11 Questions Posed by AngelaNoelle

Guess what? I've been tagged by the lovely AngelaNoelle (recipient of an award!) to answer the following 11 questions.  (So relieved she didn't ask me to answer in German.)

Let's see how you like my answers!

1. What is your dream travel destination? 

I'm pretty sure I've talked about this before--and in fact I just brought it up again the other day during coffee with PammyPam--that I was the kid in Spanish class who drooled over the pictures of Barcelona and all things Gaudi in the textbook.  (Although I wonder if knowing Spanish really would get me that far!)  And then the Olympics reinforced the attraction.  So someday I plan to go there and see everything.

Of course, I do feel the need to build up to this, as I am hardly a seasoned traveler.  I do need to finish my Pacific U.S. tour, including San Diego, Seattle, and maybe Portland.  You know, when all this money falls into my lap by magic.



2. What is your favorite place that you've traveled?

I am by no means well-traveled at all, in case you didn't get that from Answer #1, so I hope you won't find this dull.  It probably sounds weird, but I really do enjoy museums a lot.  One of my favorites was the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.  I'd like to forget a lot of what else happened on that trip, and I no longer care for the person who took me there, but just for a moment, in the presence of all the art and especially the fun of the "cloud room" (the Silver Clouds seen at the top of this page) it was just a magical moment and we were two crazy kids in love having fun.
 
 
3. What is your favorite physical quality about yourself?

Oh, gosh.  Why is it so much easier to come up with a shortcoming (no pun intended by my petite self)?  I hope this counts--I like my voice.  I like all its variables.  I like that I can sing along with my favorite songs and make funny voices and sounds.  And maybe impersonate my mom when I answer the phone at my parents' house because my mom's got her hands full--well, that is how you get all the good dirt out of my relatives--oh, I'm just kidding.  Sort of. 

 

4. What is your favorite personality aspect of yourself?



Oh, double gosh.  I get a real kick out of making people laugh--I love that I can tell a crazy story, or imagine some crazy comeback--that I can whip out a one-liner response to some situation or thing super-fast, sometimes out of nowhere to the point where it surprises myself, and it cracks someone up.  That's why Twitter feels really gratifying for me sometimes.

 

5. Backstreet Boys or NSync?

Yeah. . . I was far too deep into Alternative and College Radio when those boys were around.  Um, I also was a little old.  My classmates screamed for Jordan or Joey.  (I didn't think they were cute, either.)  But I do respect Timberlake's talent.
 


6. Do you still keep in touch with your best friend from elementary school?

Nope.  Well, to explain, I was a transfer student, and I tried to keep in touch with two of my best friends from my former school, but it didn't work out that well.  In fact, I wound up at the same high school as one of them, but by that time, she also had transferred and it was to a "feeder school" for our high school. . . so she was tight with all those other classmates who came with her.  More like them, too.  Must've been nice to go somewhere and already have friends and fit in somewhere, but no matter: eventually, I found Sara. :) 
 


7. Would you rather watch the movie or read the book?



You know, it actually sort of depends on the book.  If I have no intention of ever reading the book (example), I might be more inclined to see the movie.  I tend to have a harder time with movie adaptations of books because really good stories can be very hard to translate to the screen--especially when I really don't want to be told what a certain character should look like and would rather imagine it based on the author's words.  I mean, nowadays if someone says "Harry Potter" don't people's minds automatically see what's-his-face who played him for years?

(Maybe that's why the Bond movies are so successful, that there's no one Bond actor?)


8. Where did you go on your first date?

I believe it was to see Il Postino at The Ritz downtown.  I was dating a hopeless romantic who really just had a crush on me but my friends had talked me into dating him.  I think he just wanted to see that movie because he wished he was Italian.

(Thanks in advance for not judging me for obviously not dating until I was past high school.)
 

9. What's your favorite board game?

Scrabble.  Because it's crazy how a game involving words can get so cutthroat.  Well, if you're playing with my family, that is, and you're the one with the English Lit degree and something to prove.  Which reminds me--Younger Sister is visiting so perhaps we'll get a game in at some point.

 
10. Do you have a cooking "specialty"?

Engagement Chicken.  You can see how well that's worked for me.

Oh, what? You wanted a serious answer?

If you count baking as cooking, then yes, I do.  Every Christmas and sometimes for other occasions I am expected to make meringue wreaths.  The recipe is from a decades-old Good Housekeeping Christmas cookie issue, but whatever I do to it seems to make it more enjoyable.  For starters, I don't use green food coloring, but instead I use green and red sprinkles--the green sprinkles are needle-y and the red ones are holly berries.  And if it's for another occasion I use other colored sprinkles.  (I can't believe it's never occurred to me to take pictures of them.)  I also use less sugar than what's called for in the recipe.  

When we had our "holiday feast" at my old corporate job, requests for the recipe were non-stop.  People seem surprised that they taste good.  And fresh-baked meringue should!  The store-bought stuff just doesn't come close. 




 
11. Phone, text or email?

Um, it depends on what you want to tell me and how soon you want me to know.  I don't have a smartphone and can't access personal e-mail at school.  And if you want to have a real conversation, phone for sure.  I type fast, but even that doesn't stop me from getting frustrated during a heavy texting convo.

Besides, nothing beats hearing the voice (not to mention laughter, sighs, whatever else) of someone you care about.