Questions from Devafall

1. What's your favourite meal?
Jeez. It's hard to choose something like that for me, I love so much. But ... and you vegetarians will have to forgive the imagery ...

pepper-charred steak
Mashed Potatoes and gravy
Salad
Red wine (preferably a Shiraz or Merlot)

2. What is your biggest grammatical pet peeve?
"Where's it at?"

3. Are you looking forward to Star Wars: Episode III with anticipation or dread?
Anticipation. Unlike the vast majority of fanboys, I don't dislike the prequels that much. I recognize Episode I has some serious drawbacks, but Episode II wasn't so bad, and I quite enjoy it.

See, *I* think (and practically no one agrees with me) that Eps I and II are on par with Eps IV, V, and VI. I don't think they're really any worse (except for Ep I, which as I said has serious drawbacks).

4. What would you name a child, if the decision were yours?
Boy: Alexander Henry Atreides
Girl: Irulan Atreides (But Elli would NEVER allow that, she hates the name Iruland, plus ... it's a little fannish. She advocates Delenn Atreides).

5. What is the most crucial issue in education right now, from your perspective?
I'm not qualified to state at this time, to be honest. But from my limited perspective now, the lack of respect for the profession has a lot to do with many of the problems. No one listens to teachers, so we end up with stupid tests that are not designed well, and the like. Every politician and parent thinks they know more than teachers about how to educate kids (granted, some may even be right, but certainly not all), so we get dumbass initiatives and teaching directives.

A Memory

The adab can be an annoying thing. Take this memory -- it's real, it truly happened to me. I'm not sure why I'm sharing it, exactly, but it is what it is.

---

I'm 13 years old. We've just moved to Sacramento from Napa, and my family isn't what it was. It now consists of La Vada, my adopted siblings Daniel and Veronica, and our stepdad, who is curently serving a two-year sentence in San Quentin for forgery and Grand Theft. I've been violent, hitting my brother over stupid things (and he's been doing the same).

We've only been there a couple of days, and neither Daniel's nor my beds are ready. We've been taking turns sleeping on the couch and floor, switching each night. Tonight it's my turn to sleep on the couch, but Daniel (who is 12) doesn't want to sleep on the floor and so we're arguing.

La Vada comes in and asks what the problem is. I tell her, and she replies "No. You don't get to sleep on my couch, asshole. You'll sleep on the floor like you deserve!"

I'm hurt by this, and as is my problem, I lash out. "Fine! Why don't I just sleep outside like a dog, then!?"

And La Vada says "Good idea! Out!" and chases me outside. I don't get a pillow, or a blanket. And it's October.

I cry for a long time, then I just hunker down in the doorway and sleep the best I can. The next morning, Daniel lets me in, apology on his face. The unspoken survival pact between us is still there; he tells me that he asked to let me back in and got slapped hard for it. I can see the tear trails on his face still. Veronica thinks the whole thing is funny.

La Vada lectures me not to tell anyone, since it was all my fault and I'll look foolish.

---

Now, all these years later, all I can do is shake my head at her insanity.

10 Things You Probably Don't Know About Me

... and probably don't care about. As usual, these are in no particular order.

Clarifications/explanations provided on request.

1. I shower twice a day: In the morning and before bed. I hate going to bed without a shower.

2. Though I like happy endings as much as the next American, I tend to prefer films and books where heartache figures prominently in the ending more. Not "sad endings", per se, but where things aren't shiny golden. A good example would be the end of The Mageborn Traitor or Ran.

3. I meditate with a candle flame. I don't do it often, but when I don't have any candles in the house at all, I'm a little antsy about it. I loathe candles I can't light if I want to (purely decorative candles).

4. When I was a teenager, the only punishment my aunt could lay on me that actually did anything was to forbid me pleasure reading. If I couldn't prove it was required school reading (which meant a note from my English teacher), I couldn't read it.

5. I think Johnny Depp's Nick of Time is a very underrated movie.

6. People who say TV ruins your brain, period, get my immediate scorn.

7. There's a lot of things I never say because, while I think there is some merit in being honest, I also think there is some merit in not pissing people off unnecessarily.

8. I plan to earn my SCUBA certification before I'm 40.

9. I loathe the work of Edmund Spenser.

10. While there are no people I dislike who think I like them, there are definitely some people who don't know how much I like them.