No Midgets Involved (Though They Are Welcome)

Brandy put the call out to ask questions of people, and I answered. So, in the particular order they were asked, here are her questions and my answers.

1. Both of your parents recently friended you on facebook. Did you accept their friend requests, and would you rather give up facebook or twitter? (And yes, I know that's really two questions disguised as one, but let's not quibble about numbers).

After a careful review was done, their request was sent to the board, the board discussed it at their semi-tri-annual conference, a vote was taken, and the friend requests of both parents were accepted. My mother always told me as a child that she hoped we would be friends once I became an adult. Now all her hopes and dreams have come true. Or whatever.

If I had to give up one, I'd give up Twitter. I agree - quibbling about numbers is so bourgeois - let's quibble about letters instead.

2. Who are your role models?

I've never really been into the concept of role models or idols. There have been famous people whose careers I've enjoyed following, but there's something about it that strikes me as unhealthy. Both for the admirer and s/he who is being admired.

Having babbled about all that, the answer to your question that you'd like more is, my friends. They all have different things about them that I admire and strive to emulate. One friend told me once that she doesn't like drama in her relationships, and over the years I have seen her sidestep drama when it's come up. She is very direct in her dealings with people. This impresses me. Another friend once said what I consider the most brilliant statement of the 2000's, which is that people are not all good, or all bad. It's such a simple thing, but very important to keep in mind. Nobody is perfect. Expecting perfection from people sets you up to be disappointed. Someone can disappoint you and still be a good friend; they're just human.

3. Would you rather have to chew a sandwich left on the counter of a public bathroom, or gum you found under a seat on a bus?

This is a tough one. Gum found under the seat of a bus was probably only touched by one person, thus rendering it cleaner than a sandwich touched by a bathroom counter which was (hopefully) touched by many. My first instinct was to say I'd go for the sandwich, thinking I could just chew on the middle of it where it didn't touch public bathroom counters, but the gum would probably be cleaner.

4. What do you think your blog readers would be most surprised to learn about you?

I'm not sure. Maybe that despite how critical I am of how others dress, I tend to dress like a slob? Hard to say really, since I've written for a few years now.

5. If you could have any job in the world, what would you like to do and what would be your salary?

When I was a toddler, I wanted to be a bakery. Not a baker, but a bakery. Luckily I got over that before embarrassing myself even worse than I did on a daily basis in elementary school. As a child I once told my mother I wanted to open an "in-between store" which would be a clothing store for kids who were in-between two different sizes of clothing.

You know what? My ideal job would let me do a different job each day of the work week. I'd love to run a school for kids with learning disabilities. I'd love to be a liaison between doctors and patients, stepping in to explain to patients and their families about what's going on after the doctor delivers his/her rushed speech, holding hands of patients who are getting spinal taps, etc. I'd love to be a professional problem-solver in business settings. Also, I'm excellent at decorating and designing spaces, and would love to walk around a person's house and help them move furniture and knock down a couple of walls to maximize space and things like that.

A cool quarter of a million dollars each year would be fine with me.