5 question meme: Athenais

[mrissa]

Via athenais, that meme again:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I respond by asking you five questions of a creepily personal nature.
3. You update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
4. Include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, ask them five questions.

That's what the text said originally. I will note that as I am Scandosotan, "creepily personal" questions can involve things like, "What is your name?" and "Is someone sitting there? If not, could we have that chair at this table? Thanks."

Also, you can ask me five questions if you'd rather.

athenais asked:

1. You have just discovered you are the sole heir to the throne of a tiny European country. Rule or abdicate?
See, there are two things here: 1) I like being married to markgritter, and 2) I like writing books. Even tiny countries are work to run -- if there's nothing else to do, the waving and smiling would get on your very last nerve; certainly it would interfere with completing Chapter 7. So that's the writing bit. The married bit: markgritter is possibly the most anti-royalist person I have ever met or heard of. Cromwell's got nothing on him. He's a little skeptical about my friend's boyfriend who is king of a region of the SCA, specifically over the king thing. So I would have to abdicate.

2. Eddie Izzard is giving a dinner party the same night as your favorite professor who you haven't seen in ages. Whose invitation do you accept?
Dennis's, for sure. I mean, Eddie Izzard? He never calls, he never writes....

I'm not as steeped in Eddie Izzard's work as some of you lot seem to be, except for le singe, which is of course sur la branche, but even if you'd picked some other Colorful Famous Person, I'd go with a personal friend I haven't seen in ages every time. Unless it was one of my Colorful Famous Person Friends. Then I'd have to think hard.

Eddie Izzard isn't on my list to e-mail about lunch. Dennis is.

3. What book would you most like to read again for the first time?
Errrr. Um. Cover your eyes, pameladean, or you'll get wibbly like you get: The Whim of the Dragon.

This was my first impulse. There are others. The Kestrel and Cetaganda and Sorcery and Cecelia and Orca and -- why did I say Orca? Why that one and not Taltos or -- all right, I'll get back to you when I've done some rereading. But I think I'm going to stick with The Whim of the Dragon. Because the first time through I was reading the last half through the crack in my fingers worried that she was not going to stick the landing, and then she did.

4. Which artist would you most like to collaborate with?
I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it might count as a guilt-trip to the person in question.

Unfortunately, the refusal to answer may also count. So.

A lot of my favorite authors are people I know or could plausibly be introduced to, these days. But that doesn't mean we have even remotely compatible processes. I suspect that I would be one of the worst people in the world to collaborate with, because I am so utterly non-sequential that I would keep handing the person bits of book that hadn't got the right backing to make them go, so it would have to be someone who not only knew me really well but was an extremely good fielder. Someone not very dauntable.

If you mean in other media, "she makes the sparklies and I write the sparklies' stories" seems to be working well with elisem, and I'd be much more willing to try it at random with other interesting people than I would writing together.

5. What's your idea of the perfect vacation?
I don't have just the one, you see. It depends on the cast of characters and how they're doing at the time. I can have a perfect vacation with my grandparents at this point in their lives, with Grandma's two bad knees and Grandpa's tendency to catch colds, but it's not the same perfect vacation as I would have had if they hadn't been along. timprov has expressed an interest in taking markgritter and me to some of the places he liked best in Hungary, and I can see that being a perfect vacation with or without my folks, with or without a small child in a sling or a backpack, etc. But different in each case.

I think the important thing is to pay attention and notice the perfect things while they're happening to you.

Comments

[zwol.livejournal.com]

ooh ooh, interview me!

[mamapduck.livejournal.com]

Which kingdom? I'm currently playing head of court for the Queen of the West and met a few really nice kings at Estrella last month.

Oh yeah, "interview me." :)

[reveritas.livejournal.com]

OH! me.

[icedrake.livejournal.com]

Sure, why not? I just finished an interview of my own, and am waiting for the shaking to subside...
Interview me.

[fiddledragon]

:) Interview me :)

[diatryma.livejournal.com]

I have another three days of spring break. I can meme.

[pameladean]

Sometimes getting wibbly is EXACTLY what a person needs. Because a person might have some really uncooperative characters charging up and down. Just sayin'.

P.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. What are your favorite season markers, living in Southern California? or is your mental clock on a scale other than seasonal?

2. What have you learned about yourself in grad school?

3. What was that noise?

4. Is there anywhere you've been that you would swear would never see your face again? Why?

5. Where did that icon come from?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Well, wibble away, then, with my blessing.

[roadnotes.livejournal.com]

I'm game, since I'm taking vacation next week. Ask away.

[sensational.livejournal.com]

Interview me, please.

[callunav.livejournal.com]

You know...interview me, please. Creepy is optional.

[rysmiel.livejournal.com]

Have you done this for me before ? Go ahead anyway, if you want, though no promises about the time it will take me to reply.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

Those were very interesting answers, thank you!

As for "artist," that was for you to define. I would like to collaborate with TNH on a garden, for instance.

[intrepida.livejournal.com]

Interview me?

[zwol.livejournal.com]

http://zwol.livejournal.com/31365.html

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

I'd like some questions, too, but only if you've got time - this meme seems to be pretty popular!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. What would surprise me most about you after nearly eight years since we had an actual in-person conversation?

2. What's your favorite quick meal to make yourself?

3. What's on your desk right now?

4. What's the dumbest movie you actually like?

5. Same as one of the ones I asked zwol: what have you learned about yourself in grad school?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

My mom and I have worked together decently well on meals, I think in part because we are both clear on whose kitchen we're working in at a given moment, and we are both willing and good at deferring to the person who planned the meal. She doesn't go into the mode some people's parents go into, where she wants to "fix" what I'm doing to my taste instead of hers, because she taught me to cook to taste in the first place, so it'd be pretty silly to try to undo it now.

I'm not sure who else I could cook with. Both markgritter and timprov. Before most parties I have porphyrin in my kitchen and sometimes careswen and mmerriam, but I don't think any of us would describe that kind of last-minute party-prep as cooking.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. How is the Lizard more fun this year than she was last year?

2. The doorbell rings. Surprise! It's your sister. She has exciting news: an Anonymous Benefactor has given the two of you $5K. It must be spent by 6:00 a.m. Monday, or it will disappear. What do you two do with it?

3. You have two short stories spring into your head fully formed, and it's only a matter of writing them down. One is hard SF and the other is high fantasy. Which one do you write first?

4. What fruit(s) is (are) your favorite, assuming the Lizard doesn't steal it before you can eat it?

5. What is the oldest object still in your possession?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Northshield. Although I have no idea how long people king for and all that, so he may be dekinged by now. I should note that markgritter has never met this person and is not skeptical of him personally and would be nice to him if my friend brought him to town. He's just really anti-monarchial.

1. Is there a musical instrument you wish you could play?

2. Would you rather stay up late to finish an onerous task or get up early to get it done?

3. What's the weirdest thing in your purse? (Or wallet or backpack if you're opposed to purses.)

4. Where did your username come from? That is to say, why is a duck, anyway?

5. Someone is going to shower you with gemstones! (Not literally. Ouch.) What kind do you want them to be?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. What baseball stadium would you most like to visit? (For a game, obviously. I mean, I'm sure some people like to wander up and go, huh, nice stadium, but really.)

2. How much do you remember specific streets in your walking? Can you look at the map and say, oh, right, that was the one with the lady washing her car, or do they kind of blur together?

3. How did you find out what your real name is, since your parents gave you the wrong one?

4. Say you have very, very particular brownies (of the Fair Folk variety, not the dessert variety). They will make sure one and only one chore is done for you for the rest of your life, so you never have to do it again. Which chore is it?

5. What's the worst job you've ever had?

(And when do you get here? Bonus question just for me.)

[intrepida.livejournal.com]

Cool questions. I'l answer them in the near future.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. We met at a con. Are you planning on going to any other cons this year?

2. Is there anything you like particularly much about living in the US as opposed to Canada?

3. Is there anything you dislike particularly much about living in the US as opposed to Canada?

4. Time and money are no object -- do you cook or go out to eat or have someone else cook for you at home?

5. Who's your favorite author discovered in the last year (=12 months, not =2007)?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

With explanations, please:

1. Flight or invisibility?

2. Nuts or berries?

3. Stabbing or shooting?

4. Wind or percussion? (Strings, of course, are a given!)

5. Animal, vegetable, or mineral?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. What is your best school break memory?

2. Where would you like to be ten years from today?

3. What otherwise-normal smell makes you want to flee the room?

4. If you could tell your 15-year-old self about one event in her or the world's future to this point, what would it be?

5. What house chore that other people grouse about do you really not mind doing?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. Is there a song you would like to perform but can't?

2. Did someone start you with your paper journal projects, or did you come upon it on your own?

3. Which author(s) do you reread?

4. Are there spots in your daily life where the view (of daffodils on the windowsill or of major landmarks -- your call) takes your breath away? or is that rarer?

5. You're in an airport lounge/train station/bus station/gas station and need a snack. Of the things they sometimes have, what are you likely to get for a travel snack?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. What was your favorite movie when you were 8? Can you still stand it?

2. So...Baltimore. Thumbs up, thumbs down, withholding thumbs altogether for awhile?

3. Assuming you had the money, would you rather have a vacation home somewhere fabulous or travel to lots of different fabulous places and stay in hotels?

4. What obscure-to-others historical figure interests you?

5. Tomorrow you will have the breakfast of your choice served in bed, at someone else's expense (with the same benefactors washing the crumbs from the sheets later!). What does it consist of? Is it served at breakfast time, or is it actually the lunch of your choice?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. What is the First Rule of Being callunav's Friend?

2. What's the fanciest thing you own and actually like to wear/carry/use?

3. Say that I am creating The callunav Cookie. What's in it?

4. What book, song movie, or other piece of entertainment can't you stop quoting, no matter how much you try?

5. What's the best thing about your neighborhood?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Considering who owes e-mail to whom, I would have no room for complaint about time taken. And I am trying to think of things I haven't asked and wouldn't really ask on e-mail. Hmm.

1. What would the rysmiel coat of arms have to have represented on it?

2. Which lj icon do you love but underuse?

3. When you take people to favorite restaurants, do you prefer to guide them to your favorite items or see what they choose on the menu?

4. What sorts of things should one pack for your area in the time frame under discussion? (Shorts, sweaters, raincoats, all of the above....)

5. Do you have any languages I don't know about? (I know about English and French.) Would you want to learn another, or is that time always going to seem better spent on something else?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. Why that icon?

2. You are clearly a cat person -- any other favorite animals?

3. What do you like best about lj?

4. If you were to take a lot of time and trouble over a meal, what would it be?

5. If your life was a pulp novel, what would be in the opening scene?

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

If you're still givin' out questions, I'd enjoy some. (If you'd enjoy giving me some, anyway.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. What kind of shoes do you like? hate?

2. Other than earth, which planet of the solar system is your favorite?

3. If you were kidnapped by aliens for their entertainment and edification, why do you think they would have picked you in specific? What would they want you to do?

4. You open the mailbox one day and find a free subscription to the magazine of your choice. What do you choose? Do you read them promptly when they arrive or mean to read them but let them pile up a bit?

5. Does something smell funny, or is it just me?

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

I'll take five Mris, if you'd like.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. What kind of roses are you most interested in seeing bloom this year?

2. What spring or summer food are you looking forward to?

3. Is there a garden chore you wish the gnomes would do? What is it?

4. If, like Ko-Ko in "The Mikado," you had to start a "little list," what type of person would be first on it?

5. I have little crow earrings named "Messengers" on my desk right now. If there were bird messengers in your life right now, what kind would they be?

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I'd like some, but only if you're not too vraagtigued. (Sorry. Bad pun. "Vraag" is Dutch for question.) But also some for you:

1. You plainly love your life right now. If you could make a change (or a couple) to improve it, though, what would they be?
2. Ditto on the writing; is there anything you wish you could change about the process? (Your own writing process, not "I wish everything I wrote would get accepted instantly," though I think plenty of us would wish that on your behalf.)
3. Given a choice, would you prefer to be at the career-level of, say, a Neil Gaiman (hordes of fans, loads of touring, instant name recognition even outside the field), or a matociquala (established relationships with publishers, people showing up to hear you at cons, but probably fewer screaming hordes (at least, not in most places :-) )or at some other level altogether?
4. What do you do with lingonberries, other than syrup or jam?
5. Is there a certain food you would have trouble living without, if - well, I won't say if you were to move somewhere because you wouldn't, but if Minnesota stores all stopped carryign it?

[scottjames.livejournal.com]

Interview me, ya know, if you want. Please. I think.

I enjoy these memes because I want to see what you ask me.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. Where the hell have you been, young man? Do you know what time it is?

2. It sounds like Mrs. J. was pretty attached to having a St. Patrick's Day party. Do you have a similar festive occasion in mind to be "yours," or are you going to throw yourself whole-heartedly into "hers," or something else?

3. What are you reading right now, and what do you think of it?

4. What item has been on your to-do list the longest? When do you think it'll get to-done?

5. Where are you going next, outside the Greater Chicago Area?

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

1. It sounds like your move and your next planned move have related strongly to job situations. Is there anywhere in the world you would refuse to move? Where? Why?

2. When is your next plan to come to the US? What's the first thing you want to do?

3. What sort of element of a TV show is most likely to make you look up from your book and pay attention, other than unexpected Dutch porn documentaries?

4. Is there a book you didn't bring and wish you had?

5. What's your favorite food or beverage discovery in the Netherlands?

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Answers here (http://sam-t.livejournal.com/87513.html).