so, I'm alive. mainly. thank love I'm not all dead. whee. I saw very little of my brother; he wasn't in long, and so it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I think something semi-miraculous is happening, so of course I'm afraid to detail it. but basically - that last entry (or, no, not the last one - but the last *real* one) where I talked about this and I talked about my sexuality a little, too? well... I was totally floored when "someone" (that's silly) - when
in the meantime, I want to find out if my cousin is naturally away from her computer, or if I scared her away with my answers to the last survey she sent. (I promised to be myself, right? so saying, "I boycott this section for being heterosexist" pretty much follows, doncha think?) anyway, to see if she's been barred from speaking to me, I need... I need... that's right - another survey!
or an anecdote. :flips through the past twelve weeks of life: ...right, the survey will have to do. fill, fill, fill! (I mean you. that way I can casually say, "oh, yeah, this one's been circulating between some of my friends"... instead of, "I just wanted to see if you installed a moat since the last time I wrote you.")
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1.) What was the first thing you wanted to be when you grew up? a linguist/ interpreter. see, I was always just your ordinary kid, sitting on a fence throwing rocks into the street. what do you want to be? police officer, firefighter, teacher... linguist...?
2.) Come up with a pet you don't have, and name the poor creature. it's a well-known fact (ok, it's more well-known than say, "on what day did Mary recieve her first Troll") that I want a clownfish and a bluefish named Sully and Mike Wazowski. (perhaps respectively, perhaps vice-versa.) or perhaps Buzz Lightyear. because I'm weird. I would also very much like a kneazle. so far as I know, I'm not allergic to kneazles.
3.) Confess a guilty pleasure. oh, dear. er... fanfiction? I read HP fanfiction. and *cough*... I've been known to - ehhem - write *just a little* here and there...
4.) Provide a story, habit, or interest that could work as your geek/ dork/ nerd i.d. card. just one? seriously! I received a cd player for Christmas many years ago only because I desperately wanted the Royal Albert Hall cast recording of Les Mis which my parents could only find on CD - so understand, the stereo was secondary; the *primary gift* was a bunch of showtunes I still love wholeheartedly. what else? (I'm not going to stop at one; there's a clue.) I often quote classic literature, Finding Nemo, and Harry Potter all in the same conversation. I'm currently memorizing Spanish tapes; i.e. instead of learning the phrases for the sake of speaking Spanish I memorize the monotone translations and repeat the dialogue word by blasted word. I have a Wisconsin keychain, which is my pride and joy. I have a proud Wisconsin heritage, despite only living there three months. and I hate that I'm going to quit answering this question. because my life is this i.d. card, oh it's true...
5.) Same-sex and heterosex aside, should *marriage* be legal? methinks this is a not a question best answered in the weeks after one's parents' divorce is finalized.
6.) What book would you plead with you friends to spare themselves from? oy - The Swiss Family Robinson. the *one book* I was assigned to read in school that I never, ever did. (not even partially.) it's absolutely painful. as is The Oddysey, which we read mainly in class - and I therefore could not fully escape. that is the most repetitive, redundent, saying-the-same-thing-it-just-said-all-over-again book I've ever had the displeasure of crushing at the bottom of my backpack. aiy. (do you recognize the trend of bad books relating to school? it's important.) and finally, a note to my grade school faculty: Gary Paulsen *is not* a great literary hero of our time. He's just *not.*
7.) What's the last good book you read? I've been on a kick lately. I finished _The Bluest Eye_ last night, and Toni Morrison's just amazing, although I have to agree that this first book doesn't blow me quite as far away (right, we're talking degrees of magnificence; wow) as _Beloved_ did. and just before that I read _Rubyfruit Jungle_, which leans quite a bit on its awesome protagonist, but is nonetheless good. I'd have to say the best book I've read recently is probably _Slammerkin_ by Emma Donoghue, but that could just be because it got to me the most. I don't know if it would get to everyone the most. (this is my way of explaining I feel blasphemous for reaching *past* the Toni Morrison... aiy.)
8.) Recommend a children's book. Without a doubt _To Rabbittown_. it's the most amazing book EVER, which is why it's so odd that no one has even heard of it except for me. seriously- it's the _Watership Down_ of the pre-school scene.
9.) What's in your cd or mp3 collection that you'd rather not admit? oh, dear. I've made this confession a thousand times. can't we move on? *yes* - I own the soundtrack to Touched By An Angel (it was a *long time ago*, ok?) ... *yes* I own (cough) two soundtracks to Ally McBeal (I was in a weird, weird relationship at the time...honestly... and Vonda Sheppard's talented, and who doesn't love a cheesy torch song now and then?) - and yes, YES: I, Mary Brave, own a ^%$#@!* Christina Aguilera album. because there are four or five really decent songs on it, thank you very much. I only listen to the good songs. and everyone forgives me (as if I need your forgiveness, ha!) this transgression when they see that I have collaged the inlet book to help Christina carry off a less demeaning fashion strategy. :bows:
10.) What question would be really difficult for you to answer? oh, gosh. anything about favorites. I avoid true superlatives with every breath. it's impossible for me to choose... and then, there are harder ones... about some of what's happened over the past few years, but that's all upsetting, so I'll go into it some other time.
11.) What question would you have a really easy time answering? oh, you know... how old are you... wait. well, ok - what's your...name... no. wow. um... where are you from? no, that won't work. oy. er... I've got it! where's home! I know where home is. :waves her Wisconsin keychain madly:
12.) Best test: multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, or short answer/ essay? if it's an insanely easy class, obviously multiple choice - because it can be finished most quickly. in anything else - say a non-mathy science or a brutal social studies class - it's all about the essay. let me tell you what I know and use happy ten-point words to gloss over what I don't. I credit the essay portions of tests as the main reason I *passed* AP European. passed? I might as well say *survived.* but in the end, yes, I did both.
13.) Name one thing you learned in school that's actually been applicable in the real world. well, psych, obviously. although, actually, I pretty much learned that in the real world and applied it to school. so... er... how to pick your allies well in order to survive a hostile environment and hellish situation? eh, eh?
14.) You have a stuffed animal named __. well... Bernard Norbert is rather proud of his name. he's a bear - to some eyes, a smaller bear... and so the fact that he's able to carry off such a name is a mark of pride to him. (he wears a sweater that says Hug Me.)
15.) If I asked you to take me to your leader, who would it be? I guess myself. although, I might get confused and take you to my therapist.
16.) What do you <3? therapy! dorks/ geeks/ nerds/ friends! home. contact. relationships.
17.) What would be a really bad nickname for you? gosh...um... I've already got "Malice" - do I need to go beyond that? ... er... how about "Mitsy"? that's pretty much evil anyway you slice it. DrunkenGiant would give a wrong impression (I hope.)
18.) What might you like to be called (even if it makes no sense)? well, you know, I have all sorts of answers for this question because I adore names... but... as I was trying to come up with a name that wouldn't suit me at all, I kept hearing in my head one that makes no sense, and yet, I like. ladies and gentlemen, I offer you the most recent fruit of my insanity: TechnoPup.
19.) What's the worst fad/ craze you've had to endure? oy... I'm going to go with the electronic pets. at least the Beanie Babies were cute, and the Kool-Aid-Cocaine incident led to some good sugar highs (even if it wasn't exactly hygenic. and I'm betting this fad existed nowhere else, so now everyone is going to be thoroughly disturbed. fantastic...oy!) ... but yes the "Gia pets" (correct?) and the Tamagatchi (I believe?)... those things were annoying. as annoying as the Furbees (don't know how to spell that) - if less visually disturbing. and don't even send me into the realm of celebrity crazes. "JTT" otherwise known as Johnathon Taylor Thomas off "Home Improvement"? oh, yeah, he was never in my locker. The Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, Savage Garden (oh, they went away fast after recording "Affirmation" - right out of the public eye and into my stereo), *Hanson* of all atrocities... right. The Spice Girls. Leonardo DiCaprio. To this day, I have not seen "Titanic." and I believe I'm still too proud of that to give and view the tape.
20.) In what celebrity's presence could you most likely not maintain composure? Tori. Amos. I can't say I hope it doesn't happen... But I am aware I would be a goggle-eyed, drooling, speechless (or babbling) *mess.* I'd also probably be shaking madly, and someone would need to restrain me... Of course, all of this could be averted - because if she talked to me, I'd faint instantly. I'm sure of this.
21.) Name something stupid you've done in relation to a musical. Come on. There's something. the sad truth is... there are *so many* things. ah. I once attempted to perform a duet from Phantom of the Opera, solo (while at a rehearsal for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.) the review was: "impressively schizophrenic" if I recall correctly (which is unlikely.)
22.) Share a cool word. "ameliorate" (basically: "to improve")
23.) If you were going to write a book about the person you got this survey from, what would be the first line? the person I got this survey from... right... well, I'd write about them except. er... oh, fine. "Contrary to popular belief, Mary Brave does not glow in the dark."
24.) Make up your own question, and answer it. hey! I made them ALL up, thank you very much. oh. maybe I don't want credit for that. let's see. "do you love palindromes?" oh, be still my heart!
phew... glad that's over... no, wait. now I have to try and answer Heather's question. ahhhhhhhhhhh!
~me