ah, boredom
1. What was the first car your family had?
Er. Don't remember. I know my parents have mentioned a VW Rabbit, but I'm not sure if that was before I was born or not.
2. What was the name of your first pet and why?
Mary the goldfish was the first pet we bought. Previously, we had inherited two other goldfish, Charles and...another one. When the other one died, we bought Mary to keep Charles company. She had a nice traditional human name because I wanted her to fit in with Charles. But she turned out to be vindictive and cannibalistic, and once she terrorized Charles into an early grave, she proceeded to EAT the next two goldfish we added to the fishbowl. Vicious little fishie.
3. What did you want to be when you grew up?
Lots of things. The longest-lasting desire was to be a teacher.
4. What was the name of your elementary school?
The United Nations International School. It was run by the U.N. and most of my classmates were the children of diplomats and whatnot. Very multicultural.
5. Who was your first best friend?
Miyoko Brunner, in preschool.
6. Are you still friends today, and if not, what happened?
No. We went to different schools, and eventually grew apart.
7. What was your favorite board game?
'Life', probably. I loved to make up stories about the little blue and pink peg-people and pretended they lived with their brightly colored cars in the white plastic houses after the game was done.
8. Did you play house or other make believe games?
I lived in a wonderful imaginary world. I was an only child, and I was very good at keeping myself entertained.
9. Were you a Dungeons and Dragons geek?
Nope. I was a nerd, but for some reason I never saw the appeal of D&D.
10. Did you sleep with stuffed animals as a kid?
Tons of them.
11. Do you still sleep with stuffed animals?
Depends. When I'm on my own, like here in Dublin, then yes, I have my two trusty stuffed animals. Under better circumstances, my boyfriend is my stuffed animal.
12. Who was the first person you looked up to when you were younger?
No idea.
13. Who was your favorite relative?
When I was little, my maternal grandmother. She was, like, the ideal grandmother. Now, she's got Alzheimer's and doesn't remember my name, which makes all of my childhood memories of her somewhat bittersweet.
14. Were you short or tall in elementary school?
Short. Quite short. Never the shortest person in the class, but always pretty darn close.
15. Were you teased in school?
Yes, a bit. My 5th and 6th grade nickname was "Fat Pig With Glasses," a particularly clever nickname thought up by a most astutely intellectual classmate of mine. But for the most part, while I was certainly never popular, I was mostly just ignored, not taunted.
16. What was the name of your favorite teacher?
I adored my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Scullin.
17. What was the name of your least favorite teacher?
In elementary school, Mrs. Centenera, because she was very strict. I didn't hate her, but she was definitely my least favorite.
18. What was your best subject in school?
I was quite good at Math until calculus. Actually, I was pretty good at just about everything, even the classes I didn't like.
19. What was your worst subject in school?
The various sciences, I guess. I certainly disliked them the most, although I did reasonably well until Senior Slump hit.
20. Did you do well in Physical Education?
I'm terrible at PE, but since we weren't graded on ability -- just attendance and willingness to try -- grade-wise, I did fine.
21. Were you clumsy when you were younger?
Yeah, a bit. Still am. I wrote my college application essay on being a klutz, it was quite amusing.
22. Who was your favorite band as a kid?
The Beatles.
23. What was your favorite movie as a kid?
I loved movies, but I don't know that I had a particular favorite for any length of time. "The Land Before Time" was a good one for a while.
24. Did your parents read to you?
Yeah, my mom read to me constantly, well past the age when I could read fine on my own. I liked that.
25. Did you have a favorite book?
Hundreds. I read just about anything, over and over and over.
26. What was your favorite restaurant as a kid?
Oh, probably McDonald's. Now I can't stand it, but there you go.
27. What TV or movie star did you have a crush on?
Didn't really do the celebrity crush thing until I was in high school. I guess I had a bit of a thing for Nicholas Lea (X-Files' Krycek) by the time I hit puberty.
28. Do you now wonder what you were thinking?
Not at all, he's still gorgeous.
29. Who was your first crush in school?
Oh, Cale Basaraba, the blond-haired, blue-eyed, second-grade love of my life. We had the same birthday. I idolized him.
30. As a child, what kind of car did you want when you grew up?
Didn't care about cars. Still don't. Hell, I'm twenty years old and I still haven't learned how to drive. Growing up in the heart of downtown NYC does that to you -- cars just seem so unnecessary.
31. Did your parents spank you?
Never. Yell, yes. Hit, no.
32. Did your parents fight a lot when you were a kid?
They always squabble and bicker, but nothing major. I think they enjoy it.
33. Did your parents get divorced or stay married?
No, they've been together for 31 years now.
34. If they got divorced, how old were you when it happened?
n/a
35. Did you ever run away from home?
Not that I can remember, no.
36. How old were you when/if you first got glasses?
Eight. I hated them. I got contacts as soon as my parents would allow it, when I was 14. Nowadays, I wear my glasses a lot more often. Possibly because I finally have frames that I look good in, as opposed to the ginormous horrors of grade school.
37. Did you need braces or a retainer?
Yeah, I had both for a few years.
38. If you're male, how old were you when you had your first wet dream?
n/a
39. Both sexes when did you start shaving?
Probably when I was about 13, although very irregularly for a while.
40. Girls when did you start wearing a bra?
Sixth grade, I think.
41. What was your first kiss like?
Oh, god, I was a week shy of my 17th birthday and terrified by my lack of experience. When he unexpectedly stuck his tongue in, I started laughing and had to push him away.
42. What did you do on your first date?
I was...just fifteen, I think. McDonald's and then went to the movie "Chicken Run".
43. How old were you when you first drank?
I tasted alcohol when I was fairly young, but I didn't really drink until I was sixteen.
44. Where was your first house?
A largish apartment in downtown NYC, just a few blocks away from where my parents live now..
In other news, the boyfriend just e-mailed me saying that flights to Dublin are too expensive this time of year, and anyway I'm visiting him over winter break, so he won't be coming out to visit me until next term. Which means that instead of seeing him on Dec. 9, the way I'd hoped, I won't see him again until after Christmas.
I think a small part of me just died a little. Fuck. Logically, I realize that it's only an extra three weeks, but I was really, really looking forward to seeing him again. And it meant we'd have spent two full weeks together over winter break, one at the beginning and one at the end, and now it'll only be one. One week with the boyfriend out of the past fifteen. Christ. I can understand the too-expensive thing, but part of me really hates him for this.