'Twas brillig, and the slythy memes...

...did gyre and gimble in the blogs.*

1. What time is it?
8:43 P.M.. And I'm going to bed soon. And I'm not ashamed.

2. What's your full name?
Mags. Mags FrauBlucher Dirigible. Nice to meetcha.

3. What are you most afraid of?
Bad things happening to my family. For me personally, heights. And death. Death from heights, more to the point. Oh, and my cold, unflinchingly brutal, digital scales.

4. What is the most recent movie that you have seen that was bootlegged?
I don't believe I've ever seen a bootlegged movie. Oh, wait; I watched a suspicious DVD of "The Little Mermaid" once.

5. Place of birth
North Kansas City, Missouri

6. What is your favorite food?
Italian and Indian. I refuse to choose. There are days for incredible crusty bread with herbed EVOO and parmesan cheese, red wine, long-simmered red sauce, and fresh cannoli; there are days for naan, saag paneer, chicken korma, and kheer. And they are all good days.

7. What's your natural hair color?
It's actually a non-color. It's whatever is between blonde and brown that absolutely refuses to choose sides. It's the fence of colors; the anti color, the sucking vacuum maw that exists in the middle of the color wheel. (And, whenever I'm poor enough to let it grow out, it becomes more and more apparent that there are serious streaks of gray; again, a non-color.)

8. Ever been a "neat freak?"
Ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! (wipes eyes) Um...only compared to my husband. And my children. Sadly.

9. Ever been skinny dipping?
Erm, I grew up on a lake, helloooo?

10. Love someone so much it made you cry?
I've never NOT cried over someone I've loved.

11. Been in a car accident?
Several, though not for a very long time. (Universe, you will disregard that last statement.)

12. Croutons or bacon bits?
Real bacon. It is my most sacredly held belief that all foods can be improved with bacon. Amen.

13. Favorite day of the week?
Friday. It used to be Thursday, but Thursday has been kind of biting me in the ass recently. So, it's Friday, until Thursday gets its shit together again.

14. Favorite restaurant?
Again, I refuse to choose. In Austin, "fancy" places include Vespaio, The Clay Pit, Bellagio, Andiamo, Castle Hill, and Fonda San Miguel. But, I also love littler, cheaper places, like Mandola's, Curra's (the south one,) Guero's, Enoteca, Elsi's, Phil's Icehouse...hell, even Dan's Hamburgers hits me just right on some days.

Oh, though, some of the best places I've ever been are when I travel. Just outside of Austin, there's Cooper's Barbecue, which is our church on several Sundays throughout the spring. I love d'Bronx Deli and Arthur Bryant's Barbecue in Kansas City. Boudro's in San Antonio made the most incredible soup I have ever had. Best Indian restaurant ever? Oslo, Norway! The deli Trish and Mike took me to in Columbus, OH, was the best I've ever been to, anywhere. And, the pizza and cheesesteaks in Philly, this last trip, made me want to die a little bit inside.

Thus, I deem this question unanswerable. Next!

15. Favorite Flower?
This one, I have more of a problem answering. (Not so much the food one. Didja notice?)

I guess...Gerbera daisies, but that's only in the visual presentation, as I can't ever keep them alive. As far as the ones that actually grow in my yard for a while...I do like the multicolored Southwestern Cosmos that come up all spring and summer.

16. Favorite sport to watch?
Football. I really, really like watching football.

I hated football growing up, and my mother loved it. She always made me drive to Columbia with her to watch the Tigers games, and I was freaking miserable and bored for every single one. At some point, I started to at least develop a modicum of understanding of how the game worked, but it was completely under protest.

However, at some point, in college, I realized that, if I watched football with guys I was interested in, then I could "get my foot in the door," as it were. And, I don't know if it was the power of association (like football=getting lucky; ergo football = fun,) but, at some point, I began to like it.

Now, ironically, watching football with the man results in kind of the opposite equation. (Football = hanging out with the guys drinking beer; ergo football = us passing out with no sex involved whatsoever.)

17. Favorite drink?
Alcoholic: really expensive and smooth red wine
Non-Alcoholic: Hibiscus mint iced tea, unsweetened. Or fresh-squeezed, tart, lemonade.

18. Favorite ice cream?
The Almond Joy ice cream at the little ice cream stand outside of Bedford, MA. Or, coconut almond fudge ice cream/gelato in general.

19. Warner Brothers/Disney?
Miramax, actually. Oh, OK, if you force me...I'm a Disney girl.

20. Ever been on a ship?
I don't think so. Many, many boats, but the only "ships" have really been ferries...e.g. across the English Channel.

21. What color is your bedroom carpet?
It's all hardwoods.

22. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
Just once.

23. From whom did you get your last e-mail?
It was spam. Before that, from Trish.

24. What do you do when you are bored?
Memes

25. Bedtime?
Between 11:00 and 12:00.

26. Who would respond if I tagged them?
Not sure; probably everyone else is way more bored with these than I am.

27. Favorite TV shows?
I'm too embarrassed to go nattering on AGAIN about TV shows. Um, I'll pick "My Name is Earl" insofar as what is on right now, and "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" for favorite TV show of all time.

28. Last person you went to dinner with?
Besides The Man? Erin, in Philly. At a lovely little Italian bistro in a swanky part of downtown. Incredible seafood in broth.

29. Park or Zoo?
Park

30. What are your favorite colors?
Blue, Red, Purple, Black.

31. How many tattoos do you have?
None. I keep fantasizing about getting a tramp stamp,** but I really don't have the lower body to pull it off.

32. How many pets do you have?
Um, we really don't need to go into that right now...it's a source of "contention" in my "marriage," as I'm supposedly "the one" that "keeps bringing home" more "animals." (Although, as I constantly remind The Man, it was HE who had the three cats when I met him, and I only had the one...so HE is actually the crazy cat lady in our relationship. So there.)

One dog
Five cats (Molly looks...kind of great, actually!)
One Sea-Monkey

So, whatever that comes to. I don't think it matters. Next question.

33. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Most mornings, it's eggs.

34. What do you want to do before you die?
Go to the South Seas.

35. Do you have a celebrity crush?
Many.

36. Have you ever been to Hawaii?
No, damn it.

37. Have you been to countries outside the U.S.?
Yes.

38. Time this survey ended?
10:03 P.M. And time well spent. (What else was I supposed to do? Put away my laundry?)

Thanks, my old buddy JB, for the e-mail!
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*Do you know the reference? Do ya do ya do ya?

**Disclaimer: The term "tramp stamp" does not imply that I think that any or all of my friends that have them are "tramps." They are, in fact, "sluts."