Every once in a while you do get a nice surprise

I logged on this morning to discover that apparently some LiveJournalers find me funniest, and more than a couple think I'm sexy as well.

Funny and sexy. One of my greatest desires in life is to make people laugh. The sexy is just gravy. ;)

Okay, line to worship me starts over there... Just kidding!! I think

EDIT: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I was tied for "Most Likely to Blow Up a Wal-Mart!! *giggles*

Out and about

Big fun last night at Java Monkey with jerseygirl1, dwivian, and dellaran, followed by more fun with deza, tall_man, and arkhamrefugee. Thank you all for a lovely time!

Shower meme questions from spiritchaser1

Sorry these are so late! Just trying to wrap up...

1. What is your biggest fear?

Snakes. I'm so phobic I can barely even look at them in photos or on television. Dying alone, or rather living my entire life alone. Being the person my worst enemies say I am.

2. What are you happiest with in your life?

I would have to try and answer this on a day I'm down in the dumps, huh? I will say that though I'm not in that spot today, two of the things that make me the happiest are 1). I do have a great capacity for caring, and I've done what I can to make life better for my friends. I don't know if it's helped, but I like to think so. 2). I'm learning to embrace who I am instead of holding myself to other people's stupid standards, and I'm learning to analyze the things I've done and try to take something positive out of all the bad things that have happened.

3. Describe a dream or ambition you had as a child. Do you still hold that dream?

Writing a book, and hell yeah!! :)

4. What's your favorite day of the year, and why?

Christmas Eve. It's better than Christmas because there's still the bustle of getting ready, the family togetherness, and the anticipation. It's not nearly as fun now that I'm older and my aunt and uncle don't usually come for Christmas, but those are fond memories.

5. Favorite place to hang out in Atlanta? (doesn't have to be a bar or club)

Loved Innovox while it lasted. And I always enjoy hanging out with my old coworkers at Crystal Blue.

Shower meme questions from wolfieboy

1. Describe a recent way that you've been adorably neurotic.

At the recent They Might Be Giants concert, I ran around in the rain, dragging poor alison_says behind me, because I wanted a tasty alcoholic beverage and I hate beer and I was convinced that there had to be a tent selling Jack Daniel's lemonade or something similar if only I could find it. (alison_says was a real sport about it.)

2. Do you only cuss in english? Do you restrict your cussing to only the standards or do you employ other invectives?

Oh, no. Though scarcrest and I have joked that my interest list really should have "prolific profanity" rather than "creative profanity", I do strive to keep things interesting. I lived on the extremely slack German hall in college for three years and picked up a variety of fun German swears that way -- though I do admit I usually just yell "fuck shit piss!!" or something similar when I'm in a hurry. Once in a while I will come up with something impressive, though, not that I can remember any of it right now.

My cursing quirk is that I will say every word you can think of and a few that you maybe haven't, but I do not take the Lord's name in vain.

3. What's the most amusing stuffed animal that you have?

Well, the one with the best story is probably poor Rosalind the stuffed tiger. Nick the cat keeps trying to hump her.

Aside from that, I have a stuffed bear in a flapper costume named Daisy Buchanan. That's probably pretty amusing.

4. Where would a third arm be attached? What would you do with it?

I think on my right side below my other arm. That way, I would have another right hand, which would be useful because I'm right-handed.

5. What's a way that you've taken care of yourself lately?

I've eaten salad this week, cooked myself chicken and dumplings (I love!!) the other night, had a bubble bath the other night, and I'm getting a massage tonight, which will hopefully help get rid of the backache I've had for a couple of weeks.

Shower meme questions from cynical7

1. What is your definition of a southerner?

It's not just location, it's culture. A real Southerner drinks sweet tea, calls it a coke or a soft drink (NOT pop), will tease even their closest friends about being "damn Yankees" and "carpetbaggers", and probably has a crazy aunt or two in the attic. (I've at times referred to Southern literature as "crazy aunt stories")

Of course, there are some bad things in Southern culture -- racism, class issues, a tendency to sweep things under the rug rather than deal with them, fakey syrupy-sweet "niceness." Several of my professors back at Vandy said I reminded them of Flannery O'Connor because of my fondness for the oddities of the South combined with a deep disgust for the nastier parts of the Southern legacy. I've also hoped that perhaps they also meant I was a good writer.

2. Have you had any experiences with law students that DIDN'T suck?

Well, I had fun talking to one at a barbecue last fall, but then he totally stood me up for lunch.

Actually, another time I was out having sushi by myself when I ran into several law students I knew. They were out celebrating a birthday and came over and invited me out for post-dinner drinks. That was much fun, a really nice memory.

Seriously, some of them are quite nice, but it always seems to boil down to a class divide. They're LAWYERS to be, and my position isn't even professional. Maybe they really do look down on me, like I suspect; maybe it's all in my head. Wish I knew.

3. What would you REALLY like to be doing as far as a career goes?

My absolute dream job: Writer/reviewer for Entertainment Weekly. Or possibly a comic-book writer. I'm actually looking into some possibilities with the latter.

4. Describe your ideal mate using literary/television/film characters to stand for various qualities.

Witty and loyal like Benedick from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Fun-loving, charming, and snarky like Mike Kellerman from Homicide. Dead sexy, smart, and compassionate like John Munch from Homicide. Sensitive (and cute!) like Carter from ER, dependable like Green. Heroic like Rick from Casablanca.

And even though I've never even seen the damn movie, I believe deep down just about every girl wants Lloyd Dobler standing on her lawn with a boom box.

5. neurosis: inate, product of your enviroment or some crazy mixed up combination?

Varies for everyone. Some of the nuttiest people I've known have the sanest parents, and vice versa. In my case it's probably a combination of genetics (we have a LOT of nuts in my family) and a fairly dysfunctional upbringing. I feel kinda guilty laying claim to the word "dysfunctional," knowing how many people had it worse than I did, but when your parents scream at each other while you and your kid brother are trapped in the car on vacation, then send you out on the hotel room balcony so they can scream some more, yeah, I think it's safe to say it fucks you up.

Shower meme questions from dslartoo

1. Why, do you think, do you have a self-image problem? You've got so much to offer.

Honestly? I believe a big part of it is the way my parents raised me. I learned to read at age three, was in gifted classes not long after starting school, always at the top of my class. My parents apparently believed that it was their job to keep me from getting full of myself, so they gave me little praise even when I did really cool things. My father would tell other people he was proud of me, but never me. When my younger brother made the honor roll for the first time, he called my mom and demanded she get pizza that night to celebrate. She complied. When I made the honor roll, it wasn't celebrated, it was expected. I would have been in trouble if I didn't make it. Plus, my dad (who has been discussed aplenty in this LJ) wasn't interested in any of my stuff. He'd bitch about wanting us to do things together, but what he meant was he wanted me to do his things. He hardly ever pretended to be interested in the things I liked, and frequently belittled them (like my love of reading, that wasn't useful. Even when I was in grad school, he'd pester me to take some useful courses, like accounting. When I was in grad school.). He saw my brain as a tool for his convenience, frequently interrupting me in the middle of whatever I was doing to make me research something for him. My mom always said it was because I was "so good at it." Thanks for the backup, Mom. When our family got a Net hookup, I tried and tried to teach him to dial in himself, but he wasn't interested. Why should he be when he could just make me do it?

I'm sure there are more reasons than that. But I think that's the one at the core. And recently I've been working through a lot of anger and resentment at my family, especially my father, so yeah, this is what I think.

2. What kind of novel is it you're working on? (I've been skimming my friends list of late, so if this's been answered, forgive me).

A deeply depressed grad student with a bitchy roommate, cruel classmates, and a deadbeat boyfriend attempts to put her life back together in the aftermath of a suicide attempt. Though I never attempted suicide and I got rid of the boyfriend earlier, it is deeply autobiographical, and I'm not sure I'm ready to visit the dark places I'm going to have to to write this. Right now I'm more inclined to work on my idea for a comic. It'll get written one day, though. I'm sure of it.

3. Where would you rather be living? Anywhere in the world.

Ummm... anywhere but here? *SNARK*

Seriously (and Atlanta isn't the worst place in the world, it just doesn't seem to like me), the place I've lived that felt the most like home is Nashville. I get misty-eyed just thinking about it. Those places -- they're my places. And how I miss them.

As for places I haven't lived, I'd love to live somewhere in the British Isles -- probably London, but Scotland fascinates me too. Boone, North Carolina, despite being the site of the worst summer of my life, is practically the only Southern small town I'd like to live in. I'm afraid when I get out to San Francisco next week (!), I'll fall in love and just refuse to leave. Chattanooga and Savannah have always seemed like cool cities.

4. Were you to win the lottery tomorrow, what are the first three things you'd buy?

First I'd pay off my credit cards. Boring!! Then I'd take some friends out for a fondue feast, get a stylish new wardrobe, and go hog-wild on books and comics.

5. What got you interested in mountaineering (or at least, reading about mountaineering?)

I'm not so sure it's the mountaineering as much as my well-documented fascination with disasters (I have "shipwrecks" on my interest list). Thanks for letting me borrow that book, by the way. :) I do love the Appalachians, but one of my main impressions from Into Thin Air was "Why would I want to endanger my life doing this, when I'll be so oxygen-deprived I won't remember or enjoy much of it anyway?"

I have a new title!!

Thanks to arkhamrefugee for this!!