November 2, 2006 ~ Ask Away
Thursday.
WordGoddess is back, a development that has made me very, very happy. I've missed those ladies very much. This month we asked each other questions. The questions below are from Mariann.
I wanted to open this up, though, to all of my readers. I've not really written regularly for well over a year. You hardly know me, anymore. You certainly don't know Grove. What are you curious about? What have I left out? If you have a question for me, e-mail it to dawntreader AT fallingstar DOT net. I'll answer those that interest me and that aren't too similar to other questions. Open to old friends and new readers alike. Ask away!
How critical is technology in your life? Explain which technological item would you miss the most.
Well, I could do without technology. I know that I can survive (and have survived) out in the wild without any technology at all, with nothing more sophisticated than a knife. Hell, I even quite enjoyed myself. However, I certainly do appreciate what telephones and computers and other such gadgets have brought to my life.
One most needed thing? Well. I hardly use my car, so definitely not that. I'd miss music if I didn't have a stereo, but I could live without it; I have before. I would really miss my camera... wow, I'd miss it a lot. Sometimes a picture says so much more than words can, and I am not a talented enough painter to take the camera's place. However, I think that the most missed thing would have to be my computer.
I could write without my computer, but I could not connect to the internet without it, and the internet is pretty critical in my life. It gives me an outlet to share my life with the world. To find new friends and keep in touch with old ones. To know what is going on in the news. To research all manner of things. To video conference with my mother so that she doesn't have to miss watching Grove grow up. To see what life is like on the other side of the world. I don't have a television or any subscriptions to magazines or newspapers, so the internet is my one universal connection to just about everything outside my little house in the woods and the small community that I live in. Most of my family is 3,000 miles away, and the internet has been instrumental in keeping us connected. And, well, the internet is the only reason Morgan has a job. That's... pretty critical right now. Heh.
Of course, the internet also gives me the opportunity to waste a ridiculous amount of time on things like maddening riddle games (thank you SO MUCH, Carrie. Argh!).
If you could live in any fictional world, what would it be and why?
You know, I don't think I'd want to live in a fictional world. I love this world, this life, flaws and all. Part of the splendor of it is striving to change the things that I would rather be different.
If I don't have to live there, though, if I can just visit? Oh, to visit, there are too many to choose. Most fascinating, though, would probably be something from science fiction. The Star Trek universe, maybe? Or maybe I could train as a Bene Gesserit from Dune. Or a Jedi from Star Wars? Such skills and discipline have always fascinated me. Middle Earth would be enticing. (Uh... Yeah. A soft spot for speculative fiction? Me?)
What three wishes would you make if a genie appeared?
One, I wish that Grove will have a fulfilling, generally happy, life.
Two, I wish for an ethical and rewarding source of income for me that would make it so that I could still stay home with Grove and spend as much time with him but also could pay off our debt, start payments on a house, and live month to month without having to worry about where grocery money was going to come from.
Three, I wish the ENTIRE human race would, collectively, stop doing things that needlessly hurt this planet and the creatures on it. (Come on, I had to have at least one impossible dream in there, didn't I?)
Have you ever regretted using your real name online or blogging so openly? Why or why not?
Yes. YES. Mainly because of a few times when people have used things written in my journal in an attempt to hurt others in very serious and life-altering ways. I still regret some things that happened, though I don't regret a single thing that I have written. What I wrote wasn't the cause of the hurt; what I wrote was just used maliciously.
I have come very close to ending the whole thing on a few occasions. And the temptation to start over anonymous has been quite strong at times.
What has kept me here, though, are the close friends I have made and the meaningful connections that have come of my being onymous and so open.
And one good rule to stick to, even with an anonymous journal: I never write anything that I wouldn't say directly to the individual that it is about. That has been my rule from the start, and I think it is an important one.
You've been given a time capsule into which you must place five things that represent you. What five things do you pick? Why?
This journal, printed out and bound, and a photo album of my favorite pictures, because those things would capture better than anything else who I've been for the last few years. Plus, it would represent writing and photography, which are a big part of my life. And for my three other items... Some forest findings from the trails, to represent how much being outdoors means to me. A bit of fur from Monty, Rose, and some from the wolfdogs at the rescue, because the wolfdogs are a huge part of my life, Monty and Rose are family, and I believe in taking care of those who do not have a voice to defend themselves.
Lastly--and I know this is impossible... See, people always talk about the smell of a baby's head, how sweet it is. Well, that's usually the smell of Johnson and Johnson shampoo, and I don't even use that on Grove (though his shampoo smells good too). The smell that I love the most about him, though, is not his head. This might sound odd, but I love the smell of his breath. I don't know what it is. Maybe it is how breastmilk affects his mouth. His breath has this clean, sweet smell that I will always associate with these early, fleeting months. Every time he yawns or laughs and I get a whiff of it, I get this warm, happy feeling. All is well with the world.
Anyway, if I could bottle that smell, it would go in my time capsule, because nothing else would remind me more vividly of motherhood and his infancy.
What career did you envision for yourself as a teenager? What path have you taken since? Any regrets?
I would have said, most of the time, that I envisioned myself as an "artist or writer" (though there was a phase where architect would have been the answer). In addition, I knew that I wanted to be a mother.
And I ended up spending a few years working for a Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing, then chose to stay home to raise Grove. So the writer and mother parts came true, and I'm glad. If I could start doing both at once, it would really make me happy.
Unexpectedly, though, I have also held the unpaid (though work-intensive) position of volunteering and serving as Vice President at a non-profit wolf and wolfdog rescue. I didn't even know that wolfdogs existed when I was a teenager, so I obviously didn't see that one coming. I'd always loved animals, but I certainly didn't envision myself working to rehabilitate and care for large carnivores. They won me over, though, and I love them too much to stop. Plus, the organization has put my photography, writing, and editing skills to good use for our fundraising efforts, so it's not an entirely unmatched position. And, as it turns out, I'm mighty handy with a hammer or a poop scoop. Heh.
Explain which Halloween costume would best represent you.
Oh good grief. I don't know... "Nature Girl"? Ha!
Describe your favorite comfort food.
Chocolate. Dark chocolate.
What recipe is most frequently used in your home?
Most frequently? Breastmilk.
Oh, you mean for the adults? I love Morgan's phat thai. Unfortunately we haven't fixed it in forever. Now that the cold months are coming though, I suspect several variations on bean chili and bean soup will be frequent on the menu. I love beans, and they are cheap. Here is one variation on our bean chili, but we have made it several different ways before.
What is your most embarrassing memory? How have you learned from it?
For the answer to this question, I'm going to pull out an old entry.
Finally, what makes you a WordGoddess?
Well, I love to write. But any accusations of my deity status are purely hearsay.
Send your questions to dawntreader AT fallingstar DOT net.
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