Here’s a January meme I’m borrowing from my friend Mark on LiveJournal. I’ll finish out the missing days as they arrive.
1st January – Thing you are most looking forward to this month
The repairs to our house five months after the flood.
2nd January – Do you have any new year’s resolutions?
No.
3rd January – Are you part of any fandoms? What do you do in them?
Not really. There are books, movies, and TV shows I like a lot, but I’m not much of a joiner in any case, so I’m not in fandoms.
4th January – Where would you most like to travel?
Outside the U.S., Iceland, but since I don’t fly… I’d also like to visit the Pacific Northwest, the only part of the U.S. I haven’t been.
5th January – What was your favorite class in high school
English. If it involved reading and writing, I owned it. Although I had a physiology class with a brilliant teacher that still serves me well today.
6th January – What was your least favorite class in high school?
Geography.
7th January – What is your all time favorite song?
There’s just no way to narrow this down, but Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Boxer” always hovers around the number one spot.
8th January – Do you listen to audibooks or podcasts, or just music?
Only music.
9th January – What would you/did you name your daughter/s?
I have no children, but Shannon was a strong contender.
10th January – What would you/did you name your son/s?
Again, no children, but Benjamin and Samuel were my top choices. Instead I gave the names to characters.
11th January – What do you do for fun?
I have almost no leisure time these days, but since there are places I can’t work (say, in bed before sleeping), I can always read.
12th January – What did you want to be when you grew up?
A teacher and a writer. Have done both!
13th January – What did you become when you grew up?
I’ve done so many things, from waitressing to legal secretary to bookseller to working at a dog track, to dog rescue, to editor. Writing is still and always will be what I love.
14th January – What do you want to do when you retire?
Write.
15th January – Have you ever been the target of bigotry?
Not in a truly damaging sense as I’ve seen other people targeted.
16th January – Who is your hero?
My parents. Tom. I’m fairly cautious now about making heroes of public figures, but Rosa Parks comes to mind.
17th January – What makes someone worthy of being a hero?
Compassion. Character. Courage.
18th January – Do you collect anything?
Too much! Dolls, books, pigs.
19th January – Show us your handwriting
I just took a snapshot of what’s on my desk so I wouldn’t be tempted to show you my pretty handwriting. These are the messy lists I keep that are part cursive, part print, and barely legible.
20th January – Describe the place you keep your computer as if you were setting a scene in a novel.
Right now it’s in my hoarder room—the place where everything has landed that’s not in storage as our house is worked on. Since I love order, this random mess of empty furniture, stacks of clothes and miscellaneous boxes and collections of things is making me crazy.
21st January – Are you naturally messy or organized?
Organized. That’s why this clutter is a terrible distraction.
22nd January – Do you have any siblings? Tell us about them.
An older brother and an older sister. I LOVE THEM. They are smart, funny, liberal. They are storytellers and keen observers of life. They have big hearts and open minds. My brother is one of the most intelligent people I know, and my sister has the most tender of hearts.
23rd January – What is your favorite book?
Another one that’s hard to narrow down. To Kill a Mockingbird, most probably. A strong contender is A Confederacy of Dunces.
24th January – What is your favorite movie?
For a long time, it was Ordinary People. I love the Godfather movies. Moonstruck is another favorite.
25th January – What is your favorite TV show?
I don’t think there’s anything current I’m watching on TV. I binge Netflix. I will say “The West Wing” is probably one of my favorites and I’d definitely watch it all again. I do love “The Crown” on Netflix, and I loved “Downton Abbey.” It’s that Anglophile thing.
26th January – If the item immediately to your left were your weapon against a zombie plague, how screwed would you be?
Yay, I’m going to beat someone with a cheap desk lamp! I’m completely screwed. But until it’s broken, at least I’ll be able to see what’s going to kill me.
27th January – If you could give your younger self any advice, what would it be?
Stop wasting time on boys. WRITE MORE. And believe in yourself. Everybody is not smarter than you. They’re faking it.