February 2025 Prompts
May. 7th, 2025 09:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fauxklore1. Do you prefer more "yellow" coloured lightbulbs (like incandescent) or the "daylight" whiter light of new LED type bulbs? I like whiter lights, in general.
2. Do you subscribe to any magazines or newspapers? I get a few magazines via subscriptions that are tied to memberships. For example, my annual donation to MIT gets me Technology Review every month.
3. What is the earliest photograph of yourself that you have that you remember when it was taken? I have a photo of me at the piano that was taken at a birthday party when I was probably about 5 or 6 years old.
4. How do you feel about using humans in medical research? I think it’s great as long as the people involved have enough information to understand the risks they are taking.
5. If you won a million dollars but had to give it all away, who would you give it to and why? I would give it to various charities, focusing on education.
6. Who is the person that you feel has altered the course of your morals and values, and how did they effect you? Definitely my father. He prioritized building community and treating people fairly.
7. If you could tell your boss what you really want to do in your job, what would it be? I’m retired, so this is not relevant. But when I was working, I was often able to set my own priorities and work on interesting projects.
8. What are things that you wish people knew about you without your having to tell them? I wish people would just magically know when I am too tired to be around them. I love my friends, but some of them can spend a really long time complaining about things and, basically, taking advantage of my being a good listener.
9. If you had to move across the country what belongings would you get rid of? This is tough. I’ve moved across the country, but it was for work and I had a moving service, so I didn’t have any real incentive to get rid of things. I suppose the first priority would be to get rid of all the accumulated memorabilia, e.g. theatre programs dating back to elementary school.
10. Who do you trust the least and why? My brother, because he has a long history of financial irresponsibility.
11. Do any of your friends or relatives have strange occupations? I have lots of friends who are performers, artists, scientists, engineers, etc. But the strangest occupation among my various circles is probably creating puzzles.
12. Do you have pets? Tell a story about one of them. I travel too much to be able to have pets. We did have a cat when I was growing up, because my mother was a soft touch. Later on, she cared for every stray cat in the neighborhood and one even moved in. This was not a great idea because she was allergic to it, but so it goes.
13. How are you like one of your brothers or sisters? My brother and I have a certain physical resemblance, but I like to think we have pretty much nothing else in common.
14. Has anyone ever influenced your manners for the better? Who? Uh, my parents tried.
15. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I could use my Hebrew name, Malka Khaya.
16. What is your greatest extravagance? Definitely travel.
17. How do you have the most fun—alone, with a large group, with a few friends—and why? It really depends on my mood. I am good at enjoying myself regardless of who I’m with.
18. What is something that you used to struggle with that now feels easier? I’m less sentimental than I used to be and I’ve stopped saving things like greeting cards forever. I’m still working on being able to get rid of other memorabilia.
19. How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance? Being retired takes the work side out of the picture in theory, but I do a lot of other things that probably count as work.
20. What does retirement mean to you? I get to take naps.
21. What meal did you hate as a kid and you haven’t eaten since you’ve grown up? I think the meal I dreaded the most when I was a child was stuffed cabbage. P’tcha (jellied calves foot) would have been worse, but my mother didn’t try to make me eat that.
22. Write about something you have that money cannot buy and how it adds value to your life? My sense of humor. Being able to see the funny aspects of a situation always helps me to cope with stress.
23. What is one word that just gets under your skin every time you hear it, and why? It’s two word but I bristle at “artificial intelligence,” which is rarely intelligent at all.
24. Do you believe there is life on other planets or other galaxies? I am in the minority on this, but I am skeptical.
25. What song or album do you have a visceral response to? This is a particularly tough question. I think I’ll go with Copleand’s Appalachian Spring which just feels so pleasantly evocative to me.
26. What are some of the changes that have occurred in your life recently? How are you feeling about those changes? How are you reacting to those changes? I’ve definitely been feeling the effects of age and I’m not happy about that.
27. Are you lonely? Or when have you been lonely? I’ve been lonely, but, in general, I’m pretty satisfied with my own company and I sometimes need time alone to recharge my batteries.
28. What is the most enjoyable part of your daily routine? There are few things in life I love more than leisurely sipping a cup of good coffee while doing my daily word puzzles.
2. Do you subscribe to any magazines or newspapers? I get a few magazines via subscriptions that are tied to memberships. For example, my annual donation to MIT gets me Technology Review every month.
3. What is the earliest photograph of yourself that you have that you remember when it was taken? I have a photo of me at the piano that was taken at a birthday party when I was probably about 5 or 6 years old.
4. How do you feel about using humans in medical research? I think it’s great as long as the people involved have enough information to understand the risks they are taking.
5. If you won a million dollars but had to give it all away, who would you give it to and why? I would give it to various charities, focusing on education.
6. Who is the person that you feel has altered the course of your morals and values, and how did they effect you? Definitely my father. He prioritized building community and treating people fairly.
7. If you could tell your boss what you really want to do in your job, what would it be? I’m retired, so this is not relevant. But when I was working, I was often able to set my own priorities and work on interesting projects.
8. What are things that you wish people knew about you without your having to tell them? I wish people would just magically know when I am too tired to be around them. I love my friends, but some of them can spend a really long time complaining about things and, basically, taking advantage of my being a good listener.
9. If you had to move across the country what belongings would you get rid of? This is tough. I’ve moved across the country, but it was for work and I had a moving service, so I didn’t have any real incentive to get rid of things. I suppose the first priority would be to get rid of all the accumulated memorabilia, e.g. theatre programs dating back to elementary school.
10. Who do you trust the least and why? My brother, because he has a long history of financial irresponsibility.
11. Do any of your friends or relatives have strange occupations? I have lots of friends who are performers, artists, scientists, engineers, etc. But the strangest occupation among my various circles is probably creating puzzles.
12. Do you have pets? Tell a story about one of them. I travel too much to be able to have pets. We did have a cat when I was growing up, because my mother was a soft touch. Later on, she cared for every stray cat in the neighborhood and one even moved in. This was not a great idea because she was allergic to it, but so it goes.
13. How are you like one of your brothers or sisters? My brother and I have a certain physical resemblance, but I like to think we have pretty much nothing else in common.
14. Has anyone ever influenced your manners for the better? Who? Uh, my parents tried.
15. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? I could use my Hebrew name, Malka Khaya.
16. What is your greatest extravagance? Definitely travel.
17. How do you have the most fun—alone, with a large group, with a few friends—and why? It really depends on my mood. I am good at enjoying myself regardless of who I’m with.
18. What is something that you used to struggle with that now feels easier? I’m less sentimental than I used to be and I’ve stopped saving things like greeting cards forever. I’m still working on being able to get rid of other memorabilia.
19. How do you maintain a healthy work-life balance? Being retired takes the work side out of the picture in theory, but I do a lot of other things that probably count as work.
20. What does retirement mean to you? I get to take naps.
21. What meal did you hate as a kid and you haven’t eaten since you’ve grown up? I think the meal I dreaded the most when I was a child was stuffed cabbage. P’tcha (jellied calves foot) would have been worse, but my mother didn’t try to make me eat that.
22. Write about something you have that money cannot buy and how it adds value to your life? My sense of humor. Being able to see the funny aspects of a situation always helps me to cope with stress.
23. What is one word that just gets under your skin every time you hear it, and why? It’s two word but I bristle at “artificial intelligence,” which is rarely intelligent at all.
24. Do you believe there is life on other planets or other galaxies? I am in the minority on this, but I am skeptical.
25. What song or album do you have a visceral response to? This is a particularly tough question. I think I’ll go with Copleand’s Appalachian Spring which just feels so pleasantly evocative to me.
26. What are some of the changes that have occurred in your life recently? How are you feeling about those changes? How are you reacting to those changes? I’ve definitely been feeling the effects of age and I’m not happy about that.
27. Are you lonely? Or when have you been lonely? I’ve been lonely, but, in general, I’m pretty satisfied with my own company and I sometimes need time alone to recharge my batteries.
28. What is the most enjoyable part of your daily routine? There are few things in life I love more than leisurely sipping a cup of good coffee while doing my daily word puzzles.
