Sunday Stealing--Book of Questions

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1. Do you think the world will be a better or worse place 100 years from now?  I’m really looking forward to seeing what others have to say on this.  For myself, sadly, I think it will be worse.  Global warming will continue, which I find the scariest thing, because it can’t just be turned around or stopped or even paused.  A book that really brought that home for me is an amazing piece of speculative fiction by Paolo Bacigalupi called The Water Knife.  From Amazon:  

"In the near future, the Colorado River has dwindled to a trickle. Detective, assassin, and spy, Angel Velasquez “cuts” water for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, ensuring that its lush arcology developments can bloom in Las Vegas. When rumors of a game-changing water source surface in Phoenix, Angel is sent south, hunting for answers that seem to evaporate as the heat index soars and the landscape becomes more and more oppressive. There, he encounters Lucy Monroe, a hardened journalist with her own agenda, and Maria Villarosa, a young Texas migrant, who dreams of escaping north. As bodies begin to pile up, the three find themselves pawns in a game far bigger and more corrupt than they could have imagined, and when water is more valuable than gold, alliances shift like sand, and the only truth in the desert is that someone will have to bleed if anyone hopes to drink."

2.  Would you accept $1,000,000 to leave the country and never set foot in it again.  More than likely.  I love my Country, but I don’t love the return of nationalism, xenophobia, racism, and hatred that is being supported and even encouraged by the current administration. 

3. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the body or the mind of a 30 year old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?  The mind.  The other is just window dressing.

El Meson
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4. What would constitute a “perfect” evening for you?   Staying in a 5 Star hotel (like the Inn and Spa at Loretto in Santa Fe, NM) within walking distance of an amazing tapas restaurant (like El Meson), with my hubs.  We try to do this every 3 or 4 months or so.  

Along with a massage before 

dinner and room service breakfast the next morning it totally 

rejuvenates me—almost as much as a whole vacation.  This hotel has a fabulous lobby bar called "The Living Room".  It's literally just that--a gorgeous room with comfy couches, chairs, a huge fireplace, live acoustic music, and warm lighting.  They have great food, service, and, according to hubs, great drinks.  The mocktails are pretty good too, I have to admit.  Not the cheapest mini-vacay ever, but it's only 45 minutes away.  You really can't go wrong with an evening in Santa Fe.  There are lot's of great hotels, and more restaurants than I could possibly ever go to.  Walking the Plaza at night is pretty fabulous too.

5. Whom do you admire most?  In what way does that person inspire you?  My late father.  My Dad grew up dirt poor, hungry and abused.  He busted his butt all his life, in the US Navy as a submariner, and later, as a nuclear test engineer.  He was brilliant, fearless, unmistakably a hard-ass, and was an incredible role model when it came to how to go from nothing to something.  He sometimes wasn’t the nicest guy, and drank way too much for a lot of my life, but he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it, and always only ever wanted us to be a success.  Every day of my life, I tried to live up to his example.  He was a huge personality and never knew a stranger.  He inspired me every day to do more, be better, and, in his words "kick some ass."  

6. Do you prefer being around men or women?  Do your closest friends tend to be men or women?    I prefer being by myself, or with my husband.  I don’t have a coterie of friends.  My husband is my best friend, so men?  I like women, but as a nurse, I’ve spent a ton of time with groups of women most of  my life.  The cattiness thing can be a pain in the ass.  Why do women need to do that?

7. If you could use a voodoo doll to hurt anyone you chose, would you?  Nah, I’m not the hurty type. Nurse, remember?

8. What is your most treasured memory?  Graduating nursing school—our pinning ceremony.  Walking across that stage, knowing I was going to be an RN after all that hard work while working full-time nights, is pretty high up there.  Being a nurse isn’t just a job, it’s who I am.

9. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?  Is there anything you hope to do that is even better?  (Let’s exclude raising children, if you have them).  Getting my Bachelor's in Nursing (BSN) in a year, and then my Master’s (MSN) a year later was right up there.  I’m the first person in my family to do that, which is pretty cool.  As far as doing something that’s even better…I’d like to retire with a little money in the bank someday.  That’s an accomplishment in my book, lol.

10. If you went to a dinner party and were offered a dish you had never tried, would you want to taste it, even if it sounded strange and not very appealing?  It really would depend on what it looked like.  I’m picky, there I said it.  I’m not crazy about my food touching (Bento boxes are the bomb!) and there are veggies I will not eat (Lima beans, I’m looking at you). 

11. Do your close friends tend to be older or younger than you?  Younger, by 10-15 years.

12. How do you feel when people sing Happy Birthday to you in a restaurant?  I can’t stand it.  Fortunately, that hasn’t happened to me in a million years.  Hubs knows better, lol.

13. When you tell a story, do you often exaggerate or embellish it?  If so, why?  I’ve had an interesting life, never really felt like I had to embellish my experiences…

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14. If a friend were almost always late, would you resent it or simply allow for it?  Can you be allowed to be on time?  I have two friends who are perennially late.  Every.single.time.  And not just a few minutes, we’re talking a whole hour.  It’s irritating, because I’m always early because I want to be on time.  So yeah, I do resent it, and have avoided lunches with them, because 1pm turns into 2:30.  I don’t want to eat LUNCH at 2:30. 

15. If you could have free, unlimited service for five years from an extremely good cook, chauffeur, housekeeper, or personal secretary, which would you choose?  Housekeeper, hands down.  OMG, that would be the best thing ever.  I am a uninterested housekeeper, and constantly feel bad that my house isn’t sparkling clean and neat.