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June Prompts - Part 1
Jul. 5th, 2022 10:57 amThe drywall guy never showed up or called. Rather than whining or stressing about household stuff, have some prompt answers.
1. What would a perfect city be like? It would be very walkable and also have excellent public transit, with frequent service 24 hours a day. There would be a lot of cultural opportunities (theaters, concert venues, museums) and parks. And it would have affordable housing.
2. What are some small things that make your day better? This may sound contradictory but coffee and naps are the first two things that come to mind.
3. Do you have a go-to band or artist when you can't decide on something to listen to? Pierre Bensusan is my favorite musician for good reason. Other options include Jonathan Richman and Angelique Kidjo.
4. Is there a TV show or movie that you just refuse to watch? I never had any interest in Game of Thrones or Downton Abbey.
5. What are you interested in that most people haven't heard of? Various types of puzzles. And crafts, e.g. nalbinding.
6. What could you do a 40-minute presentation on with no (or very little) preparation? Needlework. Storytelling. Satellite ground systems.
7. If you were dictator of your country, what would you do? Require all women’s clothing to have pockets and all women to have bodily autonomy.
8. Is there a product or service you love so much that you'd happily be that company's spokesperson? Chocolaticas (a shoe company).
9. Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now (or if you're retired, the work you were doing prior to retirement)? I was a child of the space age. I fell in love with control systems when I was an undergraduate and took a system dynamics class, which led me to take various control theory classes. And some of the most interesting control systems problems involved space systems.
10. We have no control over where we're from, but do you wish you could have been from somewhere else? There’s a part of me that would have liked to have been from somewhere more exotic than Long Island. But I have to admit I also had a lot of opportunities by growing up in the greater New York metropolitan area.
11. What are some things you've had to unlearn? Working in a male-dominated field, I had to learn not to show my emotions so much. I was not always successful in that.
12. New internet rules restrict everyone's free access to email, a search engine, and five sites of their choosing. To access any other site, you have to pay $1 per visit. What sites would you include in your five free sites, and what sites would you be willing to pay to access? (Sites you need to access for work-related purposes would be provided/paid for by your employer.) Free: YouTube, Facebook, Dreamwidth, the Washington Post, and Wikipedia. Paid: I already pay for the New York Times puzzles and wouldn’t object horribly to paying for various other puzzle sites.
13. Who inspires you to be better? The memory of my parents, especially my father.
14. Is there something dumb or ridiculous that you did that actually turned out pretty well? I’ve taken a number of trips that other people thought were ridiculous, most notably the 9 month leave of absence I took in 1998.
15. What are the best and worst things about aging? It’s both positive and negative, but older women are largely invisible to men. The absolute worst thing is not having an extended warranty on my joints.
16. Is there some event that changed how you view the world? I wouldn’t say it was a total surprise in some ways, but I think 9/11 had a huge impact. And, of course, the election of Donald Trump and the recent Supreme Court decisions have led me to lose faith in American democracy.
17. Was today typical? Why or why not? I am not sure there is something typical for me.
18. Do you have a favourite accessory (excluding anything you wear regularly e.g. wedding band, watch, etc.)? My primary accessories were always pins and scarves and I love most of them. But I think I’m going to go with a pair of Lunch at the Ritz earrings - big and dangly and spectacular, with a design of carnaval masks.
19. What was peaceful about today? Taking a nap.
20. Do you hold grudges? Are you holding one now? I try not to.
21. June 21 is "International Yoga Day". Do you do, or have you ever done, yoga? I did yoga for a little while many many (40+) years ago. But I have serious issues with the religious underpinnings of yoga, so won’t do it now.
22. What was the last TV show you watched? Did you enjoy it? I can’t actually remember. I don’t watch much TV. Probably part of a baseball game.
23. What was the last live performance you went to? The British Players’ production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which was, alas, mediocre.
24. What is the most expensive thing you're wearing today? Probably my t-short, since I bought it as a souvenir of the Vancouver Olympics,, which entitles me to count the cost of the trip as part of its purchase price.
25. What's the last dream you remember? Rather a nightmare, but the other night I woke up from a dream in which my downstairs neighbor was calling me screaming about water coming into her unit and saying, “it’s like a monsoon.”
26. Name one item you can't throw out, even if it's not really sparking any joy. My mother’s address book.
27. Did anything make you laugh today? A news story about the North American Manure Expo (in Chambersburg, Pensylvania).
28. If pressing a button meant you received 5 million dollars (or equivalent in your currency) but it also killed 5 people somewhere in the world, would you press it? What if it killed only 1 person or killed 20 people? What if the people were people you knew? While there are specific people I think the world would be better off without, I don’t think I could bring myself to do it.
29. What makes a good friend? Sharing good times and bad times and being supportive. Above all else, listening.
30. Do we control technology or is technology controlling us? It isn’t always easy, but we need to stay in control of technology.
1. What would a perfect city be like? It would be very walkable and also have excellent public transit, with frequent service 24 hours a day. There would be a lot of cultural opportunities (theaters, concert venues, museums) and parks. And it would have affordable housing.
2. What are some small things that make your day better? This may sound contradictory but coffee and naps are the first two things that come to mind.
3. Do you have a go-to band or artist when you can't decide on something to listen to? Pierre Bensusan is my favorite musician for good reason. Other options include Jonathan Richman and Angelique Kidjo.
4. Is there a TV show or movie that you just refuse to watch? I never had any interest in Game of Thrones or Downton Abbey.
5. What are you interested in that most people haven't heard of? Various types of puzzles. And crafts, e.g. nalbinding.
6. What could you do a 40-minute presentation on with no (or very little) preparation? Needlework. Storytelling. Satellite ground systems.
7. If you were dictator of your country, what would you do? Require all women’s clothing to have pockets and all women to have bodily autonomy.
8. Is there a product or service you love so much that you'd happily be that company's spokesperson? Chocolaticas (a shoe company).
9. Why did you decide to do the work you are doing now (or if you're retired, the work you were doing prior to retirement)? I was a child of the space age. I fell in love with control systems when I was an undergraduate and took a system dynamics class, which led me to take various control theory classes. And some of the most interesting control systems problems involved space systems.
10. We have no control over where we're from, but do you wish you could have been from somewhere else? There’s a part of me that would have liked to have been from somewhere more exotic than Long Island. But I have to admit I also had a lot of opportunities by growing up in the greater New York metropolitan area.
11. What are some things you've had to unlearn? Working in a male-dominated field, I had to learn not to show my emotions so much. I was not always successful in that.
12. New internet rules restrict everyone's free access to email, a search engine, and five sites of their choosing. To access any other site, you have to pay $1 per visit. What sites would you include in your five free sites, and what sites would you be willing to pay to access? (Sites you need to access for work-related purposes would be provided/paid for by your employer.) Free: YouTube, Facebook, Dreamwidth, the Washington Post, and Wikipedia. Paid: I already pay for the New York Times puzzles and wouldn’t object horribly to paying for various other puzzle sites.
13. Who inspires you to be better? The memory of my parents, especially my father.
14. Is there something dumb or ridiculous that you did that actually turned out pretty well? I’ve taken a number of trips that other people thought were ridiculous, most notably the 9 month leave of absence I took in 1998.
15. What are the best and worst things about aging? It’s both positive and negative, but older women are largely invisible to men. The absolute worst thing is not having an extended warranty on my joints.
16. Is there some event that changed how you view the world? I wouldn’t say it was a total surprise in some ways, but I think 9/11 had a huge impact. And, of course, the election of Donald Trump and the recent Supreme Court decisions have led me to lose faith in American democracy.
17. Was today typical? Why or why not? I am not sure there is something typical for me.
18. Do you have a favourite accessory (excluding anything you wear regularly e.g. wedding band, watch, etc.)? My primary accessories were always pins and scarves and I love most of them. But I think I’m going to go with a pair of Lunch at the Ritz earrings - big and dangly and spectacular, with a design of carnaval masks.
19. What was peaceful about today? Taking a nap.
20. Do you hold grudges? Are you holding one now? I try not to.
21. June 21 is "International Yoga Day". Do you do, or have you ever done, yoga? I did yoga for a little while many many (40+) years ago. But I have serious issues with the religious underpinnings of yoga, so won’t do it now.
22. What was the last TV show you watched? Did you enjoy it? I can’t actually remember. I don’t watch much TV. Probably part of a baseball game.
23. What was the last live performance you went to? The British Players’ production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, which was, alas, mediocre.
24. What is the most expensive thing you're wearing today? Probably my t-short, since I bought it as a souvenir of the Vancouver Olympics,, which entitles me to count the cost of the trip as part of its purchase price.
25. What's the last dream you remember? Rather a nightmare, but the other night I woke up from a dream in which my downstairs neighbor was calling me screaming about water coming into her unit and saying, “it’s like a monsoon.”
26. Name one item you can't throw out, even if it's not really sparking any joy. My mother’s address book.
27. Did anything make you laugh today? A news story about the North American Manure Expo (in Chambersburg, Pensylvania).
28. If pressing a button meant you received 5 million dollars (or equivalent in your currency) but it also killed 5 people somewhere in the world, would you press it? What if it killed only 1 person or killed 20 people? What if the people were people you knew? While there are specific people I think the world would be better off without, I don’t think I could bring myself to do it.
29. What makes a good friend? Sharing good times and bad times and being supportive. Above all else, listening.
30. Do we control technology or is technology controlling us? It isn’t always easy, but we need to stay in control of technology.
