I'm giving myself the Vanity Fair Proust questionnaire because I'm trying to jump start my blog as I've been absent for a while and the VFPQ is always the first thing I read when I get my VF in the mail (the first thing I read after I rip out all the perfume sample pages). I've always fantasized that someone would find me interesting enough to interview me with the VFPQ and this is my dream come true.
What is your current state of mind?
Thoughtful, I'm answering the PQ.
What is your greatest extravagance?
I love to shop the on-line jcrew sales, and most definitely foot wear is my greatest extravagance.
What is your greatest fear?
I'm not a huge worrier, so I don't have any great fears. Everyday I work with people whose lives have changed on a dime. One day they were strong, vital, employed, fiscally solvent, engaged people and then some injury or illness changed everything. I don't fear that happening, although it would totally suck if it did. I'm just sort of in awe of how capricious life is.
I do fear flat tires on the Swingley Road, especially this time of year.
What is the trait you deplore most in others
Bigotry. Any lack of kindness, courtesy, and/or respect for all beings.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Mindfulness.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I would be a successful practitioner of mindfulness.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
An awareness of his social position in our current social structure and a conscious refutation of that position.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Independence and voice.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Oh Shit!
Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to play music. Any instrument would do. I would just love to be able to pick up an instrument and make music come out.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
My husband and son and our extended families.
Where would you like to live?
I love where I live now. Many, many years ago when I was in graduate school at the University of Washington working under a fellowship grant for providing early intervention services in rural areas, my mom, unable to conceive of the idea that I might want to live anywhere other than Seattle, asked me where I was thinking of going when I finished school. At that time I dreamed of New Mexico, and I told her that I really wanted land and to live by a river. She looked at me incredulously as we were backing out of her garage at her fancy Laurelhurst condominium, and said "Where the hell did you come from?" So here I am, all these years later, living my dream life.
I've also fantasized about living in New Orleans (My best friend Vicki lives there and even post Katrina, NOLA holds a huge appeal) and the South of France (Grasse would be my first choice).
What is your favorite occupation?
Anything in the human services field. I have always and will always work with and for underserved and marginalized populations.
What is your most treasured possession?
A pearl necklace that belonged to my Gaggie (maternal grandmother) and then my mother, and a pair of matching pearl earrings given to me by my Mother-in-law. Also, all of my family photos, photo albums, Erlan's adoption portfolio, and a quilt that my mother started for Erlan right before she was diagnosed with lung cancer (her friends finished it). The several times we've had to pack up because of forest fires, these are the first things I make sure go to town for safe keeping. It's very difficult to choose one thing as I'm a pretty sentimental gal. Then I start to feel like Steve Martin in The Jerk; I just need this ashtray and this ugly clay pot I made in third grade, and this raincoat I found a Value Village in the 80s, etc).
Who are your favorite writers?
Romain Gary, William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, Margaret Atwood, Jeanette Winterson, Adrienne Rich
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Momo
Who are your heros in real life?
My coworkers. My sister.
What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty, humor, and at this point in my life, low maintenance is the key.
What is your most marked characteristic?
My dowager's hump and boobs that sag to my waist.
How would you like to die?
If I'm meant to live to an old age, I'd hope to be of fair health and die in my sleep. If I have to die young, I wouldn't mind being mauled by a grizzly bear.
What is your motto?
What you focus on you get more of, or fuck 'em and feed 'em fish heads.
Now I'm going to play meme tag with Chiki, Reb, and anybody else who stops by my site.