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18 January 2002 (Friday): fifty questions

I'm a sucker for personal questionnaires. Soren is too, and it's hilarious to read his responses to one if he's cranky. It used to puzzle me that he answered them at all when he was cranky, but then I realized that he actually wants to get a snapshot of what he's like when he's being a jerk.

Here are my responses to Winnie's 50 questions:


  1. What's the one thing you wish you could do but can't?

    Speak all languages and dialects fluently. Not only could I travel anywhere the way I really want to (i.e. not as an annoying tourist), but I'm sure it would do cool things to my brain in terms of cultural understanding.

  2. What time of the day do you like to take a shit?

    Um, whenever I have to. My body doesn't have a favorite time.

  3. What is your ideal marriage location?

    In a redwood grove. And barefoot. How's that for a hippie soul. It's a logistical nightmare, I'm sure, but I really like the idea of having something as old and beautiful as redwoods to witness my promising the rest of my life to someone.

  4. Which musical instrument do you wish you could play?

    God, what don't I wish I could play? For now, hand percussion. And acoustic guitar. Guys playing guitar definitely got this chick, but in a weird sort of way I wanted to be the guy, not date him.

  5. What's your favorite sexual position?

    Being on top. Really does it for me. Damn, it does it for me. I wonder what that means.

  6. Favorite fabric?

    High-thread-count cotton sheets are verrah nahs. Flannel is too.

  7. Something you love and hate?

    Staying up really late writing, particularly about myself.

  8. What kind of bedding do you use?

    Cheap cotton stuff. I have a cheap bed frame and an even cheaper mattress (that is to say, free), so I didn't feel like glorifying it with nice bedding.

  9. What kind of soap you use?

    Oil of Olay. I like the ones that claim they won't dry out my sensitive skin, though they usually do anyway.

  10. Do you tell your friends about your sex life?

    Gaudior always wants details. I don't get a kick out of sharing exploits, so I usually get shy when he asks. But I don't mind answering questions about it or talking about sexuality in general.

  11. What's the one language you want to learn?

    Again, what language don't I want to learn? For the immediate future, Spanish. It's spoken by a hell of a lot of people where I live.

  12. How do you eat an apple?

    Crunching into it until there's just the core left. My dad used to cut slices off the sides and stick them back on, then rotate it by the stem while I tried to figure out where the slices were. Sometimes he'd put fake slices in there, too, false cuts that didn't go all the way through. Tricky fellow.

  13. What do you order at a bar?

    Nothing, or ice water. I can't drink. Gaudior took me clubbing a few months back and ordered me a white russian, which was enough to make me go blind for about fifteen minutes, among other nasty things. Never again.

  14. Have you ever pierced your body parts? If so, where?

    Nope...I've been contemplating getting my ears pierced, because earrings are occasionally cool, but inertia has prevented me so far.

  15. Do you have tattoos? If so, what kind and where?

    None. If I were ever involved in something as cool as the Lord of the Rings movies, though, I'd definitely go for that collective-tattooing thing that the Fellowship actors did.

  16. Would you ever admit to having done plastic surgery of any kind of confronted?

    I have a hard time picturing myself getting plastic surgery in the first place. But if I did, yeah, maybe I'd be loath to admit it. Like to think I'm braver than that, but maybe I'm not.

  17. What's one of the "funnest" things you've ever done?

    Fallen in love and had it be a mutual thing, which I've had the tremendous luck to have done with every guy I've dated save one. Apart from that rather abstract answer, riding mopeds through Italian wine country and whitewater canoeing rank pretty high up there. Both with Emmett, who's a blast to hang out with outdoors.

  18. Do you drive stick?

    I learned once for a road trip some friends and I were taking. Learned again when I had to drive stick in this movie Zach was making for a class. But not really.

  19. What's one trait you hate in a person?

    Hypocrisy tends to press my buttons -- advising one thing while doing another, without apologizing for the inconsistency. I can sympathize with an awful lot, but having double standards seems to piss me off more than anything.

  20. What's the soonest that you've slept with someone?

    Let's see...a month. I'm talking intercourse here. I have this wall that stays up until I've reached a certain point in a relationship with someone. Recently I realized what it was: I don't have sex with a guy until I think we could stay together if I got pregnant, and not ruin the lives of everyone involved.

  21. What kind of watch(es) do you wear?

    Between my cell phone, pager, and the fact that clocks are everywhere, I decided I didn't need one.

  22. Most frivolous purchase?

    You know, I thought about this, and I don't know. I'm pretty strict with myself when it comes to buying things I don't think I need. If anything, maybe it's the really nice trenchcoat I got Emmett for Christmas. He was so psyched that it was worth it.

  23. Do you consider yourself materialistic?

    I wrote a really long (private) journal entry on this once...I think the answer is no. When I lose stuff, I get stressed out because of the inconvenience. And I lust after certain objects for their usefulness in doing cool things with my life. Other than that, I let go of material possessions without a second thought most of the time.

  24. What do you cook the best?

    Apparently I make pretty good cornbread, which always disappears in half an hour when I make it at home. Don't generally cook though.

  25. Favorite writing instrument?

    Ink pen. In particular I like the Uniball Deluxe Micro (in case anyone cares). Anything I write feels sophisticated when I use that pen.

  26. Do you prefer to stand out or blend in?

    Blend in...well, actually, I like to stand out quietly. I like to be the loner in the corner, rather than the life of the party. I don't actually mind being the center of attention, but it's not my natural place in things.

  27. Do you have anything monogrammed? If so, what?

    Nothing.

  28. Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?

    As a girl with short hair, I get called "sir" all the time. Well, less now that I'm gravitating toward dresses and figure-hugging shirts. But yeah, I do it all the time. It's not that hard for women to pull off.

  29. What's one car you will never buy?

    Any gas-guzzler. I'm all for hybrid and electric cars. For now I've got a Corolla because the newfangled ones can't hold all the stuff I cart around.

  30. Have you ever done drugs?

    The two I've tried are alcohol and pot. Alcohol poisons me. Pot bores me. Gabe says I need to do the whole-cookie test before I give up on it. I also want to try psilocybin.

  31. What kind of books do you like to read?

    I'm on a literature kick these days, trying to read all those critically acclaimed novels from the past century or so. I also read technical books on geeky subjects that interest me but that I know nothing about, like audio engineering and Linux.

  32. If you won the lottery, what would you do first?

    I'd invest it and carry on as usual, albeit with a higher "salary." I'd probably travel more, and donate more. I might buy a house.

  33. Burial or cremation?

    Cremation.

  34. How many online journals do you read regularly?

    Four. I'll put up links to the ones I read soon...

  35. What's one thing you're a sore loser at?

    I can't think of anything, which is not to say that I'm never a sore loser. Well, I am sort of passive-aggressive, so whenever I'm screwed over and don't have the guts to stand up for myself, I make up for it by complaining, I guess. But I try not to do that too often.

  36. If you don't like a person, how do you show it?

    I don't. I don't fake niceness to anyone I don't like, but I try to be neutral enough so that there's no bad vibe. Sometimes I'll gripe about the person later, though. Passive-aggressive again. Ain't saying I'm proud of it.

  37. How many drinks before you're tipsy?

    See #13.

  38. Favorite kind of porn?

    The tame stuff, guy/girl going at it with no props or accessories. And it generally doesn't do anything for me unless I can make myself believe that they're actually enjoying it, not just acting.

  39. Do you have problems changing clothes in front of friends?

    Nope, but I try not to do it too often. The vast majority of my friends are guys, and most of them have been attracted to me at one point or another, so it's kind of a weird thing.

  40. Do you cry in front of friends?

    I haven't cried in front of anyone except my family and Zach in a long time. Crying in front of other people is a big deal for me, for some reason.

  41. What kind of impression do you think you give to people?

    Good question. I've been told everything from cold and unapproachable to warm and easygoing to charismatic and mysterious. Depends on the situation, probably, and whether I want to be there in the first place. But I think "cute" and "nice" are two common adjectives.

  42. What's one thing you like to do alone?

    Make up stories and act them out. I've got a lot of epic sagas in my head, and I like to slip into the skin of a character every now and then.

  43. What's the worst thing you ever said to someone?

    Heh. Apparently I have a talent for this, actually. When Drew was pursuing me and fell asleep one night in my bed, he woke up to me sitting in a chair, looking at him with my head cocked. "How much longer are you going to keep doing this to yourself?" I asked. I didn't even know it was an insulting thing to say.

  44. Are you a giver or a taker?

    In broadly philosophical terms? Or is there some sexual lingo I'm missing?
    In either case...giver, probably. I love making someone's day. But this all seems too noble, so I'm trying to think of ways in which I'm a taker...I tend to take my family for granted, actually. So I'm a taker there.

  45. What have you stolen before?

    I unintentionally shoplifted a sheet of stickers when I was a kid. Put them in my back pocket, went looking for my mom, who said "Hey, we've gotta go," and I forgot to put them back before we walked out. Other than that, nothin'.

  46. When's the right time to go to the bathroom in front of your significant other?

    One of those things you have to figure out on a per-relationship basis.

  47. Favorite communication method?

    Online chatting. Faster than email, slower than spoken word, more or less private, and there's that computer-monitor anonymity that makes people brave about sharing their thoughts, in my experience. And there's less protocol about the flow of conversation, so you can talk about whatever's on your mind.
    I also like talking to someone in the wee hours past midnight. Much of the above applies then, too.

  48. What is one thing you don't leave home without?

    I'm horribly absentminded, so I've left everything at home at one point or another. These days I try to make sure that my purse and keys are with me at least.

  49. How often do you have sex?

    Whenever I'm with my boyfriend and we have a room to do it in.

  50. What's the most painful experience you've ever had?

    If I had to choose just one...those couple of months when I was depressed, back in 2000. I put Zach through hell, and he stuck it out, for which he'll always have my deep admiration and gratitude. I hate hate hate hate not being myself and dragging the one I love down with me. Letting my destructive side take over. Seeing the world in terms of everything wrong about it, knowing full well that that's not the whole truth. Jesus, that sucked.

posted by enjelani @ 08:54 PM PST