jaysaint Getting it all down on paper…

I swiped this from TravelLight.

Answer it and pass it along. My answers are in italics.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

finding something I thought I lost

What is your greatest fear?

Death. Roaches. Plummeting.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

I dont have one for “historical” but I can say the fictional character I most identify with is Martin Short’s character in ‘Innerspace.’

Which living person do you most admire?

Gloria Steinem

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

a killer instinct I work hard to supress

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

small-mindedness

What is your greatest extravagance?

edible indulgences

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

being “nice”

On what occasion do you lie?

whenever it smooths my way without ruffling my conscience

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

“Do you have a cookie I can have?”

What is your greatest regret?

every single time I’ve failed to show patience with my mother, who deserves better

What is your current state of mind?

serene

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I’d be more patient and more organized. I’d also like to be about six inches taller.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?

They’d be more open to taking better care of themselves.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?

one of my cats

What is your most treasured possession?

my grandmas’ jewelry

Where would you like to live?

in a hobbit house

What is your favorite occupation?

Reading. Making a List. Crossing items off a list.

What is your most marked characteristic?

curiosity

What is the quality you most like in a man?

I love a man who has nothing to prove.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

I also love a woman who has nothing to prove.

Who are your favorite writers?

Mark Helprin, C.S. Lewis, Margaret George, John Irving, Edward Rutherford, David Sedaris, Robert Graves, Vladimir Nabokov, J.K. Rowling, Charlotte Bronte, W.H. Auden

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

Owen Meany

Who are your heroes in real life?

anyone who is making a difference, getting no credit, and carrying on

What is it that you most dislike?

missing lunch

What is your motto?

If you’re going to be a bear, be a grizzly.

My Personality

Here is my disclaimer: I take my work seriously. Very seriously. I work long hours and I know that people are depending on me.

That said, my job is so freaking funny sometimes. Some days, like today, a bunch of oddities collide and here’s what I get:
— three deliveries from cosmetics companies of lovely new nail and lip products hitting the market. I don’t paint my nail often, but I can do some damage to a pot of lip gloss. So this is exciting.
— A red velvet cupcake from Buttercream Bakery via FedEx
— A new job reqirement: We kicked off a new web site franchise today. I’m not quite prepared to share details (it will launch in January) but I’ll be one of the contributing editors and that means I will literally be paid to have sex. Damon will have to do it for free.

While I was sweating it out in my senior journalism classes, this is really not where I saw things going.

Tomorrow night is my first black tie event for the magazine and I’m hugely nervous. Here are my two fears:
— That my dress is horrifically, embarrassingly wrong. The pain of this will be compounded by the fact that I’m attending with my editor in chief.
— That I misunderstood and I’m not actually invited. When I get there I won’t be on the list and I will vaporize in a cloud of humiliation.

I know that these fears are ridiculous. If I really *own* my dress, it will be right whether it’s wrong or not. And if I show up and am not on the list it’s the organizers who will be embarrassed and will scramble to make it right. If not for my sake then for my boss’, because everybody wants her love. But we’ll just see if all that reason is reaching my brain in any significant way at 3am.

I have an advance copy of the REDBOOK starring my behind. I haven’t had a chance to ask our art director yet but either I’ve been airbrushed or the lighting was done by a magician. I mean, my skin looks perfect. Parfait, even.

My butt, however, looks pretty darn big. Which, you know, is not news to me. So that’s fine.

My hair is no bueno.

And now, unrelatedly, is a meme taken from Nolagrl

What’s your name spelt backwards?:
Naillij

What did you do last night?:
Worked late and then slept poorly.

The last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
Virus protection freeware

Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery?:
I don’t understand why anyone would say ‘yes’ to this.

Last time you swam in a pool?
Last November in Kauai.

What are you wearing?
powder blue track pants and a guinea tee (which I’m more comfortable typing, being Italian, than the more popular ‘wife beater’)

How many cars have you driven around?
There is no one less interested in cars than I am, but I’ll try. My first car was a red Nissan Stanza. My second was tan with some fun little stripes. After that I drove a bright yellow Ford Festiva. Later I had a Buick something or other. The only car I ever loved was my 1990 Saab hatchback. My heart still yearns for that car. Later I had a Taurus. Mostly I’ve driven whatever was cheap and handy.

Type of music you dislike most?
Screamy metal.

Are you registered to vote?
Yes.

Do you have cable?
Yes, and TiVo.

What kind of computer do you use?
Compac Presario at home, Dell Latitude and a Mac at work.

Ever made a prank phone call?
I’m sure I have, although I can’t conjur details.

You like anyone right now?
Oh for sure.

Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving?
Not for a million bazillion dollars. It’s possible I would let someone shoot me first.

Furthest place you ever traveled?
Sudan, or maybe Kauai. I’m not sure of the mileage.

What’s your favorite comic strip?
I loved Bloom County.

Do u know all the words to the national anthem?:
yes

Shower, morning or night?
Morning and at the gym. I aspire to be a night showerer, but I just can’t seem to pull it off.

Best movie you’ve seen in the past month?
A History of Violence. I’m behind on my movie watching.

Favorite pizza toppings?
tomatoes, green olives, pineapple, garlic, mushrooms. Basically, I’m happy with any veggie topping. I’m least interested in peppers, though.

Chips or popcorn?
I love chips, but don’t eat much of either.

What cell phone provider do you have?
Sprint (home) and Verizon (work)

Have you ever smoked peanut shells?
Why would you smoke a peanut shell?

Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
Hardly

Orange juice or apple?
Orange. But I prefer cranberry mixes (not juice drink) or grapefruit.

Who were the last people you sat at lunch with?
My super-fun friend Mary.

Favorite chocolate bar?
Scharfen-Barger (sp?) dark chocolate

Who is your longest friend and how long?
Aside from aquaintancy friends from as far back as early grade school, my longest-standing friend is my best friend Mick. We met when I was 15, which means we’ve been friends for 20 years.

Last time you ate a homegrown tomato?
I am sad to say I can’t remember the last time I ate a tomato that was grown by someone I know. But I do buy heirloom tomatoes from local farms every week, which are pretty delicious.

Have you ever won a trophy?
I don’t think so.

Favorite arcade game?
Arkanoid

Ever ordered from an infomercial?
No.

Sprite or 7-UP?
Neither.

Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school/work?
Oh yes, both.

Last thing you bought at Walgreens?
I don’t remember the last time I was in Walgreens, but pretzels or allergy medicine would be a good guess.

Ever thrown up in public?
No, thank goodness.

Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love?
I would not trade my own true love for many millions.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
I believe in intense infatuation at first sight.

SPONGEBOB OR JIMMY NEUTRON?
I don’t think I’m qualified to answer.

Did you have long hair as a young kid?
Very

What message is on your voicemail machine?
My voicemail is always very straight forward. Something along the lines of “You’ve reached Jillian. Please leave a message.” For work I just add my last name and title.

Where would you like to go right now?
To bed, but I’m not sleepy.

What’s the name of your pet?
My darling Zoe, who I’ve had for 15 years and our new kid Fat Sam.

What kind of backpack do you have, and what’s in it?
I don’t have a backpack.

What do you think about most?
Chinese babies and editorial calendars.

This morning I wrote our “statement of intent.” It’s a letter to the Chinese adoption authorities explaining why adoption, why China, what kind of child you hope to get and lots of promises that you’ll take loving care of the baby. This is a one-page document that has to cover a lot of territory, including practical stuff like addresses and citizenship information. So the room for additional information is short. It’s an interesting comment on Chinese culture that there’s a section prioritized for education — how much do we have and how do we plan to educate our child?

I felt more moved than I expected writing our statement, and I really enjoyed spending time with it.

It made me think that maybe I should be writing statements of intent for other important choices in my life. I certainly felt focused and well-directed when I finished. So when I want a new job, or just when I want to instill a good habit (or break a bad one) perhaps I’ll start with a one-page declarative document. I think I can leave the citizenship information out.

Here’s some unrelated stuff:

I visited the Microsoft campus for the first time last week. The campus was gorgeous — verdant, lush, hyper-green. The best part of it, though, was that it smelled distinctly of eucalyptus. So nice, they even have waterfalls. The interior is a bit more run down, which makes sense as the campus has been down for a while. It did make me laugh that it’s really hard to get BlackBerry reception there, so we all had to go into the hallways by the window and wave them around.

After our meetings we went to a very fancy-pants dinner that once again confirmed for me that I usually like what comes out of my kitchen as well as I like what cost $100 at a posh restaurant. Of course, I didn’t have to wash the dishes (or pay) so I had a very nice time. And the service was no less than exquisite. I did fumble badly in jumping on the fish special without listening carefully. The accompanying sauce sounded so lovely (tomatoes, olives, capers, wine) that I missed that it was a whole fish. Nothing like trying to make intelligent chatter with important partners (I think I was trying to sound like I’m used to talking about sailing when the main course came) while de-boning your meal. I actually did a terrifically clean job of getting out the filet, but felt a little nervous about fishsplatter until it was done.

Another noteable event: the flight to Seattle.
First: A Bad Sign.
During takeoff it quickly became clear that the man in the middle seat brought nothing to entertain himself. No books. No magazines. No music. No games. No Sudoku. Nothing. What he did have: someone to talk to. Me. He was from Venezuela and persistent. My earphones did not deter him. Determined magazine reading did not deter him. Avid in-flight movie watching did not deter him. Here’s some sample dialogue:
Him: So my friends say to me…
Me:
Him: So my friends say to me…
Me: Sorry? I couldn’t hear you through my headphones (Assume posture of having taken them out very temporarily, earbud hovering an inch from my ear.)
Him: So my friends say to me, “Are you going to see cattle?” And I say, “NO!!! See-attle!”

He also asked me a lot about electricity costs and hydroelectric power in the US.

For a while I did manage to hold him off by bobbing my head to the music on my iPod, and he spent some quality time with the guy in the window seat. When he turned back to me I snuck a peek at window guy and saw that he’d put on those big noise cancellation headphones. He looked like a helicopter pilot. All I could do was raise my eyebrows at him in silent tribute. Well played, window man.

Anyway, we soldiered on to Washington. And then. Believe it or not. 10 feet from the runway (I’m not exaggerating). I got to experience my first aborted landing. At first I thought the jolt I felt was the wheels touching down, and then I realized I was being pushed backward instead of forward, which meant we weren’t stopping, we were shooting up into the sky. And that we did at an impressive clip and angle. By the time I finshed saying, “What? What?” we were back in the clouds. The pilot came on and got all pilot-y, saying, “Sorry folks, we had a little traffic confusion there. We’ll circle around and get you on the ground.” And I thought: I wonder if the people in first class heard them yell “Jesus Christ!” from the cockpit when they saw the plane/luggage truck/moose on the runway.

I knew that we would be okay, because sometimes my life can seem to be full of cruel jokes but I knew there was no way I was going to check out next to the “See Cattle” guy.