Wed Reading Meme
Mar. 6th, 2019 09:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatSigh, haven't finished anything worth reporting on. Reading a really bad sci-fi romance novel rec'd on SmartBitches as part of their book club. I'm curious to see what they have to say about it. It's...eh, very tropy and very cliche. Then again, it is a cheap romance novel (albeit in the sci-fi genre) so what did I expect? However, it had an interesting set-up -- a microbiologist starting a company that uses alien poop to help change people's gut bacteria for longevity, gets targeted by a nasty Lord of Finance, who puts a bounty out on her and her associates heads. A band of militaristic mercernaries captures them -- to collect the bounty. She falls for the leader, who apparently has a moral compass, but not so much his associates.
All chaos ensues. And of course the associate who betrays him is a female doctor who has the hots for him. (Sigh). Don't remember the name of the thing or who wrote it, so you'll just have to survive with that synopsis. Sorry.
Anyhow, memage..courtesy of wendlah, who found this in Vanity Fair, it entitled The Proust Questionnaire. It was popularized by Marcel Proust as a parlor game, apparently he got bored and decided to see who his friends were by playing this odd game.
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
There is no such thing as perfect happiness...although we can achieve moments of bliss. Usually derived when you aren't thinking and the ego is no longer in evidence. (ie. The happiest moments are for no reason.)
2. What is your greatest fear?
Spiders? I don't know...being stuck somewhere and unable to escape with spiders. I'm always looking for the escape hatch.
3. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
None. I'm perfectly ordinary.
4. Which living person do you most admire?
Michelle Obama, for her intelligence, optimism, and grace under pressure. And the fact that she has no political aspirations whatsoever..no matter how much I wish she did.
5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Tendency to beat myself up, my unrealistically high expectations and my fears.
6. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Cruelty. (Eh, that pretty much covers everything).
7. What is your greatest extravagance?
Sigh. Streaming channels and cable. Also, a tendency to buy first class or business class plane tickets because I can no longer abide economy class.
8. What is your favorite journey?
I don't think I like the journeying part of travel very much. But I don't mind being on trains. You can sleep, write, read, draw, etc on a train. So the train ride from Atlantic Avenue Terminal to Jamaica and back, with two seats to myself -- is wonderful.
9. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Obedience, defined as "assenting to rightful authority without hesitation or resistance." Right now, we need our citizens to question authority, not submit blindly to it. Our government has been taken over by crooks and ne'er do wells.
"I can conceive of no better service in the United States, henceforth, by democrats of thorough and heart-felt faith, than boldly exposing the weakness, liabilities and infinite corruptions of democracy."
~ Walt Whitman
Okay, I'll go with that. Otherwise mind is a blank. I'm not a fan of obedience. I question everything. Oh I'll follow rules, but I do question. I don't blindly follow. And I'm of the impression that blind followers should blindly run off a cliff much like lemmings.
10. On what occasion do you lie?
I don't like lying. I would rather say nothing than tell a lie. Lie by omission is the best. Otherwise you have to keep track of it. It's exhausting.
11. What do you dislike the most about your appearance?
Hmmm...my curved spine and my weight.
12. Which living person do you most despise?
Donald Trump.
13. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I honestly don't know. Maybe you can tell me?
14. What is your greatest regret?
Greatest regret? Not moving to NYC sooner? I don't know.
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My niece. Who I rarely see, but is by far the best and smartest and kindest soul I've ever met.
16. When and where were you happiest?
Drawing a blank. I've had moments at various places. I remember being incredibly happy on a boat in Cost Rica staring at the sunset. Also very happy when someone I loved returned my feelings. And insanely happy making it through a thunderstorm on a sailboat intact in the Mediterrean. Or touring Paris with my family, or seeing Les Miserables from the third row in London, or watching my brother get married in a swimming pool, or holding my little niece for the very first time...or eating Pippins French Silk Pie with my Granny, or horseback riding up a mountain in Colorado...so many things. Happy is in small moments.
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
I'd love to be able to sing really well. Also to be able to dance, would be nice. One or the other or both. I'd give up the ability to draw for either of those?
18. What is your current state of mind?
Tired. Work, commute, and the weather are beating me down. I need a vacation to a tropical beach somewhere.
19. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I'd like to be rid of the physical ailments that are making me miserable. I was hoping someone would find a cure for arthritis and ceiliac disease before my turn came around.
What can I say? Getting old sucks.
20. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
I wish we were closer -- as in closer in physical distance. Everyone lives insanely far apart. And in different states.
21. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Uhm...getting through law school. Passing the bar. Getting, keeping and being promoted in my job? Surviving as an independent and single woman in NYC for 20 years. Also publishing my book? Oh, wait you wanted one?
22. If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
I have no idea. But I do think reincarnation is possible -- it would explain this weird sense of deja-vu I have about stuff, and why I think constantly, been there done that -- when clearly that is not the case.
23. What is your most treasured possession?
Don't really have one.
24. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Chronic pain sucks.
25. Where would you like to live?
I'd love to live near the ocean with lots of trees (so in the northeast or northwest -- me and the desert do not get along) or in the mountains, surrounded by trees and near water.
26. What is your favorite occupation?
Writing. I know, weird. Right?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
People like my eyes. When they can see them. They tend to get hidden. Also very long legs. I'm all legs and arms.
26. What is the quality you most like in a man?
A sense of humor. Dependability. Also, kindness. (Not critical)
27. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Sense of humor. Kindness. Dependability. (Not critical)
{Apparently I have the same expectations from both genders, go figure. This may explain why I'm still single.)
28. What do you most value in your friends?
Willingness to listen without judgment.
29. Who are your favorite writers?
Don't really have any -- or too many to count and it changes with my mood.
30. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Hero? No one. Characters, yes. Heroes...
31. Who are your heroes in real life?
Not really into the hero-worship. People are human, and capable of horrible and wonderful things at the same time.
32. What are your favorite names?
Simon, Marc, Rahael, Andreas, Alex, Rhea,
33. What is it that you most dislike?
The impermanence of everything. Also spiders.
34. How would you like to die?
Peacefully, in my sleep.
35. Last but not least: What is your favorite motto?
"Le coeur a ses raisons que le raison ne connaît point." Translation: "The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know."
~ Blaise Pascal
Hmmm...I the motto listed above. I really don't have a favorite motto. "C'est chera chera..." whatever will be will be...life is not ours to see..c'est chera chera?
I don't know.
That was a hard meme. I stole someone else's answers...for a good portion of it.
Okay, as an aside, this is starting to worry me -- I look over my posts and discover weird typos. Such as words that sound like the word, but are not the word I intended. (example? I've written though as opposed to throw, and ended as opposed to intended.) And words that sort of end...halfway through. Such as entile - as opposed to entitled. I think my brain is tired and overwhelmed and starting to glitch. (I did it again -- instead of writing starting to glitch, I wrote, start glitch.) Does this happen to anyone else. (Please say yes. Misery loves company and all..)
All chaos ensues. And of course the associate who betrays him is a female doctor who has the hots for him. (Sigh). Don't remember the name of the thing or who wrote it, so you'll just have to survive with that synopsis. Sorry.
Anyhow, memage..courtesy of wendlah, who found this in Vanity Fair, it entitled The Proust Questionnaire. It was popularized by Marcel Proust as a parlor game, apparently he got bored and decided to see who his friends were by playing this odd game.
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
There is no such thing as perfect happiness...although we can achieve moments of bliss. Usually derived when you aren't thinking and the ego is no longer in evidence. (ie. The happiest moments are for no reason.)
2. What is your greatest fear?
Spiders? I don't know...being stuck somewhere and unable to escape with spiders. I'm always looking for the escape hatch.
3. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
None. I'm perfectly ordinary.
4. Which living person do you most admire?
Michelle Obama, for her intelligence, optimism, and grace under pressure. And the fact that she has no political aspirations whatsoever..no matter how much I wish she did.
5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Tendency to beat myself up, my unrealistically high expectations and my fears.
6. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Cruelty. (Eh, that pretty much covers everything).
7. What is your greatest extravagance?
Sigh. Streaming channels and cable. Also, a tendency to buy first class or business class plane tickets because I can no longer abide economy class.
8. What is your favorite journey?
I don't think I like the journeying part of travel very much. But I don't mind being on trains. You can sleep, write, read, draw, etc on a train. So the train ride from Atlantic Avenue Terminal to Jamaica and back, with two seats to myself -- is wonderful.
9. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Obedience, defined as "assenting to rightful authority without hesitation or resistance." Right now, we need our citizens to question authority, not submit blindly to it. Our government has been taken over by crooks and ne'er do wells.
"I can conceive of no better service in the United States, henceforth, by democrats of thorough and heart-felt faith, than boldly exposing the weakness, liabilities and infinite corruptions of democracy."
~ Walt Whitman
Okay, I'll go with that. Otherwise mind is a blank. I'm not a fan of obedience. I question everything. Oh I'll follow rules, but I do question. I don't blindly follow. And I'm of the impression that blind followers should blindly run off a cliff much like lemmings.
10. On what occasion do you lie?
I don't like lying. I would rather say nothing than tell a lie. Lie by omission is the best. Otherwise you have to keep track of it. It's exhausting.
11. What do you dislike the most about your appearance?
Hmmm...my curved spine and my weight.
12. Which living person do you most despise?
Donald Trump.
13. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I honestly don't know. Maybe you can tell me?
14. What is your greatest regret?
Greatest regret? Not moving to NYC sooner? I don't know.
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My niece. Who I rarely see, but is by far the best and smartest and kindest soul I've ever met.
16. When and where were you happiest?
Drawing a blank. I've had moments at various places. I remember being incredibly happy on a boat in Cost Rica staring at the sunset. Also very happy when someone I loved returned my feelings. And insanely happy making it through a thunderstorm on a sailboat intact in the Mediterrean. Or touring Paris with my family, or seeing Les Miserables from the third row in London, or watching my brother get married in a swimming pool, or holding my little niece for the very first time...or eating Pippins French Silk Pie with my Granny, or horseback riding up a mountain in Colorado...so many things. Happy is in small moments.
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
I'd love to be able to sing really well. Also to be able to dance, would be nice. One or the other or both. I'd give up the ability to draw for either of those?
18. What is your current state of mind?
Tired. Work, commute, and the weather are beating me down. I need a vacation to a tropical beach somewhere.
19. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I'd like to be rid of the physical ailments that are making me miserable. I was hoping someone would find a cure for arthritis and ceiliac disease before my turn came around.
What can I say? Getting old sucks.
20. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
I wish we were closer -- as in closer in physical distance. Everyone lives insanely far apart. And in different states.
21. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Uhm...getting through law school. Passing the bar. Getting, keeping and being promoted in my job? Surviving as an independent and single woman in NYC for 20 years. Also publishing my book? Oh, wait you wanted one?
22. If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
I have no idea. But I do think reincarnation is possible -- it would explain this weird sense of deja-vu I have about stuff, and why I think constantly, been there done that -- when clearly that is not the case.
23. What is your most treasured possession?
Don't really have one.
24. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Chronic pain sucks.
25. Where would you like to live?
I'd love to live near the ocean with lots of trees (so in the northeast or northwest -- me and the desert do not get along) or in the mountains, surrounded by trees and near water.
26. What is your favorite occupation?
Writing. I know, weird. Right?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
People like my eyes. When they can see them. They tend to get hidden. Also very long legs. I'm all legs and arms.
26. What is the quality you most like in a man?
A sense of humor. Dependability. Also, kindness. (Not critical)
27. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Sense of humor. Kindness. Dependability. (Not critical)
{Apparently I have the same expectations from both genders, go figure. This may explain why I'm still single.)
28. What do you most value in your friends?
Willingness to listen without judgment.
29. Who are your favorite writers?
Don't really have any -- or too many to count and it changes with my mood.
30. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Hero? No one. Characters, yes. Heroes...
31. Who are your heroes in real life?
Not really into the hero-worship. People are human, and capable of horrible and wonderful things at the same time.
32. What are your favorite names?
Simon, Marc, Rahael, Andreas, Alex, Rhea,
33. What is it that you most dislike?
The impermanence of everything. Also spiders.
34. How would you like to die?
Peacefully, in my sleep.
35. Last but not least: What is your favorite motto?
"Le coeur a ses raisons que le raison ne connaît point." Translation: "The heart has its reasons, which reason does not know."
~ Blaise Pascal
Hmmm...I the motto listed above. I really don't have a favorite motto. "C'est chera chera..." whatever will be will be...life is not ours to see..c'est chera chera?
I don't know.
That was a hard meme. I stole someone else's answers...for a good portion of it.
Okay, as an aside, this is starting to worry me -- I look over my posts and discover weird typos. Such as words that sound like the word, but are not the word I intended. (example? I've written though as opposed to throw, and ended as opposed to intended.) And words that sort of end...halfway through. Such as entile - as opposed to entitled. I think my brain is tired and overwhelmed and starting to glitch. (I did it again -- instead of writing starting to glitch, I wrote, start glitch.) Does this happen to anyone else. (Please say yes. Misery loves company and all..)
no subject
Date: 2019-03-07 08:12 am (UTC)Snicker. I think you improved on that answer.
The quote from Pascal is really me quoting Mrs. Who quoting Pascal in A Wrinkle in Time.
"Que será, será" is now playing non-stop in my brain. It's the original by Doris Day, too.
Re: the brain farts. Yes. It happens to me, too, when I'm tired and stressed. But if you're worried, let your doctor know.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-07 01:20 pm (UTC)So far it's just happening when writing in journal at night...so probably just tired.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-08 02:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-03-08 02:17 am (UTC)I think this is what's happening for me as well. A sort of ephasia, where there's a disconnect between my brain and my fingers as I type. I've noticed it when I'm handwriting quickly as well.