Another Damned Meme

[It's not that there isn't stuff going on, because there is. It's just that it's not for me to write about, even though it's taking up a lot of my attention right now, in the sense of waking up at my favorite hour of 4:30 in the morning and transmitting obsessive thoughts to my bedroom ceiling.]

[But since I can't stand the idea of looking at my silly thoughts about Generation Text one more day, here's a meme from the Angry Young One:]

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

[The easiest answer is that I was named for both my grandfathers, even though my dad's name is also You-Know-What and he had an uncle William of whom he was apparently fond.]

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

[On the ride back from Martinez on Wednesday night. Part of the whole "can't write about it" thing, but Allen was playing Tears For Fears in BossLadyWithCats's car, I was thinking that ten years ago this fall, Sean, John and I moved into an apartment at Post and Leavenworth, and I was wondering what the hell the subsequent decade had really accomplished for any of us. I looked out of the window at San Francisco glinting at me across the bay and I started to sob.]

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

[Yes. When I don't rush, it's quite nice, and even when it's a scrawl, I think it's kind of a stylish scrawl.]

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

[Dry salami. I need to cut that shit out.]

5. HAVE YOU ANY CHILDREN?

[No, committed gay uncle here, thanks.]

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

[What a hard question to answer. That would depend on what kind of "another person" I was, right? But since most people don't find me offensive, I think I'd like me. A better question: if you were somebody else, would you do you?]

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?

[Oh heavens, no! I'm as free of sarcasm as you are.]

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?

[Yes. Thought about having them out about ten years ago when I was getting tonsillitis a lot, but it stopped recurring, so I stopped thinking about it.]

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?

[Um, I don't think so. It looks jarring. Skydive, maybe.]

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?

[Vanilla-almond "Just The Clusters" granola from Trader Joe's]

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?

[No. I tend to use the other foot to pry my shoe off.]

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

[No. Physically, I tend to be a good user of inertia and momentum to dominate my opponents, but my arms really aren't that powerful. Emotionally, I'm like a little girl...or boy.]

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

[From the store, Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche. All time fave: mint chip from Bi-Rite creamery in the Mission.]

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

[The shape of their faces.]

15. RED OR PINK?

[Red. I know it's a cliche, but I want to paint my next front door red.]

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

[That I procrastinate.]

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO DO THIS MEME?

["Want?" No, I want this glorious sunshine, which is my legacy as a native Californian, never to end. Seriously - shorts and T-shirts in the first half of February! Yay the Golden State!]

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

[Olive green linen cargo shorts that go down to the middle of my calves but which somehow are not culottes. Old gray Skechers that probably I should have ditched long ago.]

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?

[Turkey burger, curly fries and salad at Flipper's in Hayes Valley with Allen and Charlotte. They'd gone to services celebration at Glide, and called me to meet them for Blue Bottle coffee, the Sunday Chronicle, and catching up. Mission accomplished.]

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

[Cars whizzing by on Oak Street and the breeze.]

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

[Periwinkle blue.]

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?

[Cedar chests; cilantro; pears; garlic and mushroom sauteeing in butter; bacon frying; the air just before it's about to rain; Ponderosa pines in the Sierra foothills; eucalyptus.]

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU SPOKE TO ON THE PHONE?

[Allen inviting me to meet him and Charlotte.]

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO MADE YOU DO THIS STUPID MEME?

[No one made me do it. I like the Angry Young Man most of the time.]

26. WHICH SPORT DO YOU ENJOY WATCHING MOST?

[None consistently. The second half of the Super Bowl last Sunday sure was exciting, though.]

27. HAIR COLOR?

[Basic brown with lotsa gray. The sideburns and goatee just about all gray now, and let's not talk about the torso hair. Old, old, old!]

28. EYE COLOR?

[Hazel with gold flecks, which means you never really can tell what color they are.]

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACT LENSES?

[Yes, since I was fourteen.]

30. FAVORITE FOOD?

[I feel like I've answered this too many times in the past. If you can wrap it up in a bready product and slather some non-mayonnaise-based sauce on it, I'll probably have seconds. Hold the beans.]

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

[Movies with happy endings are often scary.]

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?

The first two-thirds of Ghost World with Chris. I fell asleep on his futon before the end - there may have been some drinking or something that night. Last at the cinema: Cassandra's Dream, Woody Allen's latest.]

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

[Black T-shirt with a Ladytron logo on it. John and I saw them perform at Bimbo's a million years ago. Good show for a one-trick pony.]

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?

[Summer. I like warm (and dry).]

35. HUGS OR KISSES?

[Both, of course.]

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?

[Warm apple pie and ice cream, which happens to be what I had for dessert last night.]

39. WHAT BOOK(S) ARE YOU READING NOW?

[Boonville by Robert Mailer Anderson. I also sped thru The Hobbit again yesterday as I lounged disgracefully late in bed. Why The Hobbit, again? That I could reach it from my bed without getting up is as likely a reason as any. Disgraceful.]

40. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

[While I don't need one anymore, I still use the one my dad bought me in London the last time. It has a map of the London Underground on it.]

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?

[A couple of episodes of Star Trek I have on DVD. It's been comfort food for me lately as far as media entertainment goes, can you tell?]

42. FAVORITE SOUND?

[The opening chords or beats when a favorite song comes on the radio. The sound of someone leaving when I really want to be alone.]

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?

[The Smiths.]

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?

[Chris's answer is better, so I'm going to go literal and answer Greece.]

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?

[I know where all the countries in the world are on a map. I'm a decent speller. And with a gas range, I can make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich. The electric unit at Maison le Trou makes me burn them (and popcorn) so that the whole place smells. I'm a bad roommate, because I'm not going without.]

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

[San Diego, California.]

[It does sort of end with a thud, doesn't it?]

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