You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience
in which you look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you
think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Here's an email I received from a friend at the beginning of 2001. It was a
chain email, the kind of thing I detest. This one, however, actually had a real
purpose. The idea was to answer the questions, then email it to several other friends, including
the original sender. Read on...
My Answers (December 2005)
Okay, here's what you're supposed to do. Copy (not forward) or cut and paste this
entire email onto a new email that you will send. Change all the answers so that they
apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, including the person who
sent it to you. The theory is that you will learn a little bit about your friends.
1. LIVING ARRANGEMENTS
Me and two cats. It's heaven.
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW?
September 2004 Answers: The General In His Labyrinthe by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I once read Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera and glimpsed genius. The Birth of Plenty , by William Bernstein. Yet another brilliant book that wonders why some nations are rich and some nations are poor. Eichmann in Jerusalem: The Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt. The controversial book by the famous Jewsih-American author who makes the point that the evil that led Adolf Eichmann to co-ordinate the concentration camps of World War II is in all of us. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I remember being in Grade 7 and discovering this book in the school library. My life has not been the same since. December 2005 Answers: Ten Poems to Change Your Life by Roger Housden. I was fortunate enough during my college years to have not one but two teachers who were crazy-passionate about poetry and who passed that on to their students - well, at least on to me. I have a love affair with poetry, and this book provides not only great poems but fantastic, deep interpretation as well, and elevates this form of literature into the great. The Captain's Verses, a book of love poems by Spanish-speaking Pablo Neruda. Check the reviews for this book on Amazon.com: "This is quite possibly the most beautiful book of poetry that I have ever read. An excellent gift to one that you love passionately." "I don't even know how to describe Pablo Neruda. When you read his poetry you just become entranced by the way he is so accurately able to convey such passion in his simple words and beautiful imagery."
3. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSEPAD?
USA Triathlon give-away mouspead from St. Anthony's Triathlon. Crappy triathlon, but great freebies.
4. FAVOURITE BOARD GAME
Chess.
5. FAVOURITE MAGAZINE
No contest here. The Economist. I recently subscribed to Foreign Affairs , but I don't think anything comes close to The Economist. Cosmopolitan for, um, keeping the spice and fun in a relationship. Triathlete and Inside Triathlon
6. FAVOURITE SMELLS
The smell of a summer rain shower hitting the pavement on a hot,
hot summer day. And Coco by Chanel. When I die, the only thing I need to be wearing
in my casket is Coco.
7. LEAST FAVOURITE SMELLS
Rotten fish. Rotten anything.
8. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD
When you've run out of ideas in how to deal with a bad situation.
9. FAVOURITE SOUND
The absolute stillness of a summer night when I'm lying in my tent; the sound of birds when I'm running very early on a beautiful summer morning; crickets.
10. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
What's my workout today? Do I go swimming or biking or running this morning?
11. HOW MANY RINGS BEFORE YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?
More than one, less than the answering machine kick-in.
12. FAVOURITE COLOUR
Purple!! A fascinating colour that you look into.
13. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME
Gwyneth for a girl, and Edward for a boy.
14. WHAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE?
Being alive, and appreciating this fact to the fullest. That means, in part, living boldly and joyfully.
15. FAVOURITE FOODS
Oh boy, this could be a long list! Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
ice cream. Cheesecake. Turtles (chocolate, of course). Cotton candy. I'm drooling.
16. DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST?
No, not really. There's no point. I just mosy.
18 CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?
Huh? Chocolate!! (But the scent of vanilla rules.)
17. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
19. STORMS: COOL OR SCARY?
Oooooh...cool. The wilder the better, and best when I'm in my tent.
20. WHAT TYPE WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
A sweet, valiant little red Mazda hatchback.
21. IF YOU COULD MEET SOMEONE DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE?
Beethoven. I want to meet the man who wrote the most passionate, rejoiceful music I've ever heard. And Helen Keller, for her profound optimism.
22. WHAT IS YOUR ZODIAC SIGN?
Pisces. Dreams and reality are one and the same.
23. FAVOURITE ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
Porto (tawny) and champagne. My favourite habit when it's not training season: a glass of porto every evening before I go to bed, while listening to After Hours and reading The Economist.
24. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?
Broccoli, yes. Stems, no.
25. IF YOU COULD HAVE ANY JOB, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Aerospace engineer. Designing spaceships, not airplanes.
26. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOUR, WHICH COLOUR WOULD IT BE?
I don't want to change my hair colour. It's already a bit of a blonde-red-brown rainbow.
27. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
Yes.
28. IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?
Half full. Always.
29. DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS OVER THE RIGHT KEYS?
