At work, but being lazy. Here's another one of those meme things. The difficult thing is you find your responses are somewhat colored by those of the person you read. Or at least I had to work hard to think of other associations.

1. My uncle once: took my whole family out sailing. And then, the next year, sold his sailboat. Thanks, Uncle B. Get me hooked and then cut me off.

2. Never in my life: have I been really drunk.

3. When I was five: I had a rich and detailed fantasy world, populated with characters from cartoons (I remember Pixie and Dixie, a pair of mice, from, I think, a Hanna Barbera cartoon), and characters from fairy tales, and characters I made up (a family of sparrows)

4. High School is: a really long time ago, it feels like.

5. My parents are: cool. Otherwise, I'd not have been able to have lived with them when I was in graduate school. They're also generous.

6. I once met: Hmmm...Earll Kingston is the only semi-famous person I can remember having met (I think he had had a minor recurring part on Hawaii 5-0. He did a one-man play about John Wesley Powell and my father invited him to come and give the play at the college where he taught).

7. There's this girl I know who: writes an interesting folklore blog

8. Once, at a bar: a series of bad jokes took place, involving rabbis and nuns and horses and ducks and clumsy guys.

9. Last night: it snowed.

10. Next time I go to church: will be on Sunday. I will be one of the narrators for the annual Christmas cantata. One thing I have learned is that when you're involved with a thing like this, you don't get to enjoy it in the way the people in the pews do. Even though many times when youth group's been difficult, I had wished I joined the choir instead, I don't any more. It's much harder work than I imagined.

11. When I turn my head left, I see: out my office window

12. When I turn my head right, I see: my horribly messy desk with things piled everywhere.

13. How many days until my birthday?: Oh, Lor', I don't know. 72? The rest of December and all of January and almost all of February.

14. If I was a character written by Shakespeare I'd be: Gah. I'm not that familiar with the plays. I guess I'd be the Mistress from "My Mistress' Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun."

15. By this time next year: I will be a year older. That is not exactly a cheering thought.

16. A better name for me would be: I don't know. I rather like my name. "Fillyjonk" would work in that I do tend to fly off the handle at imagined disasters and I do tend to be rather pernickety about some things.

17. I have a hard time understanding: how people can be intentionally cruel to other people. How can you LIVE with yourself?

18. If I ever go back to school I: would probably do a lot of artisan-type stuff, maybe go to Berea College and learn to weave and spin and try to support myself as a craftsperson or as one of those "working docents" at historical recreation sites. Or I'd get a degree in environmental law and be hippie lawyer woman.

19. You know I like you if: I knit something for you. Just kidding. Seriously: If I try to make you laugh - if I say things and then give you that cocked-head look that means, "Did you think that was funny? Am I amusing to you?" I do that to an excessive degree around people I really like and that I want to like me.

20. If I won an award, the first person I'd thank would be: Probably my parents, they were a big influence in the person I became today.

21. Take my advice: Be true to yourself. It doesn't work to try to fit in with "the crowd," the in-crowd can usually smell outsiders. It's happier to be your own quirky self and not be accepted than to be striving to be someone you're not and not be accepted. Advice #2: don't go into a field just because of the money, don't take a job you loathe just because it will make you rich.

22. My ideal breakfast is: a big big glass of orange juice, a big hot bowl of Irish oatmeal with brown sugar, a cold glass of milk and a piece of whole wheat toast with honey or homemade jam.

23. If you visit my hometown: You'll probably wind up stuck in traffic. At least that was my impression the last time I was there.

24. Why won't someone: Recognize what a wonderful charming soul (and dem' fine cook) I am and try to sweep me off my feet? (I mean, for my own particular preferences here: someone male)

25. If you spend the night at my house: I have a guest bedroom but you may find my latest knitting project laid out blocking on the bed. Or I'll have to unpile the five or six quilts I store on it. I don't get a lot of visitors.

26. I'd stop my wedding: At least temporarily, if a woman ran in and started yelling that my intended was already married to her (at least long enough to find out if she was nuts or not), or if a child I had been previously unaware of the existence of ran in and started yelling "Daddy! Daddy!" at my intended.

27. The world could do without: ringtones that sound like a person in the throes of sexual ecstasy. (I know, that's very specific, but I've heard those ring tones and it's seriously skeevy to be in the grocery store and hear THAT coming from someone's handbag). Actually, I'd argue the world can do without most ringtones.

28. I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: lick the bellies of TWO cockroaches. (Or kill a person. Or eat a cockroach.Or, perhaps, walk naked down the street, but I'd have to think hard about that choice.)

29. Paper clips are more useful than: that silly little fold-over that people do when they're too cheap to buy either a stapler or paperclips. (I regularly have students ask me if I brought a stapler to class, when they have multipage assignments to hand it. I always want to say, "sure...let me go over here to my packmule and get it.")

30. If I do anything well, it is: knit socks. And cook.

31. And by the way: You, over there? XYZ. And I think you've got something stuck between your teeth as well.