it may be Saturday, but here is the Friday Five

1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?

Hmmmm....Go to some big city, one filled with museums and good shopping and interesting stuff to do, all by myself, get a room in the best hotel in town, and just visit museums and shop and eat in good restaurants for three or four days.

2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?

No. If it looks hideous, I'm not going to say that. Instead, I'll say something like "well, you know, it always takes two weeks for a new haircut to 'settle' properly" or something like that.

3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?

oh, goodness, yes. I know something about a couple of friends that I really wish I didn't know...I can't really talk about it here because someone who knows both me and them might be reading this. Suffice it to say it involved the breakup of a marriage and the alleged reason behind it.

4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?

hmmm....Probably the world out of some children's book, maybe the Hundred-Acre Wood. Or the household described in the (now sadly out of print) "The House at the end of the Lane" children's book. Why? Because the world is simple. People treat one another with kindness. There are no worries about terrorism, or the risk of the food you eat to your health, or environmental destruction. No one dies. If a character gets hurt or sick, bed rest and nice food is enough to heal them. Characters who are mean or crochety are won over with kindness. Characters' personality quirks are tolerated, and maybe even loved.

5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?

I'd love to be a good ballroom dancer. (I'd love to take a class but I've never found a willing partner). I'd also love to be able to play the violin, spin fiber, weave, speak Irish Gaelic, write good poetry, be good at lab science (I didn't become a geneticist partly because of my shocking skill at breaking important lab glassware), be able to focus and work on one thing for hours without a break, and rock-climb.