SarahAnnAlien's Journal: Sixty-TWO things, give or take a bit...

1. Name someone with the same birthday as you.

Jesus. Well, close enough.

2. Where was your first kiss?

I don't know yet...

3. Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else's property?

Not that I can recall... unless you count that time that I was two years old and disassembled the vacuum cleaner. But, I mean, if they didn't want you to take it apart, why did they put screws in it?

4. Have you ever hit someone of the opposite sex?

Not since early childhood.

5. Have you ever sung in front of a large number of people?

On TV. Guam, 1976 or 1977. You probably didn't see it. It was a play. I played one of the seeds. My line was "I'm growing!" Somebody else played a farmer. I'm pretty sure there was a musical number in there somewhere, too. First grade was cool.

6. What's the first thing you notice about the preferred sex?

Preferred? Wow, these questions are complicated. Um... their sex? Or, is the question, what is the first thing I notice AFTER I notice that they're of the preferred sex? Which brings us back to: preferred?

7. What really turns you on?

That's on a need-to-know basis... but depending on my current neurochemical state, the time of the month, the phase of the moon, etc.... well, let's just say that sometimes it doesn't take much!

8. What do you order at Starbucks?

I've only been into Starbucks once. I didn't order anything. Yuck.

9. What is your biggest mistake?

Mistakes? Too many to count, too big to measure, too late to fix.

10. Have you ever hurt yourself on purpose?

Yes, years ago. I'll always have the scars, too.

11. Say something totally random about yourself.

I cried at the mall yesterday.

12. Has anyone ever said you look like a celebrity?

Andy Hertzfeld. But that was a long time ago.

13. Do you still watch kiddy movies or tv shows?

No, never. On an unrelated note, The Land of The Lost DVD sets rock!

14. Did you have braces?

No.

15. Are you comfortable with your height?

Thrilled! Thank god I'm not tall.

16. What is the most romantic thing someone of the preferred sex has done for you?

Hmm, not sure... see question #6.

17. When do you know it's love?

I don't know. I hope I will.

18. Do you speak any other languages?

Tried and failed at least three. My brain doesn't do languages well.

19. Have you ever been to a tanning salon?

No, but I've erased EPROMs with a UV eraser... Is that close enough?

20. What magazines do you read?

Consumer Reports, Nuts and Volts. I subscribe to more but they're going into a big pile at the moment.

21. Have you ever ridden in a limo?

I don't think so. I was in an amphibious landing craft on a couple of occasions.

22. Has anyone you were really close to passed away?

I was holding my mother's hand when she died. And I still cry over losing my friend Beth to breast cancer. So, yes.

23. Do you watch mtv?

In the 80's I did. And for a brief time in the 90's when they ran Aeon Flux and The Maxx.

24. What's something that really annoys you?

People who drive their car as an expression of their ego.

25. What's something you really like?

The light and fresh air in my new apartment.

26. Do you like Michael Jackson?

Probably not... I do feel kind of sorry for him, given that he's obviously spent his whole life surrounded by people who have left him very messed up.

27. Can you dance?

No. And would probably refuse to try.

28. What's the latest you have ever stayed up?

Two or three days. I remember the doctor telling me "eventually, you will fall asleep." Insomnia sucks.

29. Have you ever been rushed by an ambulance into the emergency room?

No the only time I was in an ambulance, they were taking me from the emergency room to a mental hospital... and they didn't rush, they drove at a more or less normal pace. I suppose. Actually, I wasn't really paying attention to how fast they were driving.

30. Do you actually read these when other people fill them out?

Yes!

31. Number 31 appears to be missing?

Yes. Yes, it does.

32. What are your car/truck radio buttons set to?

I don't know; I gave up on broadcast radio a decade ago. I guess they're set to whetever the previous owner of the car had them set to.

33. When you're completely burned out, what's a good way to recharge (other than sleep)?

I haven't found one... I've been burned out for years.

34. What's your favorite place that you've travelled to?

Japan

35. What do you want to try that you haven't yet?

See questions 2,7,16,17, and possibly 31.

36. Five things you love to eat, and five things you hate to eat?

Love: Japanese food, pepperoni pizza, cheeseburgers, fries, a really good salad. Hate: lemon-flavored Zone bars, "low fat", high fructose corn syrup, and anything that's trendy/gourmet/pretentious.

37. Did you learn to drive stick or automatic first?

I've never driven a stick. No plans to, either.

38. Do you like board games?

Occasionally, and only if the people I'm playing with are fun and non-competitive.

39. Tell me your opinion about gambling.

There are much more entertaining ways to waste money.

40. How many dictionaries do you own?

One: Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. I had another dictionary, but I got rid of it, since it was falling apart. Someday I'll replace it.

41. What's your favorite medium to work in?

Right now I'm working mostly with solder, and cloth. Not at the same time.

42. What was your undergraduate major, and was it always that or did you switch?

EECS, then CSE, then Math/CS. EECS to CSE was because they split EECS into ECE and CSE. I only changed majors by choice once, and I didn't change subjects.

43. Worst physical pain you've been in?

I'm not sure... even when I got hit by the minivan, it didn't really hurt that bad. Although, in the weeks that followed, the muscle spasms that twisted the broken bones against my rigid cast were rather painful.

44. Who's your best friend?

I really don't know anymore.

45. Was high school good? Why (not)?

It was okay... people mostly left me alone.

46. What kinds of music do you like best? Get specific, if you can.

Between the RIAA and digital rights management, music isn't really fun for me anymore. And it's too much work to find new stuff that I like.

47. Last three CDs you bought:

I don't remember... but most likely, those were the LAST three CD's I'll ever buy. Which actually makes me sad.

48. And conversely, what kinds of music would you rather never hear?

Rap.

49. Five favorite movies:

Too many to list, and too many I haven't seen yet.

50. What's something other people like that you just can't get into?

Um, almost everything.

51. When you want to look good, what do you wear?

A sweater?

52. When your heart breaks, how do you put it back together?

I don't. Just choose the biggest remaining piece and move on.

53. Should the following be exterminated:

white briefs: the boy kind or the girl kind?

blue eyeshadow: no opinion

pants that create the muffin-top look on women: the what?

flip flops in the office: someday, whem I'm brave enough

54. Were you a Boy/Girl Scout?

Yes, oddly enough, I was a Boy/Girl Scout! Didn't know it at the time, though.

55. Can you swim?

Yes, but I haven't in, oh, twenty years or so.

56. Tell me your guilty pleasures:

I'm not really guilty about those sorts of things anymore.

57. Do you have a library card?

Yes, two.

58. What's the best present you've received in the past five years?

A car.

59. Do you have a favorite:

Painter: Kandinsky

Sculptor: my friend Priscilla

Photographer: David J. Nightingale

Writer (fiction): yes, but I won't tell you his name yet, giggle!

Poet: Walt Whitman... there was this guy I met online who was a college teacher... he was teaching Walt Whitman. He couldn't handle the fact that I'm an alien. Sigh. See question 35, and "Leaves of Grass".

Writer (nonfiction): Dunno... maybe Jared Diamond?

60. You're in a strange city for the weekend. What will you do while you're there?

Probably attend a conference, and shop.

61. Are you thrifty?

Sometimes.

62. You bought tickets for a cultural event. What are you going to see?

The apocalypse. My understanding is that it won't be televised. Go figure.

63. What's something you're hanging onto that you don't need anymore?

Hmm, I don't think I should say on Slashdot... giggle!