I’m sure everyone has received those chain-letter quiz thingies that float around the e-mail channels. I’m talking about those long lists of questions that function like the literary equivalent of cocktail-party smalltalk by letting your fellow correspondents learn some trivia about you. (Just to show you how far down the road to grumpy old coot-dom I am, I can remember when these things were written on actual paper with actual pen-and-ink and passed around classrooms. I imagine school kids today probably send them over their cellphones.)
I usually delete these things from my inbox on sight — I figure I’ve already got plenty of distractions with which to waste my time — but as the last couple of posts have demonstrated, I’m in a fairly trivial mood today, so when I received one such quiz this morning, I went ahead and filled it out. I’ve decided to share my responses with you fine folks out there in Internet-Land. Enjoy the bitter knowledge of my inner workings that you never really wanted to possess! Bwa ha ha!
[Ed. note: I’ve deleted a few questions that only work in the context of an e-mail. Talking about who sent you the e-mail or who you’re going to send it to next isn’t really relevant here on a blog.]
1. First name: Reginald
2. Were you named after anyone? My dad’s name is also Reginald
3. Do you wish on stars? Not since that nasty incident involving a wooden puppet and a whale
4. When did you last cry? While viewing the film Ray (review pending)
5. Do you like your handwriting? Sure — no one else can read it, but I’m satisfied with it
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Corned beef
7. What is your birth date? 1969
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? Christmas in the Stars: The Star Wars Christmas Album (includes the perennial favorite, “What Can You Get A Wookiee For Christmas [When He Already Owns a Comb?]”)
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with yourself? Probably — after all, I’d have so much in common with me
10. Are you a daredevil? Not really, no — I heard “you’ll break your arm” too many times as a kid
11. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell? Not that I can recall
12. Do looks matter? Not as much as everyone fears, but more than anyone likes to admit
13. How do you release anger? I drink heavily — no, seriously, I find ranting and cursing is usually quite effective
14. Where is your second home? Anne’s apartment
15. Do you trust others too easily? I used to…
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? I had a lot of favorites, but I really treasured my Star Trek communicator walkie-talkies
17. What class in high school do you think was totally useless? None of them were totally useless, but I didn’t enjoy P.E. and I wasn’t very good at Metal Shop
18. Do you have a journal? Over 20 handwritten volumes, an electronic (off-line) version, and this blog
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Who, me?
20. Favorite movie(s)? Star Wars: The Original Theatrical Version (no digital anything and Han shoots first!)
21. What are your (acceptable) nicknames? I have no nicknames currently, but once I was called the Jedi Master, and that was cool…
22. Would you bungee jump? See question # 10
23. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Yes
24. Do you think that you are strong? Strong enough
25. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia, or homemade strawberry
26. Shoe size? 46 (EUR) or 12 (US)
27. What are your favorite colors? Red and black — just call me Darth Maul
28. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I worry too much
29. Who do you miss most? I don’t miss anyone, really, but I wish I’d known my Grandma June better
30. **Deleted — Irrelevant**
31. What color pants are you’re wearing? faded blue
32. What are you listening to right now? A PBS documentary called Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire
33. Last thing you ate? Spanish rice and chicken
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Flesh
35. What is the weather like right now? Dark
37. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? The face
38. **Deleted — Irrelevant**
40. Favorite drink? Are we talking alcoholic drinks? If so, then Jameson Irish Whiskey. Soft drinks? Diet Coke
41. Favorite sport? Sports bore me
42. Hair color? Brown… what’s left of it anyway
43. Eye color? Brown
44. Do you wear contacts? No
45. Favorite food? A really good cheeseburger, which is more rare than you might think
46. Last movie you watched? The Incredibles (review pending)
47. Favorite day of the year? The first clear day following a snowstorm
48. Scary movies or happy endings? If you do it right, you can have both (e.g., Shaun of the Dead)
49. Summer or winter? Autumn, actually
50. Hugs or kisses? Soft, deep, wet kisses that last for three days
51. What is your favorite dessert? Key lime pie
52. **Deleted — Irrelevant**
53. **Deleted — Irrelevant**
54. Where would you want to go on your next vacation? Scotland… or Japan… or maybe New Orleans
55. What book are you reading? Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough
56. What’s on your mouse pad? The Kennecott Mine in Bingham Canyon, Utah (a.k.a. “The Pit”)
57. What did you watch last night on TV? An episode of Monk on DVD
58. Favorite smells? An alfalfa field after a rain, spare ribs cooking, fresh bed sheets, and vanilla
59. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Duh — Led Zeppelin!
60. Do you believe in evolution or creationism? I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive
61. What’s the furthest you’ve been away from home? Munich, Germany
