survey for the first time in awhile
1. What bill do you hate paying the most? Ellen the bill payer in the house, so I'm asking her: "Umm... I really hate paying your one student loan. (This would be the loan I took to go to Boston University) It falls at the beginning of the month, and we're strapped anyhow. I hate paying that one."
2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner? Good God. Ellen's birthday last December. We never get to go out, just the two of us.
3. What do you really want to be doing right now? I'd like to be swimming.
4. The last movie you saw? Aliens
5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now? On Friday, Elliot and I went to Gabriel Brothers for the first time. If you've never heard of it, it's a chain of regional closeout stores that's about five times more frightening than Big Lots, if you can wrap your head around that. Our Gabriel Brothers has a TON of remaindered Hot Topic merchandise and I dug through the racks and found a pretty nice green Capital Records tee shirt for $5 bucks. That's what I'm wearing now.
6. What are your thoughts on gas prices? I didn't think about them until I moved here... and now I just grin and bear it.
7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? My alarm did not go off this morning, but I laid in bed annoyed at the prospect of having to go and move a bunch of furniture.
8. Last thought before going to sleep last night? Something about Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
9. Do you miss being a child? Occasionally. Like yesterday, watching Aliens, I was flooded with memories of this movie and stuff surrounding it. Staying up late to watch it on CBS with my parents. Getting all excited to see that MAD Magazine had reprinted their parody of the flick (with Jack Davis artwork!). Getting excited for Alien 3, watching it, and becoming completely depressed for the rest of the weekend upon seeing the bummer of an ending. So and and so forth.
10. What errand/chore do you despise? I hate cleaning out Chewie's litter box, especially since we've gone "green" and started using flushable kitty litter. His litter is nowhere near the toilet and I have to do this whole complicated song and dance to get rid of his clumps.
11. Get up early or sleep in? Sleep in, man.
12. Have you found real love yet? I have.
13. Beach or lake? Lake.
14. Do you have the same best friend you had in high school? Yeah.
15. Do you have children? I have one child who just learned to take a dump in his potty.
16. If you answered yes to 15, then was having kids what you expected it to be? Mostly no. I heard Louis C.K. say something about being a father a few weeks ago on The Sound of Young America that rung true of what I thought about being a dad at first. I'm paraphrasing here, but he said that before he had kids, he thought of it like it would be having a pet that slowly learned to talk and then in 18 years, left the house. What he found was that his kids had personalities and a point of view, and that's what makes being a father so interesting.
17. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives? Sopranos, although I wish it hadn't had lingered on for however many seasons. I wish David Chase had had the balls to end it sooner.
18. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? Bill Watterson, that's my answer for every question like this.
19. Have you ever crashed your vehicle? I never have.
20. Ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose? Never.
21. Do you admire your parents? I do.
22. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth? The first thing that sprung to mine was "In an airplane hanger." I was on a Boy Scout trip.
23. Somewhere in the world you've never been, but would like to go? A million places both close to home (Chicago, Minneapolis) and across the planet (Ireland, Spain)
24. Do you go to church? I don't.
25. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship? New career, but I don't particularly want either option.
26.How old are you? 28.
27. Do you have a go to person? I have two.
28. Are you where you want to be in life? I'm getting closer than ever before.
29. Growing up, what were your favorite cartoons? The Real Ghostbusters was a biggie. The original three Nicktoons were kind of a big deal too. The Simpsons, of course, steered my generation like no other television show.
30. What about you do you think has changed the most? I'm less miserable.
31. Looking back at high school were they the best years of your life? Oh no. No, I still have massive nightmares and guilt.
32. Are there times you still feel like a kid? Yes.
33. Did you ever own troll dolls? I had one. It had blue hair and it came holding a sign of some kind. I pried the sign out of its hand so it then had an open palm that was just the right size for action figure accessories like Ninja Turtle Leonardo's sword (or "katana").
34. Did you have a pager? I never did. I remember them being a big deal my junior and senior year of high school. I never wanted one, but I didn't talk to anyone on the phone.
35. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager? If there was some kind of hangout spot, I was unaware of it. On nice days, I would ride my bike into the woods next to our house and read library books. That was my hangout spot.
36. Were you the type of kid you would want your children to hang out with? More yes than no. I could be a real sarcastic butthole, but I'm pretty sure I was polite to most people. With one or two exceptions, I like to think I had a lot of empathy for other people.
37. Who do you think affected your life the most? Ellen.
38. Was there a teacher or authority figure that stood out for you? I had a couple. Mrs. Cook, my second grade teacher, always made me feel really smart and in hindsight, I appreciate that. My sixth grade teacher Mr. Strauss taught me a lot about being a teacher, believe it or not... I'm a cut-rate Mr. Strauss impersonator on my good days in a classroom. My high school art teacher Mr. Chapin really encouraged my drawing comics. So those three especially.
39. Do you tell stories that start with “when I was your age”? I do not, but I'm looking forward to talking about "When I was your age, I would illegally download EVERYTHING off Napster..." or something like that.
2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner? Good God. Ellen's birthday last December. We never get to go out, just the two of us.
3. What do you really want to be doing right now? I'd like to be swimming.
4. The last movie you saw? Aliens
5. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now? On Friday, Elliot and I went to Gabriel Brothers for the first time. If you've never heard of it, it's a chain of regional closeout stores that's about five times more frightening than Big Lots, if you can wrap your head around that. Our Gabriel Brothers has a TON of remaindered Hot Topic merchandise and I dug through the racks and found a pretty nice green Capital Records tee shirt for $5 bucks. That's what I'm wearing now.
6. What are your thoughts on gas prices? I didn't think about them until I moved here... and now I just grin and bear it.
7. First thought when the alarm went off this morning? My alarm did not go off this morning, but I laid in bed annoyed at the prospect of having to go and move a bunch of furniture.
8. Last thought before going to sleep last night? Something about Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
9. Do you miss being a child? Occasionally. Like yesterday, watching Aliens, I was flooded with memories of this movie and stuff surrounding it. Staying up late to watch it on CBS with my parents. Getting all excited to see that MAD Magazine had reprinted their parody of the flick (with Jack Davis artwork!). Getting excited for Alien 3, watching it, and becoming completely depressed for the rest of the weekend upon seeing the bummer of an ending. So and and so forth.
10. What errand/chore do you despise? I hate cleaning out Chewie's litter box, especially since we've gone "green" and started using flushable kitty litter. His litter is nowhere near the toilet and I have to do this whole complicated song and dance to get rid of his clumps.
11. Get up early or sleep in? Sleep in, man.
12. Have you found real love yet? I have.
13. Beach or lake? Lake.
14. Do you have the same best friend you had in high school? Yeah.
15. Do you have children? I have one child who just learned to take a dump in his potty.
16. If you answered yes to 15, then was having kids what you expected it to be? Mostly no. I heard Louis C.K. say something about being a father a few weeks ago on The Sound of Young America that rung true of what I thought about being a dad at first. I'm paraphrasing here, but he said that before he had kids, he thought of it like it would be having a pet that slowly learned to talk and then in 18 years, left the house. What he found was that his kids had personalities and a point of view, and that's what makes being a father so interesting.
17. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives? Sopranos, although I wish it hadn't had lingered on for however many seasons. I wish David Chase had had the balls to end it sooner.
18. What famous person would you like to have dinner with? Bill Watterson, that's my answer for every question like this.
19. Have you ever crashed your vehicle? I never have.
20. Ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose? Never.
21. Do you admire your parents? I do.
22. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth? The first thing that sprung to mine was "In an airplane hanger." I was on a Boy Scout trip.
23. Somewhere in the world you've never been, but would like to go? A million places both close to home (Chicago, Minneapolis) and across the planet (Ireland, Spain)
24. Do you go to church? I don't.
25. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career or a new relationship? New career, but I don't particularly want either option.
26.How old are you? 28.
27. Do you have a go to person? I have two.
28. Are you where you want to be in life? I'm getting closer than ever before.
29. Growing up, what were your favorite cartoons? The Real Ghostbusters was a biggie. The original three Nicktoons were kind of a big deal too. The Simpsons, of course, steered my generation like no other television show.
30. What about you do you think has changed the most? I'm less miserable.
31. Looking back at high school were they the best years of your life? Oh no. No, I still have massive nightmares and guilt.
32. Are there times you still feel like a kid? Yes.
33. Did you ever own troll dolls? I had one. It had blue hair and it came holding a sign of some kind. I pried the sign out of its hand so it then had an open palm that was just the right size for action figure accessories like Ninja Turtle Leonardo's sword (or "katana").
34. Did you have a pager? I never did. I remember them being a big deal my junior and senior year of high school. I never wanted one, but I didn't talk to anyone on the phone.
35. Where was the hang out spot when you were a teenager? If there was some kind of hangout spot, I was unaware of it. On nice days, I would ride my bike into the woods next to our house and read library books. That was my hangout spot.
36. Were you the type of kid you would want your children to hang out with? More yes than no. I could be a real sarcastic butthole, but I'm pretty sure I was polite to most people. With one or two exceptions, I like to think I had a lot of empathy for other people.
37. Who do you think affected your life the most? Ellen.
38. Was there a teacher or authority figure that stood out for you? I had a couple. Mrs. Cook, my second grade teacher, always made me feel really smart and in hindsight, I appreciate that. My sixth grade teacher Mr. Strauss taught me a lot about being a teacher, believe it or not... I'm a cut-rate Mr. Strauss impersonator on my good days in a classroom. My high school art teacher Mr. Chapin really encouraged my drawing comics. So those three especially.
39. Do you tell stories that start with “when I was your age”? I do not, but I'm looking forward to talking about "When I was your age, I would illegally download EVERYTHING off Napster..." or something like that.