When I looked back through old blog drafts, I remembered my fleeting interest in the 73 Questions feature from Vogue Magazine. I became interested in this format when I read Being Rudri’s version.
Here’s my stab at it!
1. How long have you been in the area? 31 years in Tallahassee (with 3 years in New York dividing two Tallahassee periods)
2. What’s your favorite season in Tallahassee? Spring
3. What’s your favorite activity in Tallahassee? Running
4. Would you ever leave Tallahassee? Yes
5. What are three words to describe living in Tallahassee? Hilly, Southern, Cultural
6. What’s your favorite movie? Philadelphia
7. Favorite movie in past five years? I actually haven’t seen many movies in the past five years, and the ones I have seen were chosen by my son (looking at you, Fast and Furious). But after reading the book, I couldn’t WAIT to see Me Before You and the movie did not disappoint!
8. Favorite Hitchcock film? The Birds
9. Favorite TV show that’s currently on? 23.5º with Sam Champion
10. What’s a book you plan on reading? A Place Like This: A Memoir by Mark S. King
11. A book you read in school that positively shaped you? The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
12. A book you read in school that you never think of? Beowulf (but how are we supposed to answer this question? The mere fact that I *think* of Beowulf sort of disqualifies it!)
13. On a scale of one to ten how excited are you about life right now? 7
14. iPhone or Android? iPhone
15. Twitter or Instagram? Twitter
16. Vine or Snapchat? Snapchat
17. Who should EVERYONE be following right now? The Gates Foundation
18. What’s the coolest thing in your office? I don’t have an office right now but my favorite things were my annual Broadway Playbill posters.
19. What’s your favorite downtown restaurant? Bella Bella
20. What’s your favorite food? Penne alla Vodka
21. Least favorite food? Overripe bananas
22. What do you love on your pizza? Vegetables
23. Favorite drink? Spring Water
24. Favorite dessert? Dairy Queen Blizzards
25. Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Dark Chocolate
26. Weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten? An Ant
27. What’s the hardest part about being a mom? Having to let go (fearing for their safety), despite my belief in the power of prayer, and as my friend Lea so eloquently stated, “and the knowledge that somehow there is a God who loves them even more than we do. and He watches over them constantly!!!”
28. What’s your favorite band? The Florida State University Marching Chiefs
29. Favorite solo artist? John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting, Idina Menzel
30. Favorite lyrics?
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
There’s a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of the lark
Walk on, through the wind
Walk on, through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
(From Carousel’s You’ll Never Walk Alone) Here’s Celtic Woman’s version:
31. If your life were a song, what would the title be? Turn! Turn! Turn!
32. If you could sing a duet with anyone, who would it be? Josh Groban
33. If you could master one instrument, what would it be? My Voice
34. If you had a tattoo, where would it be? On my inner wrist (a semi-colon)
35. To be or not to be? To be
36. What’s Oprah like in person? I’d love to know!
37. What number of question was this? #37 (I guess this made more sense in a rapid-fire five minute interview)
38. Dogs or cats? Cats
39. Kittens or puppies? Puppies
40. Dolphins or koalas? Dolphins
41. Bird-watching or whale-watching? Whale watching
42. What’s your spirit animal? Sloth
43. Best gift you’ve ever received? My children
44. Last gift you gave a friend? Besides green pens, a Motivate Wrap that said “You Got This”
45. A person you want to have coffee with? Sam Champion (see answer #9!)
46. A historical figure you’d love to have coffee with? Dorothea Dix
47. How do you like your coffee? With skim milk and stevia
48. Can I play a note on this piano? Doesn’t Apply
49. What’s your favorite curse word? I dislike them all but sadlly, it rhymes with “duck”
50. What’s your favorite board game? Apples to Apples
51. What’s your favorite country to visit? Guatemala
52. What’s the last country you visited? El Salvador
53. What country do you wish to visit? Spain
54. What do you see in this image right here? Doesn’t apply
55. Can you write down your favorite word that starts and ends with the same vowel? abracadabra
56. What’s your favorite color? Red
57. Least favorite color? Beige
58. What color dress did you wear to your prom? lavender
59. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
60. Cheap shampoo or expensive? Expensive if it works
61. Blow-dry or air-dry? Blow-dry
62. Heels or flats? flats
63. Can you give an impersonation of someone? No
64. Can you do the same impersonation with a British accent? No
65. My friend outside this window would love to ask you a question? Doesn’t Apply
66. [Holding two different colored dresses] Which should I give my girlfriend? Doesn’t Apply
67. Pilates or yoga? Yoga
68. Jogging or swimming? Jogging RUNNING
69. Best way to decompress? Take a walk
70. If you had one superpower, what would it be? Waving a wand and creating peace
71. Can you describe an experience you felt most nervous? Trying out for cheerleading before the senior year of high school
72. What’s the weirdest word in the English language? In a nod to the Idiots Running Club and the word every runner loves to hate: moist
73. Last question: Is this the strangest interview you’ve ever had? Doesn’t Apply
It bugs me that there were six “Doesn’t apply” responses since I stuck strictly to the previous structure, so I looked up some other “getting to know you” questions and used a random number generator to pick 6.
1. Most important quality in a friend? Trustworthiness
2. When was the last time you got the giggles at an inappropriate time? Oh I don’t know! It hasn’t been recently (or often enough!). It wasn’t the giggles but I was talking with a friend recently about something very serious, and I was trying to make a light and slightly sardonic observation while indicating I cared. The interaction was heavier on the sardonic and lighter on the serious. I sent her a message later that day to clear it up.
3. What is your favorite kind of music? I like all kinds of music, but as almost everyone is surprised to hear, rap is a fave.
4. What is the last book you read? Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
5. What date on your calendar are you looking forward to? June 26, my daughter’s 20th birthday!
6. What makes you laugh out loud. Hmmm…..it takes a lot! I laughed out loud recently at passages from Shonda Rhimes’s Year of Yes, at Lino Rulli on Facebook Live, and at frolicking puppies.
What are some of your answers to these questions? Fun exercise! I recommend everyone to try it.
Wife of one, Mom of two, Friend of many. My pronouns are she/her/hers.
Loved learning more about you, I really want to hear the story of how you came to eat an ant now.
Ha! Well, let’s see. When I was a kid, I went to “Junior Gardener” camp for years (looking at my current yard, you’d never know!). One counselor made a big deal every year out of “eating an ant” and explaining that the’re full of citric acid (“like orange juice”) — this guy was convincing! After a few years of this I decided to take the big leap. I don’t know that an ant is large enough to really discern the “orange juice” nature of their insides but I was pretty proud to rise to that particular challenge! 🙂