Here's what she sent me…

Okay, here's what you're supposed to do. Copy, don't forward this entire e-mail onto a new e-mail and send it to a whole bunch of your friends after changing the answers. INCLUDING THE PERSON THAT SENT IT TO YOU. This is just so you get to know some simple facts about your friends.

My answers follow.WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Women In Love, D.H. Lawrence.

WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Nothing—I use an optical mouse and don't need one.

FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
Scrabble.

FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
I subscribe to Cook's Illustrated and Fine Cooking, so I guess those.

FAVORITE SMELLS?
Roasted garlic, Chanel No. 5, and something else that I'm forgetting.

FAVORITE SOUNDS?
My catzillas chirping at me when I come in or just wake up, because they're glad to see me. Or an old friend's voice on the phone.

WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Throwing up.

FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING?
"Tenzing, please get off my chest."

# OF RINGS BEFORE ANSWERING THE PHONE?
2—long enough to check caller ID.

FUTURE DAUGHTERS NAME?
Not planning on having kids…but if I did, probably Alexandra Amy.

DO YOU LIKE TO DRIVE FAST?
No. Not after being in a minor accident and learning how much pain a minor accident can leave you in.

DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
Not unless you count my spouse.

DO YOU LIKE STORMS?
Yes. Very much so. Some people have lullabies; I have thunder and lightning.

WHAT KIND OF CAR WAS YOUR FIRST?
Geo Metro.

FAVORITE NONALCOHOLIC DRINK?
Cream soda.

ALCOHOLIC DRINK?
Apple pie.
Your ZODIAC sign?
Libra.

DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?
Yes. Thinly sliced and sautéed, please.

IF YOU HAD ANY JOB IN THE WORLD, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Travelling food critic. Or just a novelist in general.

IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR?
Very, very red.

EVER BEEN IN LOVE?
Yep.

IS THE GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL?
Depends on the day, but mostly it's a glass with a finite amount of liquid in it.

FAVORITE MOVIES?
Say Anything. When Harry Met Sally. Schindler's List. Too many to name.

LEFTY OR RIGHTY?
Righty.

IF $ WAS NO OBJECT WHAT WOULD YOU BUY?
A cottage with a lovely garden in Victoria, B.C. A townhouse in Washington, D.C. Good computers for both places so that I could write in either, and unlimited flights between the two so that I could be where I wanted, when I wanted.

Or—unlimited airfare to anywhere in the world, so that I could travel and write about it all.

DO YOU TYPE WITH YOUR FINGERS ON THE RIGHT KEYS?
Yup.

WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?
Dust bunnies, some credit card receipts I should shred, a magazine or two, a couple of stray socks, and some things that are none of your business.

WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Bluish-green.

WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?
Death, followed closely by sounding like a blithering idiot.

FAVORITE SPORT?
Hockey. Yo. It is the way and the light. All other sports are mere shadows.

SAY ONE THING NICE ABOUT THE PERSON THAT SENT THIS TO YOU.
Eleanor has kept in touch and genuinely cared for me even though I've only gotten to physically see her one time in the past three years. (That's what I get for moving away.)

PERSON YOU SENT THIS TO WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Well, I'm not really sending this out; I'm posting it to my website.

PERSON YOU SENT THIS TO WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
See above.

FAVORITE QUOTE?
I hate parroting other people and I try desperately to avoid ever doing so. I like to hold on to the fatuous notion that what I say is at least somewhat original.

There you go.