Interview Meme (Some More)!

[revena]

anariel_di_gaia posted the interview meme in her journal, and I asked to be interviewed, because I can never get enough of that meme. Here are the rules:

01. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
02. I will respond by asking you five questions of a very intimate and creepily personal nature. Or not so creepy/personal.
03. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions.
04. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
05. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

And here are my answers to anariel_di_gaia's questions:

1- What piece of writing you have done do you like best and why?

This is a hard one to answer, because I like different pieces for different reasons. I’m always going to be extremely fond of the first Valmai book because it was the first - first novel, first characters I really fell in love with, etc. I think that some of the things I’m working on right now are a lot stronger, though. In particular, I’m really proud of the work that kphoebe and I are doing on Seen and Spoken. (but don’t worry – I’m never going to get bored with Valmai and Emlyn and that whole cast)

2- If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

I’d love to take a crazy, months-long world tour, and visit all of my friends who live in far-flung, exotic places. You’d let me sleep on your floor for a week, right? ;-)

3- What's the dorkiest thing you've ever done?

Hah, do I have to pick just one? Writing a novel so that I could tell the stories of some NPCs I created for a D&D game is right up there. So is modifying Barbie dolls so that they look like my fictional characters…

4- What was your favourite book as a child, do you still love it?

I loved the Dark is Rising Sequence, by Susan Cooper, and pretty much everything by Madeleine L’Engle. And I still do. I think I re-read those books pretty much every year.

5- (From your posts, I think) you don't wear make up, and you don't drink, was this a very conscious decision or just something you never got in to?

Both, sort’ve. I’ll have to break this into two parts – let’s do makeup first.

I don’t wear makeup largely because I just never got into the habit of it (and I really only vaguely know how, really, anyway). I didn’t start when other girls started, for whatever reason, and I’ve gotten used to both my face as-is, and not having to spend extra time in the morning applying it. I also don’t pluck or wax my brows, or my “bikini line”, and I usually don’t bother to shave my legs. I do shave my underarms.

This does have a small political component. Western beauty standards for women drive me nuts. They’re restrictive, unfair, and often require going through painful or unhealthy processes. If I was truly radical, I’d refuse to shave my underarms, too, and really get in people’s faces about how non-conformist I am when it comes to personal beauty routines. But as much as I believe in tearing down our gendered societal mandates, I also believe that it’s important that individual women (and men) do whatever it is that makes them happiest and most comfortable. For me, that means conforming just a little bit – but not much.

Now, on to drinking!

I do actually drink – just not much, or often. Just like with the makeup thing, there are two components here. The first is that I appear to be allergic to something in alcoholic drinks. After only a few sips of a mixed drink, my face flushes, my body temperature rises, and I often get a headache. Having more than one drink over the course of an evening is just impossible – I start to feel sick immediately if I have anything stronger than a single Midori Sour.

Even if I could drink more, though, I wouldn’t. I don’t like losing control of myself, and I don’t want to lower my inhibitions, etc. I’m perfectly capable of getting silly and giddy without being under the influence of anything, and I don’t see any other good reason for overindulgence. I know too many people who become embarrassing, aggressive, dangerous, or just plain boring when they get drunk – and I never want to be That Guy.

Just like the makeup thing, though, this is a personal choice of mine, and I’d never want to impose it on anyone else. I’m not anti-booze – it’s just not for me. I do worry about some of my friends when I think they’re developing unhealthy reliance on mood-altering substances, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a couple of drinks with dinner, or going out with friends and getting a little bit buzzed. I just prefer to only share in the dinner or going out parts, myself.

Now leave me an "interview me" comment, and I'll ask you some questions! (I'll also probably be willing to answer any other questions or requests for clarification that anyone leaves in comments, too)

Comments

[revena.livejournal.com]

1. Why the purple hair?

2. What's your "comfort food" - the meal you prepare (or order) when you're feeling kinda blue, and only eating will help?

3. Do you have a favorite movie or tv show that you think everyone should see? If so, what is it, and what makes it so great?

4. When you were a kid, what did you tell people when they asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?"? Do you think your child-self would be horrified by what you ended up doing?

5. Do you have any collections (aside from your own dolls)? What are they?