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April 2023 Prompts - Part 2
May. 16th, 2023 03:23 pmBecause answering prompt questions is faster and easier than going through vacation photos and notes ...
1. How has your ability to entertain yourself changed since you were young? I’ve always been good at keeping myself entertained. Reading and various arts and crafts pursuits have always been the major forms that took. I probably do more complex word puzzles now than I did as a kid.
2. What are some milestone experiences that made you who you are today? Going to Europe for the summer when I graduated from college. Getting involved with the gentleman with whom I conducted the world’s longest running brief meaningless fling (which is sort of back on, but I’m not sure what is going on yet). Going to a day-long storytelling event of workshops and performances around 1990, which led me to find out about local storytelling groups. My first trip in the developing world (to India) in 1996, which led me to discover what I could handle. Taking a nine month leave of absence from work and traveling overland in Africa (and then taking a mail ship to the UK) before I turned 40. Buying my condo.
3. If you could change your living space to make it more pleasant or comfortable for you what would you change? I’d probably have to get rid of 80% of my stuff. And have a cleaning crew come in at least monthly.
4. Which animal do you feel best embodies you? I’m lazy like a housecat.
5. What can you not imagine living without? Coffee, books, yarn.
6. What would you change about your school experience if you had the ability to do so? I would not have gone right to grad school after finishing my bachelor’s degree. I could have used a couple of years in the work world to gain some perspective.
7. What scares you the most? I’m afraid of having to become dependent on someone. Death scares me less than serious disability.
8. What are some things you've tried that you'll never do again? I tried cross-country skiing a few times. It is remarkable how easy it is to fall on level ground. Combined with my dislike of being cold, I don’t need to do that again.
9. What are some things you've always wanted to do but have never done? I have tried to go dogsledding a few times, but it never worked out.
10. What is currently your biggest time waster? Various things on the internet. It’s more or less between Facebook and playing Bejeweled Blitz.
11. If you could bring back one extinct animal which would you choose? There are three subspecies of tigers that have gone extinct in relatively recent times (i.e. the last 100 years). I can’t really choose between the Caspian tiger, Bali tiger, and Javan tiger.
12. What are some of the worst pieces of advice you've been given? When I started college, my father (who was a civil engineer by training and ended up mostly as an urban planner) told me to study anything except engineering. His argument was that if you are any good at engineering, you don’t get to do it after a while. Which was sort of true, but I managed to find a good path that used my engineering background.
13. What is something you’re avoiding right now? Going through more of the mail that came when I was on vacation.
14. What is something you do that you'd like to be able to stop? Eating junk food, especially ice cream.
15. Which household chore do you tend to put off the most? Vacuuming. You can’t listen to music while doing it and emptying the dust bin of my bagless vacuum is annoying.
16. Do you have freckles? Sort of. I have a lot of moles, some of which are small and light, so I think that qualifies them as freckles.
17. Have you become close friends with anyone you met at work? Three of the friends who I do things with often are women I met at work.
18. Are you close with any of your cousins? Sort of. I don’t live near any of them, so our interactions are largely on Facebook.
19. What is your favorite flower? I like irises, because they’re showy and ornate. But my favorite flower scent is lily of the valley.
20. Is there a particular age you'd stay forever if you could? 40 was a very good year.
21. Do you ever get called a shorter version of your name? My brother calls me “Mir.”
22. What's the last thing someone bought you? Probably a cup of coffee.
23. Have you ever been tubing down a river? I’ve been rafting several times if that counts.
24. Do you watch a lot of YouTube? Sometimes. I tend to bingewatch stuff on YouTube now and then, for maybe a week or two.
25. Are you procrastinating on anything right now? See question 13. Also, I need to go get toner for my printer.
26. Do you have any nieces or nephews? No, alas. This is yet another way in which my brother has failed me.
27. Is there anything you’re good at making that you could probably make money off of it? I am good at knitting and crocheting, but you really can’t get enough money for hand crafted items to justify the time involved in making them.
28. When was the last time you felt frustrated? What time is it now?
29. Do you have an annoying neighbor? Not right now, but I had a next door neighbor for a while who had a dog that never stopped barking. I wondered if dogs can get laryngitis.
30. What do you do when you can't sleep? Uh, stay up? Seriously, I usually read or do puzzles. Sometimes I get ambitious and sort through some of the stacks of paper in my living room.
1. How has your ability to entertain yourself changed since you were young? I’ve always been good at keeping myself entertained. Reading and various arts and crafts pursuits have always been the major forms that took. I probably do more complex word puzzles now than I did as a kid.
2. What are some milestone experiences that made you who you are today? Going to Europe for the summer when I graduated from college. Getting involved with the gentleman with whom I conducted the world’s longest running brief meaningless fling (which is sort of back on, but I’m not sure what is going on yet). Going to a day-long storytelling event of workshops and performances around 1990, which led me to find out about local storytelling groups. My first trip in the developing world (to India) in 1996, which led me to discover what I could handle. Taking a nine month leave of absence from work and traveling overland in Africa (and then taking a mail ship to the UK) before I turned 40. Buying my condo.
3. If you could change your living space to make it more pleasant or comfortable for you what would you change? I’d probably have to get rid of 80% of my stuff. And have a cleaning crew come in at least monthly.
4. Which animal do you feel best embodies you? I’m lazy like a housecat.
5. What can you not imagine living without? Coffee, books, yarn.
6. What would you change about your school experience if you had the ability to do so? I would not have gone right to grad school after finishing my bachelor’s degree. I could have used a couple of years in the work world to gain some perspective.
7. What scares you the most? I’m afraid of having to become dependent on someone. Death scares me less than serious disability.
8. What are some things you've tried that you'll never do again? I tried cross-country skiing a few times. It is remarkable how easy it is to fall on level ground. Combined with my dislike of being cold, I don’t need to do that again.
9. What are some things you've always wanted to do but have never done? I have tried to go dogsledding a few times, but it never worked out.
10. What is currently your biggest time waster? Various things on the internet. It’s more or less between Facebook and playing Bejeweled Blitz.
11. If you could bring back one extinct animal which would you choose? There are three subspecies of tigers that have gone extinct in relatively recent times (i.e. the last 100 years). I can’t really choose between the Caspian tiger, Bali tiger, and Javan tiger.
12. What are some of the worst pieces of advice you've been given? When I started college, my father (who was a civil engineer by training and ended up mostly as an urban planner) told me to study anything except engineering. His argument was that if you are any good at engineering, you don’t get to do it after a while. Which was sort of true, but I managed to find a good path that used my engineering background.
13. What is something you’re avoiding right now? Going through more of the mail that came when I was on vacation.
14. What is something you do that you'd like to be able to stop? Eating junk food, especially ice cream.
15. Which household chore do you tend to put off the most? Vacuuming. You can’t listen to music while doing it and emptying the dust bin of my bagless vacuum is annoying.
16. Do you have freckles? Sort of. I have a lot of moles, some of which are small and light, so I think that qualifies them as freckles.
17. Have you become close friends with anyone you met at work? Three of the friends who I do things with often are women I met at work.
18. Are you close with any of your cousins? Sort of. I don’t live near any of them, so our interactions are largely on Facebook.
19. What is your favorite flower? I like irises, because they’re showy and ornate. But my favorite flower scent is lily of the valley.
20. Is there a particular age you'd stay forever if you could? 40 was a very good year.
21. Do you ever get called a shorter version of your name? My brother calls me “Mir.”
22. What's the last thing someone bought you? Probably a cup of coffee.
23. Have you ever been tubing down a river? I’ve been rafting several times if that counts.
24. Do you watch a lot of YouTube? Sometimes. I tend to bingewatch stuff on YouTube now and then, for maybe a week or two.
25. Are you procrastinating on anything right now? See question 13. Also, I need to go get toner for my printer.
26. Do you have any nieces or nephews? No, alas. This is yet another way in which my brother has failed me.
27. Is there anything you’re good at making that you could probably make money off of it? I am good at knitting and crocheting, but you really can’t get enough money for hand crafted items to justify the time involved in making them.
28. When was the last time you felt frustrated? What time is it now?
29. Do you have an annoying neighbor? Not right now, but I had a next door neighbor for a while who had a dog that never stopped barking. I wondered if dogs can get laryngitis.
30. What do you do when you can't sleep? Uh, stay up? Seriously, I usually read or do puzzles. Sometimes I get ambitious and sort through some of the stacks of paper in my living room.
