(I actually think this is the second time someone's done this for me...and I'm pretty sure I failed at responding last time. I'm terrible, I know. In my defense, I was right (or even write) in the middle of the A to Z Challenge when that happened, among other things.)
Anyway. I digress. Because I can. I'm normally not a chain letter woman (and this whole thing does read like a chain letter), but since this is both writing and blog related (and I didn't answer the first one), I'm going to give it a go.
But I'm not tagging anyone else (though I will suggest that you click on some of the names under "Members" on the right hand side of this site and check out their blogs, if you haven't).
Because I can.
1. What is the best advice you have ever been given?
Would you think me terrible if I said that I didn't know? I've been pulling the cotton out of my brain for the last few minutes and, honestly, there's not a piece of advice in there that isn't something I don't feel isn't a.) so trite and well known I could have picked it up from a Disney movie or b.) I've learned myself through trial and error.
2. If tomorrow was your last day, what would you do?
Type faster.
And call my mom.
3. How old were you when you first truly felt love?
If we're talking fictional characters, I was 15 and he was Erik in Susan Kay's Phantom.
If we're talking real life, I was somewhere in my 21st year.
4. What is your favorite holiday and why?
It used to be Halloween, back in the halcyon days of my later childhood, when everyone and their father still dressed in costumes and on the night of October 31st the streets teemed with people.
But once you age out of trick-or-treating and find that the only thing adults really do is go to parties - and though you play at being an adult, you're not really that fond of most parties - it rather loses its thrill.
These days I'd say Yuletide. The Solstice. Christmas. I like the chill. I love the beauty of a world encased in ice. The reflection of a thousand fairy lights in the darkened windows of a room. This time of year eases my desire for sparkly, shiny things.
5. Do you believe in karma and why?
Not as such, no. There are a lot of terrible things that happen to people in this world (assault, rape, kidnapping, molestation, etc.) for no other reason than that the world is a random and sometime very shitty place. A true karmic ideal would suggest that they did something to bring that on themselves - whether now or in a past existence - and that doesn't sit right with me.
I do believe in cause and effect. That like can attract like. But that's really more common sense than anything. If you do something good for someone, you may very well get something good in return, though it's not a guarantee. Alternatively, if you harm someone, expect harm back, though that's also not a guarantee. Because the world doesn't work in black and white absolutes.
6. What does this nomination mean to you?
That someone out there is a.) reading my blog or b.) is, at the least, aware of my blog and/or c.) needed someone to pass the chain letter on to...
But, thank you. It's awfully quiet around here lately so it is good to have some interaction. (Though I can't exactly place blame, since I've been pretty quiet when it comes to commenting on other's blogs.)
7. If you could spend the day with 1 person, past or present, who would it be?
Oh, I hate these questions. Odds are, the answer will vary by day. Or possibly hour. And I can't decide on one today, so I'll give you a couple: John Keats, Christina Rossetti.
8. What do you like most about yourself?
My self-deprecating sense of humor?
It helps keep me grounded.
9. What do you like least about yourself?
My ability to collect hobbies and interests like black pants collect lint.... I blog, I write, I craft, I sew, I game, I fiddle with the guitar, I fiddle with slinging paint, I read, etc. And whenever I'm doing one of those things, I always feel like I should be doing one of the others... (Which sometimes results in my doing none of them. So, I guess we can add procrastination to this.)
10. Why do you write?
Simple. Because I can't not write.
Even if no one is reading (Bueller?) what I'm writing. Even if no one will ever read what I write. Even if I only publish (traditionally or independently) a handful of things in my life and everything else remains locked away in my notebooks and on my computer... I can't stop discovering worlds and characters in my head. I can't stop my love for words. I can't stop dreaming.
11. What do you miss most about your childhood?
The sense of possibility that every day brought. The fact that I could have an adventure simply by stepping out into the wilds of my own back yard. The drive to ask myself, near constantly, "What if?"
I wrote about this in Journaling the Impossible, and I'm realizing I need to get back to the task I set for myself last fall. Six impossible things per day. That's not too much to ask...
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