Everybody's Doing It

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Kate

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Mostly, my grandma, who’s Mary Catherine. I’m Katherine Mary. The ‘K’ was added because my parents liked “Kate” better than “Cathy.” My mom likes to say, though, that I was named after three strong women – my grandma, Katharine Hepburn, and Catherine the Great. She just thought it was a good name for a powerful woman – attractive, but not belittling.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? A few days ago. It was a really embarrassing situation. I’ll just say, I’m very clumsy. I fear the floor might be stained. I’ve been overwrought lately. Like everything else, it’s all because of the dissertation.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not at all. It was never very good, but since for years I have usually only written in Russian (cyrillic) by hand and typed in English, when I do try to write something by hand in English, the results are…curious, and unreadable. This is part of why I always have trouble deciphering any knitting notes I make.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? I really don’t like lunchmeat at all, but if forced to choose, I go for smoked ham. I do love ham & cheese on a croissant, heated up ever so slightly. I got addicted to those (“horn”) in the cafeteria of my Norwegian high school.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Of course! Though I would undoubtedly drive myself crazy.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? This blog is by far as close as I’ve ever come to successfully keeping a journal.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? I think so. I guess I’d remember if I lost them, wouldn’t I?

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? God, no. It creeps me out just hearing the suggestion.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I like weird, organic grains. Flax seed and amaranth are my favorites.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? When they’re tennis shoes or hiking boots, yeah. I usually curse when I do it, too.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Strong-willed: too much so. Emotionally strong: definitely, though also excessively emotional, if that makes any sense. Physically: no way. I have a pretty good kick, but I wouldn’t last long in any fight.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Mint choc. chip. But I wouldn’t turn down any kind of ice cream except coffee flavors.

14. SHOE SIZE? 10.

15. RED OR PINK? Red. Duh.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Laziness. Procrastination. Irrational fear of phones.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My niece and nephew.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Do I want every one to fill it out? Heck, yeah.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Erm…not only am I wearing pajamas, but they’re the same pajamas I was wearing yesterday, when taking pictures of my newly finished Sizzle. I’m not still wearing Sizzle anymore though. Switched back to the pajama top. And I’m wearing my third pair of EZ moccasin socks, even though I STILL haven’t woven in the ends. I put them on as soon as I finished the bind off, and they haven’t come off since except for sleeping and showering. This is what happens when you work at home.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Apple-cinnamon-raisin toast from Trader Joe’s. Yum.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The beep-beep of a truck backing up, a loud motor idling (separate vehicle), the ticking of the cuckoo clock, cars passing, an airplane flying overhead. I kid you not. All that in the time it took me to type one sentence.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Red. Duh.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Lilacs.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Hubbster.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Sense of humor,
brains, grammar.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? Cara from January One – of course!

27. FAVORITE DRINK? hot chocolate. rooibos tea. Riga balzam.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? knitting.

29. EYE COLOR? brown.

30. HAT SIZE? I think it’s 22 inches around. Or is that Hubbster?

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Tried them once when I was sixteen, and it drove me out of my mind. Never again. I’m very over-sensitive about anything getting near my eyes. It’s just as well – I have thin skin under my eyes that makes them look baggy. Glasses cover this up.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? (Real, whole-grain, dense) bread, with fresh fruit & veggies a close second.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings, unless they’re forced. A good plot has to be skillfully wound up. No scary ones, though – my nightmares are enough for me.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall and spring.

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Both from Hubbster or my parents, hugs only from friends / people I really like, and none of the above from people I don’t know. I was raised Dutch/WASPy, and we just don’t get into touching much.

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Ooooh, how to choose? Anything involving chocolate, or ice cream, or apples.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Since I’ve been writing the diss, I’ve either been reading source material for it, or casually re-reading old escapist favorites in whatever free time remains. I don’t have the energy or concentration right now for anything else.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? It’s this cool thing I got as a freebie when I was temping. It has a clear plastic cover that’s attached only on one side, so you can slip whatever picture or paper you want inside. I put in a picture of the house once owned by the people I’m writing the diss about, and a photocopy of their family coat of arms.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Don’t have TV. But we’ve got our Sopranos DVDs on pretty much constant rotation.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Hubbster’s singing, and other inane unconscious noises. Water – waves lapping. Gentle rain when I’m inside and warm. Music.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles, hands down. Because they have a better sense of humor.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? The village of Dorozhaevo, in Russia.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Analyzing historical texts in writing. An odd little talent it is, but there you go. I can also make my knee-caps do crazy things, but that’s more of a party trick.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Holland Community Hospital, in Holland, MI.

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I stole it from Cara.

Random but seasonal picture, also snapped in New Hampshire, on some random back road we got lost on:



(Click on the image to prove to yourself that those really are pumpkins.)