karenika - twenty-one

1. Show your favorite digital photograph here:
I took this picture on our honeymoon. We went to the Seychelles islands, which are in the Indian Ocean. On this specific day, we had taken the boat from the island where we stayed, Praslin, to La Digue. We took an ox cart to the most famous beach on the island, Anse Source D'Argent. We then walked over to Grand Anse and as I took this shot, my camera ran completely out of battery. This is one of the few pictures that displays the surreal, prehistoric feel of the islands.

My other favorite picture from the same trip is the following:

This one is on Anse Source D'Argent.

I have too many favorite pictures. Each shot I take is full of memories and I find it hard to pick one over the others.

2. What is your motto?
Well my motto is that there's nothing I can't do. Along those lines, my favorite quote is: "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." --Mark Twain

3. If you could meet any two people (living or dead), who would they be, and why?
I've been thinking about this for days. I'm still not entirely sure. One of my choices would definitely be Richard Feynman. I have read most of his book and I am confident that he would be a very interesting person to meet. My second choice would be Milan Kundera. I greatly admire both of these people and feel like they are diverse and thought-provoking people.

4. For the next 5 minutes, type whatever comes into your mind.
Unfortunately, the conversation that's constantly running on my mind comes to the surface when I am given such an opportunity to simply type stuff up for five minutes. The conversation constantly reminds me of the millions of stuff that's on my to-do list. The books I have to read and return to the library, the emails I have to respond to, the posts I need to put up on my site, the code I have to write for work, the pictures to put up from our summer fun. Cleaning up the house. The list never ends and the longer it gets, the more likely I am to sit on the couch and watch TV mostly to smother the conversation in my head. It works most of the time. The best trick I have found to get around it, is to write everything down and put allotted times next to each item. Suddenly it's all more manageable. By the way, this only happens on the weekends, when I know I will have two full 24-hour days of no obligations.

5. What you want to be most remembered for?
I want to be remembered for making a difference in one person's life. I want to know that someone had a better life because I lived.

6. If you wrote a book, what would the first (or last) line be?
Well I have attempted to write two books and am still developing ideas on my third so this question should be really easy for me, but I actually have no idea. For the sake of time, let's say:
First: "I met her the during the graduation ceremony."
Last: "I hit delete."
Now you can tell why I have never been published.

7. If you were King (and/or) Queen for a day, describe your first proclamation.
My proclamation would be that all people have to be kind and they all have to be who they are. No fake-ness allowed.

8. If you could change one thing about yourself, or your situation, what would it be?
Oh man, where do I begin? Well, currently, I would make myself a proficient driver and I would know how to ride a bike. I know, it's sad. If you had asked me a few months ago, when driving wasn't so important, I would have said, I would like to have more artistic talent. I would like to be able to draw better.

9. There's no genie, but you've been granted three.
1. I can speak all the languages in the world.
2. I need only four hours of sleep a night.
3. I have read every book. (all the ones I want to read).

10. Last trip "out of town" you took, and when. . .
Jake and I drove to Joshua Tree National Park, last weekend. It was magnificent.

11. Find a word in the dictionary that you never knew before and post the definition to it here:
shill - one who acts as a decoy

12. What is the most daring thing you've ever done?
Moving to San Diego with my husband. We had never seen San Diego before. We didn't know anyone in the city. We had no potential home or any jobs. We just picked up and moved here. That was quite daring for me.

13. Name something positively amazing (besides your birth) that happened the year you were born.
I was born in 1974. Despite my amazing Google skills, I haven't been able to find anything amazing that happened on my birth-year. The closest I got was to find that Steely Dan released "Rikki Don't Lose that Number," a song I like a lot, but isn't nearly my favorite.

14. Name your favorite Beatle.
Hmm. though I love their music, I've never been a huge fan of a specific Beatle. I guess I would have to choose Paul because he sings my current Beatle favorite, Rocky Racoon.

15. In 250 words (or less), answer me this: "If money were not an object, and you were to leave tomorrow to travel around the world in 100 days, name your preferred method of travel and at least a dozen destinations you'd visit."
I would fly almost everywhere. I have never been in a hot air balloon even though it sounds like it would be so much fun. I would drive to Alaska. I would go back to the Seychelles. To Prague. Drive all over Italy. Visit Spain and Portugal. Go on an African Safari. Sail the Mediterranean. Go back to Japan. Visit Kenya and Venezuela. Drive to the ten states I still haven't seen. Visit Hawaii. Greece. Sweden. Belgium. South of France. Germany. Baja California. Maldives. Turks and Caicos. The list would never end. There are very few places I wouldn't want to visit.

16. Name of the last book you read, and list your favorite passage from said book:
Currently reading Longitudes and Attitudes by Thomas Friedman. I have also started Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. I have tons of excepts posted here.

17. Last funny thing a child said to you.
Even though I taught fifth grade last year and visited my four-year old, twin nephews this summer, I can't remember one funny thing a child told me. Sad, eh?

18. Put down one stanza from your favorite song lyric, one that has particular meaning to you, one that, had you thought of it first, would have written yourself.
I'm going to go with one that has special meaning to me. Our wedding song was Fly Me to the Moon by Sinatra.

Fill my life with song
And let me sing forevermore
You are all I hope for
All I worship and adore
In other words please be true
In other words I love you

19. Put down your favorite movie line.
"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world." - Dead Poets Society

a conversation between Jerry Maguire and and Ray (who is 6 or younger, I can't remember his age):
Ray : D'you know that the human head weighs 8 pounds?
Jerry Maguire : Did you know that Troy Aikman, in only six years, has passed for 16,303 yards?
Ray : D'you know that bees and dogs can smell fear?
Jerry Maguire : Did you know that the career record for hits is 4,256 by Pete Rose who is NOT in the Hall of Fame?
Ray : D'you know that my next door neighbor has three rabbits?
Jerry Maguire : I... I can't compete with that!

20. Name the actor or actress you'd want to portray you in a movie based on your life.
I guess Sandra Bullock. She's the only non-blonde, non-petite actress I can think of right now.

21. Professionally speaking, if you could do anything at all, what would you do?
I would write fiction. I would also probably still code. I like it too much to give it up.