A meme from RachelTheWise to which I never responded, and an email from Syndey which I've decided to make a meme, ha-ha.

From RachelTheWise:

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Appearance

[x] I am shorter than 5'4.
[x] I think I'm ugly sometimes.

[x] But I also think I'm incredibly gorgeous sometimes.
[ ] I tan easily.
[ ] I have a tattoo.

[ ] I have many scars.
[x] I've had braces or a retainer.
[x] I wear glasses or contacts.

[x] I would get plastic surgery if it were 100% safe, free of cost, and scar-free.
[x] I've been told I'm attractive by a complete stranger. [But he was drunk.

And sketch.]
[x] I have more than 2 piercings. [I mean, if you count each ear separately.

]
[x] I have piercings in places besides my ears.
[x] I have freckles. [Which are fading, because Christmas break was ways ago.

]

Family/Home Life

[x] I've sworn at my parents.
[ ] I've run away from home.
[ ] I've been kicked out of the house.

[ ] I have a sibling less than one year old.
[x] I want to have kids/more kids someday.
[ ] I have a child or a step-child.

[ ] I've lost a child.

School/Work

[x] I'm in school.
[ ] I have a job.

[x] I've fallen asleep at work/school.
[x] I almost always do my homework.
[ ] I've missed a week or more of school.

[x] I've been on the Honor Roll/Deans list within the last 2 years.
[x] I failed more than 1 class last year.
[ ] I've stolen something from my job.

[ ] I've been fired.

Embarrassment

[ ] I've slipped out a "lol" in a spoken conversation.
[ ] Disney movies still make me cry.

[ ] I've peed from laughing.
[x] I've snorted while laughing.
[x] I've laughed so hard I've cried.

[x] I've glued my hand to something
[x] I've laughed till some kind of beverage came out of my nose. [RachelTheWise, I am looking at *you.* And the orange juice is *burning.

*]
[ ] I've had my pants rip in public

Health

[ ] I have a disease/impairment.
[ ] I've gotten stitches.
[ ] I've broken a bone.

[ ] I've had my tonsils removed.
[ ] I've sat in a doctor’s office with a friend.
[x] I've had my wisdom teeth removed.

[ ] I had a serious surgery.
[x] I've had chicken pox.

Traveling

[x] I've driven over 200 miles in one day.

[x] I've been on a plane.
[x] I've been to Canada.
[x] I've been to Mexico.

[ ] I've been to Niagara Falls.
[ ] I've been to Japan.
[ ] I've celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

[x] I've been to Europe.
[ ] I've been to Africa.

Experiences

[x] I've gotten lost in my city.

[x] I've seen a shooting star.
[x] I've wished on a shooting star.
[ ] I've seen a meteor shower.

[x] I've gone out in public in my pajamas. [We need to define “public,” I think.]
[x] I've pushed all the buttons on an elevator.

[Because it was *not moving.*]
[x] I've kicked a guy where it hurts.
[x] I've been to a casino.

[On cruise ships. Which barely count.]
[ ] I've been skydiving.

[ ] I've gone skinny dipping.
[x] I've played spin the bottle.
[ ] I've drank a whole gallon of milk in one hour.

[ ] I've crashed a car.
[x] I've been snow skiing or water skiing.
[x] I've been in a play.

[Not since summer camp.]
[x] I've met someone in person from the internet.
[x] I've caught a snowflake on my tongue.

[ ] I've seen the Northern Lights.
[x] I've sat on a roof top at night. [In Rome, when I snuck onto the top of the and looked out over the eternal city, and it was silent, and I was alone but for the statues.

]
[x] I've played chicken.
[x] I've played a prank on someone.
[x] I've ridden in a taxi.

[x] I've seen the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
[x] I've eaten sushi.
[ ] I've been snowboarding.

Relationships

[x] I'm single
[ ] I'm in a relationship.
[ ] I'm engaged.
[ ] I'm married.

[x] I've gone on a blind date.
[x] I've been the dumpee more than the dumper.
[ ] I miss someone right now.

[ ] I have a fear of abandonment.
[ ] I've cheated in a relationship.
[ ] I've gotten divorced
[x] I've had feelings for someone who didn't have them back.

[x] I've told someone I loved him/her when I didn't.
[ ] I've told someone I didn't love him/her when I did.
[x] I've kept something from a past relationship.

[Books! Don’t count!]

Sexuality

[ ] I've had a crush on someone of the same sex
[x] I've had a crush on a teacher.

[x] I am a cuddler.
[ ] I've been kissed in the rain.
[ ] I've hugged a stranger.

[x] I have kissed a stranger.
[x] I have made out with a stranger.

Honesty/Crime

[x] I've done something I promised someone else I wouldn't
[x] I've done something I promised myself I wouldn't.

[ ] I've snuck out of my house.
[ ] I have lied to my parents about where I am.
[ ] I am keeping a secret from the world
[ ] I've cheated while playing a game.

[x] I've cheated on a test.
[x] I've run a red light.
[ ] I've been suspended from school.

[x] I've witnessed a crime.
[ ] I've been in a fist fight.
[ ] I've been arrested.

[ ] I've shoplifted.

Drugs/Alcohol

[x] I've consumed alcohol.
[x] I regularly drink.

[ ] I've passed out from drinking.
[ ] I have passed out drunk at least once in the past 6 months.
[x] I've smoked weed
[ ] I've taken painkillers when I didn't need them.

[ ] I've eaten shrooms.
[ ] I've popped E.
[ ] I've inhaled Nitrous.

[ ] I've done hard drugs.
[ ] I have cough drops when I'm not sick.
[ ] I can't swallow pills.

[ ] I can swallow about 5 pills at a time no problem
[ ] I have been diagnosed with clinical depression.
[ ] I shut others out when I'm depressed.
[ ] I take anti-depressants.

[ ] I'm anorexic or bulimic.
[ ] I've slept an entire day when I didn't need it.
[ ] I've hurt myself on purpose.

[ ] I'm addicted to self harm.
[ ] I've woken up crying.

Death and Suicide

[ ] I'm afraid of dying.

[ ] I hate funerals. [Actually, my dad’s mother’s funeral was really fun. My parents rented a car, picked up Dean and me from Manhattan, and we all drove out to Long Island and had lunch at a diner before the service.

We sat at the formica in our fancy clothes and wolfed down delicious, delicious greasy-spoon food while telling terrible jokes.]
[ ] I've seen someone dying.
[x] Someone close to me has attempted suicide.

[ ] Someone close to me has committed suicide.
[ ] I've planned my own suicide.
[ ] I've attempted suicide.

[ ] I've written a eulogy for myself.

Materialism

[ ] I own over 5 rap CDs.
[x] I own an iPod or MP3 player.

[ ] I have an unhealthy obsession with anime/manga.
[ ] I own multiple designer purses, costing over $100 a piece.
[ ] I own something from Hot Topic.

[ ] I own something from Pac Sun.
[ ] I collect comic books.
[x] I own something from The Gap.

[x] I own something I got on e-bay.
[ ] I own something from Abercrombie.

Random

[ ] I can sing well.

[ ] I've stolen a tray from a fast food restaurant.
[ ] I open up to others easily.
[ ] I watch the news.

[ ] I don't kill bugs.
[ ] I hate hearing songs that sacrifice meaning for the sake of being able to rhyme.
[x] I curse regularly.

[x] I sing in the shower.
[ ] I am a morning person.
[ ] I paid for my cell phone ring tone.

[x] I'm a snob about grammar.
[ ] I am a sports fanatic.
[ ] I have x's in my screen name
[x] I love being neat
[ ] I love Spam
[ ] I've copied more than 30 CD's in a day
[x] I bake well.

[x] My favorite color is either white, yellow, pink, red or blue
[ ] I would wear pajamas to school.
[ ] I like Martha Stewart.
[ ] I know how to shoot a gun.

[ ] I am in love with love.
[ ] I am guilty of tYpInG lIkE tHiS.
[x] I laugh at my own jokes.

[ ] I eat fast food weekly.
[ ] I believe in ghosts.
[ ] I am online 24/7, even as an away message.

[ ] I've not turned anything in and still got an A in a certain class.
[ ] I can't sleep if there is a spider in the room.
[x] I am really ticklish.

[x] I love white chocolate
[ ] I bite my nails.
[ ] I play video games.
[ ] I'm good at remembering faces.

[ ] I'm good at remembering names
[ ] I'm good at remembering dates.
[ ] I have no idea what I want to do for the rest of my life.

[x] My answers are totally honest.

[Except for the asides in the brackets.]
1. What time did you get up this morning? 9:30, because it’s Sunday.

Tomorrow, I will get up at 5:30.
2. Diamonds or pearls?

Diamonds. I’m not anti-pearl, but diamonds go with everything, and , you can use your jewelry to make your escape.
3.

What was the last film you saw at the cinema? [The cinema? Where did this forward come from?

] . At , and props to Mike for knowing that it existed.

4.

What is your favorite TV show? In order of the ones I see most regularly: House, Daily Show, Colbert Report, South Park, Simpsons, Family Guy, Reno 911, Chapelle’s Show (sniff), Futurama, Drawn Together, Ali G, Larry David.

5.

What did you have for breakfast? An apple. Then, later, another one.

I'm kinda addicted to apples.

6. What is your middle name?

Joelle.
7. What is your favorite cuisine?

Italian, probably, though I am mighty fine of Chinese (No one can out-eat me in a Chinese restaurant. NO ONE.) and Mexican.

8. What foods do you dislike? Nuts and peanuts (and their associated sauces, oils, and particulate matter) make me violently, allergically ill.

Also, I hate Peeps. They taste like sand.

9.

What is your favorite chip? Tortilla chips, with or without guacamole and sour cream and cheese and refried beans and sometimes that layer dip with meat on the bottom, oh god.

10.

What is your favorite CD at the moment? You mean, like, a whole album? I generally don’t, um, “purchase” whole albums.

11. What is your favorite sandwich? Poppy-seed bagel, cream cheese, lox, onion, tomato, and chives.

Or a reuben (corned beef and swiss on rye). Or a panino (that means squished and grilled in an honest-to-god panino grill, not on a frying pan) of crusty bread (with olives or onions is good), ham, and brie.

12.

Favorite item of clothing? My new H M stuff is cute; I have this pair of black pants that makes my ass all badunka-dunk, but no excuse to wear them.

13.

If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Rome, and, uh, the rest of Italy.

[What.

.. happened to 14 and 15?

Anyone?]

16. What color is your bathroom?

White, with some gray tiling patterns, and the sink is a sort of 70s tan and white, with slowly-disintegrating wood underneath.

17. Favorite brand of clothing?

H M for almost everything, though I often have to jump up several sizes, and I am always telling myself “It’s because the company is European,” which may not be true. Oooh, and Express. Their jeans *also* make my butt all badunka-dunk.

18. Where would you want to retire to? The beach, somewhere that is not Florida, and offers swimming and snorkeling (which are sometimes mutually exclusive, due to ouchy-coral), and maybe surfing, because I totally want to learn someday.

And my town will be quaint but also well-stocked with gourmet foods, and I will ride my bike or walk everywhere. And occasionally I will get on a plane to Manhattan or Rome, and spend days wandering the cities and eating bagels or pastries, depending, and drinking the tap water.

19.

Favorite time of day? Evenings, when I’m most awake, done with the gym and school and pants.

22.

Who do you least expect to send this back? No one’s really sending it… but y’all are welcome to post. We’ll make it a “meme,” ’kay?

23. Person you expect to send it back first? Right, clearly you were not listening.

24. What type of detergent do you use? Usually Tide or Cheer, the unscented kind.

25. Coke or Pepsi? I don’t really drink soda, though recently in honor of my mom, I had a at a deli, and omygod, it might be love.

But you can’t get Dr. Brown’s anywhere except delis, apparently, so I’m set.

26.

Are you a morning person or night owl? Night night night.

27.

What size shoe do you wear? 7.5 AA, or 8.

5 AA running sneakers. The “AA” is tricky; I can list, on one hand, the stores that carry narrow in every city I’ve lived in.

28.

Do you have pets? No, but someday I’d like a dog to take jogging with me. A big, non-shedding dog.

Perhaps a standard poodle – German shepherd hybrid. Do they make those? [Omygod, !

WANT ONE! WANT ONE NOW!]

29.

Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? I’m becoming a man! No, no wait.

30. What did you want to be when you were little? A nurse, and then a doctor, once I found out that women could be doctors, too.

And maybe an artist, until Mom told me that they didn’t make any money, at least until they were dead. Oh, and Jane Goodall.

31.

Favorite Candy Bar ? ; they’re one of the few candy bars I can eat because of the nuts thing. Most candy bars, even the ones without nuts, have big warnings on the back, like “MADE IN A FACTORY WHERE NUT PARTICULATE MATTER MAY HAVE WAFTED OVER FROM THE NEXT CONVEYOR BELT, AND IF YOU EAT THIS AND DIE YOUR FAMILY CAN’T SUE, HA HA HA BEEYOTCH.

” I really did like the one (1) Kit-Kat I’ve ever had, though. It was in India, and there was no warning on the back, though come to think of it, there were very rarely warnings on *anything* in India, because, hey, it's got enough people to let natural selection take its course.

32.

What is your best childhood memory? Climbing the jetty with Grandpa at Manhattan Beach. And making drip-castles.

And learning that Jews were, in fact, allowed to lie down on towels in the sand, because I was always convinced that that was one of those things Jews “just didn’t do,” like drawing on themselves, because my family *always* brought beach chairs to the water, and one day I finally gathered up my courage to ask back-handedly whether I could lie down, and Grandma said sure and gave me a towel, and I was all “Boo-YA!” because Jews can be normal, too.

33.

What are the different jobs you have had in your life? Warehouse order-fetcher and boxer, lifeguard, hospital volunteer (those three in the same summer), secretary, camp counselor. And I once sold my face for science.

(Someone in my dorm needed pictures of female expressions for a study.)

34. What color underwear are you wearing?

.

36. Piercing?

Ears, navel.

37. Eye color?

Brown, though lately in some photos my eyes have been looking greener. Weird.

39.

Ever been toilet papered? Actually, when I was a camp counselor, we did have “messy counselor” activity, where the kids covered us in TP and shaving cream. And maybe toothepaste.

40. Love someone so much it made you cry? … I never cry.

NO, REALLY.

41. Been in a car accident?

Let’s see. I was hit by a car crossing the Midway in Chicago, but the guy had slowed to turn and I wasn’t hurt, just sort of shell-shocked, and he drove away without saying anything, and I threw my banana peel at his back window. Oh, and I hit this car’s mirror with my mirror in traffic in Chicago, and the driver flipped out on me (thank goodness BoSox was there), and I called the cops who were all like “Um, you handle it, ’kay?

” and we exchanged information (“Why do you need MY information?” said the girl, and I said “Because you’re… getting mine?”) and then she never filed, because, oh, wait, you could RUB the SCUFF MARK off her mirror WITH A FINGER.

I actually did the same thing, much later, to another guy’s mirror, and he shrugged and adjusted it and nodded and smiled, and I thanked god, but apparently not enough, because then later still (not that day, I mean), I was parallel-parking, touched (gently, like you would touch a baby) the car behind me, and the woman who owned the car happened to be RIGHT THERE and started yelling, and I was all “That’s what bumpers are for!” which pissed her and her VERY LARGE husband off a lot, and had I been a smarter person I would’ve just driven away, instead of waiting while they called the cops (who undoubtedly were like “Um, you handle it, ’kay?”) and then were lucky enough to flag down a passing patrol car, instead of, um, waiting for all eternity, while chewing me out for driving with GA plates in IL, which, omygod, you people live in a COLLEGE NEIGHBORHOOD, HAVE YOU NEVER SEEN OUT OF TOWN PLATES?

But anyway I should’ve just driven away, because this other time I forgot about, some guy pulled out of a parking space, hit my car, and drove off, and even though I got his plate number, I couldn’t get him for hit and run and the *actual* damage he caused to the side of my car, because I couldn’t have IDed him in court.
42. Croutons or bacon bits?

BACON.

43. Favorite day of the week?

Fridays are good; most social stuff happens on Fridays, and then I tend to sleep through, and regret wasting, Saturdays. Sundays aren’t even worth mentioning.

44.

Favorite restaurant? Man. I’ll send you an email.

No, seriously. I have many favorites, in many cities, except Atlanta, where the good places just keep closing, because the idea of a non-chain restaurant does not compute with the slack-jawed yokels.

45.

Favorite flower? , for sentimental reasons: When I was a wee thing in NY, I had a secret hiding place (I read The Secret Garden, and it seemed like a good idea.) behind my family’s azalea bushes, up against the house, and lily of the valley bloomed for maybe a week every spring.

Of course, it’d be mighty hard to make a bouquet out of lily of the valley (though you can make a ). Regular lilies might work, but they’re the same thing.

46.

Favorite ice cream? Chocolate chip cookie dough, generally. Or strawberry cheese cake, but only the kind with actual chewy bits of graham-cracker crust.

(I like chewy bits in my ice cream, and my candy bars. It's a theme, I'd say.) If it’s gelato, though, banana and mascarpone.

47. Disney or Warner? Pixar?

48. Favorite fast food restaurant? I guess the Burger King in the C Terminal of Philadelphia’s airport.

I get a salad there, and then I wait for my flight to board. And then I go home.

49.

What color is your bedroom carpet? Hardwood. It’d be decent hardwood, too, if this building didn’t throw down a coat of shellac after every tenant without sanding, or at least sweeping, first.

50. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None; I got a 79, and I needed a 75.

51. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Can’t remember.

Check email too often.

52. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card?

Um, if I had a new apartment, Ikea… As things stand, I would probably get a load of food from Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s or or Reading Terminal or, wait, , and then throw one kick-ass dinner party.

53. What do you do most often when you are bored?

Wander the internet. Blog.

55.

Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire? Actually, I’m just doing this for myself. But you guys can counter-post if you like.

56. Last person you went out to eat with? Well, I ate with everyone at med school prom, but I guess Kena and Dan and Igor were closest.

Before them, um, Mike, and before him, Revi and Tamara. Look at how social I’ve become!

58.

What are you listening to right now? The radiator. Thank goodness I don’t pay for heat.

Except as "rent," which doesn't count.

61. How many tattoos do you have?

0. I can’t think of any design I’d really want permanently on my skin.

62.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? The egg, doy. Chickens came from dinosaurs, dinosaurs from fishes, fishes from eggs.

The question should really be “Which came first, the *fish* or the egg?”

63. How many people are you sending this email to?

None.

64. Time you finished this e-mail?

8:21 PM.
Compact like a Fiat, twisted like a pretzel, marbled like a ribeye, blunt like a murder weapon. Former classics major and sorority girl.

Now a med student in Philadelphia, muddling my way through second year and trying not to let it get to me. Northeast (Oceanside, NY) to Southeast (Atlanta) to Midwest (Chicago) to Northeast again. Know me in real life?

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