Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Seventy Four

Appetizer
When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it?

Soup
If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be?

Salad
Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry.

Main Course
Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own.

Dessert
If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory?

Friday's Feast

Feast 170

Appetizer
What is your favorite carnival/amusement park ride?

I am starting to really, really hate them, so probably the merry-go-around. At least it is pretty! Ask me better what I hate. HATE the ferris wheel. & that swinging Viking ship? Oh my crap!!!

Soup
How do you react in uncomfortable social situations?

I run away. I feign a trip to my car and leave. Or I just sit and watch people. Sometimes, I get into the person's closet and snoop around.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy discussing deep, philosophical topics?

It depends greatly upon the topic. I love talking about science and the universe and the complexity & profundity of life. So in that case, and 8 or 9. But about Politics or True Happiness or The Meaning of It All? Umm, not much above a 2.

Main Course
Did you get a flu shot this year? If not, do you plan to?

I did indeed. I like shots!

Dessert
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend watching television?
Maybe 3.

Friday's Feast

Feast 169

Appetizer
What was your first “real” job?
I was a lifeguard and a catering cook.

Soup
Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?
I would make plans with Leigh Yung Li, who always awakens my muse. I could use a big dose of her right about now!

Salad
Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when…
... I make a joke that ends up completely going astray & possibly hurting someone's feelings. Also, when my laundry-trapped underwear comes out of my pantleg onto the floor in my classroom.

Main Course
What values did your parents instill in you?
Hard work, pride in my culture, appreciation for the fine arts, respect for family and tradition.

Dessert
Name 3 fads from your teenage years.
Rubiks cube, legwarmers, overalls unhooked at one clasp.

Friday's feast 168

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Appetizer

Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?

Soup

What year did you start using the internet?

Salad

What is your first name in Pig Latin? (Here’s how to speak it if you don’t already know!)

Main Course

Name something you are picky about.

Dessert

Fill in the blanks: I ____ ____ yesterday and I ____ ____ today.

Feast 148

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Appetizer
Fill in the blank: The best thing about where I live is _________________…
I am close to New York City, Cape Cod, and the woods. It is beautiful here; the trees reach over the road and make a green tunnel in the summertime. There are hawks, and the best Farmer's Market.


Soup
Create a new name for a deodorant (like “Flower Fresh” or “Shower Scent”).
"Old Whore"

"Skankified"

"Meat Packing District"

woah, this is fun ... I want to make this a post unto itself (see above). Reminds me of Ice Cream Flavors.

Salad
What was the last piece of software you installed onto your computer?
Tetris!!!

Main Course
If you were to receive a superlative award today beginning with the words ”Most likely to…”, what would the rest of the phrase say?
Break a toe walking into the corner where the two walls meet. I love that.


Dessert
What two colors do you like to wear together?
Black and green.

Friday's Feast: Your Turn.

Appetizer
Name a sound you like to hear.

Soup
What is your favorite kind of cheese?

Salad
Do you sleep late on Saturday mornings? Why or why not?

Main Course
When was the last time you forgot something? What was it, and how long did it take to remember it?

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I notice ____________ when _____________.

Chow Down

Appetizer
List 3 emotions you experienced this week.
Dismay -- when I realized I had thrown out a girl's project by mistake
Revulsion -- as I entered the dumpster
Relief -- when I discovered the project, intact, under 35 bags of lunch garbage

Soup
Name a car you’d love to have.
I don't care much about cars. I would love to ride a bike wherever I go.

Salad
Describe your typical morning routine.

Oh, it's the best! After I shower, I do my hair & makeup at my computer desk while I drink my coffee and read email. My clothes tumble in the dryer as I get ready, and then I walk to the dryer in my underwear to get dressed. My morning drive typically includes a stop at Starbucks, unless it's Friday, when my friend treats us all to coffee.

Main Course
Have you ever emailed someone famous? If so, who, and what did you say to them? Did they reply?

Prepare for a highly linkefied reply: I have emailed Stephen King and Dave Barry. Stephen King, because the book I got from his Foundation did not arrive; I got a reply from his personal assistant. Dave Barry, because I sent him the list of country music song titles I had made up, and he sent me a postcard. These are my brushes with fame. My biggest brushes with fame were my Q&A moment at Radio City Music Hall and the time I was mentioned in the San Francisco Chronicle for living in Human Zoo.

Dessert
Do you listen to podcasts? If so, which ones?
Nope.

Swallow now; taste later.

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Forty One

Appetizer
How fast can you type?
I am the slowest typist of all time. I never learned how to do it properly, so I am a pecker. I hunt, then I peck. I peck with the thumb and first two fingers of each hand. I am all over the keyboard, as though I were playing Flight of the Bumblebee. It is dizzying. Within the span of a minute, I can make dozens of typos. This is one of my greatest sources of pride!

Soup
What is your favorite online game?
I don't play many games online, but I did get hooked on Drifts and Ice Breaker for a while. I also watch BadgerBadgerBadger about once a week at the insistence of my niece, who is 3. Who among you can resist a toddler saying "badzubadzu?" and looking up at you with plaintive eyes? Who, I ask?!?!?!?

Salad
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 as highest), how intelligent do you think you are?

Probably an 8. No, that sounds ambitious. Maybe a 7. There are some pretty darn smart people who live (and have lived) among us.

Main Course
Name three of your best teachers from your school years.

You don't know them, shall I still name them? I choose Dr. Wilson, my Freshman (college) English professor; Mr. Chervansky, my high school biology teacher; and Mrs. Thompson, my second grade teacher. I should do a post about each of them, as they were quite extraordinary.

Dessert
What are your plans for this upcoming weekend?
I am going to install a giant meat hook in my bedroom ceiling and maybe get a mani-pedi; visit my family, grade 96 papers, and watch The Science of Sleep.

How about you? Play along!

Dine with me.

It's leftovers; that OK with you, sugar?

Friday's Feast

Feast One Hundred & Forty

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of bread? Are you freaking kidding me? Like I have a favorite kind. Let's list all the breads that have rocked my world: sourdough, my grandmother's sourdough rye from Estonia; whole wheat rolls, straight from the oven. How about a nice crusty white loaf, fresh-baked and doused in butter? Mmm, a rosemary loaf with olive oil. Naan. Pillsbury flaky dinner rolls. Criossants! Wait, I'm starting to realize why I tend to gain weight. Mmm, bread. Anything without caraway seeds in it never stands a chance.

Soup
When was the last time you bought a new pillow? I buy new pillows rather often, like once a year. I recently bought some on sale and I was very sorry. They were so soft they gave me a three-day neck ache. Fuck you, Company Store! Fuck you, and Amy Campbell too! Foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Salad
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend surfing the ‘net? Lately, not so many. In my heavy blogging periods I could easily sit online for 3 hours. I don't really "surf"; I just read blogs. Lately, it's about 30 minutes and then I can't sit anymore. It is too nice out!

Main Course
What’s the highest you remember your temperature being? 104. I have this really cool fever-hallucination where the room keeps getting bigger and bigger, then smaller & smaller. That time, it was like Alice in Wonderland. The fluctuations were rapid and gigantic-miniscule-gigantic-miniscule. There were silver threads hanging from the ceiling. I've been trying to recapture that feeling ever since, but all I do is throw up.

Dessert
Fill in the blanks: When I ____________, I _____________.

1) Think about you / squirt ketchup down my pants.

2) Go to the bank / sometimes flash the teller at the drive-thru

3) chew gum / often suddenly choke on my own saliva

4) start my summer vacation / laugh until I cry

5) grow old / want to feel as young as I do now

That last one was fun ... you try!!!

Friday's Feast

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Appetizer
When you were a child, which crayon color was your favorite?

I loved Lemon Yellow; I drew so many suns. Later, when I started to grow breasts, it was all about Flesh.

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move?

Pretty darn slim, since I did in fact move to be closer to my current job, the best teaching job I could ever have dreamed of. So nope, not moving any time soon.

Salad
Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total?

52, which is weird, because that's the number of weeks in a year, as well as the number of seconds of my life that I can never get back after doing that activity.

Main Course
Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to?

I re-gift all the time. Why, is that wrong? I recently passed along a book that I received, which I already had a copy of, and a set of notecards.

Dessert
Name something you need from the store.

Umm, I guess new birthday gifts for my mom and sister.

Friday's Feast

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Appetizer
When you travel, which mode of transportation do you prefer?
I prefer to travel by boat, as long as I don't get seasick. Oh the wind, the spray, the gentle rocking, the sights ... pure heaven!

Soup
Have you ever met a blogging friend in person?
I met two blogging "friends" in person. The second one was Monkey, who came for a weekend. We fell in love.

Salad
When was the last time you were really, really tired?
About 2 weeks ago, after I did an open Vinyasa at Jivamukti. My hamstrings failed me later that day.

Main Course
If you could have dinner with any one fictional character from a book or movie, who would it be?
Yes ... that would have to be the Lord of the Rings Fellowship. Do I have to choose just one?

Dessert
Fill in the blank: One day, I hope to see ______.
"the inside of my own stomach"
also
"Kenya"
and
"if Heaven exists"

I am still wearing my toga, and here are some leftovers for you.

So, all my people, I have been terribly busy! I went to Manhattan this weekend, again ... this time I went to the Jivamukti Yoga School (worth the click just for the nice chant) where Uma Thurman's brother Dechen teaches, and where nobody eats any animal products of any kind, and glares at you if you don't keep mauna in the hallways (which I thought meant singing Billy Idol's version of Mony Mony, but I found out means "silence"), and ostracizes you if you wear your shoes. At Jivamukti, I learned that there are some positions I cannot get my body into, and that if I try, I will pay by having sore muscles for 2 whole days.

In New York, I also learned that some entire blocks can be closed off to foot traffic, because some sort of very important filming is going on. I also learned that the subways do not, in fact, smell like urine as I anticipated.

I've resurfaced just long enough to lay out some warmed-over Friday's Feast for you. I meant to do this Friday, but you don't mind the delay, do you? It's still fresh and tender. Bon apetit!

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Feast One Hundred & Thirty Six

Appetizer
Who is your favorite news anchor/reporter? Why?

I don't watch the news, but it used to be Peter Jennings.

Soup
Name 3 foods that are currently in your freezer.

Edamame

Natural casing hot dogs

Skinny Cow ice cream cones

Salad
If you were to have the opportunity to name a new town or city, what would you call it?

Vajayjayville

Main Course
What will most likely be the next book you read?

I abandoned Kite Runner to read A Confederacy of Dunces, so I will most likely return to that.

Dessert
What's the first thing you notice about the opposite gender?

I was going to say eyes, but that's not true. I do a full-body sweep, noting height and overall build in one giant eyeful. Then I leg-wrestle the guy to see if I can beat him. If I can't, I let him tie me to the wall and douse me with a firehose.

Friday's Feast

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Feast One Hundred and Thirty Four

Appetizer
What is your usual bedtime? Do you like that, or would you rather it be different?

I go to bed between 10:30 and 11:00 most nights, with fluctuations based upon how hard the 8th graders kicked my ass on a given day. I have been known to get in bed at 6:00. Lame! Sometimes I stay up way too late, and then I pay. Morning SG hates night-party SG.

Soup
When it comes to advice, do you give more or receive more?

I am not a huge giver of advice, unless asked. Even then, I'd rather listen. People usually figure out what they want to do. I've received some great advice from people, usually after they have listened quite a bit. Listening is so very important!

Salad
Describe a memorable meal you've had.

A meal that brought tears to my eyes is the goat cheese & portobello mushroom crostini at The Good News Cafe. Actually, looking at the amazing menu, here is its official description: Warm Portobello Mushroom Toast & "Coach Farm" goat cheese with roasted peppers, greens & miso dressing. The combination of flavors in this is so exquisite that words fail me. And when have we known that to happen?!?!?

Main Course
Name a work of fiction that affected the way you think about something.

Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible changed my thinking about the plenty of this country against the backdrop of Africa's poverty. It caused me to have a meltdown at the grocery store, in the toothpaste aisle. I was faced with row upon row of bright boxed toothpaste packaging and I thought, why on earth do we need to put something that is already in a tube, into a box!?!?!?!? And so many choices!!! Meanwhile, in my novel, the village had to burn a hill and shoot every animal as it jumped through the flames, to get meat for survival. Little children combed the burnt hillside putting crispy roasted bugs into their baskets. And here I was in comfortable shoes, well-fed, faced with 20 choices of brightly-colored boxes of paste for cleaning my teeth, for chrissake. It was just too much.

Dessert
What is your favorite type of fruit juice?

Duh! Apple cider!