The Syndicate

At least 10. Some of them aren't my secrets per se, but the secrets of someone who is gone, like my Mom or my husband.

If you got an unexpected day off alone, with no chores or errands to run, what would you do with it?

Probably for being an obstreperous, contrarian, opinionated editorial writer. I almost said "pundit" but I don't think I could get past the introversion to actually get on camera and argue with people lol.

Do you think we're (any country or private entity) going to put boots on Mars in your lifetime?

Still a Sawyer fan after all of these years <3

Do you think that individuals making changes in their personal lives can have an impact in trash reduction?

A lot more often when I was younger, now I still have them, but I can't remember the last time (heh)

What do you hope to eliminate from your life in the near-ish future?

Not really. Too many people come back as European Royalty or their Grandfather and not enough come back as Chinese peasants, a group I would imagine makes up a pretty large percentage of "All Time Dead People".

Apple calls you and tells you you've won a collection of the complete works of any one musical artist. Who do you pick?

I find Forrest Gump smarmy, cloying and simplistic. A friend dragged me to Bubba Gumps restaurant once and I thought I'd died and went to hell.

I have started getting more into podcasts. Can you recommend a favorite?

Call of the Wild (I love dogs, what can I say. Plus Jack London was my favorite author when I was in middle school).

What movie does it surprise people to hear you have never seen (like my brother in law has never seen The Godfather, wtf is that about?) ?

Asparagus, Brussels Sprouts, Spinach

Name three things you refuse to eat.

His name is Richard Biondi. He's an accountant. We had some drama when I was a teenager, but overall he's been a good dad. He's hale and robust and I hope he lives forever.

How cold is too cold to take the dog for a walk at 5 AM?

I think I do. I use lemon soap and lemon lotion, it's a light scent.

What's worse, when a person wears WAAAAYYY too much cologne, or when they smell like sweat?

A banana and a hard boiled egg.

When was the last sporting event you attended, and what was it?

I don't really have any physical fear. When I was a kid, I ran into traffic, I took any dare, I jumped off roofs, I walked up to barking dogs. When I was 10 I climbed up one of those electrical towers, and when I heard my Mom screaming it startled me and I fell. I spent a large chunk of that year in a body cast with a broken collarbone and a cracked vertebra. My parents said it was a miracle I lived to 12. I taught myself to be more cautious, but it isn't something that came naturally to me.

What's the thing you've done that you're most proud of?

*My* existence, for me, is my effect on the world and the people around me. With my Mom having passed, and having no kids, at times I feel untethered to existence. I have never been a person who thinks of the future very much, just the present, so feeling untethered can be disconcerting at times.

What is your favorite thing about yourself?

I think it's slower reaction time, I think. I used to love video games when I was younger, now when I see the threat, by the time I hit the controller,I'm already dead much of the time. Same reason you don't see many older people driving aggressively.

Do you get pulled over a lot? How many tickets have you had (if any)?

Nostalgia; never letting go can get either creepy or even be harmful, especially to yourself, depending on the situation. Nostalgia maybe makes people roll their eyes, butit typically doesn't hurt anyone.

Someone, not someone you know well, has made a grammatical or spelling faux pas in an online discussion. Maybe they said, "I went two the store too times". Do you let it go, or tell them so?

It's a sliding scale; 10 on Christmas Eve and on ski vacations, 1 the rest of the time.

What's your favorite all time Super Bowl commercial?

My mothers Cupid pendant. It's pretty and unique and I very seldom wear it since it is also worth a lot of $$ and is irreplaceable from a sentimental perspective.

What is the oldest thing you own,and how old is it?

That grownups were always right and did the right thing.


What's the most surprising thing you have ever done?

Herring Snacks in a jar. Yum. I am the only person I know who seems to think so, though. Most of them think "yuck".



Part 1: When is the last time you read an actual newspaper? Part 2: Where do you get most of your news?

Oven died Thanksgiving, had to Bbq the turkey, it was my first holiday dinner, I was about 21, and I cried. You can't BBQ a turkey lol

What's the wildest piece of clothing you ever had that you actually wore and that wasn't part of a costume?

P.S. Segalls wife, Kelly "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful" was also horrible, she was rude and condescending to restaurant wait staff and wouldn't talk to like store clerks, she talked to her assistant and the assistant talked to you.

Michael Keaton, or possibly Steven Segall. I met both of them in a tiny town in Montana, they both had local homes. Segall was a jerk (he walked into a local hardware store in a purple fringed coat, he's super tall, was wearing makeup, and yelled at people for staring at him, for example). Keaton was just sloppy drunk but he hugged my husband and bought us a shot.

What's the longest you've lived in one place?

Brown, I work at a car dealer and brown is never cool.

What's grosser, dirty kitchen or dirty bathroom?

Paper if I'm playing with a man(men like rock imo) and scissors if a woman. I never lead with rock.

What's your favorite non fiction book or TV show genre?

Being kind to people who are different.

YOUR new job is to take up the mantle of Bob Ross and teach people to have fun doing something artistic. What is your focus?

(Skydiving is fun! It isn't as terrifying as bungie jumping that ground comes up FAST!)

I did not have any resolutions, although I am doing good with my life resolutions I started last year.

Do you think people can change, like change their personality, the person they are, not just the way they come across?

I was not familiar with them, I looked them up, I wish it still were so. I don't have one. Pure Prairie League or Marshall Tucker, I might have had an answer.

How rigid is your morning routine, and does it ruin your day if you deviate too much from it?

I am a big fan of Pomodori al riso, rice and cheese baked in tomatoes, omg so good.

Do you speak or understand a foreign language?

One someone else makes for me so I don't have to think about it.

Not counting Denim or Khaki, what is the predominant color in your wardrobe?

Sensodyne (Colgate in a pinch)

Do you know the names of all of your great grandparents?

Gilligans Island all day long. The Professor was my first TV crush.

What was the best vacation you ever took?

Yes.

Do you think a cure for cancers will be developed in your lifetime?

Forrest Gump always and forever.

When is the last time you personally out a stamp on something and sent it snail mail.

Making perfect meringue. It's an art, and when I finally mastered it, I was so proud.

DO you have any allergies, and if so, to what?

Jimmy Kimmel, although I like most of them as far as I know, heis probably the one I like the least, although I still like him. I get up at 4 AM, so I miss alot of Late Night TV.

What's your favorite one shot (not a franchise) movie?

It was a toss up between the Alexa fails and the Bud Light/GOT mashup. I think I am leaning towards the Alexa one, Harrison Fords dog running away from him, "Ordering gravy, ordering sausages" was hilarious.



What was your favorite?

It wasn't really him, he was sucked into an alternate reality and the Todd Gurley we saw was a second rate automaton.

Did you win and Super Bowl Pools?

The replicater from Star Trek. I could use that, anyone could use that.

Do you think Gladys Knight looks younger than she did 20 years ago?

Young Han, Old Luke. Overall, Luke. I am over the Rogueish Good Guy trope, and prefer the Hero of Destiny type.

If you could be inserted into any franchise, film, TV, books; which franchise and what type of character?

Meisterbrau aka Mystery Brew, ugh.

How early do you have to get up for work/school?

Seventh grade, so maybe 12? His name was Frank O'Rourke and he was shorter than me.

How old were you the first time you went to a movie without an adult?

The real answer to that is probably a little too personal, but will go with a close second.

Once my sister in law sent her sons, 7 and 10, to spend a few weeks with us in the summer. I lived on a rural road at that time. I took them down the road for a walk to the bird sanctuary nearby, and we were just walking next to a lake, and I heard an engine, and I looked to my nephews... and I didn't immediately see the little one and the truck was RIGHT THERE, and so was the lake. And I lost my shit. I am screaming running in front of the truck waving my arms, scanning the lake, the whole thing. And he was just down in a ditch looking for arrowheads. After I stopped hyperventilating, I hugged him so hard, then I wanted to throw him in the lake for scaring me so bad, but I didn't.

Do you have a lot of memorabilia from your childhood?

I'm 100% lady that way, I like the ice skating (although I also like luge, so death defying).

What color is the shirt you are wearing right now?

The Netherlands, the weather isn't too harsh, and it's well located for European travel.

What is a place you have no interest in visiting?

21-14? I dunno, lol. Football isn't my thing.

If you could meet one sports figure, dead or alive, for dinner and discussion, who would you choose?

I waffle between raising the ceilings (I live in a lower level apartment and would like to be able to get tall bookcases) or having a bathtub, I only have a shower and miss having a tub. But I really lean towards the tub.

What is your least favorite household chore (I especially loathe floor related chores, vacuuming and mopping).

Most people like 1 or 3, but I like 5, I liked the Dharma Initiative/LaFleur storyline. So yeah, 5. Although I could have done without all the drama in the base of the statue.
(I also would pick the Tazmanian Tiger!)

What place did you visit as a child that you would like to revisit today?

Not counting zoo animals, an Armadillo. I was visiting in laws in Texas, and it was just walking across the road. If you count zoo animals, it might still be the Armadillo, although I did see a pangolin once, on it's way to a zoo, and that was pretty weird. They have pangolins in the Pittsburgh zoo, I don't think many zoos in the US have them.

If you could bring back an extinct animal (other than dinosaurs, lol) what would it be?

When you first get online, what's the first thing you do?

That's easy, first time I wore high-ish heels to school, maybe 8th grade, I tripped and fell in the mud outside the shop classrooms. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole.

What do you have planned for this year that you are most looking forward to doing?

Depends on the room, but overall, vibrant.


What was your first car(and if you haven’t had one yet, what do you hope is your first car)?