Ultimate Internet Quiz from Ryan and co.

Apparently Ryan and his friends made up this ultimate internet quiz last year, and I've been challenged to answer 1/3 of it. So here you go....

1. What was your best year? Why?
   
   It was probably 2000, because I had great friends, spent the summer in Europe, and had a bunch of great jobs: running research expos and anime store. Plus I was pres of the anime club, so I was the ultimate ruler, before I got burned out.


2. If you had to throw someone off a building, who would it be? Who would this person land on?
   
   Well I wouldn’t deliberately want to hurt someone, so I was throw a corpse over, and if it hits someone like, a certain CFO who makes life much too interesting, then it’s not my fault.


3. What is the longest you've maintained a close-friend relationship? With whom?
   
   Vivian’s been my friend since 3rd grade. ^_^


4. Name one thing you wish you'd done differently.
   
   I think I shouldn’t have told that guy I hated his guts in 4th grade, when his friends where teasing me about how he liked me. *_*


5. What one sin should be taken off the list of Seven Deadly Sins? What should be added?
   
   Gluttony, I don’t see anything wrong with eating a lot, plus greed is already on there so it’s a little redundant. They should add deceit, not sure if it wasn’t added since it was covered in the 10 commandments though


6. The moment in your life you'd most like to re-experience.
   
   I once had this dream (actually dream while sleeping) that I was living in this gorgeous beach house/condo with three cute guys. I woke up and they were cooking me breakfast, going to do my laundry, and willing to drive me around. That would be nice. In reality, I think I’m always looking forward to new experiences with great friends, but even if you try to do something again it’s never the same as the first time.


7. You can spend a week anywhere/anytime in history. Where do you go?
   
   I wish I could go back to a time that would help someone: ie go back to the week of sept 11, and tell someone about the bombs on the planes. But I tend to believe in predestination that if something was going to happen then it would, and you can’t change history. And I’m not that enamored of history, to want to see something bad. So maybe it would have been fun to spend a week in China on a river tour last fall.
   


8. 8) What movies/books/TV shows did you act out as a kid?
   
   I used to sing Disney songs a lot…does that count?
   


9. What behavior do you find morally objectionable (or too risky to try), but extremely tempting?
   
   Hmmm…skinny dipping. Too risky to try, the water would be freezing.
   


10. Which song lyrics capture you or an event in your life most clearly?
    
    So I only listen to lyrics of songs when I’m moody and depressed or in musicals. When I broke up with my ex, I could probably identify with 20 break-up songs esp Don’t want think about you from Simple Plan. But I really like Crazy by Simple Plan, because I think it’s really true and I feel the same way.
    


11. Your most representative childhood comment/anecdote/mindset:
    
    Happily ever after. I believed in fairy tales.
    


12. "Might have been the losing side. Doesn't mean it was the wrong one." When has that applied to you?
    
    Sure, but who determines who “won”?
    


13. Favorite word or phrase in a foreign language
    
    “suki” is the verb, like, in Japanese. It’s cool to say and it’s only one syllable
    


14. What food would you cry about having eliminated from your diet?
    
    Mangos….I don’t get those often enough.
    


15. What is the BEST smell, and what does it mean to you?
    
    Vanilla…..yummy very relaxing.
    



16. Name five [non-physical] qualities that draw you to a person
    
    Confidence, intelligence, easy going humor, generosity, honesty
    



17. 17) And five [non-physical] things about someone that turn you off. [No points off for pettiness.]
    
    Snoring, negativity, uselessness (or people who never help out), boring conversationalists, cheapskates
    



18. If you could eliminate three things from your life, what would they be?
    
    Driving, freezing weather, weekend workdays
    



19. What would you want to be reincarnated as?
    
    Cat- spoiled cat - with a nice owner with enough money to pamper me.
    


20. Build your dream house. Now describe it.
    
    On a private beach that allows dogs. Small and comfortable with two levels lots of windows, and a stream in the back with a small, wooden bridge running over it. High speed internet, good cell phone signal, a full sized laundry, excellent plumbing/electricity, jacuzzi would be nice, and within 10 min drive to a grocery store, movie theater, bakery, and a few really good, preferably cheap, asian and french restaurants.
    



21. It's two hundred years in the future, and your name is still remembered. What for?
    
    The great-great-great…grandmother who won the lottery and built the family fortune.
    



22. You're casting it all aside and running away. You've got nothing but the money you have/can take from the bank now. Where do you go?
    
    I’d go live in bay area California. And after all my money ran out I’d hang out with my parents or whoever can give me free rent for a while. *_*
    


23. Give yourself a nickname (e.g., Becky "Barracuda" Cooper)
    
    I like barracuda. But hmmm…Andrea Banana?? *_*
    



24. Everyday person who's had an effect on your life that they'd be surprised to hear about:
    
    Nomi, I like how she can make people feel good, even when she’s tell them bad news. I try to go that too. *_* not sure if it’s working.


25. Pick one fictional character each to do, dump, and marry.
    
    To do: Rejar from Rejar by Dara Joy,
    To dump: Anakin from Star Wars
    To marry: Prince Hall from the Unhandsome Prince by John Moore….but maybe when he’s a bit older, or Jeffrey, his older brother. They’re nice and sweet.
    

The Horror (part 2)

Smokey doesn't even need a costume for halloween.


click here, if you don't see the photo

The Horror

The cool autumn air brushed over us as we hurried from the trendy sushi place on the lower east side. It was the night before Halloween, and tonight we were going to Nightmare, “the scariest haunted house in Manhattan.” Tickets were sold out, but there was still a long line outside the door for people who had booked reservations several days in advance. The only decorations on the walls of cultural center were fliers for other Halloween parties and events around the city. Not much had gone into thematically enriching the outside, or the inside, as we were soon to discover. The lobby looked like it belonged to a cross of a theme park ride and a cheap night club. There was a ticket booth, and two big screens showing gruesome horror film clips that covered movies, student films, and even a Michael Jackson video. Hidden behind black curtains was a bar lounge with zebra striped chairs and a Heineken neon sign. If you were in line, waiters would bring orders while you were waiting. The staff wore black clothing complete with headsets and trendy club music played in the background. Then we approached the doorway. Covered by heavy black curtains, I shoved my boyfriend in front of me and grabbed his hand as we went into the darkness. Our group was led into a dimly lit room, behind a man sitting in front of a ventilation fan. The man moaned and slowly reached towards the fan, and we all knew what was going to happen next. The lights cut out just before his hand touched the blade, and we felt blood splash across our face. Screams pierced the air, and it was the beginning of the thirteen rooms of horror we were to endure. But it was all fun and we left laughing in the end. I love haunted houses. I can’t wait ‘till next Halloween.

How much wood can a woodchuck chuck?

I work in an area nicknamed named “the fishbowl.” Our room of cubicles is encased by almost floor to ceiling windows looking into a hallway, which has more windows extending to the outside. So anyone wandering the hallways can look in at us, walking around, darting into cubes, and staring back out at them, wondering when we’ll see freedom.

Today I was standing staring avidly out one of the windows. My co-workers passed me by and asked what I’m doing lurking outside my cube. To which I replied, “There’s an animal out there, and I can’t figure out what it is. I think it might be a beaver, but don’t beavers live near water?” The furry brown animal was sitting in a huge lawn of grass. Then she looked out too, and she noted, “It looks like a rabbit, except for the tail.” I agreed, “It doesn’t have the ears for a rabbit too.” She guessed, “I think it’s a squirrel.” “That’s a pretty huge squirrel,” I repsonded. Can they get that big, I wondered, thinking of some of the French river rats I had seen, which were admittedly the size of a beaver. Then finally some wandering business man called out “It’s a woodchuck” as he passed by. I was amazed, “Wow, a woodchuck, I’ve never seen one before. Is that what one looks like?” We stared at it for a while. Then my co-worker spoke, “I’ve never seen a woodchuck either, you think he said chipmunk.” I was thinking it’s still too big for a chipmunk, and we needed to stop augmenting small rodents to justify the appearance of this new creature. So enough wasting our precious work time, I went back to my comp to check it out online. It was a woodchuck, aka groundhog. For those of you who have never seen one either, here’s a photo. Another one of my great NY experiences.

How much do you care?

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many of us are being affected by the barrage of new stories and higher gas prices. However, as we are not actually there, there is no way to truly understand what it feels like. Empathy alone seems to me inconsequential compared to what actually is going on. We can only imagine the pain of loosing your home and loved ones, and be grateful that it is not us and pray for those who are still suffering.

I just heard the stories about people being forced to abandon their pets in order to get a seat on a transport or bus. I think if it was me, this would be the last issue to tip me over. It’s one thing to loose everything that you have, but then to have to give up something willingly would be completely agonizing. I don’t know if I could leave my dog behind on the street while I got on a bus and drove away. But in the end if you’re being evacuated, it won’t be optional. At least, there are several rescues working on bringing pets to shelters, where they might one day be reunited with their owners in the future or be adopted with a new family. This natural disaster reminds me of old war movies of people who were displaced from their homes and separated from each other only to hopefully be reunited after the tragedy is over.

If you’re interested in helping out pet rescues follow this link.