very random survey from marg in survey time

OMG I’m making more than one entry in a six month time frame! This is directly due to being in a massively slow period at work, which is quite unusual. Yes, I do realize work is not for writing/reading journals and I should do that at home. It’s my downtime thing. I’m so far behind on my journaling that I’m just going to do a survey instead of trying to catch up with my not-very-interesting life that lately has consisted of worrying about parents and never going anywhere but their towns.

Is there a rail line near your house? If so, is it noisy and bothersome?
No, sadly. Well, sadly as in I wish we had easier access to train travel - not sad that there isn’t a rail line disturbing me. I do remember one of my cousins camping with her family near Asheville a number of years ago, and being kept awake by trains going by right beside the campground during the night. I was really surprised that there were so many trains, but they are all goods trains, not passenger trains. You have to drive for hours to catch a passenger train.

What’s your favorite flavour of potato chip?
Salt and vinegar. And cheesy ones.

How far do you live from the nearest international border?
Well, that’s an interesting question that I’ve just tried to answer via Google since the only thing I’m certain of is that I’m a very very long way from any international border. I tried asking it what the closest international border is to Boone (and I REALLY wish I’d stop spelling it “boarder”, which is a very different thing and I’m probably quite close to the nearest international boarder since I’m on a college campus) and the first thing on the list is Mellow Mushroom Pizza, which is an easy walk from here. And isn’t an international border. Or even international food. Looks like Canada is closest, via Toranto, at 713 miles and nearly 12 hours to drive. I’m surprised it’s not farther. It’s 21 1/2 hours / 1,399 miles to Lorado Texas, which looks like the closest Mexican border. Or 24 hours/ 1,636 miles to El Paso. It would take 536 hours to walk to El Paso from here, as I discovered by accidentally having the walking time selected instead of the driving time.

Do you know anyone born on the 29th of February?
Not that I’m aware of.

What’s the tastiest thing inside your refrigerator right now?
Probably a Guiness. There’s also some peanut butter, which is quite tasty. And a big block of white cheddar cheese. And mushrooms which aren’t currently all that tasty, but will be tonight after I stir fry them with tomatoes and put them on pasta.

Do you have a name that can also be used for the opposite sex?
No. Well, of course it could be, but it would be very confusing since I’ve never heard my name used for a boy.

What model of car do you drive?
A 2012 Honda Fit. We also have a 1999 Honda Civic.

Have you ever dated someone you work with?
I started to say no, but Baker B and I actually worked together at a Chinese restaurant years ago, although we were already living together when we started working together so that probably isn’t really what the question is asking. I actually did go out a few times with a guy I worked with at Long John Silvers when I was in high school. It wasn’t at all romantic- I think he viewed us as just buddies, although I was hoping for— romantic.

Who was the last person to call you?
Baker B, three times in the last few few minutes. He’s trying to decide when to take the Fit to pick up boxes from someone on campus who put in a request but neglected to say where she actually works. Which is a little unhelpful. I knew who she was and where she DID work, since she replaced me years ago at my College of Education job, but that’s not where she is now. Where she is now is retired, but she’s apparently returned to a totally different office as temporary help. Which has nothing to do with the question. He always uses the Fit to haul around boxes, which is a little annoying since they have a work truck to do that with, but he thinks that’s too much trouble. And to be fair people are always taking it without checking it out so he’ll be all set to do deliveries and find the truck’s vanished. Anyhow, that was a lot of calls for him to decide in the end to just do it tomorrow morning.

Do you have a lock number or pattern for your phone?
A lock number, and fingerprint ID. Which tends not to work if my fingers are cold or damp.

Is your pantry messy at the moment?
My pantry is just a teeny little linen closet that’s both beside the bathroom and beside the kitchen, so I use it for non-perishable food instead of linens. And about a zillion other things and yes, it is VERY messy and really needs to be excavated. As does my entire very messy house.

List all of your siblings’ middle names.
I only have one sibling, and his middle name is Webb. It was our grandmother’s maiden name.

What was the last present someone gave you and what was the occasion?
I think it had to be the Christmas basket my SIL gave us - it was full of all kinds of fun stuff, like tasty treats and teas and cocoa and a couple of hilarious Pusheen the Cat mugs in blue and pink that were my great nieces’ idea. There was a lot of other stuff too and I forget what now. She’s really good at putting together Christmas baskets.

Do you ever let your phone go completely flat before charging it again?
NEVER, and I also have approximately 451.970 power packs just in case. I am really paranoid about my phone being dead, although I’m not sure why.

When was the last time you left the house?
At 10 till 8 this morning. When I had to scrape ice and snow off the car, because as usual IT IS NOT SPRING HERE. Dammit. The weather has been really mild lately too, so of course things are starting to attempt to bloom, and they are probably all dead now. As usual.

Are you in any sort of physical pain right now, even if very mild?
My left shoulder is achy, which is normal. Especially when I’m typing, even though I have a properly-aligned keyboard tray under my desk. It’s been achy for years and years - apparently I have a rotater cup problem, but it isn’t bad enough to do anything about, other than whine. I rarely even take aspirin for it.

What was one of your favorite movies as a small child?
Weirdly I am coming up with a big blank, as far as being a small child, although I remember tons I loved as an older child. Marg mentioned The Three Lives of Thomasina, and I DO remember seeing it when I was very small, although I remember no details, but apparently it scarred me for life as I STILL cannot think about that movie without tearing up!!! I am tearing up RIGHT NOW. Looking at the Wikipedia article isn’t jogging my memory at all, although it’s making me think that sounds like an awfully distressing movie for a child - no wonder I’ve never gotten over it!

Do you know the middle name of the last person you texted?
Oddly enough, that would be the sibling whose middle name I’ve already mentioned, which is Webb. This survey is awfully interested in middle names.

Do you have any food intolerances?
Apples give me fever blisters. Yes, that’s weird. Soy makes my ears and the inside of my mouth itch. And I’m afraid I’ve developed a problem with milk in my old age, as it seems to upset my stomach these days. Which isn’t that big a deal since I’ve never been crazy about milk, and yogurt, which I am crazy about, doesn’t have the same effect.

Is there any cereal in your house?
There is not, other than oatmeal. I used to always buy cereal - I love Kashi cereal- but have kind of fallen out of the habit. Actually the last cereal I bought regularly was an England import muesli called Dorset, which I LOOOVE, especially mixed with yogurt, but sadly the store I used to get it from quit carrying it, and I can’t find it anywhere anymore. Except on Amazon where it’s like FIFTEEN DOLLARS A BOX. I don’t love it that much.

Have you ever faked sick?
OMG I was the queen of fake illnesses when I was a kid- I hated school and was always pretending to be sick to get out of going. I don’t do that quite so much anymore, but I’m not above taking the occasional mental health day. I have to say that lying about it so much when I was younger has made me feel like people don’t believe me now when I really AM sick, though.

Have you gone to a coffee shop within the past week?
I’ve been to Starbucks, for to-go. We also went to a bakery on Sunday in Blowing Rock that could probably be called a coffee shop. I had the best scone I have ever had in my LIFE. I’ve always loved Starbucks scones, but this one made theirs taste like cardboard. It was fluffy and soft inside and crunchy on the outside and absolutely delicious. Their other baked goods looked amazing too. Sadly this bakery is in the weirdest, most obscure and out-of-the-way spot possible, despite being kind of on the main street (down some hard to see stairs, around the back of one of the buildings) and I fear it won’t last.

Have you ever slept in a tent, outdoors?
As opposed to indoors?? Yes, I have. We used to camp a fair amount when I was a kid, and I camped some in college too. I enjoyed it way back then, but now I enjoy electricity and hot water and the interwebs much more. I even have this luggage tag:

Last three texts on your phone are from?
One from my brother, who is featuring quite a lot in this entry, and two from BFF Kim.

Are you afraid of flying?
Not at all. I love flying. I wish I could do it more often.

Do you have freckles?
I do, although the older I get, the more they aren’t little cute dustings and are not-cute age spots. I try to keep slathered with sunscreen.

When you get home from school/work do you change into your pjs right away?
Not PJs, but I generally change into my lounging-around clothes which consist of yoga pants and a t-shirt or fleecy pullover, depending on time of year. That way I can go outside without embarrassment if necessary. Well, without as much embarrassment as I would feel outside in PJs.

What is the temperature currently in the town you live in?
26F, and the temp app says it feels like SEVENTEEN. It is WAY too cold. Winter needs to go away now. It’s also way too cold in my office, even with the heater blasting on my feet.

The last time you went to the mall, what did you go for?
I went yesterday just to walk around our new Hobby Lobby. Which I love for all the fun craft/garden/decor stuff it has, but don’t love for its evangelical christian owner who tries to deny employees birth control on the basis of religious belief, and apparently looted rare Middle Eastern artifacts for their own bible museum. For starters. But it has such great craft supplies!! Sadly I’ve determined they have a much better selection of jewelry stuff than Michaels, and tons more of everything. See ya, morals!

And having cut some questions out in an effort to not be doing this for the rest of the day, I’ll go see if I can manage to do some work now.