Yet another Questionnaire.

This one I found this morning in sobriquet’s diary. She said that she, in turn, found it in HQ magazine. I hate to admit this, but I am unfamiliar with HQ magazine. I know GQ, and I’ve heard of IQ’s, but HQ is something I’ll have to look up later.

What is the first thing you see in the morning?

Nine times out of ten, it’s my alarm clock, unfortunately.

What’s the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?

Recheck the ticket to make sure it really had the correct winning numbers on it and I wasn’t hallucinating.

How happy are you normally, on a scale of one to 10?

Right now? About an 8. That’s unusual though … I tend to hover around 5 or so.

If you could introduce one law overnight, what would it be?

My first, flip answer? Everybody should own a cat, unless they had a valid medical excuse. Cats have a wonderful tendency to force you to put things into perspective when the world gets out of kilter. Pissed at your boss? The cat still needs to be fed. Angsting over the world condition? The litter box still needs to be cleaned. Fretful because you don’t have the money or time to do the things you want? Your cat will be happy to entertain, free of charge.

My second, not so flip answer? Affordable medical insurance for everyone. I’m not a fan of social medicine, but there must be some way to ensure that medical needs are addressed for all. There are many programs for children, but adults deserve the same consideration. It would take a wiser mind than mine to block out exactly how that would work, though.

is anything worth dying for?

If there were nothing worth dying for, then there would be nothing worth living for. Basic human rights and freedoms are worth dying for.

what do you wish for?

Happiness. Isn’t that what we all wish for? We all have different paths plotted out to attempt to achieve this, but that’s always the ultimate goal.

What is the meaning of life?

Douglas Adams had it dead on when he said “42”. If the question makes no sense, how could the answer? Not everything has meaning. Some things just are. And that is enough for me.

What angers you?

Things that abrogate a person’s rights and freedoms. Wanton cruelty, violence, apathy, avarice. If there is malicious intent, it angers me.

Do you believe there’s life on other planets, and if you do what form does it take?

The universe is so big, that I believe it is an act of hubris to think that we would be the only living entities in it. I also think it would be an act of hubris to pretend that we know enough to predict what forms life could take. I only hope we are open minded enough to recognize life when it isn’t bilaterally symetrical and carbon based when we finally encounter it.

What would you nominate as your favourite piece of music?

Current favorites come and go. But for the single most beautiful piece of music ever written and performed, and for the only piece of music that consistently stays in my “top three”: “O mio babbino caro” by Pucinni, preferably sung by Kiri Te Kanawa.

What happens after we die?

The world continues.

How should your epitaph read?

I always liked the idea of being mulched. Gives so much more back to the earth than just ashes do. It is unfortunately illegal in most places though. It would relieve me of the tedium of selecting a final line or two that was supposed to sum up my life.

So you are seriously going to make me pick one, are you? OK, then: She did no harm.