I thought I’d try one of those Email surveys. You know, the ones all your friends send you (you know, the ones that won’t be your friend much longer because they keep sending you all those annoying forward-this Emails). I’d gotten the idea that I wanted to do one on here, and you know me… I tend to be a little long-winded. So let’s take it for a spin, using this survey that I found online.
So, as Strong Bad might say, “Let’s get this train wreck a-rollin!”
WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES?
The plates in my kitchen are green and white, with an ivy theme on them. They’re cute, but when I find a real job and move out, I’m not getting anything like that. My dinnerware is going to be black, which is really shaping up to be a color I really like.
WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Right now, I am not reading a book – I’m writing in my Journal.
WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
My mouse pad is actually a Schumin Web logo mouse pad, from the 2002 “Minimalist” site design. It’s got my logo in the center, and has a light blue background.
FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Monopoly. Something about crushing your opponent financially just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It’s like crushing your enemies without any emotional strings attached, since it’s just a game. I mean, if I financially crushed someone I knew in real life, where they were so in debt that they had to sell all their buildings and mortgage all their property and still not have enough money to settle things, I’d feel really bad about it, and would probably forgive some of it to keep them from completely crashing. But being just a game, one can be totally ruthless, and just look out for #1.
FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
Definitely Newsweek. Just lose all the blow-in cards and other heavy-stock inserts. I’m really particular about these things, and will actually go in and remove all of the stuff printed on heavier card stock from the magazine before I read it, even if they’re stapled into the binding. I will actually carefully tear them out around the staples before I will enjoy my Newsweek. I don’t care how lucrative they are for the magazine. In my copy, they are removed and discarded.
FAVORITE SMELL?
I actually like that new-equipment smell. Believe it or not, I really like the smell that the rehabilitated Breda cars have when they first go out on the railroad after coming back from Hornell. I call that the “new train smell”.
LEAST FAVORITE SMELL?
Definitely sewage. Especially a strong smell of it. You want to experience the awful smell I’m describing? Take Interstate 81 in either direction, and cross milepost 239 in Virginia. There is a sewage treatment plant east of the highway, and when they’re working on the stuff, the smell carries over to the Interstate, and it smells absolutely awful. It is wise to practice how long you can hold your breath before traveling that stretch of highway.
WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
Usually cursing the fact that I have to get up so early, and why can’t I go back to sleep.
FAVORITE COLOR?
Blue, with black at a close second.
LEAST FAVORITE COLOR?
I can’t say I have any one single choice for a least favorite color combination. Though I can tell you that certain color combinations, usually from the 1970s, should never be used together ever again.
HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?
It really depends. I check my caller ID before I answer the phone. If I want to answer, I’ll do so quickly. Otherwise, you’re getting screened by the answering machine.
FUTURE CHILD’S NAME?
I do not intend on ever having children at this point, and so that renders this question moot, doesn’t it?
WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN LIFE?
Definitely being satisfied with where you are in life.
CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA ICE-CREAM?
Neither. I like strawberry.
DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST?
I don’t like to drive like some people do on the Interstate, sailing past me at very high speeds, but I also don’t drive so slowly as to irritate all the other drivers. Funny story, speaking of speeds. There was one day I was running a little behind schedule on my way to work, so I drove a touch faster than usual to try to make up those few minutes. I get to work, and a coworker comments to me about how slowly I was driving! I was just like, “You’re kidding, right? I was pushing it this morning!” and so this earned the two of us nicknames from each other. Me to them: “Hey, speedy!: Them to me: “Hey, slowpoke!” It’s so clever.
DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Nope.
STORMS – COOL OR SCARY?
Depends on the storm. A regular thunderstorm is fun to watch, as long as you’re indoors, in a safe location. Hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. creep me out a bit, and that’s where you’re going to find me being a little nervous. Of course, while Hurricane Isabel was going on outside, I was sitting up here, working on the Web site. But I had to drive through part of Hurricane Isabel to get home from JMU, and that was exciting.
WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
1991 Toyota Previa LE. I learned how to drive on that car, and my parents later transferred the title to it over to me. Unfortunately, my first car is still also my current car. But this is the car that will not die, and it will be fifteen years with our family next month. Once I find a real job and move, I plan on getting a nice, new, smaller car. I have no need for a minivan anymore.
IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON DEAD OR ALIVE WHO WOULD IT BE?
Probably Grandpa Bowman, on Mom’s side of the family. I’m told he was a great person, and very smart, but he died when I was like two years old. As such, there are pictures of him with me, but I have no memory of him myself, since I was too young.
FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
Margaritas. Those things are good. Though that one I had at the beach back in August 2004 was stronger than I usually take them.
WHAT IS YOUR SIGN & YOUR BIRTHDAY?
My birthday is May 30, which makes my sign “Gemini”. Of course, if you believe what the astrologers tell you, I should let you know that the 14th Street Bridge in DC is for sale for a very attractive price.
DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?
I don’t. I like the crowns, but not the stems. Not the right texture for me.
IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB WHAT WOULD IT BE?
One that makes a lot of money and that I enjoy a lot. I’ll know it when I see it.
HAVE ANY COLOR HAIR?
Well, any hair that grows out of one’s head is a color. I’ve never deliberately dyed my hair any particular color, though. So I’ve always had the color that comes out of my hair follicles. Though I have tried to imagine before what I would look like with different kinds of hair colors…
IS THE GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY?
Definitely half full. I like to think optimistically, even when faced with monstrous evidence that things are turning to the contrary.
FAVORITE MOVIE?
Spaceballs, directed by Mel Brooks. I love that movie.
Dear me, what are those things coming out of her nose?
Spaceballs!
Oh, s—. There goes the planet.
DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS?
I type, and I can type without looking. And I can type pretty quickly, too. Though I usually only use my index and middle fingers on each hand to type. So if by “right keys”, you mean using the “touch typing” method where you have the home keys of ASDF and JKL;, then no. I only use four fingers instead of eight to type. But it still gets the job done, so who’s to complain?
WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED?
A monster. His name is Bill. No one names things “Bill” enough anymore. A coworker had a rubber lizard on her shoulder. I said, “Nice lizard. What’s its name?” She said “Lizzy”. Lame name. Everyone names their lizard “Lizzy” or something like that. I would have named it Bill. It’s just a good, solid name, and no one names their animals Bill. No one ever does that. You never hear, “This is my fish, Bill.” It’s always something like “Bubbles” or something.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH?
I’ll watch just about any sport, on one condition: If it’s friends of mine playing. I can’t stand watching professional sports. I can’t stand watching college or high school sports. I have no emotional connection to the game, and I’m kind of ambivalent. But if I know who the people are, like with The Ball Wackers, I get pretty involved.
WHAT IS YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST FEAR?
Staying with Wal-Mart for an extended period of time.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS.
I found this online using a Google search. Kind of makes this a moot point, doesn’t it?
FAVORITE TV SHOWS?
I love Today’s Special, The Cosby Show, and The Golden Girls. All great shows. As far as current shows go, I enjoy Trading Spaces, where they redecorate a room in someone’s house. That’s always a lot of fun.
KETCHUP OR MUSTARD?
Ketchup! I’ll put ketchup on just about anything. And it is spelled “Ketchup” with a K, not “Catsup” with a C.
HAMBURGERS OR HOT-DOGS?
Depends on my mood. If I feel like a hamburger, than we’ll get a hamburger. If I feel like a hot dog, then we’ll have a hot dog.
FAVORITE SOFT DRINK?
SURGE! I love Surge, and miss it dearly. I also like dnL, which is the upside-down version of 7up with caffeine. It tastes so good, but I fear it’s headed in the direction that Surge is.
THE BEST PLACES YOU HAVE EVER BEEN?
Places in and of themselves are inert. But surround a place with an event, and then you’ve got something. The most fun I had in 2004 was the Million Worker March at the Lincoln Memorial. That was fun, and was one of the best places I’d been. Interesting, though – me in a touristy part of DC. Still, it all is a matter of places where things happen. Not just places by themselves. Since you go back to a place where there was an event when there’s nothing going on now, and it feels like a totally different place.
WHAT SCREEN SAVER IS ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW?
Right now, my screen saver is off, because I’m writing stuff on the computer. However, when I go idle, the generic “Windows XP Professional” logo screen saver will come on.
BURGER KING OR MCDONALDS?
Definitely Burger King. McDonald’s doesn’t have nearly as much flavor in their burgers. It’s because Burger King flame-broils their burgers, and McDonald’s cooks theirs on a griddle.