You Asked, Part 2

photo by wanderingtheworld
New Zealand: I wanna go back, I wanna go back…

Have I lost you yet? No? Whew. Well, here I go with the second and final part of the May Q&A…

Lara asks: What is your favorite part about blogging?
The community. I’ll be honest, I was a blogging skeptic only up until a few years ago. I didn’t see the point since facts came from print publications and their online versions. I think what I was missing by not reading blogs was the sense of community the blog world provides. I feel as if each and every reader is a dear friend. And I feel like I know every blogger that I read. (But not in a creepy stalker-ish way or anything. I swear.)

This isn’t so much about blogging as reading blogs, but I’ll throw it out there anyway because this is my blog and I can. (Another thing I love: ultimate power.) I was surprised by and now love the blogging community’s creativity. As for health bloggers, the number of new foods I’ve been introduced to through various blogs is insane. And who started the almond butter-covered date trend? Genius. Even The Man likes them, and that’s saying a lot.

Nicole asks: Are you as witty in real life as you are on your blog?
Of course. You know, my family says I’m only funny when no one is listening, but that’s a lie. I may have said that one time when I was 10 and no one laughed at my jokes, but that was a long time ago. I should admit that I’m not always funny. In fact, catch me at 8 a.m. (who am I kidding—before 11 a.m.) and you’ll be lucky if I can mumble a coherent sentence. I’m also not witty when watching Lost; the only thing you’ll hear me say is shhh. Or, during commercials: What just happened? I love this show so much!

Samantha, she of the mind-stumping awesome questions, had three. I’ll go one by one here:

#1 For what in your life do you feel most grateful?
You know, funny you should ask this because sometimes I’m not so grateful. Like when I’m cursing my knees. (They deserve it, though.) But I do have a lot to be grateful for. For one, The Man takes care of me every day, doing things that I can’t thanks to said painfully annoying knees. He selflessly does the laundry, vacuums the house, does the dishes, goes to the grocery store, and so on and so on. I’m grateful for that.

I’m also grateful for my family. My parents and sister are really supportive and I know that if I lived closer than 500 miles from them I know they’d be helping me out all the time with all of the ridiculously easy tasks my knees make it hard for me to do.

#2 If you were guaranteed honest answers to 2 questions, who would you ask them to and what would you ask?
Samantha, you win for most difficult question. If I were cooler, I’d send you some kind of prize like a golden question mark or at least one made out of chocolate. So, for the first question, I’d ask Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof the meaning of Lost. (I’m a bit Lost-obsessed lately because it’s nearing its end.) Where did the man in black come from? What is Jacob, besides kinda-sorta dead? What’s with the numbers, really?

For my second question, I’d ask Steve Jobs whether the iPhone would be coming out on a carrier other than A&T—and when. You see, my lovely, gorgeous, perfect phone does everything except make a stupid call, so I’m waiting with bated breath for another cell carrier to snatch it up. Preferably Sprint, since The Man just got a job there and I’ll be switching my allegiance. Not that I was ever loyal to AT&T. What a joke.

#3 I will be in DC next weekend (for real). Any top places for eats? What about nightlife?
My nightlife knowledge of DC is slim since standing for a long time hurts. So I won’t even pretend to know about the cool places to go out. For dinner, though, try Jaleo or Zaytinya, both of which are very good. If you want steak and don’t mind traveling to Virginina (it’s a quick metro ride), head to Ray’s the Steaks. It’s the best steak place in the DC area, hands down. So. Freaking. Good. Any other Washingtonians have tips?

Diane asks: If you could go back in time to one point in your life previously, what would it be?
The Man’s going to kill me for not saying our wedding, but I’m going to risk sleeping on the couch and go with 2003, when I studied abroad in New Zealand. Aside from the fact that it’s the most beautiful country I’ve ever been to (sorry, U.S.A.), I did so many thrilling things there I’d love to experience it all over again. It doesn’t hurt that 2003 was pre-knee pain, either.

Wren says: Is there a book you’ve read that influenced your thinking ever after? I can think of a couple I read as a child that I STILL remember clearly, and I did indeed take those stories and their lessons to heart.
I think every book influences our thinking in some way or another. In eighth and ninth grade I was inundated with books that made me go, “Oh yeah!” and “Wow.” I’m thinking of To Kill a Mockingbird, Anthem, Romeo and Juliet, Catcher in the Rye, 1984, The Great Gatsby, and A Farewell to Arms. Aw, now I’m all nostalgic and dying to re-read each and every one of them.

The Man, who you should know is a bit gadget obsessed, asks two questions:

1. Which of these can we have for dinner: cheese dogs or McDonald’s double cheeseburger with fries?
No.

2. Can I get an iPad (64GB WiFi version)?
No.

Stef, who didn’t know she was even leaving a question, says: I quit watching that show [Lost] as soon as polar bears showed up on the island…wtf?
Well, Stef, it’s simple really. They were doing experiments on electromagnetic fields and polar bears were there for the tests. I think. Now why there were polar bear remains in Africa during one of Charlotte’s flashes, I have no clue.

Gracie asks, If you could choose another path in life (career-wise, etc.) what would it be?
This is easy. First off, I’m assuming by new career path you don’t mean some other writing job. (If that were the case, I’d say my new path would lead straight to a published novel.) But I’ll pretend that doesn’t count. So I’d choose being an Oscar-winning actress. Or a CIA spy. I may as well shoot high, right?

Let’s continue with Wren’s question: Is there a book you’ve read that influenced your thinking ever after?