November Questions
1 Would you rather always be 10 minutes late or 20 minutes early?
20 minutes early no contest - I really don't like being late. It stresses me out to be late.
2 What would be the most unsettling thing to keep occasionally finding around your house?
Bugs.
3 What nicknames do you have for people in your life?
Bear is an nickname that I use for my husband. I would see him walking in college in the distance and it looked like a bear walk to me. Plus he is a lot like a polar bear since he is an introvert. I do use his real name when we are with other people or referring to him in real life but at home or with text or email if I called him by his real name he would think something is wrong.
Tanya is actually a nickname for Tatyana, her full name. I also call her Tanyusha or Tanechka sometimes. (Olivia uses Tanyusha a lot, which is very cute). And I call both girls "booba" or "boobsik" sometimes (I don't even know why - I suspect a Russian or Yiddish nickname there that I somehow picked up.)
For Olivia, I do call her Olivka a lot. Sometime Olivochka. And still 'baby' sometimes, although she now corrects me.
I don't think I have nicknames for anyone else other than Russian name nicknames that are very common (my friend Svetlana is automatically Sveta, or my cousin Alexander is Sasha, my cousin Yekaterina is Katya - those are standard nicknames in the culture). I call my parents "Mama" and "Papa" (both with emphasis on the first syllable) which is not exactly nicknames.
4 Would you rather every shirt you ever wear to be kind of itchy or only be able to use 1 ply toilet paper?
1 ply toilet paper since you can take more than one and put them together. And I don't want to be itchy.
5 What weird crisp (potato chip) flavour that doesn’t exist would you like to try?
I generally don't like different potato chip flavors - a regular is fine on the rare occasion I eat them. But if I had to be creative I would say ketchup flavor.
6 Where is the most uncomfortable place you have ever slept?
On the ground/big rock with just a sleeping bag when camping when I worked at a sleepaway camp. That was not really comfortable. Second place goes to airplane seat - I can't really sleep in airplanes.
7 Who is your most eccentric relative and what is the most eccentric think they have done?
I don't know if I had any eccentric relatives. Probably my Uncle Tolya who collects all sort of clocks and watches. He sets them just slightly apart so when the hour chimes, all the grandfather clocks keep going for a few minutes.
8 In the past people were buried with the items they would need in the afterlife, what would you want buried with you so you could use it in the afterlife?
A Kindle with internet access that can download any book ever published.
9 What obstacles would be included in the World’s most amazing obstacle course?
Somethings like what American Ninja Warrior Show has - those obstacles are pretty fun.
10 Would you rather be an orchestra that has been assimilated by the Borg and endlessly plays only orchestral versions of Mel and Kim songs or a carthorse that has to pull a cart full of corpses of all your carthorse friends around all day long but is otherwise treated well and gets Sunday off?
Just looked by Mel and Kim and their songs were quite catchy. But I don't want to be assimilated by the Borg so I will pick a carhorse.
11 If you were moving to another country, but could only pack one carry-on sized bag, what would you pack?
When we were moving to America, we could only take 2 suitcases each and a carry-on. (We did ship a lot of books and photo albums and stamp collection to my uncle before hand though). My Mom packed the suitcases with things like kitchen wares and even her accordion. There were some clothes. In my carry-on I packed my collections of animal cards and calendars and mickey gum cartoons, and some school notebooks. I also brought a lot of pencils and some photos. And one stuffed toy - a fox. I don't remember what else.
If I had to pack now, it would be my laptop, my Kindle and my chargers and some soap, deodorant, toothpaste and shampoo until I can find something I like in a new place.
12 What’s the funniest comedy sketch you’ve seen?
Dana Carvey's broccoli song is still something I sing sometimes, especially when I'm cooking broccoli. Also one Robin Williams comedy special stands out. Oh, also the Latin scene in Life of Brian movie - I saw it as I was studying Latin so it was extra hilarious.
13 Would you rather have free Wi-Fi wherever you go or be able to drink unlimited free coffee at any coffee shop?
I don't drink coffee, so this one is easy. Free Wi-Fi
14 If you could use Jurassic Park technology to bring back one extinct creature what would you resurrect?
A Mammoth.
15 What outdoor activity haven’t you tried, but would like to?
Do I have to? None that I can think of.
16 Who would you place in the inner circle of hell?
Many current politician who only worry about elections instead of integrity.
17 How do you judge a person?
By their actions
18 If your job gave you a surprise three day paid break to rest and recuperate, what would you do with those three days?
Well I have little kids, so I would just regular days with them and give my Mom a chance to have a break to rest and recuperate. There is no rest right now for me. Someday.
19 Would you rather have a completely automated home or a self-driving car?
Both creep me out. But I would pick a self-driving car since I don't really drive and this would give me an option to go more places.
20 What product do you wish a company would make a “smart” version of?
I don't want smart products in my house. I find them mostly creepy with various privacy implications. So I don't wish for smart products.
21 What do you think would be the most useful thing you could do with virtual reality?
Help bedridden patients be someplace else and also therapeutic help like exposure therapy for people with phobias. Bear likes to do things with VR and he is always interested in therapeutic potential of VR and various ways psychologists could use it to help people. So I get to hear a lot about it. My grandfather mentioned that he can't really go to the beach even though he lives a block away really. So I got Bear to bring his VR set to show him a beach scene. My grandfather only did this for a few minutes but he really enjoyed it. My grandma got to nauseous to enjoy it much though. I get that - I get nauseous with VR after a bit too.
22 In what situations, do you wish you could throw down a smoke bomb and disappear?
Any awkward ones.
23 Would you rather be fluent in all languages and never be able to travel or be able to travel anywhere for a year but never be able to learn a word of a different language?
I'd rather travel anywhere for a year. I can get by with English, Russian and some French that I already know.
24 What word do you always misspell?
Tomorrow. I want to put an extra m in there and need to remind myself to say 'morrow'.
25 Would you rather be put in a maximum security federal prison with the hardest of the hardened criminals for one year or be put in a relatively relaxed prison where wall street types are held for ten years?
I sometimes ask Bear these questions and for this one he made a good point that he won't make it for a year. I agree with him. Although most times people find me weird and a loner and do leave me alone. Still, I'll do ten years and use the time to study something new.
26 How long have you lived in your home?
Almost 3 years.
27 Would you rather have someone impersonating you and doing really amazing things that you get the credit for or find money hidden in weird places all around your house every day but with no explanation where the money comes from or how it keeps getting there?
I don't want to get the credit for what someone else is doing. I'd rather find the money and invest it in something like an education fund.
28 Have you ever slept out overnight to be one of the first in a queue?
No, never overnight, but I did go to Central Park at 6am a few times to be one of the first in line for Shakespeare in the Park tickets when I was in high school.
29 What's your favourite shop?
any bookstore
30 Do you have a pair of lucky underwear?
No