A Load of Tuesday Answers
Do you have any pets? I have no pets. I debated getting some kind of animal when I moved here for doctoral study, but since I didn’t know how many days of the year I’d be gone, I decided it would be better to avoid it. Once I land in a place with a proper job, I’ll end up with an animal.
What color shirt are you wearing? I’m currently wearing a white shirt.
Name three things that are physically close to you: My pocket watch lies silent on the coffee table, next to it lies two quarters left over from paying the Kansas Turnpike toll on my way to Topeka for a concert last Sunday, next to that lies “Introduction to Personality”, a previous college textbook.
What is the last book you read? I last read “The Summer of the Danes” by Ellis Peters. Coming up is “The Great Derangement: a terrifying true story of war, politics, and religion at the twilight of the American empire” by Matt Taibbi.
Are you or were you a good student? For the most part, I’m an excellent student, though not an exemplary one. My current doctoral GPA is 3.791, which I’m content with since I haven’t registered for the “easy A” ensembles in three years.
What's your favorite sport? I’ve come to appreciate football lately, though I’ll watch and cheer for anything when I’m being paid. On a completely unrelated note, yay basketball!
Do you enjoy sleeping late? Without a doubt. I’ve mentioned before that waking up early, looking at the clock, realizing I have lots more time to sleep, and vanishing under the covers again is one of the most wonderful feelings in my life.
What's the weather like right now? Trending towards fall, which has caused my friends to mock my improving moods (gentle mocking), considering my affection for cold and overcast days.
Who tells the best jokes? I don’t have any friends that really tell “jokes” anymore. I get a big kick out of the writers at “The Daily Show”, which may count. I think I’ve sort of transitioned out of “stand-up”, since it’s been years since I’ve really seen any that I found fun. It doesn’t help that George Carlin is dead.
What was the last thing you dreamed about? I had a dream that I was in a relationship (and a bed) with someone who’s only a friend now. It was strange in the dream, too, and most of the dream consisted of talking about how weird it was while playing with her hair. Whadda ya know: it’s weird to talk about it in real life, too!
Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed? I do drive, and I have never yet crashed. Other people certainly have tried, though!
Do you believe in karma? This is a complicated question that may deserve its own blog entry. Strictly speaking, I do not believe in karma as a universal balancing force. However, there is certainly karma among individuals (if I wrong someone, they’re less likely to help me). In general, when a person feels that they’re suffering under karma, it’s really just guilt.
Do you believe in luck? Luck is different than karma, since karma is “deserved”, meaning it’s effected by your actions. Luck is just a fortuitous streak of randomness in most cases, or the result of skill in others (a “lucky” throw in baseball).
Do you like your eggs scrambled or sunny side up? Scrambled, though I can’t remember the last time I had eggs for a meal.
Do you collect anything? If so, what? I don’t purposefully collect anything. I do *accumulate* some things, which isn’t quite the same thing. I have lots of CDs and I have a fair amount of unsolicited credit card offers waiting to be shredded.
Are you proud of yourself? In most situations, yes, I am. Those areas that I’m not are mostly as a result of fears or insecurities that I allow to overwhelm the course I know I should take.
Are you reliable? Very. It’s required for being any kind of performing musician.
Have you ever given money to a bum? Yes, when I lived in Chicago. It had a higher bum-to-non-bum ratio than any city I’ve lived in. There were even three bums who lived on the college campus, so you basically saw them every day.
What's your favorite food? I could really go for a Monte Cristo. I haven’t had one in years.
Have you ever had a secret admirer? I have. Two that I know of in high school and one from my undergrad days. In recent years, I’ve had more public admirers, which is a nice change.
Do you like the smell of gasoline? I do, though I know it’s bad for me.
Do like to draw? I would love to be able to draw, but I don’t really even doodle, unless I’m spectacularly bored.
What's your favorite invention? The ability for two people separated by some distance to communicate the range of human emotion and exchange information instantaneously has fundamentally changed the human race.
Is your room messy? How else would I know that it was my room?
What do you like better: oranges or apples? Well… hmmm… I like… gosh…. Who knew how hard it would be to compare them? I suppose apples, though really oranges are quite similar.
Do you give in easily? No. I don’t like giving in.
Are you a good guesser? I certainly don’t feel that way when taking unfamiliar multiple choice tests.
Can you read other people's expressions? Not only can I, I basically *have* to. Venues where I don’t have access to other people’s faces leave me with an incomplete conversation.
Are you a bully? No.
Do you have a job? Yes, though just barely.
What time did you wake up this morning? Eight AM, I think?
What did you eat for breakfast this morning? English muffin with jam.
When was the last time you showered? This morning.
What do you plan on doing tomorrow? Let’s see: tomorrow I teach, and there a newly-requested brass band rehearsal on the books. Yay, short notice!
What's your favorite day of the week and why? Friday. I like it for all the reasons everyone else likes it, I bet. To flip the question around, my least favorite day is Saturday. Often, Saturdays just seem to be filler between days that have more important things happening.
Do you have any nicknames? I suppose the appellation “Doctor” Andy is a nickname, since I’ve done nothing to merit that title yet. Getting close, though. Then I’ll be Doctor Schwartz (in academic settings), which is thrilling.
Have you ever been scuba diving? Nope. I’ve spent very little time at either bordering ocean. And paying to learn at a clinic in Missouri seems like a hollow experience.
What's your least favorite color? I’ve never thought about it… a sort of pale and sickly green, I guess.
Is there someone you have been constantly thinking about? If yes, who? I’ve been thinking a lot about Sarah Palin, but I don’t think I’ve been doing it for the reason this question implies.
Would you ever go skydiving? I dislike small heights, but I think I’d be interested in sky diving. The idea of doing something unnatural (flying) to facilitate something unnatural (falling towards earth at fatal speeds) is cool.
What toothpaste do you use? I don’t know without looking. It’s blue? I do know that it’s really hard to find toothpaste that DOESN’T whiten teeth. I generally need to avoid teeth whiteners, because of my false tooth (which doesn’t discolor like the others). However, the rest of my teeth are gradually staining, so I’ll need to use whiteners for just the right amount of time.
Do you enjoy challenges? That’s a pretty generic question, to which I’ll return the answer “maybe”.
What's the worst injury you have had? Had my front tooth knocked out by a baseball… or the sickness from this January was pretty bad (though not technically an injury)
What's the last movie you saw? I think the last DVD I sat and watched was “Ratatouille”.
What do you want to know about the future? Will I find a way to live, doing what I love?
What does your last text message say? Well, the last text message that was SENT to me says something like “I’ll be ten minutes late to dinner”. However, my phone is so old that it doesn’t understand the SMS messaging protocol that’s now universally used (I bought it in 2002). So, when Erin sent that message, I had no way of receiving it. We had a good laugh over it.
Who was the last person you spoke over the phone to? Yesterday, returned a call to Karen concerning how to get to the concert in Topeka. While looking at my previous calls list, I saw that the last call I was actually able to answer on my phone was on August 19th! Man, that makes me sound like a hermit, when in actuality I’m often not near my phone unless I’m expecting a call. Still, I’m surprised.
What's your favorite school subject? Other than various music classes? Hmm. I enjoy world history, and I’ve had a great time in my “B” career as a psychology student.
What's your least favorite school subject? Hmm… math?
Would you rather have money or love? Gee. My first inclination is to say “money”. Because if I already have money, I’ll enjoy the challenge of finding love. However, if the question means I only get one at the expense of the other, then I’ll have to say love.
What is your dream vacation? So many… I’d love to go to India, Japan, Hawaii, Europe, the Mediterranean, Jerusalem, Alaska, China, even just going on a cruise ship would be interesting and new.
What is your favorite animal? I like bears, lions, and crows. Basically, I’m interested in anything that looks like it has curiosity.
Do you miss anyone right now? I have no one to miss, which sounds sad, but isn’t.
What's the last sporting event you watched? I watched the Colts/Bears game on Sunday night.
Do you need to do laundry? I have some cold loads that need to go in. Those get put off the longest because they accumulate the slowest.
Do you listen to the radio? All the time.
Where were you when 9/11 happened? I was in my office at Mizzou, listening to the graduate woodwind quintet practice the overture from “Marriage of Figaro”, which I always associated with the Trade Center, thanks to “Trading Places” with Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy.
What do you do when vending machines steal your money? I consider it a tax on wanting to eat junk food.
Have you ever caught a butterfly? Not for years.
What color are your bed sheets? The current ones are gray.
What's your ring tone? My phone’s approximation of an old rotary ring.
Who was the last person to make you laugh? Probably Jon Stewart.
Do you have any obsessions right now? I have a bottle of cologne in my bathroom that’s an imitation of “Obsession”. Does that count?
Do you like things that glow in the dark? Kind of a strange question, but YES.
What's your favorite fruity scent? Tough choice! I love lemon, but I’m also a fan of raspberry.
Do you watch cartoons? The kind that’s on in the evening, not the morning.
Have you ever sat on a roof? I have! It’s not possible at my current place, but my parents have a flat roof that’s very suitable. I’ve been out there on several New Year’s Eves to make my wishes and goals for the new year.
Have you ever been to a different country? I’ve been to England and Ireland.
Name three things in the world you dislike: oppression, black licorice, gastro-intestinal diseases.
Name three people in the world you dislike: Pat Robertson, Robert Mugabe, and Gene Simmons.
Has a rumor even been spread about you? I’m sure there have been many. One concerned me being confined to the hospital during my January sickness! I’m not sure where that came from.
Do you like sushi? It’s fine, though it’s generally a bit too watery for my taste, which I know is strange thing to say about sushi.
Do you believe in magic? I believe in the slight-of-hand kind, but not the “I have supernatural powers” kind.
Do you hold grudges? I certainly have in the past. Sometimes, I just can’t let things go. Especially if the person seems unrepentant.
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