Ack! Curses! My first crush was Jonathan. I came home, so my mother claims, and declared that he was my boyfriend. I was about four or five. *g* I didn't start breaking my heart over real-life guys until quite a bit older – I mostly liked fictional / famous guys up until I hit late teens, because, teenage boys? Yeeeeeuch. The first real guy was Jon. Much older than me. I got up the courage to ask him out (first time I'd ever asked a guy out), and he turned me down. Oy. Humiliations galore. But fortunately I continued to know him for years, through mutual friends, and eventually realised what a lucky escape I'd had. He was a total dick. No discernable sense of humour. Completely self-absorbed. Out-of-work actor. *big eyeroll*

 

Something not fandom-related...? Does not compute. *g* Okay. I love cooking – absolutely adore it. Baking in particular. I make the best chocolate cake, and have been known to ply my entire office with Welsh Cakes and Eccles Cakes, just because I wanted to make some, and got carried away with the quantity (honestly, I swear the recipe says 2lbs of flour!). I love trying complicated things, too, like confectionery – I've tried, over and over again, to make fudge, and failed miserably each time.  Working with sugar is weird and difficult, but so intriguing - it's like a science experiment. I love eating these things, of course, but also I love feeding them to people and having them enjoy it. I'd make a wonderful grandmother, so I'm told. *pokes mean boyfriend*

 

Diana Wynne Jones. I'd say Terry Pratchett, but I think Diana Wynne Jones is truly the one I'd like to be compared to, because I think she writes warm, human characters in extraordinary situations – and magical events in the midst of recognisable real life. She's really funny, she writes flawed people beautifully, and relationships that are screwed up, situations that are sad and terrible and believable... I think she's marvellous. Terry Pratchett I love, particularly the way he plays with the actual printed text, and his comic timing, but I don't think he writes women that well, and I feel Diana Wynne Jones is that little bit more human.

Too open, perhaps. Most people who know me in real life know that I'm a fan of various things, and that I've written fanfic. Most of them give me That Look – you may know it – the one that says 'I think you're nuts, but at least it's harmless'. I try to keep it separate from work unless I actually make proper friends with someone, but sometimes I just can't help but get enthusiastic about something, and it just comes out.

 

 

I put five in! You answered them all, too, soppy! *g*

 

Ooh... Hm... Good one... I think I'd like to live as... *goes away and thinks about it for an hour*... RDA's bathrobe doesn't count, right?... I'm tempted to say Sam, except I think just one day of her life has the potential to be excruciatingly dull, especially if it involved reports. I'd like one day as Captain Jack Sparrow. That'd be cool. To be a pirate, sail the high seas, swashbuckle, hoist the mainbrace, drink rum (although, yuck), carouse, tell tall stories... Yeah. *g* It's a pirate's life for me. 

I'm totally influenced by what I've recently read / listened to.

 

You know, every time I think I've decided, I change my mind. Miss Piggy, because she kicks ass! Ooh, and Gonzo, because he's an adorable freak! And Fozzie – he's so funneeeeeee! And Statler and Waldorf – they're so mean! And Rizzo the Rat – he's me in a rat costume! And Rolf, he's a sweetie! And Beaker, he disappears into his collar! And Kermit, he holds the whole thing together and I cried when he appeared at the end, when they did the tribute to Jim Henson!

 

I can't pick one. I really can't. I love them all together.

 

"Executive Assistant", i.e. a PA with a better job title and slightly better pay. And no, so very much not what I want to be doing, but my work CV is geared towards office admin (I have a degree in Fine Art, but that did more harm than good, work-wise). I'm making an effort to change that – I'm taking a course in Animation in April, which will hopefully knock my CV off the course it's headed. If I'm in office admin for the rest of my life, I think I'll shrivel up and die. The person I PA for is a nice guy, though, so that's cool.

 

Hm. Fun. Well, Marc Bolan died the year I was born... *g* We had a school history project once to come up with something like this, and I put together this whole thing of me as an explorer / pirate / sailor, female but in disguise as a boy (of course), off to find America, trade spices and rare jewels... That's who I'd like to have been. Or Anne Boleyn – I always found her fascinating. She's so mysterious – and supposedly really intelligent. Although, married to Henry VII? Urgh.

 

Oooh... I think, out of all the many places I'd love to go, the top one is the Rockies. I'd like to spend time in some of the National Parks in Alberta and British Columbia, outdoors, with the trees and the lakes and the rivers and the mountains. I love trees. I love the outdoors – I don't spend much time outdoors, to be honest, but I wish I did. I love the look of the scenery there, and there's the added bonus of "Ooh, look, it's PX-blahblahblah, from Stargate! / the place Scully was kidnapped!" etc. I'd love to spend a couple of weeks or so walking in the wilderness. Preferably with someone who knew what the heck they were doing and could teach me, but who could also keep quiet and appreciate the sound of the wind in the trees. I'm thinkin' MacGyver. :)

 

I'm... not very good with politics. I'm definitely a liberal left-winger, but I'm not very active about it. About the most I do is vote Green, watch Jon Stewart, recycle, and read the paper (not enough). My mum and my brother are very active, very astute – my mum went on demonstrations in support of the miner's strike (big, emotive issue in the UK in the 80s), and was once put in prison (for a week) for a political campaign she took part in. She took a stand, and I'm hugely proud of her for that, but I was quite young when all that was going on, and I think it put me off. My brother was a baby, so I don't think he took it in. Mostly, the current political climate makes me despair. I was so disappointed in Tony Blair. All politicians are so awful, it's almost impossible to choose someone to vote for. What gets me riled up...? People who deny that climate change is happening, and that we should be doing something about it before it's too bloody late. I just find myself gobsmacked by the deliberate sabotage committed by certain large corporations. I can't imagine how anyone could willingly be employed by companies that recruit scientists by offering of huge amounts of money if they'll write papers to try to discredit the climate change lobby. That sort of deliberate, money-centric evil-mindedness is completely beyond my understanding or sympathy.

 

Hmm. I often don't like Jean Grey, but it sort of depends in what universe – they all vary so much from the comics, to the movies, to the cartoons... and depending on whether it's before they totally changed their character/powers at some point... The X-Men just changes all the time. I thought Juggernaut in the movie was terrible, but then I loathe Vinnie Jones. Comic/cartoon Jubilee is kinda irritating. And movie Bobby – so dull. Love Scott, movie or comic (how could they do that to him, in the third movie? How???). I very much don't like movie Storm – but I like comic Storm. Eh.

2. How do you feel about Pete?

He's... I don't find him in the least bit attractive, but I can see why Sam might go out with him, if that makes sense. He seems sweet. Annoying, but sweet. Needy, but kind. Claustrophobia-inducing, but... okay, yes, I don't like him much. *g* But I see why Sam might want to go out with him - she thought he could cope with the truth, and he had a sense of humour, and he cared about her a lot, and he seemed prepared to put up with her messing him around – I mean, two weeks to answer a proposal? The dude is patient.

Yay shoes! I didn't used to be girly about shoes, but then... I don't know what happened, but now I am. My favourite are some red high heels – but they manage to look adorably cute rather than slutty. They have rounded toes, with little pink bows on the top, and the heels are quite thick, and they make my feet look tiny. They get compliments every time I wear them - which is not often, because they're damn high, and don't go with much of my wardrobe. If I wear black, they stand out a mile. If I wear red, I stand out a mile. WTF am I supposed to wear them with?

 

I also recently got black patent leather pointy high-heeled boots that I love. People at work treat me with respect when I wear them, 'cause I look scary. Well, as scary as I can look, which isn't much, to be honest.

Chocolate. Damn, when did I turn into such a girl? I used to be a tomboy, I'll have you know. Love chocolate – with high cocoa content. I'm snobbish about that. I love Lindt & Sprungli, 70% cocoa. It makes a lovely 'snap' when you break it.

 

Also, I love pesto. But not with chocolate.

 

Bwahahahaaaaaaa!

 

I'd be a crap evil genius/tyrant. I can't boss people around to save my life. "Everybody!.... Play NICE. George... don't do that."