Saturday, October 25, 2003
(Courtesy of my dear Tortue)[one] How would your life be different if you were an only child?
An only child... gosh. Well I would probably be living somewhere very different. We wouldn't have had to stay in Monrovia because my mother was pregnant and we wouldn't have had to make a (nearly) spur of the moment move to Duarte because we needed a bigger house. Most likely I would be living somewhere colder. The plan was never for us to stay here very long. Monrovia was supposed to be a rest stop before my dad transferred somewhere else. Somewhere like Ely or Anchorage where my parents used to be.
I might be a lot neater. I used to be a really neat kid. All my dolls would be arranged and everything. That is, until my sisters came along and would destroy my room when I was in school.
Most importantly, I wouldn't be friends with anyone I know now. I doubt I would have kept contact with the friends I had in Monrovia too. I would be a very, very different person.
[two] Do nicknames, that you have or have given, hold any special significance? Why or why not?
Nicknames have signifigance more as a reminder of a shared moment than anything else. It's like a link to a past I have with a person. "Soggytaco" is rooted in both a phase I went through and a conversation I had. The name doesn't mean anything to anyone but Crystal and I because no one else was there. Whe know the whys and whens of it even if they become fuzzy in time. That gives us something to share and it's a link. I give people nicknames that way too. Like "Odd Duck" was once just a phrase I used. It still is, but after I started sharing a lot with Ben it stuck and while there are still a lot of people who act like odd ducks, there's really just the one Duckie. So-po was another label. I brought that one on myself. Natalie knows how and it's a reassurance to eachother when we say So-po or Nat-san. But such names are really more intimate and apply only to one person. If justin called me Soggytaco or if Lisa called me so-po it wouldn't be right. Those aren't their names to use.
More generally there are names that describe a person. Like "Gemini" or "Princess". That tells you that you were noticed. It's less of an "I know you, remember that time when we...?" and more of a "You stood out in the crowd. This is how you're special." They don't have as much meaning as the others, but they usually make more sense. If you knew me you would understand if someone noticed my ever-changing, slightly unbalanced gemini ways. Or my love of skirts that flare and dress-up clothes and the occasional (but almost always unintentional) twinge of a british inflection in my voice that labeled me a bit of a princess.
Oh, and Justin calls me Satan sometimes.
[three] If someone just handed you a brand new key to the house of your dreams, what would it look like and where would it be?
Oh my gracious... I could talk soooooooo long about this. My usual description is that I would give a list of the rooms I wanted to a Frank Lloyd Wright-style architect and get someone to make sure the layout was Feng Shui. I would want a room like the main room of the Hollyhock house with the moat around the fireplace. A big library that smelled like old boods and it was dim and warm and safe feeling. Like you could huddle in the corner by a shelf with a book and it would be wonderful.
I would have a little ... gardenish meditationish place. The walls would be rock, and there would be water trickleing down them in places. Like those natural waterfallish thingums that you see in ... you know.. nature. And... iono. Way too much to describe. But it would totally be in a little town where you can walk to anywhere. Or at least a city with a tube system.
There would most definately be a study as well. A little office area just off to the side of the library. Um, I would want sitting rooms for each bedroom I think. Especially for the guest bedrooms. I think I would want three guest bedrooms. With at least two sitting rooms for the three bedrooms. And their own bathrooms. Of course with that much privacy then maybe one would develop a problem with long-term visitors. So maybe a little shack outside would be better.
If I keep going this will become horribly long. So I will skip to the basics of the outside and location... I'm not sure what the outside would look like, but I like the symmetry of colonials but they are too plain for me. A tower would be nice. The front would have a long lawn and the drive might be wooded. There would be walled gardens in back, and wooded areas, and lots of lawns. Stables somewhere, but not too many horses. Enough that I would still know the horses, not just have a plethora and use a different one each time.
But that's unrealistic. My "realistic" fantasy home is a bit smaller, but has a similar idea.
And i really really want a small town near a big city where you can walk practically everywhere. Like Stars Hollow. That place is amazing.
And no more than three cats and two dogs. I swear! More than three cats gets... overwhelming. And I don't know if I could handle more than two dogs.
So there's a weird and scetchy answer. Sorry Crystal.
[four] Do movies and music affect one’s personality? Why or why not?
Erm... I have no idea. Personality? Mood, definately. I think if you watch movies with a lot of sex or cursing you are more liable to curse and you will definately think about sex more, but personality... I don't think it would really directly affect you. Actually depending on the movies they could make you very skeptical or romantic. So yeah, I guess they could change your personality. But I think it's more like "alter" than "change" or "mold" because there's so much more that goes into a person.
[five] What is more important to you: what the world thinks of you or what you think of yourself? Explain.
I think it's actually how I present myself to the world. I might not be happy with something I do, but if I can portray myself the way I want- regardless of how I actually feel- then I'm satisfied. I don't want people to think a certian thing about me overall, or even to control what they feel about me really. What I really try to do is to be a certain way. Play a certain part. People may think whatever they like but I need to be in control of my own role. I'm trying to think of an example because I didn't finish that sentance the way I wanted. I had a very nice summnation and I lost it when my sister started talking to me. Let's see... I can't think of very good examples. Here's the best I have right now.
Once, my mother was reallyreally angry at me and she was yelling and she only very rarely has ever gotten mad at me like that so it was a bit of a shock. I tried to look wounded while she yelled and then pretended to cry and made a bit of my own weepy ruckus but meanwhile I was closing the door(under the guise of trying to avoid her) and hoping against hope that the neighbors didn't hear her. The problem was really to keep my head down because I've never been very good at crying on demand when I am at a loss. Basically I was cutting my losses. If she had thought I wasnt reacting she would have been angry much longer, but I've never really been that easily thrashed by words.
That was a bad example. I think I explained this badly. To me, I feel like I set up a character and form reactions and control reactions the best I can to stay in control, but everyone can have their own opinion of the charactor. In general. hm. I talk too much. I have the urge to explain this further but I shouldnt or it will start sounding even more convoluted and self-important than it already is. Maybe I'll say it better some other time.
Here's how it works:
1 -- Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 -- I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 -- You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 -- You'll include this explanation.
5 -- You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.
Sorry for the not-so-great answers Crystal!