getting what you need?
Getting what you need is subsisting. Getting what you want is anything beyond that. Maybe I don't understand the question.

7. What's the difference between punishment and discipline?
Discipline doesn't have to involve punishment, but does involve a strong will. I don't know!

8. What's the difference between the Monday Mission and any other meme?
The Monday Mission is usually way longer.

1. Is your hair naturally curly, wavy, or straight? Long or short?
It's naturally straight, with weird kinks in it. I think rather than being natural, the kinks come from me tucking wet hair behind my ear and the hair drying into that shape. Either that or London. I suppose it's naturally long, but I cut it so it won't be.

2. How has your hair changed over your lifetime?
When I was young, my hair was a sort of pixie/bowl cut. Like Susie Derkins from Calvin & Hobbes, although I'm not sure why she's the first person who comes to mind.

Then I convinced my mom to let me grow it out, so for a while I still had the short bangs, but a long back. Sort of a hideous girl-mullet. Let us not think about 4th grade anymore.

Then I lost the bangs and went through a period where my very fine hair was too long, so it was too stringy. In order to combat this, I would braid my wet hair at night and wake up in the morning with a sort of home body-perm, so my hair would be wavy. Unfortunately, I was an idiot and would then brush it, so I just had this pile of frightening frizz.

When I went to France the first time, I got my hair cut and the bangs came back in a sort of face-framing short do. I thought I looked like Scully from the X-Files, but I didn't. I would curl it under every day, probably excessively

I pretty much kept that style for years, although I got lazy about the curling and the length went up and down. Now I have a sort of do with some razoring or something where it's pretty short, but shorter on top than on the bottom. And with kinks.

I really ought to share pictures, but I haven't any scanned. Perhaps later.

3. How do your normally wear your hair?
Air-dried with kinks. Sometimes in pigtails, although it's a bit short for that at the moment.

4. If you could change your hair this minute, what would it look like?
It would have body and lovely curls and be darker but more reddish as well. My curls would be described as "tousled" by my many admirers. Actually, that's what I look like in my head. It's always a shock when I look in the mirror and see that mousey straight-haired specimen.

5. Ever had a hair disaster? What happened?
Um... see question 2 for a long list of them. Actually, when I was in Jewelry & Design class in high school, the strikers on the blowtorches didn't work very well, so I once (I like to say "once" for storytelling's sake, but really I think it was twice) built up a huge cloud of gas, finally managed to ignite it, and singed my bangs and eyebrows. I didn't even realize anything had happened until I pushed my bangs off my forehead and they actually came off.

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?
Learned about seventeen different languages, including Spanish, Dutch, Arabic, Bulgarian, Japanese, Swedish, and Italian. It takes a lot of time and effort to learn languages, and I find it difficult to teach myself, so I'd have to sign up for classes. Which is something I haven't done so far. I'd also like to write a book or two.

2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?
Of course not. That would be rude. Sometimes I say "I think I liked it better before", which is rather rude, I guess, but honest. Depends on who's asking, how atrocious they look, and whether I care if they continue to look atrocious.

3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?
Sounds familiar, but I can't think of a particular instance.

4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?
I would like to live in the Star Wars universe, because it's all shiny and spacey and Han Solo is there. I'd also like to live in post-Snow-Queen Narnia or in Avonlea. Maybe in the world of Dr Seuss.

5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?
See question #1.

I have The Neil in my head and he won't get out. So we will try to distract him by thinking about something else.

Thursday Thumb-Twiddler

1. If you knew that millions of faithful followers were going to model their lives after you, would you change anything about how you live it?
I don't think so. I think it's kind of their own stupid fault for following me, so if they don't like it, tough cookies. It would be quite annoying and I think I would have to jump in a hole.

2. When you find you don't need something any more, is your impulse to throw it out, give it away, store it somewhere, or sell it?
Store it. Which is why my room is never clean. I'm getting better, but very gradually. I always think I might need fake cheese or troll dolls or old Halloween costumes at some point in the future.

3. What world record would you most like to set?
I suppose it would be fun to be able to run fast over long distances.

Thursday Threesome

Onesome: Quoth- Do you use quotations much? ..at all? What is your favorite quote? ...and why, pray tell?
Yessir. I have a whole lot of favorite quotes, so I will share a couple:

"We breathe in our first language, and swim in our second."
- Adam Gopnik, Paris to the Moon

"Life is too important to be taken seriously."
- Oscar Wilde

Twosome: the Raven- The symbol of the raven has a lot of mythology and superstition attached. How are you in this area? Do you avoid ladders with black cats perched on them on Friday the thirteenth? ...or do you just toss a pinch of salt over your shoulder and move along about your business? Hmmm?
I don't think I'm too superstitious about anything. Neurotic and paranoid, yes. Superstitious, no.

Threesome: Nevermore- ...and the softball of the week: What is it that you've tried that is on the "Nevermore" list? ...and do people even dare to bring it up around you?
I can't think of anything I disliked enough to never do it again. I guess I like most things, once I get myself to do them once.

Katie wants a meme and by gum, she'll get her meme or my name isn't Sparkling Joe Flanagan. What's on the walls in the room where I am, you ask?

I am in the Sorting Room, where one wall is covered in weird crap the sorting staff found in people's collections, like magazine ads featuring OJ Simpson, "I'm a Mondale fan" paper fans, and a big metal sign with Smokey the Bear on it. Another wall is covered in shelves full of boxes. Another wall has some kind of Chinese painting, and the last one has a painting of a sailing ship with lots of masts and sails. We will pretend it is a pirate ship, because I would like to be in a room with a pirate ship. Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

What's on your walls? And why am I sparkling?

Sigh. No one got the ultra-tricky song #3 in the Musical Trivia Quiz. The song was "Up There", from South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. Well I consider it a musical!

1. Cats or dogs?
Both have their advantages and disadvantages. I've never had a cat of my own, but I like them because they're independent. I like dogs because... they're not cats.

2. Butterflies or birds?
Butterflies, unless they're penguins. I prefer butterflies because they don't make such a mess when they poop on you. And I prefer penguins to butterflies because they can't get high enough to poop on you unless you're laying on the ground and they walk over you. And having a penguin walk over you is almost worth the poop. Why am I still typing?

3. Horses or cows?
Cows, because they say moo and make ice cream. Well, not the cows themselves, of course, unless there is some new dairy I don't know about. Horses are boring and kind of ugly if you really look at them.

4. Turtles or snakes?
Turtles because they're not snakes. I identify with turtles because they're slow and clumsy. And green.

5. Frogs or grasshoppers?
Frogs, because they have such a lovely country.

6. Lions or tigers?
Or bears, oh my? Tigers, because they have pretty stripes and look cuter when animated.

7. Elephants or mice?
Mice are vermin, but if you lived in a very strange world, elephants could be vermin too. Just imagine the mess they would make. No, elephants still win, because you look cooler riding an elephant than a mouse.

8. Porcupines or aardvarks?
Stekelvarken, dank u wel. I don't even know exactly what an aardvark is, except it comes at the beginning of the dictionary. Is it a relative of the anteater?

9. Unicorns or dragons?
Unicorns make me think of Lisa Frank, but dragons make me think of weirdie-beardie hippie people who go to Renaissance Festivals (says the girl who's been twice). Dragons also make me think of Harry Potter (), though, so they win.

10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You live in a rather dumpy apartment. A friend offers you a chance to be a roommate at a new place s/he is moving into, but they don't allow pets. You have a pet. Do you find your pet a new home and take the new place, or do you keep your pet and stay put?
Is this a theoretical pet, or my current pet? Howie would be gone. A theoretical pet... would be gone too, but I would probably give it more consideration. I'm sorry. I don't think I'm that attached to pets - I think they're weird.

Becky has inspired me to start again. The research for the latest edition of Srah's Musical Trivia Quiz (which always seems to happen when I am musical-soundtrack-and-Discman-clad at work and have nothing better to think about) was grueling. It took great effort to stop from bursting out loudly in song and dancing around in my chair.

1) What I give, I choose to give
2) Look in your mind/ I'm there, nothing's new
3) Up there where skies are ocean blue
4) No one can make us give our rights away
5) Let's all stroke together like the Princeton crew
6) Tell me the bad times are clean washed away
7) Yes, it came direct from Paris, France
8) Beedle-ee-dee-tee-dee
9) I leave and heave a sigh
10) Catch the moon/ One-handed catch
11) Super-ultra bonus points for admitting you know: Somebody soon will love you/ If no one loves you now

Guess away! Musical and/or song title! The wronger the better!

1. One thing that really annoys me is when someone at work will just start clipping their fingernails at their desk. In most cases, it is men who do this, which only makes it worse. I can't explain why this grates on my nerves, but when I hear that "click-click-click" of the clippers, I just imagine nasty fingernail fragments flying everywhere. What habit do people have that drives you crazy but doesn't seem to bother anyone else?
Um... Promo? Where the heck do you work? Um, I think chewing gum looks gross. And popping fingers is annoying, but that annoys a lot of people. I'm sure the people could come up with silly things I've ranted about, but nothing's springing to mind.

2. I just had to replace the compressor in my car. That was $400 I didn't have that is now gone. Have you had any expensive car trouble recently?
I was always wary about fixing Roger, because I was sure that as soon as I did some kind of big expensive repair, he would die for good. Sure enough, we had to replace something (was it the fuel pump?) just before he passed on.

3. A friend of mine came over for dinner with us this recently, and brought her baby. At only 8 months he is as cute as the dickens, but when he got hungry, his momma just whipped out her boob for him to start chowin' down on. Among friends or family I can see why she wouldn't be shy, but it still made me a little uncomfortable. I realize it is a natural function and wonderful bonding experience, but I wasn't ready to be a part of it. How do you feel about mothers who breastfeed their children in public? At what age do you think they should stop?
I'm for it, but I think they should do it discreetly and I'm not sure I would do it myself. At what age should they stop? Whose age? They should stop when they wean the baby, and there should be no age limit on breastfeeding mothers, I guess.

4. I was watching the "Antiques Road Show" recently, and the resident "expert" presented the "Atari 2600" game system as a popular collectible. I am now officially OLD! Do you recall the first item from your youth that became an "antique" and made you feel old and how you felt? Or if it hasn't happened, yet, what item do you think it will be and how do you expect it to make you feel?
I don't need items to make me feel old. I have no idea what goes on in the minds of these crazy teenagers.

5. It started raining last night as I was going to bed. Not storming or a hard rain, just a nice rainfall. The pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the window made for a peaceful way to drift to sleep (and also made it hard to wake up this morning). Do you like rainy days/nights? What type of weather makes you feel relaxed?
I like thunderstorms at night, with the lightning lighting up the sky and flashing in my window. It doesn't make me feel relaxed, though, because there's too much electricity and humidity in the air. Partly-cloudy weather makes me relaxed because sunshine makes me squint too much.

6. We used to joke about the retired couple across the street. Every night, they would pull out their lawn chairs, sit in their driveway and watch the world go by. We laughed about how someone would just waste away their life like that. Now 8 years later, I pull out the lawn chairs and we find ourselves doing exactly the same thing. Life has a way of making one humble. Have you ever found that you have become that which you once ridiculed?
I don't know if this is exactly an answer to the question, but I think my younger self might make fun of me, or just be disappointed in me. When I was younger, all I wanted to do was blend in and be just like everyone else, and now I take great pride in being different and slightly insane.

7. Have you ever sent an e-mail to the wrong person? What was the most embarrassing experience you remember?
I've sent emails to the wrong people, but I don't remember it resulting in embarrassing experiences.

1. What brand of toothpaste do you use?
Right now I am finishing off a tube of Aquafresh bought in France because it was the only kind I could find that stood up. Normally in the US I buy Colgate because I like their packaging better than Crest's. They're all the same, anyway.

2. What brand of toilet paper do you prefer?
Whatever my mommy has bought. In France, I bought The Pink Kind That Is On Sale brand toilet paper. I was very loyal to this brand.

3. What brand(s) of shoes do you wear?
I don't have any loyalty to a particular brand. My current trainers are Nikes (prounounced "nykes" because I bought them in France), but I think my last pair were Reebok or Adidas or something. Right now I am wearing a French shoe labeled Buggy. I don't know if that is the make or the model.

4. What brand of soda pop do you drink?
I try to avoid pop if possible, but usually end up drinking Coke when I do drink it. I drink Coke over Pepsi for the same reason I pick Colgate over Crest - I prefer red-and-white to red-white-and-blue.

5. What brand of gum do you chew?
I don't like to chew gum. It makes me feel trashy-looking.

Somehow appropriate...

1. Would you consider yourself an organized person? Why or why not?
I am obsessively organized in some respects, but mostly a complete slob.

2. Do you keep some type of planner, organizer, calendar, etc. with you, and do you use it regularly?
During the school year I often do, because I have to keep track of assignments, so I actually use it for other things too. During the summer and during the past year, I never had any idea what was coming up.

3. Would you say that your desk is organized right now?
For once, yes. But that's because my family had to clear it off to paint my room.

4. Do you alphabetize CDs, books, and DVDs, or does it not matter?
That is about the only respect in which I am organized. My room can be a complete pig-sty, but all of my books and CDs will be in order. Thus is the room of the library-working child of archivists.

5. What's the hardest thing you've ever had to organize?
My room is always a challenge. I tend to save things, thinking I'll need them later, and only throw them away when I realize I haven't needed them in the ten years since I first saved them.

A year ago, I did the band meme. So I will do it again today, but in French. This year's victim is, of course, Renaud.

1. Are you male or female?
"Femmes du monde ou bien putains/ qui, bien souvent, êtes les mêmes/ Femmes normales, stars ou boudins/ femelles en tout genre, je vous aime" (Miss Maggie)

2. Describe yourself:
"Moi j'étais rien-du-toutiste." (Socialiste)

3. How do they feel about you?
"Arrache toi d' là t'es pas d' ma bande/ Casse toi tu pues/ Et marche à l'ombre" (Marche à l'ombre)

4. How do you feel about yourself?
"J' peux pas dire qu'elle était vulgaire/ Ou arrogante/ L'était même plutôt au contraire/ Elégante" (Socialiste)

5. Describe your girlfriend/boyfriend:
"I love you because I do" (It is not because you are)
"Mon copain tu m' tiens chaud" (Chanson pour Pierrot)

6. What would you rather be doing?
"J' suis assis sur un banc/ Et je regarde les contemporains" (Cent ans)

7. Describe where you live.
"de l'autre côté de la terre" (Manhattan Kaboul)

8. Describe how you love.
"My loving, my marshmallow/ You are belle and I are beau/ You give me all what you have/ I say thank you, you are bien brave." (It is not because you are)

9. Share a few words of wisdom.
"Les dieux, les religions/ Les guerres de civilisation/ Les armes, les drapeaux, les patries, les nations/ Font toujours de nous de la chair à canon" (Manhattan Kaboul)
"Buvons un verre, allons pêcher/ Pas une guerre ne pourra durer/ Lorsque la bière et l'amitié/ Et la musique nous ferons chanter" (La ballade nord-irlandaise)
"Mais si t'es mon pote, tu m' laisses tricher au Scrabble" (Si t'es mon pote)

1. Who is your favorite celebrity?
Good question. I have no idea. None whatsoever.

2. Who is your least favorite?
Unfortunately I think I have a lot more celebrities I dislike than those I like. Andie MacDowell is always at the top of the list, but we'll also throw in Tom Cruise, Charlton Heston, Britney Spears, Johnny Hallyday (sacrilege! I will be thrown out of the country!) and John Revolta.

3. Have you ever met or seen any celebrities in real life?
Yes - Dave Coulier, Blake Sloan, Marty Turco, several other players who went pro and can probably be considered celebrities, John Hannah, and Tom Wilkinson. What do we consider a celebrity? I know/knew Jim Tobin and Fotolu.

4. Would you want to be famous? Why or why not?
I would like to be David-Sedaris-famous. I think I would like to be a little famous, but not extremely so. I would like to be somewhat recognizable but not enough that people would attack me all the time. I would like to be famous for my talent rather than my face.

5. If you had to trade places with a celebrity for a day, who would you choose and why?
As in the previous question, I think I would pick an author, who has some degree of anonymity. I would pick Sedaris again because I think he would get some interesting material out of switching places with me and being an English assistant for a day.

I'm not quite sure that I understand how this is supposed to work, but I will answer the damned question. In German.

Welchen Beruf wollten Sie ausüben als Sie ein Kind waren ? Üben Sie ihn jetzt aus ? Wieso nicht ?

At one point, I'm sure I wanted to be a princess. I am not a princess because I was not born one and because I have not yet ensnared a prince. I remember wanting to be a scientist, because it sounded smart. Later, I worked on my elementary school newspaper (The Mitchell Talks News... envisioned but not named by yours truly) and decided I wanted to be a journalist. Then I worked at the public library and decided I wanted to be a librarian. Then I worked in the Albion College archives and decided I never wanted to work in a library again. Then I worked in some more libraries, and now I want to make web pages and be paid for it. The End.

1. What was the first band you saw in concert?
Probably the Michigan Marching Band or the Mitchell Elementary School band. If we're talking real concerts, Dave Matthews Band. I believe my entire real-concert experience is DMB, K's Choice, DMB again, and Travis.

2. Who is your favorite artist/band now?
I have loads. The Beatles are pretty steadily at the top of the list, but we can also throw in Renaud and Charles Aznavour for the heck of it. My favorites change daily - I am quite fond of Cabas aujourd'hui.

3. What's your favorite song?
Once again, changes daily. Cécile ma fille, Emmenez-moi, Et maintenant, The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead and Embraceable You are at the top of the list.

4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be?
It couldn't be anything that involved lung power, of course. The flute was disastrous. I have always been interested in the drums. I would be an eensy weensy elfin drummer. Heh. Actually, I would rather play no instrument at all because I hate practicing and I hate playing the little not-songs that they make you play when you're learning. I want to play something people will recognize, not "A Brown Cow in the Country" or something like that, made up by the songbook writers.

5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why?
Hmmm. Renaud. He's neato. And Stefan would be jealous.

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
Two houses (Ann Arbor/Grenoble), two apartments (both in the same building in Vichy), and four dorm rooms (Albion - Wesley, Spanish House, German House, French House).

2. Which was your favorite and why?
Home in Ann Arbor is my favorite, because it's home in Ann Arbor. Of the apartments, I prefer the new one but do miss my oven. Of the dorm rooms, I do have a special fondness for 303 Wesley, but I might have to go with the Bowling Alley in German House.

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?
Stressful. I'm sure I'm going to forget or break something. Thankfully I don't move a lot. When I lived in dorms, I barely unpacked during the summer. My parents loved that.

4. What's more important, location or price?
Price. I am cheap, but that's because I have no money.

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?
Dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, dishwasher, roof, floor, walls, dishwasher, self-cleaning floors, dishwasher, enormous bathtub, dishwasher, skylight in one room of the house, doors, all-you-can-eat buffet, oven, and dishwasher. I hate doing dishes, in case you hadn't noticed.

April Fool's Day edition:

1. The Bogey-Man or Henry Kissinger? The Bogey Man, because it sounds like booger, which is an even funnier word than Kissinger.
2. Whips 'n chains or soft ropes with furbound cuffs? Whips 'n chips and soft marshmallow ropes.
3. Fish sticks or Amazon.com? This is a tough decision. Amazon.com brings a great selection of products, but you have to pay for them. You have to pay for fish sticks as well, but they are usually much cheaper than CDs. Fish sticks can be used when one wants to pretend to be a walrus and also have the advantage of being much tastier smothered in barbecue sauce than Amazon.com, so we will choose them.
4. Whitewall tires or color TV? Is this a racist question?
5. Leather or lace? Laser.
6. Abraham Lincoln or leftover turkey? Leftover turkey is dry, but holds up better in the microwave than Honest Abe.
7. Movable Type or Star Trek? Movable Type has more realistic backdrops.
8. Happy Happy Joy Joy or Bounce Bounce Bounce like Tigger? Happy Happy Bounce Bounce
9. The Michelin Man or the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man? L'quel d'entr'eux est français, pauv' con? Je suis tenté de choisir M. Michelin (il a pas un nom en français? je l'ai oublié), en tant qu'Auvergnat, mais j'ai commencé à imaginer des s'mores gigantesque qu'on aurait pu faire à la fin de Ghostbusters... miammm...
10. Thought-Provoking Question of the Week: If you HAD to marry one of the talking M&M's in the TV commercials, would it be the red one or the yellow one? Why? The green one, because she's FOXY.

1. What was your most memorable moment from the last week?
Sometimes I feel like Stefan thinks I'm insane and never understands anything I say, but I felt like I actually won his respect this week when I told him that I had never been to Germany because I didn't speak German. I know, I explained further, that everyone says Germans speak very good English, but I would feel guilty going to Germany and speaking English. If I were Chinese and spoke English in Germany, I wouldn't feel so bad, but being American, I would feel too arrogant and American doing so. Stefan, who fears English encroaching on the world, seemed to respect me more for this.

2. What one person touched your life this week?
Today as I was walking past the bus stop where all of my students wait for the bus, I made eye contact, smiled, and said "Hello" or "Bonjour" to several of my students, with no response. I was a bit embarassed and saddened and was looking at the ground and trudging along when I heard a "Bon week-end" from one of my BEP students, who I hadn't even seen. I'm sure other people touched my life, but that in particular touched my day.

3. How have you helped someone this week?
I did eight text-recordings for Agnès, but that's sort of my job, and I peeled potatoes for Renata, but I was going to be eating the potatoes so I had to do my part. I don't know if I've done anything purely altruistic...

4. What one thing do you need to get done by this time next week?
I should probably compile a list of common English mistakes for my S2OLs. I bet they would like that.

5. What one thing will you do over the next seven days to make your world a better place?
Um... try to help my students learn English and therefore make France a better place for tourists? Geez. What will I do?

1. Poetry or prose? A prose by any other name would smell as sweet. Or whatever. Prose is the answer. Prose is the word, is the word that you heard, it's got groove, it's got meaning. Ignore me.
2. Funky modern art or the older, "classic" variety? Depends how funky or how older. I likes me some Magritte, yo.
3. Sculptures or paintings? Generally paintings, I fink.
4. Theatre: exuberant musical or serious drama? Exuberant musical or comedy. They are better for my simple little mind, which doesn't like to leave the theatre depressed or confused.
5. Ballet or modern dance? If I have to watch someone else dancing, I guess it shall be ballet. Both are rather torturous.
6. Movies: major studio or indie? I prefer something somewhere in the middle, like foreign films or lower-priority films from the big studios. Not the huge blockbusters, but not independent films, either, because I often understand why they couldn't get funding. Plus, they're all black and white hippie movies about gay cowboys eating pudding.
7. Authors: Shakespeare or Dr. Seuss? Both have their merits, but I'm going to go with Dr. Seuss because it's always a good read. I prefer to watch Shakespeare than read it.
8. TV: PBS or A&E? No tengo cable, therefore PBS.
9. Music: Beethoven or Beatles? Beethoven sucks.
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: You are a contributing member of your favorite art museum, and visit on a regular basis. They announce a new, temporary special exhibit by an artist surrounded by controversy...this person's work and/or political views offend you. Do you stop supporting the museum, or just stay away during the time the exhibit is there? I just don't go. That's what I say in theory, anyway. I suppose it might depend on the controversy.

I've never done this, but the Monday Mission hasn't been posted yet and I felt my blog needed something positive for once. So here I am, looking on the bright side of life on this bright, shiny Monday.

• I work in Vichy, not Paris. I complain a lot and claim my students can be "aggressive", but I haven't been attacked with a knife or had to put up with any of the other things I've heard from my fellow teachers' Paris experiences.
• It is the 24th of the month and I still have money in my account. I am not having the end-of-the-month panic that I had in November through January. Thank you, CAF.
• My family is healthy, as far as I know.
• My mom, in particular, is adorable. If I had my own computer, this would be my wallpaper.
• My Pato is delightful and I love him, even (especially?) when he calls at all hours of the night and/or morning.
• I am going to the resto gastro again on Wednesday to stuff myself and to show off one of my favorite classes to my assisting cohorts.
• I have one set of penpal letters off my hands and they are no longer my problem.
• I have re-learned how to make bulleted lists in HTML.
• I have three classes cancelled this week, plus the two that are en stage. It's not that I don't want to work... it's that, well, my life would be easier if I didn't have to.
• There are .
• I got to see my soeur française and show her my exciting weekend life.
• In wandering and getting lost, Sophie and I saw parts of Vichy I'd never seen before.
• My demon-student was difficult again today, but in an immature and irreverent way rather than a hateful, disrespectful, intimidating one.

1. If you had the chance to meet someone you've never met, from the past or present, who would it be?
At the moment I'd like to meet Dubya, except for the fact that I would be immediately thrown to the ground and handcuffed by Secret Service agents just for thinking about what I'd like to do to him. So instead I would like to meet Ian Rankin or Christopher Brookmyre, either of which would be much happier and less violent.

2. If you had to live in a different century, past or future, which would it be?
I would like to live back when language was just being invented - when people started making actual words instead of grunts. That would be neat.

3. If you had to move anywhere else on Earth, where would it be?
France, probably, because I know how to live in France. Chile, perhaps, if I were with someone who knew how to live in Chile. England, perhaps, but I don't know how to live in England. I would have to learn.

4. If you had to be a fictional character, who would it be?
Had to? I think it would be a good thing to be a fictional character. But I'm silly like that. I would like to be Cindy Lou Who (who was not more than two) or maybe Anne Shirley. I would be a lot of people, but we can't go on all day.

5. If you had to live with having someone else's face as your own for the rest of your life, whose would it be?
Would they have that face too? I wouldn't want to be constantly mistaken for someone famous. I will go with Alyson Hannigan because she's cute and I've already been compared to her.

1. Do you have any plans for "Spring Break" this year?
I want to go home.

2. Did you ever have any wild Spring Break experiences? C'mon, tell me the stories!
Everso wild. My senior year in high school, we went to Toronto and went shopping and saw Rent and put underwear on our head (although not at Rent...). My freshman year in high school, Jen Dively came to visit and got bitten by my evil demon dog. So, as you can tell, my life is just one party after another.

3. What is your most memorable vacation of your youth?
Memorable vacation in my youth. I suppose that would be when I went to France with my high school French teacher, because all of my family vacations melt into a Michigan-to-South-Carolina-and-historical-landmarks-in-between globby sort of haze. Globby haze? What?

4. What was the best vacation you've ever had as an adult?
They all have their advantages, don't they? I liked my February 2001 vacation in Limoges, Carcassonne, and Nîmes, but then I was all alone and sometimes rather lonely and frustrated. I liked visiting Antoine because his family is nice and his house is full of chocolate. I liked going to Chile because everything was new and different, but it was cold and everyone spoke Spanish.

5. Now, what is that "Dream Vacation" that you have always wanted to take if you had the time & money?
If I had the time and money, my life would be one big vacation. I would go everywhere. I would go away. I would not babysit anyone.

6. Have you ever take, or had the urge to take, a "blog vacation?" That is, just taking some time off from blogging?
Not on purpose. Well, I suppose that's what it was when my grandpa died and I stopped taking blog-notes, but I was not consciously taking a blog vacation.

7. You know how you get that creepy "danger" vibe you sometimes get from people you don't know? Has that ever turned out to be right? Or have you ever had a bad feeling about someone or a situation and not listened to that "little voice?"
Promo, have you been reading my blog again? Danger, Will Robinson!

1. What's the most expensive meal you've ever eaten? What was the occasion? Was it worth it?
The one I can think of is when our freshman seminar went to France and while the boys had to scrounge up some francs on the last night, Roommate and I blew all of ours on a four-course meal. I don't know if it was really expensive, but it felt like it, in comparison to McDonalds or a street kebab.

2. What do you like to do when nobody is looking?
Run to the CDI and hop on the Internet.

3. What's your special purpose?
To spread cultural understanding throughout the land. And help people with the Internet. Hell, I dunno.

4. Do you like Autumn? If so, why? If not, tell me about your favorite season.
I do, right until it starts getting windy. Breeze good, wind bad.

5. Ever recommended a movie to someone only to have them hate it? Which movie? Did you feel uncomfortable about that?
Yes. I am eternally bitter towards Jen and Lewis because I showed them The Pirates of Penzance and they made fun of it the whole time. Kurt was slightly kinder. I am also mad at the thousands of people who crowded into Jen's room to watch Psycho with us and rather than being scared, complained about the heat the whole time and laughed at the end.

6. I've had hay fever all day! Sniffles, sneezing, I tell ya, it's awful! Do you have any allergies? Anything that just gets you down for the count?
Just hay fever, as far as I know.

7. Do you like mixed drinks? What is your favorite? As long as we're here how about you order me something too? Just "suprise me!"
Um... don't know much about them, other than I can never drink a whole one before the taste of alcohol disgusts me. Piña coladas aren't bad, and neither are piscolas.

BONUS: Why do we scream at each other?
Because you screamed at Alf first.

1. What do I do like an idiot when I'm nervous in class?

2. What would I like to have my students do in English, as long as I don't have to do it with them?

3. What am I really craving, frites à la française?

Click on the Op-Ed icon for the answers!

1. If you could only choose 1 cd to ever listen to again, what would it be?
That is very difficult, and my favorite CD changes so often. For now, I will say Charles Aznavour's 20 Chansons d'or.

2. If you could only choose 2 movies to watch ever again, what would they be?
Argh! Again difficult, but I'll go with my two favorites: Sliding Doors and Le fabuleux déstin d'Amélie Poulain.

3. If you could only choose 3 books to read ever again, what would they be?
I'm thinking three Choose Your Own Adventure stories, because that would at least add some variety. But we'll go with Me Talk Pretty One Day, the Anne of Green Gables box set (is that cheating?), and Lord of the Flies.

4. If you could only choose 4 things to eat or drink ever again, what would they be?
Coffee ice cream milkshakes, spinach soup, cheese and potato casserole, and clementines. Sounds like a rather balanced diet of things that make me happy.

5. If you could only choose 5 people to ever be/talk/associate/whatever with ever again, who would they be?
That is poop. I don't want to have to choose. I will say Pato, my parents, Becky, and Sophie. But I am very upset at having to choose.

1. What kind of cinema did Cheryl and I accidentally wander into two years ago?

2. What kind of bar have I never been to?

3. What did Rotolu used to do when he slept in French class?

Click on the Op-Ed icon to see the answers and feel free to play along!

1. Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon?
I've never been to either. Neither have I been to Maine or Oregon and neither do I know anything about either state. We'll go with Oregon, because it sounds slightly warmer.

2. New York or New Jersey?
New Jersey has a bad reputation, so I'll go with New York State, even though we once went to a Syracuse Taco Bell where their 59/79/99 cent menu was 69/89/1.09. I was young at the time and very bothered by this.

3. Van Gogh or Van Halen?
Now I think I know
What you tried to say, to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free:
They would not listen; they're not listening still--
Perhaps they never will.

4. Bill Clinton or Bill Gates?
Bill Clinton, I guess. He's rather dopey, whereas the other is probably eeeeeeevil.

5. Leonardo daVinci or Leonardo DiCaprio?
daVinci was a Renaissance Man and a genius. Leonardo DiCaprio should have drowned faster.

6. "American Pie" or "American Idol"?
Don McLean's version is long and Madonna's is dumb. I hated American Idol even as I was addicted to it, so we will go with American Pie (not the sequel) because it takes place in Michigan.

7. George W. Bush or Curious George?
I'll go with the smarter of the two monkeys. Just call me The Man in the Yellow Hat.

8. Billy Joel or Billy Idol?
You may be right
I may be crazy
But it just may be a lunatic you're looking for.

9. Donny Osmond or Donald Duck?
I've never been much of a fan of Donald Duck. I'm not much of a fan of Donny Osmond, either, but I like Mulan and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I wonder which my sister prefers?

10. Dr. Seuss or Dr. Kevorkian?
"Poor Charlie... tough decision!" We'll go with Dr. Seuss.

1. Do you have a favorite piece of poetry or prose written by someone else? Care to share it?
Since seeing (and researching before seeing) Pandaemonium, I've been obsessed with Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, when I ought to have been obsessed with Wordsworth's Daffodils instead. I blogged it last January.

2. In High School, did you enjoy creative writing? Do you currently do any other writing in addition to your Blog?
I loved creative writing from elementary school onwards. Unfortunately, I don't get as many chances to do it these days. I wrote some fold-over stories with Becky a couple of weeks ago (you write part, then fold it over so only the last line is showing... it creates a ridiculous mess).

3. Have you ever noticed that the Blog entries you least expect to get the most comments do, and those you expect to generate a lot of feedback don't? Which Blog entry of yours surprised you by getting a lot of comments? Which one did you think would generate a lot but didn't?
People were very fascinated by earwax. I like it when people carry on conversations or arguments in my blahblahs. I don't like it when I ask a question and no one answers it.

4. Sometimes you get a chance to make a lifestyle change that has a huge impact on the course your life takes. That is, a moment where something became very clear to you, and that realization changed your life, such as: the need to leave a relationship, to stop an addiction, to bond with someone, to start a new career, and so on. Have you ever had an "awakening" moment in your life?
Uh... I must still be asleep.

5. Then there are other times where you can have a huge impact on someone else's life. You suggest they see a doctor, stop them from taking that last drink, or maybe just say some kind words at the moment. Have you made a lasting positive impact on the life of someone else?
Not that I can think of...

6. Are there any charities or organizations which you support? How did you come to be involved with them?
No. I'm bad. When I'm a grown-up and have money, I would like to support My Local Public Television Station. Does that count?

7. Care to collaborate with me? Help me out and write the rest of this poem:
I drifted though a dream last night,
visions full of colors bright.
My thoughts began to drift to you,
and in an instant we were two.

I touched your hand,
We began to blend,
Filled with a feeling
that should have no end.
AABB, CDED. No thank you.

BONUS: Hey cutie, what's up with this attitude?
I am pleasant for no one but Alf.

1. What hard-to-find (in France) spreadable food will I not miss while I'm somewhere beyond the sea?

2. What did I taste - mixed with alcohol - at my aunt and uncle's wedding reception this weekend?

3. Where am I going to have my one-person wedding?

Click on the Op-Ed icon for the answers!

1. What nighttime activity of my father's keeps us all awake when we share a motel room?

2. What do people say I do "like a gerbil"?

3. What was I doing when I saw Sam Gamgee chase after Frodo's boat and almost drown?

Click on the Op-Ed icon for the answers!

1. Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise?
Tom Hanks. I've never particularly liked Tom Cruise or any of his movies. I haven't particularly liked many Tom Hanks movies either, but Sleepless in Seattle was okay.

2. Julia Roberts or Julia Stiles?
Julia Roberts. I've liked her ever since an orangutan peed on her.

3. Kevin Costner or Kevin Spacey?
*Shudder* No question. Mr Spacey knows how to make movies that aren't about baseball.

4. Ben Affleck or Ben Stiller?
Ben Stiller is funny. And he's sort of cute, if you can get over how much he looks like a monkey.

5. Sean Connery or Sean Penn?
Let'sh shee heah. Our shishtah can do a shmashing impresshion of Mishtah Connery, sho I shupposhe we'll have to shelect him. All Mishtah Penn hash ish a shexshy shibling.

6. Jennifer Lopez or Jennifer Aniston?
Blargh. I guess I'll go with Jennifer Aniston because she has better taste in husbands than a certain Friends co-star.

7. Courtney Love or Courtney Cox-Arquette?
Ack. Speak of the devil. Well, I guess we'll rank her higher than Ms Love because she doesn't scare me quite as much (although anyone who could be married to David Arquette must be pretty scary...)

8. Sarah Michelle Gellar or Sarah Jessica Parker?
For some reason, if I don't care, my first thought is "well, what's their taste in men like?" So SJP wins.

9. Michael Douglas or Mike Myers?
Mike Myers is cute and funny and Canadian. Michael Douglas is old and creepy.

10. Nicole Kidman or (Anna) Nicole Smith?
I don't like having to pick yucky people! But when the competition is even yuckier... Nicole Kidman it is.

1. What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you on a date?
I don't know if it's really embarassing per se, but when I went on my first date, I went to see Titanic. My "boyfriend" asked me what I thought of it, and I said I didn't think much of it. It's good to be true to yourself and your feelings and all, but it would have been nice to say something nice about the movie, seeing as he asked me out and paid and all. Wouldn't it? I don't know, I guess that's a question for another post.

2. Do you eat your veggies?
Yes. I like veggies. I'm not a vegetarian, but I'm a semi-veggie just for taste/texture reasons.

3. Most people are comfortable going to the bathroom in front of at least one person. Has anyone ever used the restroom in front of you that you wish wouldn't have? What happened and how bad was it?
This sounds like a personal story that Promo is just dying to tell. As for me, I am comfortable going to the bathroom in front of no one. I do it in public bathrooms because I have to, but when I'm in my bathroom at home, I won't allow anyone in my bedroom. In the bathroom, they're going too. At home, I don't want anyone listening to me. Why am I still writing about this? I need to stop.

4. Have you ever had a bad online transaction? You know, the item wasn't what you thought it would be, you got totally ripped-off, no refunds, it just plain sucked? What's the story there?
Once I ordered two CDs through CDNow, canceled the order, then ordered the same two CDs, plus another one. Apparently I hadn't canceled the order in time, because I ended up getting five CDs total. I was too lazy to get around to sending the extra two back, so I still have them. I still have them in the CDNow box that they came in. I think I'm waiting until they go out of print, so I can sell them for big bucks on Ebay. I'm not sure how much demand there will be, even if that day eventually comes.

5. Ever have a current love find any old love letters (or similar item) you kept that probably should have been thrown away? How did that turn out?
I don't think so. He's a bit jealous that my prom picture (with another feller - the same as in question #1, actually) is bigger than the picture of the two of us on Huron 2002 prom night, but he's decided he looks better than Josh, so it doesn't matter.

6. A secretary at work was telling me about a trip she took to Mardi Gras. She showed off her beaded necklaces and proudly said she "earned' each and every one of them (for those not familiar with this tradition, ladies walking up Burbon St. in New Orleans will flash people who are upon the balconies, in return the guys will throw them worthless plastic necklaces). I was shocked, I had no idea this quiet gal had a wild side. Was there ever a time when you did something totally outrageous because you knew no one would know who you were, or maybe didn't care even if they did?
Hmmmm, can't think of one. Maybe I don't have a wild side.

7. Hey, what happened to you last night? I waited forever!
Wha--? These #7 questions are getting odder and odder.

BONUS: I know I could break you down, but what good would it do?
As are the Bonus questions. Alf Alf Alf.

1. What's your favorite piece of clothing that you currently own?
I like my stripey blue knee socks (which I am wearing right now) and my soft grey argyle socks. I also like my skirt that looks like a bell. I go "ding-dong" whenever I wear it. Then Alex asks me "What's brown and sounds like a bell?"

2. What piece of clothing do you most want to acquire?
I guess I would like some grey pants or some new black pants. There isn't anything I've particularly been lusting over.

3. What piece of clothing can you not bring yourself to get rid of? Why?
There are a lot of t-shirts that have sentimental value... like my Library of the Year 1997 t-shirt from the AADL or the enormous free t-shirt I got when Kurt was on Jeopardy!.

4. What piece of clothing do you look your best in?
My mummy says I look good in red. My Pato likes me in skirts.

5. What has been your biggest fashion accident?
I used to wear really big, baggy t-shirts. Like, size large on a 13-year-old srah. Then, of course, there was the phase in 5th grade where Jenny Poor and I would try to wear our clothes backwards, inside-out, or upside down. Yeah... we were cool.

Onesome. Double. If you could have a clone of yourself, what thing would you most want that clone to do so you don't have to?
Go to work today. My clone would be here and I would be home in bed.

Twosome. Bubble. Anyone you know live life in a bubble? Who? And do you wish they'd snap back to reality?
Well, there's the Albion Bubble. My mother always lamented that I never knew what was going on in the world because we were sometimes cut off from news or just didn't pay attention.

Threesome. Bubblegum. Willy Wonka talks about chewing gum to be a nasty habit. What's your worst habit? Do you wish you could give it up?
My worst habit is not thinking before I speak. I used to be a lot better than that, but when I got done thinking, the conversation had moved on, so I never said anything. Now I just spit things out for the sake of talking and sometimes wish I hadn't.

What are some of the domains you admire? why?
I admire not.so.soft because there are so many sections, but they're nicely organized and easy to navigate. Xkot for the same reasons. That's what I like in a website. JohnHannah.net is also pretty well-organized. Good job to that srah person.

How long have you been webdesigning? what is your favorite html/cgi/php/etc. script? if you dont webdesign would you ever want to learn?
Yergh. Webdesigning? Is that what I do? You make it sound so fancy. I like alt tags and title tags - little hidden notes that people might only see if they're looking for them.

What graphic programs do you use? do you get the effect that you want?
I have MS Paint on my computer. That's as good as it gets. But I lurve Photoshop. I use it whenever I have the chance.

Describe a recent dream.
Now that I have the South Pacific soundtrack in my alarm clock, I want to have a South Pacific dream, but I haven't yet.

1. What do you do to make things better when you feel sad and/or lonely?
Cry. Oh wait, I do that all the time. That doesn't sound good, does it? I mean that I cry to relieve stress or tension or get attention.

2. Are you a "touchy-feely" person? That is, do you like to touch people you don't know that well? And on the flipside of that, do you like being touched by someone you aren't close with?
I didn't like to be touched in high school. Hugging freaked me out. Then when I got to college and didn't have my family for physical contact, I got really huggy. Now I think I've sort of normalized and reached an equilibrium. Not excessively huggy, but neither am I excessively standoffish. I need to work on my personal space bubble when I get to France, though. The kissing thing weirds me out for a while when I arrive.

3. Do you like to have "me" time, time to yourself to be alone and relax? Or do you prefer to just do your own thing with someone else in the room? When was the last "me" time you got and what did you do?
I love "me" time. I have it all the time. Constantly. Without end. Why are you bothering me?

4. Generally speaking, how do you feel about the concept of marriage? Are you the marrying type? Do you think the act of getting married means something today or is it simply just "a piece of paper?"
I would like to get married someday, I guess. It legalizes a commitment.

5. That said, as many as 25 states have passed legislation regulating who they believe should be the "marrying type." What are your thoughts on the banning of same-sex marriages?
It shouldn't be done. Same-sex partners should be able to legalize their commitment just like heterosexual couples.

6. If there was one law you had the ability to create or change, what would it be?
I would make it illegal for the president to declare war without Congress' approval. Oh wait...

7. What would you like someone visiting your Blog for the first time to know about you? Now is your chance!
It's my birthday!

BONUS: Can you hear them?
I can. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalf, they are calling.

1. Sesame Street or Captain Kangaroo?
Sesame Street. If I ever watched Captain Kangaroo, I don't remember it. I sense I will be a bit young for all of these questions.

2. Muppet Show or Fraggle Rock?
Muppet Show (sorry, Jillian)

3. He-Man or Jem?
I watched neither, but I suppose I would have watched Jem if I watched one or the other.

4. The Smurfs or Muppet Babies?
I've never thought much of The Smurfs, but they are Belgian. Muppet Babies really scared me whenever they opened the closet and there was live-action stuff in there. But we did a Muppet Babies play in third grade. I'm conflicted on this one.

5. Archie or Josie & the Pussycats??
Archie, I guess. We're talking comics, right? There wasn't a cartoon on TV, was there?

6. H.R. Pufnstuf or The Banana Splits?
Wha--?

7. The Partridge Family or The Brady Bunch ?
The Brady Bunch. Especially the 1990s movies making fun of them.

8. Happy Days or Welcome Back Kotter?
I've never seen Welcome Back, Kotter, but Happy Days has Winthrop Opie in it.

9. Punky Brewster or Small Wonder?
They were from my time period, but I never watched either. I lie. I think I saw the credits for Small Wonder and they had a screwdriver in her back. Creepy. So we'll go with Punky, although I don't really want to.

10. The Facts of Life or Silver Spoons?
Huh?

I've noticed a lot of people don't use the words that Chris provided on their webpage. So this week at least, I'll do that. If you want to know the answers, mouse-over the text or click on the Op-Ed graphic to visit the site.

1. What have I never donated, because I'm too small, because I've spent time à l'étranger and because I'm scaaaaaaared?

2. What was everyone covered in after moving Becky in on Friday?

3. What salty liquid do I exude far more often than I'd like?

1. What is your current occupation? Is this what you chose to be doing at this point in your life? Why or why not?
I am a student assistant in a historical library. No no no no no no no. And no. No no no. I never had any desire to work in anything related to archives.

2. If time/talent/money were no object, what would your dream occupation be?
Half-time Director of International Education, half-time web designer.

3. What did/do your parents do for a living? Has this had any influence on your career choices?
They are both archivists. They got me interested in libraries, but sure that I never wanted to work in archives.

4. Have you ever had to choose between having a career and having a family?
No.

5. In your opinion, what is the easiest job in the world? What is the hardest? Why?
The easiest is doing something that you love to do. The hardest is doing something you're morally conflicted about. I can't think of specific professions that would be the easiest or hardest, because that depends on the abilities of the person doing them.

Onesome. Small. Is it a small world? In how many miles of space do you live your life?
My life... hmm. When I was at Albion, it was about 60 miles. When I'm in Ann Arbor, more like 30 (or however many it takes to get to Alex). Next year, do I count 4000? I won't be travelling those 4000 miles often, but parts of me will still be over here.

Twosome. Spiral. Ever felt as if you were on a downward spiral? How did you pull out of it?
I don't think so. Sometimes when the work piled up at school, I thought I would never finish it. And I was having anxiety attacks a few weeks ago. I just had to put my affairs in order and plan out everything there was to be done, in what order.

Threesome. Notebook. Notebooks and pens and crayons and glue...when you think about school supplies, what do you most remember?
Free crayons in elementary school. I would bring the crayons from the previous year in order to avoid using the fresh, sharp ones that the school gave me.

What do you see yourself doing 10 years from now?
Oh, for heaven's sake. I don't know what I'm doing next year, much less when I'm - dear god - thirty-two. I guess I'll be working in an International Education office somewhere. Sure, we'll say that.

If you could do anything that you wanted, what would it be?
Work half-time with international people, build websites half-time, and make enough money to travel extensively during my vacations.

Where in your life do you wish to be a year from now?
Shoot. See question #1. A year from now, I hope to be preparing for graduate school...

Describe a recent dream.
Too late. Already did.

1. CandyLand or Chutes and Ladders?
Yechhh... Candyland, I guess. We didn't have Chutes & Ladders when I was growing up.

2. Barbie or GI Joe?
Neither. Barbie, if pressed to answer with one or the other. War is bad.

3. Play-Doh or Silly Putty?
Play-Doh. Silly Putty is fun for about five minutes.

4. Lincoln Logs or Tinkertoys?
Lincoln Logs! I had lots of fun with those, but I don't think I ever had Tinkertoys.

5. The Game of Life or Monopoly?
I hate them both so much. At least with Life you can fill your car up with kids and same-sex partners and have interesting life experiences. Oh, and that game, unlike Monopoly, eventually ends.

6. Etch-a-Sketch or Lite-Brite?
Lite-Brite. I don't have the coordination for an Etch-a-Sketch.

7. The Slinky: metal or plastic?
If I'm going to smack myself in the head with something, it had better be plastic.

8. Easy-Bake Oven or Sno-Cone Machine?
I never had an Easy-Bake Oven, but I like baking better than using arm muscles to grind ice.

9. Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars?
I thought they were the same thing. No preference.

10. Spirograph or Paint-by-Numbers?
Paint-by-Numbers?! That sucks. Spirograph anyday.

1. Many children have blankets, or a favorite nubby stuffed animal that they like to keep near them for security. Do you recall what you had for your "security blanket" as a child? When did you finally give it up? What brought that about?
I don't remember a blanket or stuffed animal, but I had my "binky", or pacifier (I think the nickname comes from the brand of pacifier we bought). I believe I gave it up when it developed a crack and started biting my tongue.

2. Now that you are a big kid, what do you have to give you that same sense of security?
Tea. Lots and lots of it.

3. With a little over four months left in 2002, have you accomplished everything you wanted to for the year? Is there anything that you would like to accomplish before the year is over?
I have a job. I think that's all I really cared about. I suppose I would have liked to have more direction to my life, but tant pis.

4. I don't know about you, but it seems to me children have it pretty good these days. Game systems, computers in the home, microwaves, cable TV, the internet, cell phones and pagers, they certainly have a wider variety of technology than most of us did as children. What modern convenience, if any, do you think it would be good for children today to do without? What would they gain?
TV dinner tray tables and cell phones.
Cell phones because parents don't have that in-between contact so that they know who their children's friends are. Parents aren't involved these days. They're so busy with their own lives or afraid of smothering their children that they don't pay enough attention to them.
TV tray tables because people need to eat at the dinner table. My family doesn't have trays but we eat in front of the TV anyway. It's such a struggle now to get us to eat like civilized people.

5. Many of us have one thing in which we believe we excel. What do you do better than most?
Almost everything. Mwah ha. Let's see. I only know two people who can beat me in Trivial Pursuit because my head is full of useless knowledge. I also think that I speak French better than most of the French majors I know (and sometimes better than my professors). I'm a snot.

6. In the United States, and possibly other countries, teenagers in High School usually wind up falling into several social circles or "cliques." Stoners, Rich Kids, Jocks, Cheerleaders, Band, Drama, Goths, and so on (though the names are probably different today). What High School "clique" did you find yourself in? Was it by choice or did it just happen? Did you look down on other groups? (Aw it's ok, it was/is High School, we all did dumb stuff)
I guess I was a nerd. But high school, for me, anyway, wasn't anything like on TV. The cliques weren't clearly defined. There were people who branched the cliques and it wasn't like you couldn't talk to anyone in another clique. I was brainy, but there were people worse off than me, socially.

7. (it begins) I have great news! I won the contest and we now have plane tickets to anywhere in the world. The bad news is we have to pick a place now and leave in the morning. I can't decide where to go, so you get to pick. Where should we go, and what is the first thing we should do when we get there?
I already have tickets for France, so we'll have to go somewhere else. It's getting towards springtime at Macchu Picchu...

BONUS: Must I beg you?
No, you must beg Alf. Bow down before him.

What odd topics for the Sunday Op-Ed. It seems like I've already talked about all of them in the past week. Guess I'll have to find something else to say about them.

1. Elementary School
Where was I at the top of the heap academically... and excessively, embarassingly proud of it?

2. High School
Where did I think I was happy... until I started looking back on it and became quite glad I wasn't there anymore?

3. College
Where was I happy to finally find people who were in school for a reason, and not just because they were legally required to be?

According to Meg, the average woman has 25 items in her purse. I've counted items in my backpack before, but now I'm a Grown Up and have to have a purse. It's still enormous and I might as well be carrying a backpack. So let's inventory mine now:

1. Two sets of spare contacts (I didn't know one of them was there until I started inventorying)
2. Two computer disks
3. Three Subway Sub Club cards (full of stamps and waiting for me to go to Subway and redeem them)
4. Various cards tucked into front pocket: library card, video rental cards, gift card to The Gap, etc.
5. Chilean Vitamin C tablets (yum)
6. comb
7. small yellow hair-ties (appropriate for pigtails)
8. five scraps of paper wtih important bits of information scribbled dessus
9. camera
10. extra roll of film
11. planner I hardly ever write in or consult
12. ticket telling me to pick up a registered letter at the Post Office.
13. chapstick (strawberry)
14. change purse
15. checkbook
16. wallet
17. two little notebooks
18. keys (key to keychain ratio - 1:1)
19. three pens

So that's nineteen kinds of things that add up to much more than twenty-five total items. Blargh. No wonder I need such an enormous purse.

1. Dr. Seuss characters: the Cat in the Hat or the Grinch?
The Grinch has Whos, but I think I'll go with The Cat in the Hat. It has my old car's namesake, Roger, whose name is not Roger in the book.

2. "Anne of Green Gables" or "Little Women"?
Anne of Green Gables! Gilbert! Moody Spurgeon MacPherson! Gilbert!

3. Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys?
I've only read one Hardy Boys book, but I had a sizable collection of Nancy Drews. Besides, I have to go with her for female solidarity or something.

4. Winnie the Pooh characters: Tigger or Eeyore?
Blargh, I hate both of them. Pooh.

5. Which author: Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary?
Judy Blume, I guess. Both are good.

6. Roald Dahl books: "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" (Willy Wonka) or "James & the Giant Peach"?
Some of the bugs in James & the Giant Peach scare me. The book's always made me a little uncomfortable.

7. "Harry Potter" or "The Wizard of Oz"?
Harry Potter! But if we're talking movies, Wizard of Oz.

8. Curious George or Madeline?
Madeline. She's French. Hee hee.

9. "A Wrinkle in Time" or "Little House on the Prairie"?
That's a toughie. First, I have my usual stupid announcement that Almanzo Wilder is my distant cousin. But I think I might go with A Wrinkle in Time. Actually, if we're talking about those two specific books as opposed to the series, it gets more difficult, because neither is my favorite in their respective series.

10. Dr. Seuss again: "Horton Hears a Who" or "The Lorax"?
The Lorax has a good moral, but Horton has Whos. I like schmall people.

1. If I could guarantee that the Fashion Police would not lay the smackdown on you, which favorite out-of-style article of clothing do you wish you could wear right now? (and if you have photos of you wearing it, post 'em)
I like old-fashioned stuff, so out-of-style clothing sounds good to me. I would wear 1940s rayon dresses and T-strap shoes or saddle shoes and rolled-up jeans. I would be very cute.
Either that, or I could go back to elementary school and wear slouch socks and my coat backwards. *snort*

2. In your opinion, who is famous but shouldn't be?
What a question! Pato and I had this discussion a few weeks ago... If you could kill or remove from show business five people, who would they be? I came up with Britney Spears, Andie MacDowell, Charlton Heston, John Revolta and Tom Cruise.

3. Are there any new movies or TV shows that you are forward to this fall?
Hmm, I can't think MDS of any MDS new shows coming MDS out this fall, so MDS I'm not sure I'm going to MDS be able to answer MDS this question.

4. If you had a time machine that you could use only one time (there and back), where would you go and what would you do?
I'd like to go back and observe myself and see if I like myself better now than in the past. I hope so.

5. What cologne of perfume do you like to wear? Which brand do you prefer that your partner wear?
I wear Arielle by Fragonnard. I don't know any male cologne names or smells, but I would prefer that my partner didn't stink.

6. Do you recall your first "French kiss?" Tell me about how that felt, and how it came about. Do you like them?
It was 1996 and I was getting ready to go to France. I had a party and invited all of my friends over who were going on the trip with me. We watched the movie and liked it very much. Thank you for asking.

7. Excluding your partner...If you had the opportunity, who would you most like to French kiss?
I'm not really coming up with anyone... we'll say Vincent Perez, so it would be a real French kiss... but I don't think I really want to kiss him. I'd say Alan Rickman, but he scares me a little. How dumb is it that I can't think of anyone?

BONUS: Can't you see that it's late at night?
Alf is hugging me to his big furry chest, so everything looks dark to me.

1. Canoe
What is a verb that I have never performed?

2. Books
What do I wish I had more time to read - but when I'm in France I'll have too much time and not enough of them?

3. Vodka
What is something that sounds awfully yucky but I'm pretty sure I've never tasted it?

1. Do you have a car? If so, what kind of car is it?
Sort of. I have a 1987 Honda Civic which has recently become undrivable. So I still physically have it, I'm just not driving it anywhere. I'm not quite sure what to do with it. But our family has a multitude of cars, so there's always something to drive if I can't wangle a ride out of someone.

2. Do you drive very often?
More than I'd like. I can't wait until I'm rich and famous and can pay people to drive me places. Or until I'm in France, where public transportation actually exists.

3. What's your dream car?
I would like something small but sensible (like me). A stick-shift and four doors - something like a little French car or a VW Jetta.

4. Have you ever received a ticket?
I've never even been pulled over. Yay me.

5. Have you ever been in an accident?
I was rear-ended once when I was in high school. I cried. (Surprise!) It smooshed the back of my car enough that it wasn't terribly visible, but the trunk didn't close properly and it disabled my right rear door enough that I tried not to use it. I never got around to getting it fixed because I am LAZY and I DON'T CARE.

If you could be any animal on earth what would you be? why?
I would be a llama. No one ever suspects the llama...

If you could design the perfect animal what would it look like? how would it eat? how would it breath? what would you call it?
I would design an animal with long floppy ears and soft, velvety fur. It would be plaid and eat human-food and stupid people and be independent like a cat, but fly with me on its back if I asked it to. I would call it "Henry".
I've just drawn a picture of Henry. It looks a lot more dog and less llama than I'd intended - but that's my drawing skills for you. In fact, it looks more like a dog than most drawings of dogs that I've done in my life. Maybe I will scan it later and post it for you.

What, if any, animal would you like to demesticate [sic] and keep in your home?
I'm going to say a llama again, because I like the word llama. I think it would be sort of destructive, but I guess that's the point of domestication. Can't you see a nice llama curled up in front of the fire, or licking your face when you come home?

Describe a recent dream.
It doesn't say I have to describe my own dream, so... my mom dreamt last night that she and I were going to the guillotine to be executed. Becky was driving us there in a bus and having problems backing the huge vehicle up. Her godparents were watching and making remarks about her driving abilities and telling her to hurry it up.

1. What's your personal clothing style...trendy or classic?
My style is classic to the point where I don't wear trendy things until they're a couple of years past the current style and have been established as more than a passing fad. I finally own 3/4 length sleeve shirts now and I think I would actually buy some capri pants. I'm such a dork.

2. Do you shop for designer names or stick with the more generic brands?
I don't wear Tommy Hilfiger or something like that, but I do like to wear Levis and I shop at The Gap from time to time. Does that count? If it fits and looks good, I'd be just as happy in a shirt from Meijers as one from The Gap, though.

3. Work clothes: dressy or casual?
They're more casual than I'd sometimes like. Sometimes I get frustrated in the morning because I can't find anything, so I just wear jeans. Also, it's a bit SUPER FREEZING COLD here to wear skirts every day.

4. Days off style: dressy or casual?
Casual to the point of slovenly? Sometimes I have the urge to dress up on the weekends and then I wonder why I couldn't find that outfit during the week.

5. Women: high heels or flats? Men: Wing-tips or work boots?
I think flat dress shoes look dumb unless you're Mary Tyler Moore, but I do like to wear tennis shoes for comfort. I don't like high heels, but when you're as short as I am, it's nice to have a boost of an inch or two.

6. Do you have a large wardrobe, or just a few carefully selected pieces?
I have way more clothes than any normal human being could ever need. Maybe I'm just lazy about doing laundry. I can't wait until I go to France and only have the clothes and possessions that I need. It feels so much healthier than here, where I'm surrounded by stuff.

7. Do you shop for clothing at stores or from catalogs/internet?
Not much, but I probably would. And they probably wouldn't fit. See #9.

8. Are most of your clothes dry-clean only or machine-washable?
Machine-washable. Even if they're dry-clean only, I usually try to wash them. Sometimes they survive.

9. You buy an article of clothing and realize it is all wrong for you when you get home. Return or keep it?
Story of my life. Another explanation for why I have so many clothes. I don't like to shop and I don't like to try things on, so I usually just grab something that looks nice on the hanger, then I go home and it doesn't fit. Then I'm too lazy to look for the receipt or go back to the store. I haven't quite mastered the concept that just because something is in my size, doesn't necessarily mean it fits.

10. Hats: yes or no?
Sometimes, now that I have contacts. They don't work with glasses at all. And woolen caps make my hair all staticky and awful.

1. Ever considered just deleting your Blog and not doing it anymore? What prompted that and what stopped you?
I've never really thought about stopping altogether. I've thought about taking a break, but I haven't really done it except when I couldn't get to a computer. I like talking about myself so much that I need an outlet, I guess. And I'm looking forward to blogging about France so much, that I don't think it could stop altogether until I was done with that. We shall see.

2. How about a quick review of the last movie you saw?
I feel like I saw something else afterwards, but I saw Duck Soup on video this weekend. It was excellent as always and I want to make Alex watch it.

3. What's your favorite gadget? Are you lusting for any new ones? Will you ever be satisified???
I guess my computer is a gadget, but it's a big, bulky desktop. So I am lusting after a laptop, a cell phone, a digital camera, a good scanner, and a copy of Photoshop. I guess Photoshop isn't really a gadget. Could I have a PDA? I don't know what good they are, but they sound gadgety, so I want one. I think I shall never be satisfied.

4. Saturday night I played "UNO" for the first time in years, I mean it has been over 10 years since I played it. It was great fun, but it really made me want to learn how to play Backgammon again. What "table game" do you enjoy playing most with other people? Have you played it lately?
Trivial Pursuit is my favorite board game of all. I like to show off my enormous amounts of useless knowledge. I prefer to have some real competition, though, because I always feel guilty when I'm playing with someone who doesn't know any trivia.

5. About a year ago I was obsessed with loosing weight, and I dropped pretty low before I got a handle on things (I've actually gained about 8 pounds of it back, and it is still a struggle sometimes to not try to loose it). Thankfully, I like fattening sweets and buttery popcorn too much to live like that for too long. Have you ever been obsessed with something so much that it was close to causing you physical or mental harm? If not, have you known anyone else who has?
I don't think so.

6. Did you grow up in a family or community that displayed racist or prejudice attitudes? Did it influence you in any way, either toward or away from those views? How did you manage to avoid it, or did you?
I can't think of any examples. I'm from Ann Arbor, for heaven's sake.

7. Good grief, I am starving! You got anything to eat around here? I just had some Cheez-Its. Yum.

BONUS: What did you tell them? I told them Alf was the only one for me.

1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from?
I am 1/4 English, 1/4 German, and the other half is a mixture of French, Irish, Scotch-Irish, English, Dutch, etc.

2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit?
Uh, France. Wait, I'm going there already. I've visited England and Scotland, so I guess I'd like to go to Germany. But I'm afraid. They speak German there.

3. Which would you least like to visit? Why?
Germany. They speak German there. I am very conflicted on the whole Germany issue. Maybe I should go to Brazil instead. I speak Portuguese, don't I?

4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage?
Uh, we go to Frankenmuth. That's sort of like celebrating my heritage, in an incredibly tourist-trappy way. Sometimes I celebrate Scottish stuff with the other Fannahs...

5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)?
First? I believe it was Barnard McNitt, who came from Ulster in 1720. Why do I know that? Because I am a big nerd and the daughter of a big genealogy nerd. For more information about me (as if you care), you can visit this awful website I made for class in 1998.

Onesome: Lions. How late do you lie in, or are you an early bird? "fess up, no lying here.
I like to sleep in, but sunlight often wakes me up. With real, working shutters (you wouldn't know them - they don't seem to have them in this country), I could sleep forever.

Twosome: Tigers. What brings out the tiger in you? Interpret this how
ever you want, just warn us if it is rated other than pg *grin*.
Hardy har har. Um, not much. Frosted Flakes?

Threesome: Bears. Bare it all for us. We always complain about the parts
of our bodies we don't like. So here, tell us your favorite part of your
body...
My favorite? Hmm. My eyes, I guess? I have also been told I have a cute butt, but that's a horrible thing to like - you can't even see your own!

1. Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton? Buster Keaton. I always thought silent films were classics just because they were old and they were the predecessor to sound films. But I saw The General in an art-house cinema when I was in Grenoble and I found myself laughing out loud. Plus, you gotta love him in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and In the Good Old Summertime (which is vastly superior to the other movies based on the same play).

2. Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello? Don't care. Neither are particularly funny.

3. Marx Brothers or Three Stooges? Hmmm. As Luc in French Kiss would say, "Tough decision!" On one hand, we have the Marx Brothers, comic geniuses, who made dozens of movies that make me laugh and who I would recommend to anyone. On the other hand, we have the Three Stooges, who are in no way, shape, or form, humorous.

4. David Letterman or Jay Leno? Dave!

5. "Saturday Night Live" or "Mad TV"? I try to watch SNL every week. I think I've seen parts of Mad TV twice.

6. Adam Sandler ("Mr. Deeds") or Mike Myers ("Austin Powers")? First of all, I have no desire to see Mr Deeds because it's a bad remake of a movie I really didn't like in the first place. While I have nothing against Adam Sandler, I think Mike Myers is adorable, so he gets my vote.

7. Jerry Seinfeld or Ray Romano ("Everybody Loves Raymond")? Ray, just because Jerry is obnoxious.

8. George Carlin or Bill Cosby? "You kids, with your hippin' and your hoppin' and your bippin' and your boppin'. Ya don't know about the jazz music. Well jazz is like the Jell-O Pudding Pops, no, it's like the Kodak film..."

9. "Monty Python's Flying Circus" or "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"? No one of my generation could be expected to have seen Laugh-In, but from what I've seen of the parodies, it looks pretty stupid. Therefore, "The room is full of milkmen... some of whom... are very old."

10. Gone but not forgotten...John Belushi or Chris Farley? Another tough decision... between two unfunny fat men whose humor dealt with such varied topics as... being an unfunny fat man. We'll go with Belushi, because The Blues Brothers, while not funny, has Carrie Fisher in it.

Where is it? Anyone else having problems getting through?

Onesome. Parsley - does anyone really cook with this stuff?!? what is the weirdest/funniest thing you ever did with the garnish on your plate at a restaurant.
Hid a slug under it?

Twosome. Sage - to whom do you turn for advice? This isn't limited to just one person but could be several different people for different situations.
Mummy or Alex, I suppose. Unless it's specific advice that someone else would know more about...

Threesome. Rosemary and Thyme - what does the name "Rosemary" mean to you and to what time frame does the memory belong?
I like the song that goes "Love grows where my Rosemary goes and nobody knows like me..." So that would be the 60s, I guess. Anyone know who that's by? I think it was on the Shallow Hal soundtrack.

Did you read any comic books when you were a kid? Any particular reason you liked those specific ones?
I didn't. When my sister was younger, she would buy Archie comic books and I would read those, but I was never into superhero comics.

If you could live in the world/story of any comic book series, what would it be, and how would you figure into it?
Ooooh, me in the world of Archie... wait, no, Archie sucks. Do manga count? I would like to live at Maison Ikkoku, or go to school with the gang from Marmalade Boy. I don't think I would want to be in a comic book with people fighting all the time, but that's just me being practical and realistic.

There's a new comic book series coming out, and you are the superhero. Describe yourself, including things like your superhero name, abilities, costume, method of transportation, weapons if you use any, sidekick if you don't go it alone, what can kill you, alter ego, and arch-nemesis.
I recently created a superhero called The Archivist, whose super power is that she can put on and remove those stupid white cotton gloves we have to use for handling pictures, just by thinking about it. Schwing! On! Schwing! Off! But I don't want to be an archivist, so I shan't be her. I don't want to fight anyone. But I guess if I'm a superhero, I must. We'll start out with the nemesis, because that's what drives people to become superheroes in the first place, I guess. Evil they feel they need to fight. And the evil I must fight is... cultural insensitivity. Crap, I am a really sucky superhero. Um... stupidity. Stupidity is good. I will just run around kicking the crap out of stupid people. I will be The Destupidizer. I will have super martial arts skills and kick people around a lot. I will ride in a little tiny car that goes put-put-put-put-put and wear a rabbit suit. AAAAH! I am having problems taking this question seriously, as you may have already guessed. Maybe I'll come up with a better answer after I think about it some more. Probably not.

Describe a recent dream.
Cannae remember one. Sad.

1. Laptop or desktop computer? It would be nice to have both. I have a desktop and want a nice new laptop to take to France. Unfortunately, I shan't be able to afford one. I will have to look into renting or somesuch.
2. PC or Mac? PC.
3. DVD or VHS? We have an enormous VHS collection, but the DVDs are growing. I love DVDs. Language selection and extras!
4. Cell phone or regular phone? Regular phone. I would like a cell phone, just for the entertainment value of making "Que sera sera" my ringtone, but I hate using the telephone. Maybe I will get one in France, instead of a landline.
5. Satellite or cable TV? I would like me some satellite so I could watch things like BBC America. I have neither.
6. X-Box or PlayStation? Blargh.
7. Netflix or video store? I've never used Netflix, so I guess I'll just grumble about the local video store.
8. Wide-screen or regular TV? We have regular. I think I like it. I don't mind letterboxed movies.
9. Film or digital camera? I have film. I would like to have both...
10. Dial-up or high-speed internet connection? I would rather have high-speed, but have dial-up. Slooooooooow.

1. Who or where do you go to when you need help for web-related problems?
I don't usually have a lot of web-related problems. I do what I can and if I can't do something, I don't. Or I find a site where it's been done and peek at the code. I don't really know anyone in person who's at my level. Does that sound immodest? My Computer Science teacher told my parents that when we got to the web page part of the course, he just stood back and let me do my thing because I knew more than he did in that area. I used to go to my dad for help and I bet he still has a few tricks up his sleeve that I don't know about.

2. There is a big mess of gossip going on in Blogland due to revelations about a very popular Blogger. I got very caught up in reading all the links to links about it until I stopped myself realizing it was none of my buisiness. Do you ever get caught up in gossip, either speading it or listening to it? How does it make you feel? Or have you ever been the subject of gossip?
Now I'm upset and curious because I don't know about this gossip. Grrr. I don't think I've ever really been the subject of gossip or really been involved in any horrible gossip.

3. In a relationship, when your other takes a dig at you (read: a fight), do you go for the jugular and get "in their face" or try to peacefully smooth things out and have a calm discussion?
I usually cry. Oh wait, that's my solution to everything. Between the two of those... depends on the situation.

4. A friend once told me "You can tell when someone is bored with what you are saying to them when they reply with 'That's interesting.'" And I have found this to be pretty dang true. How do you know when someone has lost interest in what you are saying?
Lost interest? In what I am saying? Doesn't happen. Ha ha! Um... loss of eye contact? Or really heavy eye contact, like they're trying to force themselves to pay attention. I don't usually talk a lot or talk much for a long period of time. I try not to give people the opportunity to get bored, I guess.

5. Ever get jealous of the popularity other Blogs?
Sort of, but once I think about it, I wouldn't want to be too popular. I like to see new comments, but some people have posts with more than 100 comments. I don't think I could deal with that. Being small-scale, I have a relationship with my visitors and a healthy balance between people I know in real life and people who are exclusively Internet friends.

6. What is your favorite dirty word? (those who don't curse can pick your favorite happy word)
B*****d. Hee hee hee. I also like to incorporate words from other countries, but I do that with everything - not just dirty words.

7. (the continuing story...) OK, we are definitely doing that again. But seeing as it is nearly 6am now, how about breakfast? Anywhere you'd like to go or should we fix our own? What do you like? Or is there something else we need to do first?
We are going out. I'm not fixing you anything. We are either going to have a traditional English breakfast or we are going to go to a place with a cafeteria-style breakfast bar, where we can choose from a wide array of breakfast foods. Yum!

BONUS: What have I done to deserve this?
I believe you kicked Alf.

1. Muppets
What do I love because they, like most of my favorite kinds of humour, manage to layer kid-humour and adult-humour so that everyone can enjoy them together?

Just the other day my family was watching Sesame Street (we were about to watch a video and turned on the TV while we were waiting for Becky) and Baby Bear was talking to Zoe about sharing. He wanted to take a ride in her toy car and offered her the chance to play with his little miniature car, which had a "wich Cowinthian weather" interior. We all had a giggle about that.

2. Pajamas
What did I seem to be the only person wearing to class this year?

My freshman year, everyone seemed to roll out of bed and go to class in pajamas every once in a while. This year, I felt incredibly alone when I did it. Not that it stopped me, slovenly student that I was. Now I'm a grown-up and I have to get dressed in the morning. And shower too!

3. Science Fiction
What is science fiction, anyway?

I've been trying to answer this question, but I keep coming up with things like Star Wars. Star Wars, for all its reputation, isn't really Science Fiction. There isn't much science in it. It's more along the lines of fantasy and adventure and happens to be set in space. So what are some examples of Science Fiction? I don't know if I've ever read/seen any.

1) As I look back upon my life, it's always with a sense of... pride. I've done some rather silly things in the past but overall, I think I've done a good job of living.
2) What are you no-no-notorious for? Hmmm. Knowing how to do things on the Internet, having nice handwriting, knowing random facts about John Hannah, and talking funny.
3) Have you found what you're looking for? I've found a lot of things I wasn't looking for. And I suppose I've found some I was looking for, too. I wouldn't say I've found everything I'm looking for. You have to have goals and dreams or you'll just stop existing.
4) Who can that be knocking at your door? Not Alex! He doesn't have a car and it would be quite a walk. Must be some Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses or something. Don't let Mommy answer it or she'll invite them in for tea and cookies.
5) Are you a family wo/man? I am, in that I like being a kid. I'm not sure that I would like being a mom.
6) Girls just want to have... lunch, according to Weird Al.
7) Some guys have all the... charm. Like Alex. And others don't have any at all. Strange, that.
8) (thanks Karen!) I'm once, twice, three times a... Hmmm. I'm four times a traveller to France... I'm four times a traveller to England. Two times a traveller to Scotland. I am three times a traveller in continental Europe, if you're counting countries (France, Switzerland and Belgium) and not trips from the US (four/five, depending on how you count my Christmas break trip home). There. Three. That was grueling.

If you could breathe underwater (and assuming that water pressure and temperature no longer negatively affected you), what would you do?
I would visit the Gungan city. Oh sorry, Katie puts me in a Star Wars mood. This question makes me think of those funny artificial breathy things Qui-Gonn and Obi-Wan used in Episode I. I suppose I would use it to keep from drowning... I don't think it would make me go out on the water any more than I do.

You are an ocean spirit, and you can do whatever you wish with the mortals who cross over your part of the sea. What would you do with those unsuspecting travelers?
Reverse their genders, then turn them back once they float past my little part of the sea. I am a mischievous little ocean spirit.

You, a land faring person, have fallen in mutual love with a mermaid/merman. You could choose to become a mer-person, or he/she could choose to become human, but either choice would be permanent. Both of you have family, friends and lives in your homes. Do you stay together or not? Either way, how do you deal with the situation?
I think it would be quite difficult, as I know absolutely nothing of the merculture. But it would also be a learning experience. If my family could come visit me, I guess I'd be up for it.

Describe a recent dream.
I can't remember any recent ones.

1. Painting What did I have a fun time doing to Robin's room with Robin and Cheryl during the summer between 9th and 10th grades, while being introduced to Dave Matthews Band as we listened to Andy Freeth (then known as Andy Freak)'s copy of "Under the Table and Dreaming"?

2. Canada Where do international students studying in the U.S. need to fill out a form to go to, presumably to ensure that they'll come back?

3. Pets What does the Chia brand produce?

Humanity is starting over, and you have been chosen to lead it. You must now choose only 20 people for New Humanity Colony. Who would you choose, and why?
I would choose teachers, but you still have to have people to do labor. Good luck getting teachers to do it. I guess I would have teachers and teenagers/young people to do the work and be educated.

You have succeeded in securing the basic necessities for your people. Now it is time to begin developing your society's infrastructure and culture. What are your first priorities?
Education education education. Why does it seem like that's all I ever talk about in a Wednesday Whimsy?

Humanity obviously started over because of existing problems. What do you see as Old Humanity's biggest problems, and how will you steer New Humanity in a different and better direction?
Old Humanity's biggest problems are ignorance and lack of education.

Describe a recent dream.
I dreamt I was in a fabric store that had those mechanical ponies where you put a penny in and it rocks back and forth. I stood in front of the pony and stopped it from moving, and I felt bad for the kid who was on it, so I set a penny on top of the box so that he could go again. Then this fat little kid came along and grabbed it off the top. I followed him and stopped him and asked what he thought he was doing. He didn't think he'd done anything wrong and had no problem with stealing. I got really frustrated with him because he kept saying he did nothing wrong and I kept telling him he stole the money and he should be ashamed of himself. I was following him around the store and lecturing him when his mom showed up. She was the owner of the fabric store, but she was also someone I've seen before in real life - maybe from church or from my elementary school. She started yelling at me for yelling at her kid. I told her what the kid did and she told me it wasn't my place to tell her kid how to act. She didn't seem to have a problem with stealing either, because she didn't discipline the kid herself. She went back to the long line of people who wanted fabric cut and I continued scolding the kid, until my mom was through the line and we went out on the street, speaking French and looking for a convenience store.

1. What shampoo do you use? I usually use Suave, I think. Usually peach or chamomile. Lately I found this Jasmine something or other but I don't remember who makes it.

2. Do you use conditioner? What kind? Nope, not usually. My hair's too long at the moment and it gets weighed down by conditioner. If I do, it's usually the accompanying conditioner to my shampoo, or whatever Becky has lying around.

3. When was the last time you got your hair cut? Waaaaaaaaaaaay too long ago. My hair cutting lady went on maternity leave in January and I haven't bothered to get my hair cut since.

4. What styling products do you use? Sometimes I use mousse. I don't know what it's supposed to do or if it does, but sometimes my hair looks better if I use it.

5. What's your worst hair-related experience? I always had short hair when I was little, then my mom finally let me grow it out in fourth grade, so it was this awful growing thing with short bangs and the back long. Not nice. I also used to put my hair in braids when it was wet and it sort of crimped itself, except for the ends. I thought it looked cool. It didn't.

The life of a Jedi (light) offers strict discipline, complete control over passionate/selfish/hurtful emotions, no place for love or family, sacrifice of your own desires, constant duty to safety and justice for others, and deference to the wisdom of your elders. The life of a Sith (dark) is made up of complete indulgence in your desires, control over others, no responsability or deference to anyone, the ability to take whatever you want, and cool lightning-zappy fingers. Regardless of the intergalactic political situation, which side of the Force would you choose?
I like to be a good girl. I think I would choose the light side. If I were on the dark side, I think I would feel too guilty. Or I might just leave the Order altogether. But I suppose part of the training is learning how to give up things like family and love. And you can always be a rebellious Jedi like Qui-Gon and not trust your elders too much...

Have you ever dreamed up your own Star Wars character? If yes, tell us about him/her and how he/she fits into the existing Star Wars world. If not, then which Star Wars character would you choose to be, and why?
I would like to be Wedge Antilles. He survives the whole IV-VI trilogy without bringing too much attention to himself. Plus, through the magic of time travel, that yummy Obi-Wan Kenobi is his nephew. Heh.

If you could get stranded with any Star Wars species, group, or character on any Star Wars planet, who/where/why?
Ewoks are cuddly, but they also like to eat people. So maybe not them. Obi-Wan Kenobi is cuddly, too. No, wait, he's a Jedi and can't give in to his desires or fall in love with me. So I guess I'll have to be stranded with Han Solo. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Describe a recent dream.
I had a dream last week where I was in the parking lot behind our family's church with a Brita pitcher, filtering water. The water I was filtering had these clear centipedes in it and they kept growing and multiplying... echh!

Mom
Who doesn't get shown enough appreciation?

Flowers
What did the Patito inundate me with when we first started going out?

Children
What does future teacher Erin Lewis call "germ factories"?

1) Mexico
Where is Fanny going to be until December, when she moves to...

2) France
Where will I be from mid-September 2002 to May 2003? Where will I be when The Chamber of Secrets and The Two Towers come out? Where will Alex hopefully come to visit me? Where will I hopefully reunite with at least three of my old Native Speaker pals? In what country will I have to learn about grown-up and independent things like finding an apartment, paying rent, and cooking for myself? Where will I be molding young minds about American life and the English language? Where will I probably once again be mistaken for a high school student rather than teaching assistant?

3) Tequila
What song always makes me think of Pee-Wee Herman dancing on a bar?

(I'm so lost. I have no idea what day of the week it is anymore - I had to check and see which daily i did yesterday.)

We've all wanted to be in a movie at some point. If you could be any existing or added character in any movie, what would it be?
Lina Lamont, I suppose, but Jean Hagen did quite well. See the second question. And um... let's see... adding myself? I would like to be an extra. I would love go around being an extra in movies and not telling anyone and seeing if anyone would catch me in the background. Hint hint, John... The only problem is that I get very self-conscious on camera. But I suppose if it wasn't pointed at me, I'd be okay.

Have you ever dreamed of being a star of the stage? Tell us about it.
I have always dreamt of playing Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain. It is my dream role.
I also want to put on a Very Awful One-Woman Show of 1776 where I play "all the parts, including Mabel" (family joke). 1776 only has two female parts, plus about a million male ones. I think it has the potential to be disastrous. Excellent!
Other dream roles include Eulalie MacKechnie Shinn and any other non-starring comedic role that doesn't require me to sing well.
I have great theatrical dreams but very little talent and a tendency to sweat and stammer when I get nervous. Plus, I never hear about auditions, I only hear about the production when it's being performed and have to go and say "I could've been a better Lina than her."

No one can convince me that they didn't act up to get attention as a child. Tell us a story about your childhood theatrics.
Hmmm. I'm sure my mom or sister could come up with some, but they aren't coming to me. How about it, you two?

Describe a recent dream.
I dreamt that it was the last day of a class in high school. I hadn't been all semester because I didn't care. Then they announced that there was going to be a final over things discussed in class and I got really worried. I left the classroom and discovered I was on a cruise ship. Then Oscar, a friend from high school, was chasing me around the ship and trying to kiss me.

If you could speak any known human language in the world, what would it be, and what would you do with that ability?
Spanish, and I would use it to communicate in Chile this summer. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

How about any known animal language? Why would you want to be able to speak with that particular animal?
I can't think of a single animal I'd like to communicate with. I think we get along just fine at this point.

Have you ever had your own made up language, either by yourself or with someone else?
Like Katie's, my family seems to communicate entirely in quotes. Alex and I started making up a language based on Spanish à la Onion, but we didn't get very far.

Describe a recent dream.
I dreamt I was being pressed to cheat on the Patito, but I didn't give in.

Everyone has daydreamed about how they will meet their ideal romantic partner. What is your fantasy meeting?
Have they? Everyone? I'm sure I've had plenty of fantasies, but there isn't just one. My fantasy involves me carrying a big box of water bottles and trying not to drop it. The box is so heavy I can't talk and there's no way I can wave so I just smile at him and continue to the airport van.

If you and the love of your life could live any life together, what would it be?
My Patito will be digging things up in Europe and teaching in England. I will be in front of a computer, gradually going blind. I'm not sure if we're living in England or if he's commuting from France.

If you could have it any way you wanted, how would you propose (or be proposed to)?
"Hey, wanna get hitched?"
"Hmmm, I'm not doing anything this afternoon. Sure."

Describe a recent dream.
I can never remember any stinking dreams on Wednesday!

1. What is your favorite restaurant and why? Mmmmmm, food. Let's see. I like Mongolian BBQ... I like Zingerman's Delicatessen, if that counts as a restaurant. I like Chili's. Generally I'm not a big fan of chains. I like to eat at lots of restaurants, so maybe my favorite is Whichever One I've Never Been To.

2. What fast food restaurant are you partial to? Subway is yummy. Local Ann Arbor fast food restaurant Y & S (yogurt and sandwiches) is lovely. I am also rather partial to Arby's ("I'm so hungry I could eat at Arby's!"). I like Boston Market. I'm not such a fan of the traditional burger places.

3. What are your standards and rules for tipping? I usually calculate 20% (it's easier than 15%) and round up or down to the nearest even amount. I was a lot more generous when I was in high school and had money.

4. Do you usually order an appetizer and/or dessert? It really depends on how hungry I am, what the menu is like, and who I'm eating with. I can't eat an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert, but sometimes I can handle a combination of two. My sister is the Appetizer Queen - she wants an appetizer wherever we go and she has to pick it. So sometimes I'll share with her or sometimes I'll get an appetizer as my entrée and have dessert with that.

5. What do you usually order to drink at a restaurant? I am notoriously slow. I used to always automatically get a Coke-or-a-Pepsi but then I gave up soft drinks for a period of time and haven't really jumped back on the bandwagon. Sometimes I like juice if they have good kinds. Or specialty drinks, milkshakes, chocolate milk, or lemonade. Plus, since August I've hadd access to a whole new section of the drinks menu, so I peruse that when I'm not the one driving home. When the waitress comes I usually ask for a glass of water in order to stall and look at the menu and I order my drink when I order my meal.

I don't usually write this much for the Friday Five. Good questions! Now I'm hungry.

If you found a lamp containing a genie who would grant you three wishes, what would they be?
Security (job, relationship, etc.), love, and a cheese sammich.

Now say you only had one wish, and it has to be for yourself. And when you make that wish, something of equal magnitude but of the opposite nature (good/bad) will happen to someone you don't know and will never meet. What do you wish for, and why? REMEMBER, you can vote for something good OR bad for yourself...)
Notapony. I would wish that I would never in my life own a pony. Because I have no desire whatsoever to own a pony, but for some reason other people do. That would be a good one. I wouldn't get anything out of it, but I wouldn't hurt anyone else either. If I wished for a lifetime supply of coffee ice cream, would someone else never taste coffee ice cream? Because I might be able to handle that too. This is a cool question.

Now say that the genie will give you the opportunity to go back in time and change ONE thing about your own life. What will it be, and how will it affect your life at present?
Hmm. I would... go back to earlier in my college career and think about picking up an additional major. That sounds like a good one.

Describe a recent dream.
Shoo. I had a dream night before last and I was like Can't blog about this one now - gotta save it for the Wednesday Whimsy so of course I promptly forgot it. Shoo.

1. What are the first things that you do in the morning to start your day? I get up, check my email, blog, read blogs, suddenly realize I have to be to class in five minutes, put on pants and run to class.

2. What are the last things that you do at night before going to bed? I change into my pajamas, hopefully remember to turn my speakers down, turn out the lights and climb into bed.

3. What daily routine have you recently added to your day? Hrm. Can't think of one.

4. What routine do you wish you get rid of? Routine? Get rid of? I don't adopt unnecessary routines in the first place. Hence not drying my hair.

5. What's the one thing that makes you feel like something is missing if you don't do it some point within your day? Blogging! And sometimes reading other blogs, because I don't know what's going on in someone else's life.

For gals: Panties -- Thongs, bikinis, or briefs? Bikinis
For guys: Briefs, boxers, or boxer briefs? No preference, I guess. Boxers are cool because they come in different patterns. Perhaps briefs do too...?
Movable Type, Blogger, or Greymatter? I use Blogger. Movable Type looks good but hard!
Rabbits or hamsters? Rabbits!
Electric or gas home? Electric, I guess. Either way sounds potentially dangerous...
Mud between your toes: comforting or disgusting? Good when appropriate. If I'm at the beach, it feels good. If I'm not at the beach and I just step in a puddle, it's gross.
Question mark or exclamation point? ?, I think.
Is it hot where you live? Yes or no? I wish...
Is your monitor currently dusty? Yes or no? It's a little dusty. Not the screen so much as the top.
Would you rather have an abundance of love, sex, or money in your life? Lurve, please.

If you could have any magical power, what would it be and why?
I would bend men's wills! And women's! Raaaaahrrr! Do my bidding! Actually, that wouldn't really be fun. A lot of responsibility would come with being able to control everyone around you. So I would be able to change size at will. Being eensy-weensy is better than being invisible because if you're invisible people might try to walk through you and blow your cover. Of course, being tiny you can be stepped on. I would be teeny-tiny with a rock-hard shell. I'm a big tough bug!

If you could change one thing about your body to make it magical or powerful somehow what part would it be, what would it be able to do, and why?
Two words: Magic Elbow.
I don't know what that means, but it sounds good. I don't know if this would go under this one or the other one, but I would like to be like Mario in Super Mario Brothers where when he gets the little leaf thing he turns into a flying raccoon. I would get to fly and have a tail!

If you had special powers but lived in the normal world, how would you deal with it? (Would you hide them or reveal them to someone or everyone? Would you stop using them, use them to your advantage, or for someone else?)
I wouldn't reveal them to everyone, obviously. Otherwise it would be like X-Men and they would say I was an abomination or something. No, I would have to come up with a clever disguise like Superman has. As demonstrated in the photos.

Describe a recent dream.
I cannae remember a recent one. I know I had good dreams last night and the night before, but they didn't last long enough after waking up for me to record them in my memory. Dr Horstman tried to influence our dreams by suggesting that we all have dreams about coming to class naked (dirty old man) but I don't think it worked.

1. When was the last time you wanted someone to take you seriously but they just humored you? Boy, I can't think of a specific time. But it does happen a lot, just because I'm so short and young-looking. Most people who actually know me are willing to take me seriously.

2. If you were going to get a vanity license plate for your car, what would it say? (Or if you already have one, what does it say?) Mine would say SRAH, I guess. But the only reason I can think of for getting one is that it would be easier to remember when asked for it. Otherwise, I'll settle for a plain old blue one. I'm not from Virginia.

3. What was written in the sweetest love note you were ever given? What's the story there? I have many sweet love notes. My Patito likes greeting cards. And Post-Its.

4. What is your ethnic background? I am one quarter English and one quarter German. The other half is made up of Scotch-Irish, Irish, French, English, and who knows what else. I am very Western European. Bah.

5. What, if any, is your personal exercise routine? My fingers get a nice typing workout. Sometimes I breathe in and out in order to keep my lungs in shape. My digestive tract is well exercised by such activities as eating, digesting, filtering, and excreting. Would you like more detail?

6. Have you ever had any "one night stands?" How did that come about and how did you feel the next day? Nope. Didn't I just answer that?

7. What is your fondest Easter memory? Oh, my memories are always the ones that stick out from the others. So the one I'll think of is last Easter, which I spent in a converted abbey in France. I played the Easter Bell (they have a bell instead of a bunny) by hiding the eggs and chocolate for all of the little cousins.

BONUS: Who am I to disagree? Alf.

1) The Easter Bunny
Who does my dad catch and eat every year, so they have to get a replacement for the next year? My dad's a little sick, isn't he? I hope he only started telling us that in recent years. I don't remember, but I think it might have caused some trauma if he had told us that when we were little.

2) Cadbury
What company makes the soft drink Squirt? And more importantly, why do I know that? I think I read it on the side of the bottle and it just stuck. There's so much useless information rattling around in there.

3) Parades
What do I like when they throw candy but not like when there are CLOWNS? I don't like clowns. I like candy.

1) Do you like Mondays? Tell me why. No' particularly. I start at nine and go till five. It's almost like being a grownup. Yuck!

2) Are you footloose? I love dancing around my house, but I don't like to dance in front of strangers. I don't usually get loosened up until the end of the evening when I go to a dance.

3) Are you a smooth criminal? I've always thought I was a pretty good liar. Don't know so much about "criminal"...

4) When you call me, you can call me... Sarah, Srah, Sammy Abigail... well, I'd prefer you didn't call me Sammy Abigail, but I have been called that before...

5) Do you talk to strangers? I'm turning into my mother. I'm starting to make small talk in grocery lanes and places like that. Help help help help help.

6) Have you ever had a one night love affair? Nope.

7) What sad songs make you cry? Depends on the mood. "Leaving on a Jet Plane"... sometimes even "Here Comes the Sun" and I'm not sure why. When I'm in the right mood, anything can make me teary.

8) (thanks Listener!) Don't say a prayer for me now, save it til'... erm, huh? Dunno. Til' I need the positive energy?

Onesome. See it. What is something so beautiful you have seen that the picture of it is etched into your mind, and soul, forever? The Pont du Gard.

Twosome. Smell it. What one scent stands out in your mind as always making you feel happy and secure in your life? Hmmm, cake baking? Makes me think of Mommy.

Threesome. Taste it. When you think of tasting, what one thing comes to mind as bliss for your taste buds? Crème brulée or coffee ice cream. Or most any nice, creamy kind of ice cream.

Run or walk? Walk. Or have someone carry me. Heh heh.
Thistle or dandelions? Thistle because it's tastily Scottish. And because of previous thoughts on dandelions.
Birds singing or crickets chirping? There's something impatient about crickets and happy about birds, so we'll go with the birdies.
Allergies or none? Am I being given a choice? Hmmmm, I prefer none, thanks. Ha ha, I am hilarious. I have none that I know of.
A, B, C or 1, 2, 3? Sounds like a veiled Humanities vs. Sciences question. A, B, C.
"Easy as pie" or "simple as cake"? To quote myself, "It's always time for pie!"
Trampoline or swimming pool? Trampoline. I don't like bathing suits.
Nickel or penny? Pennies are prettier, but nickels are worth more. Duh.
Basketball or baseball? Gouging my eyes out. Hockey. Soccer. American football. I suppose I'll go with basketball, but it doesn't mean I like it.
Sliding doors or French doors? The names make it so difficult. I like Sliding Doors, but the other one has French in the name. I guess I'll go with French because you can open them very dramatically/romantically and opening sliding doors usually involves a lot of tugging and grunting. Maybe it's just me.

It is posted, after all.

1. What's your favorite animal? Rabbits, I suppose. Other animals are very entertaining, like llamas and moose and walrii.

2. What pets have you had in your lifetime? Taddy the Westie (West Highland White Terrier) until 1986, Catlin the red cocker spaniel/sheltie mix from 1989 to 1997, and now Howie the devil dog cocker spaniel, who came to replace me when I went away to college.

3. Is there any specific pet that you've wanted but never had? Why? Since Spring Break I've wanted a cat to keep me company while I'm in France.

4. Are you allergic to any animals? Not that I know of.

5. Do you have any 'pet' pet peeves (your pets or others')? Uh... leg humping? Pooping? Vomiting? BITING FRIENDS ON THE NOSE? Pets are gross.

1. I love to order a Wendy's "Frosty" and then dip my French Fries into it before I eat them. Do you have any eating habits others might think are odd? I have gone through various stages where sweet & sour sauce, bbq sauce, mayonnaise and now dijon mustard were my fry-toppings of choice. Why don't we ask Alex this question? Everything he eats is odd.

2. What was the worst date you ever went on? Haven't had too many. Um, I don't know. I saw Titanic with Josh. The date wasn't that bad, but it was Titanic... Dates with the Patito have been much better because we were boyfriend and girlfriend before we ever went on a date so it was never awkward like it was with Josh.

3. Who (or what site) inspired you to begin Blogging? I can't remember now. That's pretty pathetic, considering it was only a few months ago. I know that the first one I ever saw was Meg's and I just didn't get why someone would want to put their daily life online. Maybe it was my Roommate.

4. Have you inspired, encourgaed, or begged anyone else to start a Blog? I think I begged or indirectly inspired both Becky and Alex to blog... and look where it got them. I influenced several people to switch to Blogger.

5. Any foods you just will not eat? Raw meat.

6. Describe the worst Birthday party (adult or child's) that you ever attended? I don't remember... it'll probably occur to me next week when I'm doing the Monday Mission again.

7. What was the first music album you ever bought (tape, CD, LP, whichever or all of the above)? Drat. I had this idea for a question and Promo got there first. Now I have to wait for all of my readers to forget this question so I can answer it again. The first tape I bought was Amy Grant's "Heart in Motion" and the first CD was Ace of Base's "The Sign". Stop that giggling.

BONUS: Do you think you're what they say you are? I never know what to do with these bonus questions. I probably am what they say I am. They know everything about me, because of the microchips they've implanted in my head.

1. What makes you homesick? I miss my families - whichever one I am apart from at the moment.

2. Where is "home" for you? Is it where you are living now, or somewhere else (ie: Mom & Dad's house, particular state/city)? I have several homes - I think I consider Ann Arbor, Albion and Grenoble all "home" in some way.

3. What makes it home for you? People? Things? I think it's people and the sense of being comfortable.

4. Where is the furthest you've been from home, miles-wise? I have no idea how many miles it would be, but probably Geneva, Switzerland. I'm not sure what the mileage will be for Chile, but the north-south trip might beat out Switzerland. [Note: I have just looked it up using the link and Ann Arbor-Geneva is 4214 miles to Ann Arbor-Santiago's 5274.]

5. What are your plans for this weekend? Weekend? Oh, is it the weekend? I hadn't noticed. All the days seem the same when one is on Spring Break. I suppose I will be going to the bar (oh joy) with Robin at some point and trying to find time to meet up with JDay. And watching anime with the Patoot.

1. What was the first thing you ever cooked? I've been making cookies and Rice Krispie Treats for years.
2. What's your signature dish? Rice Krispie Treats. How lame. They don't even require baking and the recipe's on the box. But I feel a need to make them for all Bentley functions.
3. Ever had a cooking disaster? Not disaster per se. I've burned things several times. My mom once put microwave popcorn in the microwave for 30:00 instead of 3:00. Sophie and I tried to make cookies with a US recipe and a French stove, but they still turned out pretty good. I don't know how to boil an egg no matter how hard I try.
4. If skill and money were no object, what would make for your dream meal? Raclette and Death By Chocolate.
5. What are you doing this weekend? Going to give a presentation on France to an Albion youth group, not going ice-skating with ISU, celebrating Grandpa's birthday on Sunday.

1. Have you ever had braces? Any other teeth trauma? I had braces for... what was it? Four years? Seems like millions.

2. Ever broken any bones? No. I'm kind of disappointed... but not really.

3. Ever had stitches? I am SO BORING. Maybe if I got out from behind my computer (in front of my computer!) I would have some of these exciting motion-related traumas. I am a slug.

4. What are the stories behind some of your [physical] scars? My scars have all disappeared! In elementary school I used to have a mark on my forehead from where I fell off the swings and it made "tire tracks" and looked like a very small truck had run over my face. Then I had one on my leg where I gashed myself shaving and never bothered to think that I might need stitches, but I can't really find it anymore. I am so healy.

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Weather-permitting (WHY is it raining on top of the snow? Why do the demons taunt me so? That rhymes and would make a lovely song. Someone write it, please) we leave for our conference at 6pm tomorrow. Then we're staying in a hotel in Wooster that night, having Woosterly activities Saturday morning, afternoon, and evening, sleeping on some Woosterites' floors Saturday night, and driving back to Albion.

1. What cologne or perfume do you wear? Sometimes I wear Arielle, by Fragonard, which Alfie brought me back from France.

2. What cologne or perfume do you like best on the opposite sex? I like nice deodorant smells. I think I like Polo Sport but I'm not sure. I don't, as a rule, go around sniffing people and ask what they're wearing. Boyfriend wears Paco Rabanne and he smells good.

3. What one smell can you not stomach? Vomit. I suspect that's true of most people. If you are a vomit-sniffer, then you scare me and now I am probably going to get some strange referrals that will scare me even more.

4. What smell do you like that others might consider weird? Gasoline's okay. I don't know of anything else... I like certain cigarette smells.

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Alfie is coming on Friday night and we're going to watch Moulin Rouge. Then Saturday morning is her presentation, Saturday afternoon/evening is a rentai and film with the Japan America Society of Michigan (for International Student Union), and Sunday is homework and sleeping.

1. What do you have your browser start page set to?
IE is set to My Yahoo! and Netscape is too - for the moment - but I keep thinking about setting it to the News page of my JH site and always forget.

2. What are your favorite news sites?
Mostly I skim Yahoo!'s headlines while I'm on My Yahoo!.

3. Favorite search engine?
Google.

4. When did you first get online?
We used to go on MNet (is that what it was called? MichNet? I don't remember) when I was in late middle/early high school, but we had a hoopty old computer with a black/amber screen, no mouse, no Windows, no nothing. So that was an adventure. I didn't get online in the WWW-browser sense until about 1996 when we got a more modern computer.

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend?
I don't know. It's an extended weekend, so that's good. Maybe I'll go to Ann Arbor or maybe I'll have friends over to play MadLibs.

Promoguy's Monday Mission

1. What is your favorite TV show/cartoon from your childhood?
When I was little, I loved watching old Rocky & Bullwinkle reruns on channel 31 (which has now, tragically, gone PAX). Later, around middle-school and high school, it was Animaniacs.

2. Sometimes you just can't count on other people to support something you feel is important. What was the last thing you had to do for yourself that someone close to you didn't think was important?
Uh... I'm sure it's happened, but I can't think of a particular instance. Sometimes people want me to have different priorities than I have.

3. On the other hand, sometimes people can really surprise you. Recall a moment when somebody close to you supported you when no one else would.
Uh... This is hard. I should just wait until the Friday Five - they're less thought-provoking. Um..

4. Last time I got really depressed/upset, it made me want to do something really destructive but within control (like eating something bad for me). Have you ever had that feeling? What did you do?
I don't recall having that feeling. Sorry to be so boring...

5. Let's hear your favorite or most quoted line of movie dialog.
Obviously, whoever wrote this question has never been around my family, who communicates entirely in movie/television quotes. One such television quote is from "Just Shoot Me": "Chicken pot chicken pot chicken pot pie!" Don't ask.

6. What is "your song?"
I dunno. "Yellow" by Coldplay because I'm "skin and bones, turned into something beautiful"? Well, I like to think so.

7. We all make mistakes. We can't go back and erase them, but hopefully
we learn something. What mistake in your life has taught you the most? Did
it keep you from repeating the mistake again?
When I was in 8th grade, I had the opportunity to take Geometry AC at the high school, but I didn't think I'd done well enough in my middle school Algebra class, so I repeated it. I've always sort of regretted not giving it a try, because I did so atrociously in Geometry that I could have done with a repeat in that rather than in Algebra. I also found it interesting, looking back, that of the five students eligible to take Geometry, the three who went along with it were boys and the two who passed it up were girls. I don't know if that said something about our self-esteem as girls, or if it was just coincidence.
I've tried not to be a quitter and learn to stand up to a challenge. I still quit Chinese because it was too hard, but I'm sticking with Spanish.

1. You've just won a complete collection of movies starring one actor - what actor would you pick? Would John Hannah be too obvious an answer for you?

2. What was the last movie you saw in a theater? The Fellowship of the Ring

3. What was the last video or DVD that you bought? I got Four Weddings and a Funeral for xmas. Off the top of my head, I think the last one I bought myself was The Mummy. Sense a theme?

4. What movie could you watch over and over again and not get sick of? Sliding Doors, Amélie

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Moving back to school

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
Becoming mentally stable enough (quiet in the peanut gallery) and comfortable enough with myself to handle having a boyfriend, the creation of the International Student Union, second semester in France, 4.0 GPA for this past semester... boy, am I accomplished.

2. What was your biggest disappointment?
Erm... boy, seems like I'm pretty positive for once. Gradually losing my French?

3. Will you be making any New Year's resolutions?
I'm going to try to be a better person. I think I was a good person when I was a freshman in college - that was probably the epitome of my goodness. I'd like to go back to that and think of others, be nicer to people, be understanding, and go out of my way for people. I'm sure it won't last. :(

4. Where do you wish you were celebrating?
Erm, here is good. If I could somehow manage to be with everyone I love, all over the world, then that would be sweeeeeet.

5. What do you plan to do for New Year's Eve?
I'll be celebrating with El Patito and family, rather than vegging on the couch with my family as in past years. Whatever - either is good.

Four things you'd eat on the last day of your life:
death by chocolate
creme brulee
chicken soup
Andy Smerczak's pierogis (sounds dirty)

Four names for an adorable new puppy:
Daisy
Fuzzhead
Kitty
Goldfish (I like to give animals identity crises. I am cruel)

Your four least favorite CDs from your collection:
The Brady Bunch Movie soundtrack
Ophelie Winter "Je marche à l'envers" single
CD player lens cleaning disc
No Lies <-- free Christian music CD

Four movies that made you think:
Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
Pandaemonium
The Sixth Sense
Sliding Doors

Four celebrities you would have sex with:
John Hannah
Kevin Kline
Edward Windsor
Sir Ian McKellen if he didn't run away too fast <-- Boyfriend's suggestion

Four shades of blue:
navy blue
midnight blue
sky blue
aqua

Four causes to which you'd donate money if you won the lottery:
Oxfam
me
PBS
UMGASS

Four vacations you have taken:
South Carolina
Louisiana
Toronto
Limoges/Carcassonne/Nimes