Interview Meme, this round courtesy of Sei Shonagon.
Sei Shonagon seishonagon wrote,
1) What did you like best about your thesis?
Finishing it?
Hm. Well, most of it is a big huge blur now, but probably the interviews. Although I talked to most of my informants via IM so I would have instant, accurate logs, I did talk to one of my informants in person and I remember us swapping stories like old friends as we were surprised by the things we found that we had in common.
2) What is your favorite movie?
Ever? I'm not sure I can pick just one. I think I'm going with The Princess Bride, because it makes me feel so warm and fuzzy. I know large parts of the dialogue and can easily quote it. The Princess Bride is like an old friend I only see on the rare occasions I happen to be in her hometown, but when we get together again, it's like we were never apart.
3) If you could have participated in one activity at Bryn Mawr you missed out on, what would it have been?
Goodness. Well, that's a little complicated. I wish that I'd been less scared to go to Athena's Circle earlier on. I did participate in my last year, but it took me a long time to get there, to convince myself that I didn't have to be a polytheistic pagan to go, to convince myself it was okay to go to the primarily social events, to convince myself that I could be an observer without being intrusive. Really, it's sort of the same as my involvement with DoubleStar and SWIL. My involvement in clubs that interested me (beyond JSU) blossomed in my last years at Bryn Mawr.
If I have to pick one event, the latke-hamentaschen debate of my senior year was held during fall finals week rather than in February, and I had to miss it completely to keep on top of my work. That made me very, very sad.
4) If you could learn any language in the world, living or dead, that you've never learned, what would it be?
Hm. I might have to go with Ladino or Yiddish, since they're both sort of dying, but I don't know that I could get anymore use out of them than learning Lojban. Maybe I should pick ancient Greek or Latin instead. If I'm going to try to learn a fifth language, I'd want to learn something I could actually use somewhat regularly so it didn't atrophy. That would require some kind of community, either in person or online. Then again, there's always French or German. Or I could learn the Basque language just to be weird. I'm not sure. At this point I think I'd rather improve my Spanish, Hebrew or ASL skills than learn a new language.
5) If you could get rid of one health problem, what would it be?
At first I was going to pick a health problem that required a lot of medication to keep under control and/or one that made the most statistically negative impact on my health. Actually, I think it would be the chronic muscle tension. That might be cheating, because I'm sure a lot of conditions I have contribute to it; it's certainly aggravated by stress. I know that my muscle tension may be causing or aggravating the severity of my carpal tunnel syndrome pain as well as my temporomandibular joint dysfunction pain. The spasms I've been having make my stomach, lower back, and shoulders tighter, which is also very uncomfortable. I think life would be a lot more livable if I wasn't constantly sore and tense. It took me over a year of regular weekly massage to loosen up to where I am now, and I'm still so tense that I am a challenge to many massage therapists. My dream is to someday go for a massage just for fun, not because I am tense or in pain.
