ask and ye shall...

[jazzfish]

Perhaps the very best thing about Facebook is how all the "which pop culture phenomenon are you?" quizzes seem to have migrated over there and no longer clog up my reading list. On the other hand, I sort of miss the sense of community engendered by the 'bunch of people i know answer a list of semipersonal questions' things. Hence, the triumphant return of Five Questions.

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you 5 questions of a very personal nature.
3. Update your LJ with the answers to the questions. And post them in a comment here too, if you don't mind.
4. Include this and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, ask them 5 questions.

From badmagic:

What's the strangest thing you've caught yourself saying?

You mean, this week? "mR2," in the context of neither a Star Wars droid nor an M.R.DUCKS shirt. (Because "Nine-oh-one-em-ar-two" took too long to say.)

What was the best moment in an RPG you've ever witnessed?

After turning Random's son Martin (mostly famous for bleeding all over the Primal Pattern) into the living embodiment of said Pattern, thereby stopping the slow leakage of reality and stability into Corwin's new Pattern-realm and thus preventing the eventual destruction of Amber itself, Our Heroes returned to their homes for a much-deserved rest. Except for one who felt like poking around to see how the rest of the universe was getting on, and, well:

GM jazzfish: "You're getting a Trump call."
uilos: "Yes?"
jedibfa: "I'm at Corwin's Pattern. Or what's left of it, anyway."
GM: "Aaand that seems like a fine place to close this chronicle."

Who was your best friend when you were growing up?

Being an army brat means that this list is longer and shallower than most people's. The one I remember most fondly is Ryan Waller. I met Ryan in fourth grade when his parents, for reasons that pass all understanding, brought him to a party my father was hosting. (I think Cpt. Waller served under Dad.) We discovered a shared fondness for computer games and fantasy novels, plus he lived within bike riding distance. That ended when Cpt. Waller got deployed overseas (Germany, I think), the summer before Ryan and I would have been in junior high together.

How did you end up dating two women?

By doing wrong almost everything that I possibly could, over the course of three or four years. This isn't a story wherein I come off looking all that well so I'm going to leave it at that.

Sorry you said "Oranges" now, aren't you?

Not yet, but I might be depending on how many people want questions.

Comments

[jazzfish]

1) When was the last vacation you took, before now?
2) What do you miss least from college?
3) How's the house?
4) Tell me something cool:
5) Are you happy?

[vond.livejournal.com]

1) When was the last vacation you took, before now?

Last summer we came to the same beach we are visiting this year (Emerald Isle, NC).  The difference is that last year it was just my nuclear family, whereas this year we came down with my inlaws, who are much easier to spend longer durations with than my own parents.  I suppose my ability to vacation is mostly due to accruing rather a lot of time as a state employee, compounded by the fact that I surpassed 5 years of service a few years ago, which is the first ratchet-point for increasing your leave amounts.
 

2) What do you miss least from college?

Least?  Tough question since by definition things you don't miss are not on your mind very often.  I suppose that in my particular case I'm most happy to no longer be a dependent of my parents anymore.  I'm very grateful that I didn't have to pay my own way, but if I were to return to school I'd rather it was on my own initiative and for my own enrichment.
 

3) How's the house?

The house is fantastic, but the neighborhood has been going downhill a bit lately.  A few years ago some new neighbors moved in and they have 4 vehicles, none of which they keep in their 2-car garage.  They also just added a 5 foot high fence around their back yard, so that entire side of the house is one big eyesore now.  Another couple down the court that we get along well with are moving to DC for a year on a NSF fellowship.  Another house on our court just had some people move in who are very nice and even have a son that's Callie's age, but she's a SAHM and they're also very Christian so there are some lifestyle issues there.

Consequently, we're looking at houses.  At least it's a good time to get a new mortgage, assuming we can sell the place we're in now.  We're specifially looking for places in neighborhoods that don't allow fences so hopefully if we move I won't get bitten by that issue again.  I can't say for sure we're going to move as we're being very picky.

I'd hate to move and leave the trees I've been growing from saplings though.  Also the CAT5e run to every room in the house.
 

4) Tell me something cool:

A few months ago I was awake at around 2:30 AM and heard a strange sound.  I described it to Lisa and she thought it was a Great Horned Owl and sent me a recording she found online of one.  We were both awakened a few nights later and confirmed it.  We haven't heard it since but it was still pretty cool to hear an owl in our neighborhood.
 

5) Are you happy?

This is a yes or no question, but I somehow doubt anyone has ever answered it so simply.  It's a particularly pertinent to ask this question of a parent at this time, in the wake of a July 4 New York Magazine article (http://nymag.com/news/features/67024/) about parenting with the incredibly apt tagline "All Joy and No Fun".  The article highlights a study in which parents have much lower moment-to-moment happiness than non-parents, instead trading that happiness for individual bursts of transcendent elation.

Sadly due to my lack of free time I have only had time to skim the article, but I don't think it pretends to offer a solution anyway.

So in conclusion, I'm not particularly happy, except for the once-or-twice daily moment when I'm happier than I've ever been.