Okay, so I’ve been procrastinating about doing this meme, courtesy of Kusala.
Here goes….
1. When you were born, how much did you weigh?
Mandaluyong, Manila, the Philippines. Mandaluyong is one of the municipalities that comprises Metro Manila. You can read more about it here. I have really vague memories considering the last time I returned home was when I was 10 years old in 1981.
Birth weight was 9 lbs., 2 ounces. I was a big baby and born on Christmas Day.
2. What’s your sugar poison?
Dad died of a brain aneurysm caused in part by his diabetes. Hm, I think the six cans of soda a day might have been a factor. When I was a kid, Mom had this fear that I’d develop the same disease so things were relatively sugar-free. No chocolate candy, Cap’n Crunch, Frosted Flakes or Twizzlers. I don’t “hate” very many foods, though this is one of the primary reasons why I think Grape Nuts is food spawned by the devil.
Oh, right the question. I don’t have a favorite sugar poison. I like it all equally. Though if I had a choice, I’d go for a slice of tarte tatin with some homemade vanilla ice cream on the side.
3. If you had to choose between meat and cheese for the rest of your life, which would you choose? Then be specific.
Meat, definitely. I can’t imagine life without pork: pan-fried scrapple, Canadian bacon, crispy beer-braised pork belly, Smithfield ham, short ribs, pickled pig’s feet, carnitas, pork adobo, chitlins and pork rinds to name a few. Who needs cheese?
4. What, in your opinion, is the worst song ever?
There aren’t that many songs that make me want to grit my teeth but I’d have to say just about anything from the group Air Supply is a prime candidate. Oh yeah, and Michael Bolton.
5. Who was your favorite teacher growing up and why?
Ms. Tillou, my British lit teacher in my senior year at New Providence High School in New Jersey. She provided me with a lifelong love of that genre of literature and paved the way for my major/concentration in college. I don’t think I really appreciated fiction until I took her class. I still remember reading Beowulf for the first time, and feeling shivers go down my spine.
6. What personal activity, when performed in public, bothers you the most?
Clipping your fingernails, definitely.
7. Ok, there’s a $50 bill lying on the ground. You pick it up. Dumbfounded by your incredible luck, what do you selfishly purchase?
I’d probably dump it into my bank account. Yeah, I’m boring. Sorry.
8. Do you have a recurring nightmare? If so, explain.
There’s a scene in the movie, The Legacy where one of the guests dies in a swimming pool, except that the top of the pool is covered by glass. I have a REALLY morbid fear of drowning. It doesn’t help that I never learned how to swim.
1982, summer camp at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. I’m in the relatively shallow end of the pool and lose my footing. Luckily, I’m near the wall and grab hold of the edge just in time. I think that experience scarred me for life. Then there was that time when I was in the Navy, but I think I’ll save that for another blog entry.
9. Name one place on Earth you’ve never been, but vow to visit at least once.
So many places to choose from.
Provincetown, Key West and Seattle. I can’t think of only one. Oops. Better add all the usual tourist-y type places in Europe.
10. You notice that question #9 wasn’t really a question. You feel smart for catching such a small detail. What else can you do really well that reminds you how smart you are?
I can make a fierce beurre blanc in my sleep.
