More Bits & Pieces

Whenever I'm stuck for a topic, or having a poetic dry spell, I can always count on a meme to help carry me through. This one comes from Dick, by way of Meg.

1. What is your greatest fear?
   Physical pain.
2. What is your greatest extravagance?
   Currently, DVDs. CDs and books a close second. Then there's that digital SLR that's been singing a siren song....
3. What makes you depressed?
   Life, the universe, and everything. Of course, this stuff can fill me with joy as well. Maddeningly unpredictable.
4. Who would play you in a movie of your life?
   Michael Gross. Or Bogie, if they ever perfect that technology.
5. What is your most unappealing habit?
   Self-deprecation. Poor self confidence.
6. What is your favourite smell?
   Baking bread. The Rainbow Bread Bakery is just a quarter mile north of where I work. I've smelled that rich earthy aroma the past two mornings. I normally pass the bakery on the way home, and often smell the bread then as well.
   I also like the aroma of loamy soil.
7. Radiator or Air Conditioning?
   The politically correct answer, I suppose, is "neither". I maintain thermostat settings from the Carter era: 78° for summer, 68° for winter. I supplement with fans in the former, and blankets in the latter.
8. Is it better to give or receive?
   To quote St. Francis, it is in giving that we receive.
9. What do you owe your parents?
   Father: intellectual curiosity, moral integrity, liberal ethics. Since he was my primary caregiver from the time I was 6, I also owe him the roof over my head, food, and those other essentials. On the downside, I suspect I inherited his tendency for melancholy.
   Mother: I can't think of anything positive, at the moment. I'm aware things I don't like about her are also things I don't like in myself - poor self-image, self obsession, neediness, insecurity....
10. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
    "Oh my stars and garters"
    "Jerk"
    "On the one hand; on the other" (in various permutations)
11. What has been your biggest disappointment?
    That whole college thing; personal entropy.
12. When did you last cry and why?
    I'm a guy. I'm supposed to remember? Actually, I think it was "Peggy Sue Got Married", where Peggy is on the phone with her grandmother.
13. Have you ever had a same-sex experience?
    I've always been my current gender.
14. What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
    In today's society, money.
15. What keeps you awake at night?
    The busy monkey in my head.
16. What song would you like played at your funeral?
    I'm limited to one?
    Barber's "Adagio for Strings"
    Phil Ochs, "When I'm Gone"
    "How Can I Keep From Singing"
    Hymns - "I sing a song of the saints of God" and "All Things Bright & Beautiful"
17. What is the most important lesson life has taught you?
    To paraphrase a certain Broadway musical, there's always tomorrow. There's always hope for change. One of humanity's greatest assets is our ability to adapt.