March Ask

I'll have to do more searching for zealous Catholic questions. This month I have general questions.

1. How are you, really? I feel refreshed. Monday morning. New work week. Good night of sleep. A lot I'm eager to do later today.

2. Pizza or chicken nuggets? Pizza.

3. If you could visit any country in the world, where would you go? England. To visit my cousins and the places and graves of my favorite English people.

4. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? An architect.

5. What are you looking forward to? Lunch. Fried food. Tea.

6. Do you like chocolate? I'm not obsessed, but I do love dark chocolate.

7. What’s your favourite joke? I'm more into wit, bad puns, satire, and dry and meta humor. I do love my brother-in-law's jokes that are always grotesquely inappropriate and leave even my most liberal family members with jaws dropped. Even then, it's more the awkwardness in which I relish.

8. Are you a religious person? If religion is defined as rendering unto God the worship that is due to Him, then I aspire to be a religious man, and am sincerely trying my best.

9. If you had a magical pet snail what would you call it? Blinky or Pokey (if female or male).

10. How do you like your steak cooked? (if you eat it) Medium rare.

11. If you were a type of animal, what would you be and why? Chimpanzee. They live a social, leisurely life, and among the few animals with a sense of humor. At the zoo a few weeks ago, one chimpanzee wiped her rear end, then smelled her hand and, after looking around to see if other chimps were looking, licked it.

12. What phone do you have? iPhone 6. One with water damage and a cracked screen that sometimes sends text messages or installs apps without me touching anything.

13. Have you ever got blackout drunk? No.

14. What do you think people think of you? I suppose I'm not very self-aware. 

15. If you could learn one random skill, what would you learn? I'd love to be able to sight-read music perfectly.

16. What’s something you want right now? I forgot to bring anything to drink today and all we have here is well water dubiously potable.

17. Do you have any brothers or sisters? Yes.

18. In general what do you think about art? I'd like to read more about Walter Pater's ideas on art, especially about "privileged moments."

19. What are some of the first things you do in the morning? I make coffee, take a shower, drink coffee, read or sit quietly for thirty minutes, then get dressed.

20. Marvel or DC? Which one has X-Men? Marvel, I think.

21. Do you like to talk on the phone? As with conversation in real life, it depends on my relationship with the person or what there is to talk about. I've had a few four or six hour phone conversations before.

22. What’s your favourite song? Oh dear. I really love O Salutaris Hostia.

23. What would you do if you won the lottery? Pay taxes, pay off any debt, invest the rest, or make a down payment.

24. What’s your middle name? Matthew.

25. Do you have any pets? I have two cats from when I was a boy and a dog that are technically my mom's and stay with her.

26. What was the last dream you can remember about? I never have dreams unless I take afternoon naps, in which case I only sleep for about fifteen minutes and wake up to a night(day?-)mare. (I recently read that mare is an archaic English word for demon).

27. Are you single? Yes.

28. Do you like scary movies? Yes.

[29. omitted for irrelevancy]

30. Favourite flavour of ice cream? Good vanilla, or chocolate chip cookie dough.

31. What’s your last text message say? The last one I sent, "No problem! See you tomorrow."

32. What are some things you are scared of? I'm a germophobe and clean freak, especially averse to messy houses with ungroomed pets.

33. Do you like travelling? Yes.

34. If you could ask your future self one question what would it be? What am I doing wrong now?

35. What kind of people are you attracted to? With each person I find attractive, there is always an element of the undefinable, but here are some (somewhat contradictory) traits I find attractive:
Personality: bookish, adventurous, eccentric, blunt, light-hearted, absent-minded/dreamy, bashful, nurturing, subtly charming, scrupulous, opinionated.
Character: honesty, integrity, loyalty, ambition (for virtue, esse quam videri), piety (in the sense of the Latin pietas), reverence.
Physical: I love the combination of shiny, dark hair with blue or green eyes and fair or freckled skin. Nice hands, too, and expressive eyes.

36. What do you do? In terms of employment, I'm an office manager currently.

37. Do you feel uncomfortable if someone who you don’t know is physically close to you? It depends on their body language, attractiveness, the vibe I get from them, and my mood.

38. What has been your worst haircut/style? I've been trying to have my hair cut differently for years now, but the guy I go to always does the same thing, even with specific instructions otherwise. My mom thinks he cuts it too short; and he always cuts it to a sharp point in front. But I enjoy going to him otherwise.

39. Can you play poker? I can. I'm not practiced.

40. Where were you when you had your last kiss? At the lake.

41. What’s your favourite flower? Poppies currently.

42. Do you buy from charity shops? If they have something I want to buy.

43. Are you ticklish? Pathologically.

44. What do you do for fun? Run; go out to eat, drink, or see movies; drive or walk aimlessly around town; travel; read; good conversation; garden; hike.

45. What was the last thing you ate? Cod, potatoes, broccoli rabe, shrimp, eggs, ice cream with a blueberry dessert, and a Portuguese dessert made from angel hair pasta and cinnamon. 

46. If you met a genie who offered you three wishes, what would you wish for? (more wishes doesn’t count) I don't wish for things: I pray and act.

47. Favourite band? I don't really have favorite bands, unless Baroque ensembles or choirs of monks count.

48. Do you have any tattoos? If so what are they? None.

49. Have you ever been fishing? Yes, at the lake in summertime.

50. What was the last present you received? A friend gave me the Carmelite spirituality/prayer book Divine Intimacy.