What I usually do when I don’t know what to update.

I ripped this off of Thubten’s diary this morning. She got it from fairywishes diary, which I confess to not having read. A variant has been around before, and I strongly suspect I’ve answered it before. If you’re bored, you may wish to go back through my diary, find the old quiz, and then point out all my inconsistencies to me.

1. WHAT COLOUR ARE YOUR KITCHEN PLATES?
The good ones are a nice mellow green with subtle green highlighting, Pfaltzgraff Serenity

*sigh* And then there are the light blue, light weight, plastic “trailer trash” plates that The Socialist brought east with him when he moved. He seems to prefer these to the “good china”.

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? C. J. Cheryh’s recently released collection of short stories. “Manifold Origin” by Stephen Baxter. “Round Ireland with a Fridge” by Tony Marks. Some new book by Bob Woodworth that I keep forgetting the name of.

3. WHAT’S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I have two (they’re too small alone) One has exotic animals on it. The other has a list of web sites related to my work.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE BOARD GAME? Does cribbage count as a board game? If so, Cribbage. If not, then backgammon.

5. FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
It used to be Scientific American, but I read it so seldom now I’m not sure if it still counts.

6. FAVOURITE SMELL? Whatever that aftershave The Socialist uses is.

7. LEAST FAVOURITE SMELL? Skunk, and related mercaptans.

8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? Most mornings these days: Kitten!

9. LEAST FAVOURITE COLOUR? Anything “fifties”. Peach. Turquoise. Precious ducky yellow.

10. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE? It better be three or less. The answering machine picks up after three.

11. FUTURE CHILD’S NAME? VOID

12. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE? A sense of humor (and I’m not kidding).

13. FAVOURITE SOUND? The “Happy Home” noise. Dishwasher, clothes drier, radio or CD player, cats battling for position in the “Arena”, all happening simultaneously.

14. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Yes.

15. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST? Define “fast”. Speed limit + ten mph tends to be my limit, maybe a little higher on high-speed interstates.

16. DO YOU SLEEP WELL? Can we say “morphine” boys and girls?

17. WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? A baby blue 1974 Mustang II with absolutely nothing extra on it. I had a tape deck installed a year or so after I got it. (this was pre-CD days, and eight tracks were waning).

18. IF YOU COULD MEET ONE PERSON DEAD OR ALIVE… WHO WOULD IT BE? Subject to change with no notice: C.J. Cherryh. Only I wouldn’t know what to say to her if I did meet her, so that would be a pretty worthless endeavor.

19. WHAT IS YOUR SIGN AND YOUR BIRTHDAY? Gemini, (and Monkey in Asian horoscope) June 10. I always claimed the Sign of the Great Auk for myself though. Somehow it seemed more appropriate to have a sign that only appeared every once every 150 years.

20. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI? Those are the only parts worth eating.

21. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Independently wealth writer and part time teacher.

22. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY HAIR COLOUR, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I’m doing OK with the bottle auburn I’m working with at the moment.

23. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
With many things.

24. IS THE GLASS HALF FULL OR HALF EMPTY? I think it’s usually half-full, though certain Socialists would tell a different story. Of course, he’s the one still whinging about winter with the return of spring robins and days of 70 degree bliss.

25. FAVOURITE MOVIES? Casablanca, Maltese Falcon, Days of Wine and Roses, Citizen Kane, Bridge over River Kwai, Cool Hand Luke, Empire Strikes Back, All the Ring Trilogy, all subject to addition/change at a moment’s notice.

26. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS? Unless I have a disc out in my neck, yes.

27. WHAT’S UNDER YOUR BED? Mostly boxes of stuff belonging to the Socialist, but I have a box of stray extension cords and other miscellany stuck somewhere under there. Oh, and a pair of fluffy slippers is probably half-under the bed at the moment.

28. FAVOURITE NUMBER? How is it possible to have a favorite number? It’s like having a favorite monkey wrench or something.

29. FAVOURITE SPORT TO WATCH? A blank television screen.

30. WHAT IS YOUR SINGLE BIGGEST FEAR? Ticks. Severe, irrational fear of ticks. They just aren’t right.

34. Mmmm, looks like i missed some numbers??? FAVOURITE CD?That’s hard. I have favorite artists that I’m faithful to, but favorite CD’s can change by the minute. I guess I’d have to list “Shining my Flashlight at the Moon” by Christine Lavin, “Home in Halifax” by Stan Rogers, and just about anything by Dar Williams at the moment. Although I should consider adding “Songs and Stories” by Brian Wilcox. And maybe Bill Morrissey’s “Night Train” because it has “Birches” on it.

35. FAVOURITE TV SHOWS? I don’t watch much television, but I try not to miss Monk when it’s on. And of course, I’ve got my not-so- secret “Seventh Heaven” addiction.

36. KETCHUP OR MUSTARD? Mustard

37. FAVOURITE SOFT DRINK OR CORDIAL? Soft drink by necessity, cordial by preference.

38. THE BEST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER BEEN? Not telling, but I don’t have to go far to get there.

39. WHAT SCREEN SAVER IS ON YOUR COMPUTER RIGHT NOW? The Veterinary Oath, scrolling across slowly.

40. BURGER KING OR MACDONALDS? Chik-fil-A

41. FULL NAME First Middle Last, VMD

42. FAKE NAME FOR YOURSELF? Here, Salamander, formerly Palimpsest, formerly Salamander. Elsewhere I’m elsewhom.

43. HOW MANY BABIES DO YOU WANT? None

44. PC OR MAC? PC. MAC is the work of Satan.

45. FAVOURITE TIME OF THE YEAR? Fall

46. LEAST FAVOURITE TIME OF YEAR? Winter