the longest survey you will ever see
the longest survey you will ever see
Twenty Favorite Things:
...Sleep. Sleeping that perfect amount several days in a row resulting in waking up naturally with no alarm and falling asleep easily the next night. I've had this so rarely in life that it is an absolute treasure.
...The look of delight on my niece's face when she sees me, followed by the immediate demand that we get down to business and start playing. Right along with it is the calm little grin that my nephew has.
...Driving long distances (more than 300 miles). There's something about the moving right along, the road noise in my vehicle, the opportunity to listen to music I haven't heard in ages, and conversation if there's someone with me that is calming to my very soul. Thinking and being silent is sometimes hard, even with living alone.
...Concerts, but only the smaller kind where it's not a crazy huge venue and there's around four bands playing. I want to be able to bump into the artists before or after their set and chat while buying merchandise.
...Music in general. If I had to go to boot camp or some remote island or whatever, that's what I would crave. It's not even a particular type when it comes down to it.
...Going to the movies, especially when there's popcorn and soda involved. The best movies are the ones that instigate good conversations later, but as long as it's basically well written and well executed, I'm a happy girl. I’ll go by myself except on Friday and Saturday nights because as fiercely independent as I am, I feel like a loser going out by myself on those nights.
...Reading amazing books. The kind that suck you in and make you forget what's going on in your life and the world around you. The kind you want everyone to read and are surprised they haven't.
...Reading blogs. It is better when I actually know the people but I have to admit that two of my very favorite blogs ever are written by people I've never met and probably never will. I can't really pinpoint my fascination with blogs exactly other to say than I just like different perspectives on things.
...Having a really good meal. The kind that takes hours because you’re so engrossed in conversation and having appetizers, the meal, and dessert that you don’t even realize where the time has gone. It’s best when it’s either so familiar everything tastes like home or it’s things you’ve never tried before. It doesn’t have to be in a restaurant but the plus there is you don’t have to do the dishes later.
...Being at the beach. Sitting on the sand and smelling the salty air, letting the sun warm my soul, people watching or journaling or standing and letting the waves crash on my legs, well, it’s just all good. It is such a great thinking spot for me but unusual in it is as equally a good spot to hang out with other people too.
...Sitting in my apartment with someone I really care about that also cares about me. We can be watching a movie or otherwise not even talking to each other, but just having someone else there is such a delight to me.
...Presents. This has a really broad definition in my life. Notes, cards, actual gifts, anything you leave for me and give me in some type of “Hey I thought of you” way is another absolute delight to me. I hold on to things other people think are dumb because I never know when I’m going to need a smile.
...Steaming milk and creating amazing foam. My job isn’t difficult at all, but not everyone can handle it. And not everyone can make good foam. I rarely get to just be on bar making drinks so when I do, I always appreciate the opportunity to just be good at it. And good foam? It totally makes a difference.
Sixteen Favorite Movies:
…Sliding Doors
…Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
…High Fidelity
…Garden State
…A League of Their Own
…Fight Club
…Proof
…Notting Hill
…Sneakers
…Good Will Hunting
…10 Things I Hate About You
…Labrynth
…Amelie
…Monsters Inc.
…Magnolia
…The Village
Fifteen Things I Love:
...My family.
...My friends.
...Being at the beach
…Rocking a baby I love to sleep
…Ridiculously late night conversations. The best is sitting on a couch or something and leaning your head back because you’re too tired to hold it up anymore but still talking.
…People coming to visit me at work
…Notes, text messages, or emails telling me I’m being thought of or that I’m cared about. Short is fine as long as it is sweet as well
…The way my niece doesn’t cry when she gets scared, she goes to the nearest adult she trusts. It’s amazing to me that she already knows herself so well at such a young age.
…The way my nephew is so amazingly mellow but still has moments of sensitive artist’s soul. I’m looking forward to seeing what aspects of each he holds on to as he grows up.
…Being able to read people so well the vast majority of the time
…My computer, Blossom (get it? It’s an Apple?). It’s the most expensive purchase I’ve ever made and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever owned.
…My hair the vast majority of the time. It’s a sad day when I proclaim I hate my hair. We usually get along so well.
…That achey feeling you get after a really good workout
…When you’ve been working out so consistently that instead of hurting the next day, you just sweat a lot during your workout.
…The feeling of satisfaction that comes with accomplishing a goal.
Fourteen Things I Hate:
...Traffic. Ugh.
...Being interrupted, especially when I've let the other person talk without interrupting them
...Being ignored. It makes me fairly angry because I don't like other people making me feel stupid.
...Being lied to. Don’t insult my intelligence. I pay attention to things other people barely notice and I’m probably going to figure out rather quickly that you’ve lied to me. And just because I don’t mention it doesn’t mean I didn’t notice it. I’ve realized that there sometimes is no point to bringing it up.
…The way a lot of people treat retail workers. Being on the other side of the counter doesn’t accurately indicate intelligence. You don’t know if they’re working retail to earn money while working on their doctorate. You don’t know if they’re stuck there because it’s all they can handle. Don’t assume things.
…Really poorly written books.
…Chat slang. I use lol sometimes, I admit. But the shortening of words to letters and improper grammar is so ridiculous to me. I can’t handle it. It bothers me that there’s a whole generation that finds it so appropriate that major publishers are putting out Shakespeare and other classics in this retarded Internet speak.
…People who see they can help others out and don’t do it without having any kind of good reason.
…Being manipulated or used. Not that anyone likes it, but when it happens to me it really tears me up inside. I beat myself up over the idea that I should have seen it coming and gotten myself out of the situation.
…Pierce and the 91.
…When people ask me if I’m okay with my younger sister being married and having children while I’m so very single. I think I might just start saying “No, I’m not. I cry myself to sleep every night and I have trouble getting out of bed. In fact, can you excuse me?”
…That I am bitter and too cynical for my own good.
…Myself, sometimes. Aspects of myself. I see who I once was and I see who I could be and then I see who I am right now. There’s so many things I’m just not a fan of. I’m working on it, but I just started that and it’s going to be a process.
Thirteen Favorite Foods:
...Spicy tuna roll (well, sushi in general, but especially spicy tuna roll)
...Popcorn
...Burritos (not the frozen ones, the ones with like four ingredients that are just amazing and best eaten with limes)
...Tofu
...Pasta
...Cheesecake
...Really good salad with a lot of stuff in it but not necessarily a lot of dressing
...M&Ms, especially almond and peanut butter
...Edamame
...BBQ
...Tempura
...Curry
...Mild cheeses
Twelve Favorite Beverages:
...Ice water
...Iced tea, unsweetened
...Triple grande almond non-fat no foam lattes
...Cosmopolitan
...Pepsi
...Iced caramel machiatto with an extra shot for the size
...Vodka
...Vanilla Coke
...Orange juice from Trader Joe's
...Cran-apple juice
...Soy chocolate milk
...Coffee
Eleven Authors I Love:
...Barbara Kingsolver
...John Grisham
...Thomas Harris
...J.K. Rowling
...Candace Bushnell
...L.M. Montgomery
...Dr. Seuss
...Carole Radziwill
...Nick Hornby
...Chuck Palahniuk
...Megan McCafferty
Ten Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
...Fall madly and deeply in love with someone who feels the exact same way about me
...Spend a month in Europe (specific countries and timeline to be determined later)
...Spend a month in Africa (specific countries and timeline to be determined later)
...Learn another language fluently
...Spend the night on the beach
...Run in a marathon
...Live on the East Coast
...Write two books
...Have a blog with a wide readership
...Maybe have some babies
Nine Favorite Albums:
...self-titled by Sheryl Crow
...Live at Luthor College by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
...Pachelbel's Greatest Hit by Various Artists
...High Fidelity Soundtrack
...Christmas by Rebecca St. James
...So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter by Ani DiFranco
...Beautiful Lumps of Coal by Plumb
...self-titled by Lifehouse
...So Jealous by Tegan and Sara
Eight Things I Can't Do But I Wish I Could:
(but I’m determined to change)
...Be content in all circumstances.
...Have a long term committed dating relationship with potential to turn into marriage
...Keep a consistant work out schedule for more than three weeks at a time
...Not buy new music
...Be good at school
...Always just do things because I know they're the right thing to do even though no one is going to recognize it or take the time to do things like that for me
...Have a chunk of change in the bank. A serious chunk of change
...Know why I'm here, what I'm doing, and where I'm going.
Seven Guilty Pleasures:
...Watching The West Wing every chance I get when it's on Bravo.
...Alcohol
...Reading blogs written by people I totally don't know
...Staying in my pajamas for ridiculous amounts of time
...Falling asleep to Nick at Nite
...M&Ms, especially almond or peanut butter ones
...Staying up ridiculously late. It's even better (and guiltier perhaps) when it involves someone else and perhaps a Sex and the City or some type of movie marathon
Six Random Movie Quotes:
...Are you crying? There's no crying in baseball! --A League of Their Own
...I'm not a concept. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours. --Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
...I just want to read my book. --Sliding Doors
...If there's not anyone else out there, it seems like an awful waste of space. --Contact
...I'm singing! I'm in a store! I'm in a store and I'm singing! --Elf
...My voice is my passport. Verify me. --Sneakers
Five Favorite Places to Shop:
(I don’t have money for this, but if I did…)
...Anthropologie
...The Apple Store
...Target (I DO have money for this one)
...Barnes and Noble
...Sephora
Four Favorite Places to Eat:
...That one all you can eat sushi place on Van Buren that I always forget the name of.
...The Cheesecake Factory
…TGI Friday’s after 10 pm
...Toi's apartment
Three Television Shows I Love:
...The West Wing
...Alias
...Sex and the City
Two Things I Want More Than Anything:
...Peace
...Contentment
One Cause I Believe In
...Love
Twenty Favorite Things:
...Sleep. Sleeping that perfect amount several days in a row resulting in waking up naturally with no alarm and falling asleep easily the next night. I've had this so rarely in life that it is an absolute treasure.
...The look of delight on my niece's face when she sees me, followed by the immediate demand that we get down to business and start playing. Right along with it is the calm little grin that my nephew has.
...Driving long distances (more than 300 miles). There's something about the moving right along, the road noise in my vehicle, the opportunity to listen to music I haven't heard in ages, and conversation if there's someone with me that is calming to my very soul. Thinking and being silent is sometimes hard, even with living alone.
...Concerts, but only the smaller kind where it's not a crazy huge venue and there's around four bands playing. I want to be able to bump into the artists before or after their set and chat while buying merchandise.
...Music in general. If I had to go to boot camp or some remote island or whatever, that's what I would crave. It's not even a particular type when it comes down to it.
...Going to the movies, especially when there's popcorn and soda involved. The best movies are the ones that instigate good conversations later, but as long as it's basically well written and well executed, I'm a happy girl. I’ll go by myself except on Friday and Saturday nights because as fiercely independent as I am, I feel like a loser going out by myself on those nights.
...Reading amazing books. The kind that suck you in and make you forget what's going on in your life and the world around you. The kind you want everyone to read and are surprised they haven't.
...Reading blogs. It is better when I actually know the people but I have to admit that two of my very favorite blogs ever are written by people I've never met and probably never will. I can't really pinpoint my fascination with blogs exactly other to say than I just like different perspectives on things.
...Having a really good meal. The kind that takes hours because you’re so engrossed in conversation and having appetizers, the meal, and dessert that you don’t even realize where the time has gone. It’s best when it’s either so familiar everything tastes like home or it’s things you’ve never tried before. It doesn’t have to be in a restaurant but the plus there is you don’t have to do the dishes later.
...Being at the beach. Sitting on the sand and smelling the salty air, letting the sun warm my soul, people watching or journaling or standing and letting the waves crash on my legs, well, it’s just all good. It is such a great thinking spot for me but unusual in it is as equally a good spot to hang out with other people too.
...Sitting in my apartment with someone I really care about that also cares about me. We can be watching a movie or otherwise not even talking to each other, but just having someone else there is such a delight to me.
...Presents. This has a really broad definition in my life. Notes, cards, actual gifts, anything you leave for me and give me in some type of “Hey I thought of you” way is another absolute delight to me. I hold on to things other people think are dumb because I never know when I’m going to need a smile.
...Steaming milk and creating amazing foam. My job isn’t difficult at all, but not everyone can handle it. And not everyone can make good foam. I rarely get to just be on bar making drinks so when I do, I always appreciate the opportunity to just be good at it. And good foam? It totally makes a difference.
Sixteen Favorite Movies:
…Sliding Doors
…Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
…High Fidelity
…Garden State
…A League of Their Own
…Fight Club
…Proof
…Notting Hill
…Sneakers
…Good Will Hunting
…10 Things I Hate About You
…Labrynth
…Amelie
…Monsters Inc.
…Magnolia
…The Village
Fifteen Things I Love:
...My family.
...My friends.
...Being at the beach
…Rocking a baby I love to sleep
…Ridiculously late night conversations. The best is sitting on a couch or something and leaning your head back because you’re too tired to hold it up anymore but still talking.
…People coming to visit me at work
…Notes, text messages, or emails telling me I’m being thought of or that I’m cared about. Short is fine as long as it is sweet as well
…The way my niece doesn’t cry when she gets scared, she goes to the nearest adult she trusts. It’s amazing to me that she already knows herself so well at such a young age.
…The way my nephew is so amazingly mellow but still has moments of sensitive artist’s soul. I’m looking forward to seeing what aspects of each he holds on to as he grows up.
…Being able to read people so well the vast majority of the time
…My computer, Blossom (get it? It’s an Apple?). It’s the most expensive purchase I’ve ever made and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever owned.
…My hair the vast majority of the time. It’s a sad day when I proclaim I hate my hair. We usually get along so well.
…That achey feeling you get after a really good workout
…When you’ve been working out so consistently that instead of hurting the next day, you just sweat a lot during your workout.
…The feeling of satisfaction that comes with accomplishing a goal.
Fourteen Things I Hate:
...Traffic. Ugh.
...Being interrupted, especially when I've let the other person talk without interrupting them
...Being ignored. It makes me fairly angry because I don't like other people making me feel stupid.
...Being lied to. Don’t insult my intelligence. I pay attention to things other people barely notice and I’m probably going to figure out rather quickly that you’ve lied to me. And just because I don’t mention it doesn’t mean I didn’t notice it. I’ve realized that there sometimes is no point to bringing it up.
…The way a lot of people treat retail workers. Being on the other side of the counter doesn’t accurately indicate intelligence. You don’t know if they’re working retail to earn money while working on their doctorate. You don’t know if they’re stuck there because it’s all they can handle. Don’t assume things.
…Really poorly written books.
…Chat slang. I use lol sometimes, I admit. But the shortening of words to letters and improper grammar is so ridiculous to me. I can’t handle it. It bothers me that there’s a whole generation that finds it so appropriate that major publishers are putting out Shakespeare and other classics in this retarded Internet speak.
…People who see they can help others out and don’t do it without having any kind of good reason.
…Being manipulated or used. Not that anyone likes it, but when it happens to me it really tears me up inside. I beat myself up over the idea that I should have seen it coming and gotten myself out of the situation.
…Pierce and the 91.
…When people ask me if I’m okay with my younger sister being married and having children while I’m so very single. I think I might just start saying “No, I’m not. I cry myself to sleep every night and I have trouble getting out of bed. In fact, can you excuse me?”
…That I am bitter and too cynical for my own good.
…Myself, sometimes. Aspects of myself. I see who I once was and I see who I could be and then I see who I am right now. There’s so many things I’m just not a fan of. I’m working on it, but I just started that and it’s going to be a process.
Thirteen Favorite Foods:
...Spicy tuna roll (well, sushi in general, but especially spicy tuna roll)
...Popcorn
...Burritos (not the frozen ones, the ones with like four ingredients that are just amazing and best eaten with limes)
...Tofu
...Pasta
...Cheesecake
...Really good salad with a lot of stuff in it but not necessarily a lot of dressing
...M&Ms, especially almond and peanut butter
...Edamame
...BBQ
...Tempura
...Curry
...Mild cheeses
Twelve Favorite Beverages:
...Ice water
...Iced tea, unsweetened
...Triple grande almond non-fat no foam lattes
...Cosmopolitan
...Pepsi
...Iced caramel machiatto with an extra shot for the size
...Vodka
...Vanilla Coke
...Orange juice from Trader Joe's
...Cran-apple juice
...Soy chocolate milk
...Coffee
Eleven Authors I Love:
...Barbara Kingsolver
...John Grisham
...Thomas Harris
...J.K. Rowling
...Candace Bushnell
...L.M. Montgomery
...Dr. Seuss
...Carole Radziwill
...Nick Hornby
...Chuck Palahniuk
...Megan McCafferty
Ten Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
...Fall madly and deeply in love with someone who feels the exact same way about me
...Spend a month in Europe (specific countries and timeline to be determined later)
...Spend a month in Africa (specific countries and timeline to be determined later)
...Learn another language fluently
...Spend the night on the beach
...Run in a marathon
...Live on the East Coast
...Write two books
...Have a blog with a wide readership
...Maybe have some babies
Nine Favorite Albums:
...self-titled by Sheryl Crow
...Live at Luthor College by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds
...Pachelbel's Greatest Hit by Various Artists
...High Fidelity Soundtrack
...Christmas by Rebecca St. James
...So Much Shouting, So Much Laughter by Ani DiFranco
...Beautiful Lumps of Coal by Plumb
...self-titled by Lifehouse
...So Jealous by Tegan and Sara
Eight Things I Can't Do But I Wish I Could:
(but I’m determined to change)
...Be content in all circumstances.
...Have a long term committed dating relationship with potential to turn into marriage
...Keep a consistant work out schedule for more than three weeks at a time
...Not buy new music
...Be good at school
...Always just do things because I know they're the right thing to do even though no one is going to recognize it or take the time to do things like that for me
...Have a chunk of change in the bank. A serious chunk of change
...Know why I'm here, what I'm doing, and where I'm going.
Seven Guilty Pleasures:
...Watching The West Wing every chance I get when it's on Bravo.
...Alcohol
...Reading blogs written by people I totally don't know
...Staying in my pajamas for ridiculous amounts of time
...Falling asleep to Nick at Nite
...M&Ms, especially almond or peanut butter ones
...Staying up ridiculously late. It's even better (and guiltier perhaps) when it involves someone else and perhaps a Sex and the City or some type of movie marathon
Six Random Movie Quotes:
...Are you crying? There's no crying in baseball! --A League of Their Own
...I'm not a concept. Too many guys think I'm a concept or I complete them or I'm going to make them alive, but I'm just a fucked up girl who is looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours. --Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
...I just want to read my book. --Sliding Doors
...If there's not anyone else out there, it seems like an awful waste of space. --Contact
...I'm singing! I'm in a store! I'm in a store and I'm singing! --Elf
...My voice is my passport. Verify me. --Sneakers
Five Favorite Places to Shop:
(I don’t have money for this, but if I did…)
...Anthropologie
...The Apple Store
...Target (I DO have money for this one)
...Barnes and Noble
...Sephora
Four Favorite Places to Eat:
...That one all you can eat sushi place on Van Buren that I always forget the name of.
...The Cheesecake Factory
…TGI Friday’s after 10 pm
...Toi's apartment
Three Television Shows I Love:
...The West Wing
...Alias
...Sex and the City
Two Things I Want More Than Anything:
...Peace
...Contentment
One Cause I Believe In
...Love