Run for your lives! It's...

A mindlessly self-indulgent survey.

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
Dirty green rubber gardening gloves, an ice-cream tin full of pennies that I've been meaning to Coinstar into cash, a green HSU karate belt (which I forget to take to class if it's not left in the car), and a bendy figure of Gumby, who occupies the passenger seat ashtray. Lots of green objects.

2. When was the last time you threw up?
I got horrendous food poisoning from eating at the county fair in eighth grade, when I was about twelve. I think it was from some sort of an Italian pasta dish, because I couldn't eat pesto for years afterward.
If I was twelve then, I've gone through an entire decade absolutely vomit-free. That's pretty super-freak, considering that the last ten years encompassed both high school and college graduations, and my 21st birthday.

3. What's your favorite curse word?
The eff one. When I'm going for emphasis, I appreciate its staccato sound. And I find it more readily alliterative than other expletives.

4. Name one person who made you smile this morning?
Andy. He woke me up this morning by staring at me as I slept until I got a tingly sensation that I was being watched, and awakened. Then he fell back asleep, and later, during breakfast, denied the whole episode. I laughed at him for not remembering.

5. What were you doing at 8:00 this morning?
Dreaming about starting a college radio show; nightmaring about the kinds of pretentious weirdos that I might meet when I apply. They'll probably be cool people though, really.

6. Favorite sports team?
Corvallis Karate Dojo! We meet in the back of a Corvallis music shop, in a room lined with guitar and ukulele cases. We're an unorthodox motley crew--an underground rebel alliance fighting against the evil empire of the nit-picky and nastily exclusive Corvallis Shotokan Karate Society, or whatever they prefer to call themselves.

7. If you could marry any celebrity today who would it be?
By appearances and presence alone, I would go for the fiddle player from Amadan (a local and increasingly popular Celtic punk/trad band). Chad Marks-Fife is an exquisite musician who pretty much fits my complete definition of male beauty. I like his hair and his smile and the way that he dances and the shoes that he wears; he is visual perfection.
But don't tell my boyfriend.

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
No, although god knows Springfield offers plenty of opportunities.

9. Have you ever known someone that killed another person?
Distantly.

12. What are you wearing right now?
A sky blue camisole threaded with velvet ribbons, under a frosting pink stretchy surplice covered in vintage-looking roses, with skinnies and a pair of bizarre multicolored pastel sandals circa 1987. All via clothing exchange or thrift. Clothes are my one material addiction--unoriginal and pathetic, perhaps, but true.

13. Last food you ate?
Nachos with Tillamook cheddar, beans, and fresh salsa. It was too hot to eat anything else.

14. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?
Perfect black patent leather skimmers and aforementioned pastel 80's sandals from Goodwill (thoroughly disinfected); clear jellies from Target for $2.50; four secondhand camisoles/tanks/surplices; one cute little black strappy dress for attending graudation and weddings. I had to do some shopping because I'm without very many decent summer clothes. Usually I have gnarly jobs in the summer, like firefighting or landscaping, which don't afford any opportunity to dress up. This summer I'll be in school instead, so it's time to get a little more girly.

15. When was the last time you ran?
Last week, but it wasn't on purpose. I burned myself out on running in high school. Now I practice karate instead.

16. What's the last sporting event you watched?
Beaver baseball in Corvallis, about three weeks ago.

17. Last movie you saw?
Marie Antoinette. It made me want to eat mass amounts of cake and change my entire wardrobe. Sonofabitch.

18. Who is the last person you sent a message on Myspace to?
No Myspace. I boycott it. This stupid blog is self-indulgent enough, I think... abundantly so...

19. Ever go camping?
Yes. Every great affordable roadtrip you'll ever go on requires that you camp at least 50% of the time. I camp a lot while I'm on the road, bottle of whiskey, paperback book, and barbecued corn at hand.

20. Were you ever an honor roll student in school?
Most of high school, and all except two terms of college. Obsessive compulsive?

21. Do you like sushi?
I love how it looks and how it's packaged with the fluorescent pink ginger and the kitschy plastic grass, but it tastes too much like the Newport bayfront to be enjoyable to me. When you grow up on the Oregon coast, you're wrecked for seafood--for life.

22. Do you have a tan?
I get pink, freckle, and fade out again. Very western European.

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
No. I like it semi-warm and straight from the can...
Unless the straw is twizzly, in which case I can't resist.

26. Are you someone's best friend?
Mhmm.

29. What color is your watch?
I don't have a watch--when I wear one I feel enslaved by civilization, so instead, I'm just perpetually late.

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia?
An artist I know in Melbourne. Stands of eucalyptus trees. The dead horse that Andy and Chris had to drag into a creek to feed to some crocodiles. Multitudes of marsupials.

32. Ever ridden on a roller coaster?
Yes, and if there were any substantial ones within 300 miles of where I live, I'd go and ride on a regular basis just to have a cathartic little-kiddish freakout of happy feelings. I love them.

33. What is your birth stone?
It's an opal. In comparison to other birthstones, it's hideous. I don't typically wear any jewelry though, so it doesn't matter.

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive-thru?
The only fast food joint I actually walk into is Muchas Gracias, this semi-sketchy, super greasy little Mexican food place in downtown Eugene. Otherwise I either don't go, or order from the passenger seat while Andy's behind the wheel. Fast food rarely seems worth it. I'd rather eat an apple.

35. What is your favorite number?
Nine (9). I also like seven (7) and fifteen (15). For reasons of my own.

36. Do you have a dog?
I want a dog in the same way that most women my age and older want children. I'm waiting until I have a house with a yard, and then I'll adopt some sort of a mutt or a greyhound.

44. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
Lack of money. But I can't really be all that annoyed, since I don't, you know, have a job, and am not actively on the search for employment.
Yeah.

46. Are you allergic to anything?
Sometimes sunshine gives me itchy little hives on the backs of my hands.
I blame it on my Scottish roots. My body seems to find decent weather most unnatural.

47. Favorite shoes that you wear all the time?
Brown and black striped distressed leather slip-ons. A bit unfeminine, but I love them.

48. What is one thing you've learned about life recently?
Idiocy will out.
I know I'm supposed to say something diplomatic and wise, but nothing comes to mind at the moment.

49. Are you jealous of anyone?
No.

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
Nope.

51. Do you have an ipod?
His name is Little Jesus. He is a 20 GB 4th generation ipod, several years old, and he came back from the dead, completely restoring my faith in modern technology.

52. Do any of your friends have children?
Yep. In fact, some of my friends are the children of other friends that I met beforehand. It's a strange deal.

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
No.

58. How tall are you?
About five feet five inches--average height for an American woman. Most people still say that I'm short, but I think it's because I have little-girl shoulders and arms.

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
Alas, no.

60. How did you get one of your scars?
A piece of coral sliced a few long razor-cuts into the skin next to my knee, somewhere off the shore of Kauai. It actually bled a lot while I was snorkeling, and I was a bit worried that I'd become shark-bait.