all about us

Seriously people. I've had it up to here with stupidity today. If you see a drunk person get in a car and start driving, you need to call law enforcement. Duh. If a child holds up a power tool and tells you she is going to slit her throat after she kills another person in the house, the correct response is to call 911. Not to hide in your room all night because you are the most pathetic excuse for an adult I've encountered this year.

That last scenario pushed me into nearly shouting on the phone. When I hung up, my hands were shaking so hard and I wanted to hit something. Stupid, stupid, stupid. That report hit a nerve with me that is still raw after last week's news. I know some of the white hot anger I have at that client is directly tied to my own feelings about the suicides I've known. I'm just going to take myself off the queue and write up some faxes instead.

Or do memes. I've seen this meme constantly lately. It is measure of just how frustrated I am that lists might make me calm down.

1. Can you cook? Oh indeed. I make a killer pie, agonize over pastry dough, bake cakes, scramble eggs, whip meringues and sometimes I even cook a dinner.

2. What was your dream growing up? There were so many I'm unsure how to decide. There was the dream of going to space, the dream of being a published writer, the dream of maybe getting taller. Oh, and that dream where I had a flying unicorn. That one was pretty good. That pretty much covers life up to age eight. Afterwards, most dreams focused on writing.

3. What talent do you wish you had? I wish I could sing. I imagine most of my friends also have that wish.

4. Favorite place? In the whole wide world? Prague. But more immediately, the bath tub. I've spent many happy hours there.

5. Favorite vegetable? Onions. Or potato. I can't choose.

6. What was the last book you read? She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan. I could highly recommend this. Currently I'm reading Vera (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov) which I also recommend. I admire Vera Nabokov tremendously, and aspire to the sort of grace she carried herself with. (Though I talk too much to be Vera, truthfully. She was a master of reserve.)

7. What zodiac sign are you? The most obvious answer of all: Gemini

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? I had my ears pierced ages ago but after watching a navel piercing go horribly wrong and a high school acquaintance pierce his nose on the bus with a safety pin, I decided no more. I also have two tattoos, one of which is on display in my icon.

9. Worst Habit? I would have to say a certain amount of laziness.

10. Do we know each other outside of Livejournal? Half of you yes, the other half no. I've lost count of how many people posted this in the past week.

11. What is your favorite sport? To watch? Hockey. Hockey is the most graceful, violent, delightful thing ever invented. I love it. My favorite sport to actually play? Fencing, as it was the only sport I ever excelled at. (Probably because it does not involve hitting, kicking, catching, chasing, rolling, throwing or bouncing any balls.)

12. Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude? Another very easy one, as a born and bred cynical pessimist.

13. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator with me? The answer is the same for anyone: freak the hell out. I dislike elevators.

14. Worst thing to ever happen to you? Watching my former husband code in the ER, and wondering if he was going to die. Sitting in the ICU unit early in the morning.

15. Tell me one weird fact about you. Let me ask, is there any story I tell that is not weird in some way? Seriously. Well okay then. The one place in the world I feel most connected to life, the universe and everything is the Egyptian Wing at the Metropolitan Museum in the Temple of Dendur. I've been in various American churches and some of the most beautiful cathedrals of Europe, and nothing feels so immense and powerful as that one place. It is the only place in the world I don't feel worried about dying.

16. Do you have any pets? Not at the moment. Growing up at various times I had dogs, cats, rats and fish. I really want that puppy right about now, as my mother has some gorgeous German Shepards with bloodlines much better documented than my own.

17. Bottle or draft beer? I'll take either one. I'm a big fan of some things in bottles, simply because I can't get real draft Czech beer here.

18. What time is it where you are now? Close to 5:30pm, and not nearly close enough to going home time.

19. Do you think clowns are cute or scary? Creepy. I knew a girl who was deathly afraid and would run screaming from all clowns.

20. If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be? I would have to be taller. Not immensely tall, just taller than I am now.

21. Would you be my partner in crime or my conscience? Partner in crime! Blaze of Glory! Now, who wants to rob a diner with me?

22. What color eyes do you have? Green, green, green.

23. Ever been arrested? No indeed. I've had other people arrested though.

24. Caffeine or decaf? Caffiene. Caffiene is the water and blood of life. Decaf is an abomination.

25. If you won $10,000 dollars today, what would you do with it? Pay some bills, take my friends out to dinner and save the rest for a downpayment on that house.

26. What snacks do you like? Homemade nachos with beans, onions, cheese and guacamole, chips and salsa, chocolate bars of all kinds but especially chocolate hazelnut, and many, many flavors of ice cream, sherbet and gelato.

27. What's your favorite place to hang out? Once upon a time, it was Metro. The glorious bastion of all night smokers and coffee drinkers, with those uncomfortable chairs and that one guy who played nothing but Social Distortion albums all night long. I still like coffee shops even now that I don't get to smoke anymore. I also like dive bars and seedy European discotheques. Mostly, I like hanging out in places where my friends are.

28. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes, I suppose I do. There are too many strange things to imagine it is impossible.

29. Favorite thing to do in your spare time? Have sex. A lot. As much as I can. I rationalize that it is exercise if you do it right. If I can't be doing that, I suppose I'll be reading any book or magazine I can put my hands on.

30. Do you swear a lot? Constantly. Probably too much. I'm not as bad as I was when I was a teenager, but still. When I realize I've said fuck six times in one breath, I try to ease up on it.

31. Biggest pet peeve? Stupidity. Plain stupidity. Nothing makes me dislike someone or something more than stupidity, and willful ignorance.

32. In one word, how would you describe yourself? Difficult. Haha. Difficult indeed. Difficult in large part because I defy your one word summaries!

33. In one word, how would you describe me? All of you? Well, if I like you then I will choose smart.

34. Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you? I'm filling it out aren't I? Even He Whose Bitterness Brings Joy to His Friends filled out this meme.

questions from rothko

1. what is your absolute favorite cake to make?
I like making poundcakes, and especially poundcakes with little variations. Lemon poundcake, blueberry poundcake, chocolate swirl pound cake, cinnamon poundcake... oh the possibilities. Poundcakes are so easy but brilliant. You can do so much! They are pretty forgiving cakes too and stand up to some rough handling.

2. do you imagine yourself ever marrying again?
I think it would depend a lot on the other person involved and what they wanted. Nothing is impossible. I don't know, mostly because I'm cynical.

That is a hard question. It's terrifying, quite honestly and I sometimes despair. I spent a certain amount of time feeling like it would be absolutely impossible for me to even date again, much less contemplate marriage. I joke all the time I'm not getting married unless I get a pony and a house out of the pre-nup, but that's just become my stock answer to defuse the tension of the question.

I would like to find someone to spend a lifetime with.

3. do you have a favorite spot out in the hill country?

I love the rolling lands out near Ellinger off Highway 71. I love Lake Travis. There are places on 360 that have always been there for me, and the winding roads down near Canyon Lake are a wonder in the late afternoon light.

4. three most important things you expect/demand of your friends.

Intelligence, most of all. A willingness to do what needs to be done, even if it is hard. Adaptability too, because we're always changing. We're all very different people, my closest friends. But we work together, and it is good.

5. are you a cat person? dog person? neither?
I suppose I am mostly a cat type person, if only for this simple bit: I like certain kinds of dogs, but all kinds of cats. Ilike big dogs, German Shepards and the like. I like dogs I can train to protect the house, or fetch birds. I can't stand little yip yap dogs. How are those exactly useful? Cats are a different story though. Cats are just something else, and often so adorable they reduce me to the level of a twelve year old. Kitty!