Q & A -- meme from G

The following is a meme from G, based on the Guardian's questionnaire in the Saturday magazine:

When were you happiest?
I'm not sure I've hit my happiest moment yet. So far, it's been watching my sister get married.

Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Up until a few months ago, I would have said my friend and colleague, Mary, for putting up a 20 year (with time out for remissions) fight with cancer, never losing her sense of humor, and continuing to find joy in the world around her. She died in January. I don't have a new hero yet.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Laziness.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
I can forgive just about anything except deceit.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
You know what? I think I've blocked out all the embarrassing moments. The only one I can think of has to do with some fellow who used to live in my complex. We'd chat at the bus stop and on the bus as we made or way to and from campus. He remembered my name the very first time he heard it, and I could never remember his. He must have told me his name half a dozen times. Finally, one day he gave me both his first and last name and that made it stick. Of course he moved out two weeks later, but now I know his name -- Dan Smith.

Where would you like to live?
Stratford, Ontario.

What would your super power be?
I'd like to be able to fly.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I'm overweight.

Would you rather be clever and ugly, or thick and attractive?
No, thank you.

Who would play you in the film of your life?
Helena Bonham Carter. Not that she looks like me or anything, but I believe I could just about sit through watching my life flash before my eyes if she were playing me.

What is your favourite smell?
Springtime rain

What is your favourite book?
My favorite book is whatever I happen to be reading at the moment. If we're going by number of times read, it's a tie between Jane Eyre, Little Women, and Persuasion.

What is your favourite word?
Fünf. It's the German word for "five." I like its sound -- like a pillow fight in progress.

What is the worst thing anyone has said to you?
"I'm not going to marry you. It's not like I'm in love with you."--This from the guy who'd been wasting my time for three years, letting me think he was my boyfriend.

Cat or dog?
I like both, and for the same reason: attitude. Cats because they have so much, and dogs because they don't have any.

What do you owe your parents?
Life, love, my values.

To whom would you most like to say sorry, and why?
To my great-uncle Bill, for not returning what would be the very last phone call he ever made to me.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Managing to make it through last April without spilling blood on the brand-new carpet at work. Kidding! (sort of.) Haven't quite gotten to my greatest achievement yet. I'll keep you posted.

Whom would you invite to your dream dinner party?
Good lord. Would I have to cook, or may I have it catered? I'm assuming the guests can be anyone at all, living or dead: Anne Boleyn, J.K. Rowling, Robin Williams, Oscar Wilde, Zora Neale Hurston, and my mom.

What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Haven't met him yet.

What does love feel like?
When it's returned: a calm, sure warmth. When it's not: a stomach ulcer.

What was the best kiss of your life?
My very first one. I was fourteen, he was sixteen, we were sitting on a rock in the woods behind the high school. One minute we were talking, and then we weren't. It was as easy as breathing.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
"Actually" -- that's the big one. I'm constantly deleting that from my emails and blog posts.

What has been your biggest disappointment?
Finding out that "aging" and "growing up" are not synonyms. I'm often surprised how much of the politics of adults resembles the politics of the playground.

When did you last cry, and why?
About 3 hours ago, I got choked up by some song I heard on the radio. Don't even know which one now. My guess as to why? Hormones.

How do you relax?
Embroidery or knitting.

How often do you have sex?
Sorry, the only person not involved in my sex-life who may ask that question is my physician.

What is the closest you've come to death?
February 1989, I was going to a conference in Pittsburgh over Spring Break with some friends. We got lost, the driver got a little rattled, she made for an exit to take us back the way we came....and hit a tow truck that had been hiding in her blind spot. We bounced off the truck, skidded across a four-lane highway without hitting anyone else, and smacked into a cement wall. We all survived, but no one is sure how. The car was a mangled mess. The driver was hospitalized for a bit -- she was having chest pains that turned out to be a mild heart attack. The fellow in the back seat had been asleep. He'd hit his head, but after a scan or two was deemed okay. Me? I lost my glasses, and had a seatbelt-inflicted bruise from right shoulder to left hip like a beauty pageant sash. Other than that, I was fine.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Maid service.

What keeps you awake at night?
The cricket who's taken up residence somewhere in my apartment. I can't find him, but I sure can hear him. They say it's good luck to have a cricket in the house. It will be extremely bad luck for him if I find him.

What song would you like played at your funeral?
"So Long, Farewell" from the Sound of Music. No? Why not? As long as it's not some soppy sorrowful thing, I really don't care what it is. At my Grandma's grave someone whipped out a tape recorder and played "Live Like You Were Dying." Ugh.

I suppose it really doesn't matter. I won't be there anyway.

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
It's not the destination that matters, it's the journey. Enjoy the ride. And take lots if pictures!

Where would you most like to be right now?
Pretty happy where I am at the moment.