26 Questions Sarah Has Always Wanted Answers To....

Hell, maybe some other people would like the answers, too!

1) What's the best gift you've ever received, and why?
A red umbrella for my 7th birthday - it was exactly what I wanted (I have no idea why I was so into umbrellas, but there you go). It was also the year that my mom told me that she couldn't afford to throw me a roller-skating birthday party like all of my friends were having....but then managed to arrange it and make it a surprise for me.

2) What one class would you like to re-attend (from grade school all the way up?)
Hmm....probably my 11th grade psychology class. Mrs. Partington was really cool (in my itty-bitty high school, she was also the English teacher) and taught a lot about the paranormal and cults, etc - the part that I was always really interested in. Guess it's no wonder I was an X-Phile later in life.....

3) What's the earliest phone number you've had that you can remember?
944-7330. The phone number at the house we lived in when I was 5-15.

4) Describe your mood today by telling me which album you know that would most closely match it.
"The Beauty of the Rain" Only I'd have to change it to snow. Yay for sticky, pretty snow!

5) What made you pick the institution of higher education that you attended (or did not attend)?
Well, when I graduated from high school, there were two dilemmas: (1) I didn't know if my family would be moving soon (we were in IA at the time) and (2) I did not -repeat- did not want to live at home and go to community college like my parents wanted me to. So, what did I do? We moved to MN, and I went to community college and lived at home like my parents wanted me to. (As they refused to release their financial records so I could get loans, etc, it was about my only option, as I could pay for it). After I was done at Normandale, I was going to go to the U and keep my HR job (although the U did not, at that time, have an HR major, I figured the work experience was more valuable than the actual degree). Well, I got laid off from that job the summer I finished my Associate's, so I moved down to Mankato because they were the only state (read: cheap) school that had my major.

6) Which of the following common ailments do you find most annoying, and for what reason? Chapped lips, paper cuts, blemishes.
Well, I deal with blemishes pretty much all the time, so I can't be annoyed by them too much, as it takes up too much energy/time. I'm gonna say paper cuts - they hurt like h3ll, and they are always in the MOST inconvenient place.

7) Why would you / did you befriend a disorganized, melodramatic, neurotic brainiac like me?
Cause I got you in the divorce. :)
Wow - that's a hard one. We knew each other for quite a while before we were really friends - you took me under your wing after FW left, and proved to be a marvelous human being, as well as my separated at birth twin. I know I can always talk to you and get an honest opinion - even if I don't like it. And I think that is a really rare quality and one that I value in you. And, you keep getting me hooked on new and exciting crafts, blast you. :)

8) Tell me the nicest compliment you can remember getting.
"Di has stories....and they're all true...."

9) What's the world's best scent, and why?
The smell of that special someone...I bet I could pick all of my ex's out of a lineup....

10) Why is garlic in all the dishes that are served in "romantic" restaurants?
Cause if it's really love, garlic breath doesn't matter.

11) What's the best part about the job you have right now?
Getting to help people figure out their complicated medical bills/claims, and teaching them how to do it later so that they are more informed consumers.

12) Why did women decide to toss aside their dresses and shoes for pants and workboots? How come we don't dress like ladies anymore?
I think there are two reasons: (1) as women entered the business world, they no longer wanted to dress like ladies, as that drew more attention to them as women, and less as co-workers (cause we all know women just aren't capable...). And (2), bloody uncomfortable!!

13) What do you imagine is said about you most often when you leave a room?
"Bitch"

14) Who do you most miss in your life right now?
My grandparents

15) What do you think Mona Lisa is smiling at?
Jeez, can't the poor woman have any secrets?

16) Of what ancestral heritage are you most proud to claim, and why?
My Irish - interesting history, allowance to drink all I want, and a beautiful homeland. What more can a girl want?

17) What holiday do you most dread, and why?
Thanksgiving. One reason: The Waltons all day marathon. God save me from John Boy.

18) Why, oh why, does Microsoft make god-forsaken counterintuitive products that still manage to get used in every organization I have ever worked for?
Because Bill Gates is Satan, and his supporters (ie, head honchos of corporations) need to support their won.

19) What do you think MY job entails (I know what I do, but I don't know what other people think...)
Uh, instructional design? I think you get topics that the average person should know about to do their job - but don't - and then make fun and creative training presentation for them. I bet that they walk away from those feeling refreshed, energized, and ready to do a good job as a CSR. :)

20) What ARE all the words to "It's the End of the World As We Know It?"
That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and
Snakes, an aeroplane and lenny bruce is not afraid
Eye of a hurricane, listen to yourself churn - world
Serves it’s own needs, dummy serve your own needs. feed
It off an aux speak, grunt, no, strength, ladder
Start to clatter with fear fight down height. wire
In a fire, representing seven games, a government
For hire and a combat site. left of west and coming in
A hurry with the furies breathing down your neck. team
By team reporters baffled, trumped, tethered cropped
Look at that low playing! fine, then. uh oh,
Overflow, population, common food, but it’ll do. save
Yourself, serve yourself. world serves it’s own needs,
Listen to your heart bleed dummy with the rapture and
The revered and the right, right. you vitriolic,
Patriotic, slam, fight, bright light, feeling pretty
Psyched
It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine
Six o’clock - tv hour. don’t get caught in foreign
Towers. slash and burn, return, listen to yourself
Churn. locking in, uniforming, book burning, blood
Letting. every motive escalate. automotive incinerate
Light a candle, light a votive. step down, step down
Watch your heel crush, crushed, uh-oh, this means no
Fear cavalier. renegade steer clear! a tournament,
Tournament, a tournament of lies. offer me solutions,
Offer me alternatives and I decline
(chorus)
It’s the end of the world as we know it (it’s time I had some time alone)
It’s the end of the world as we know it (it’s time I had some time alone)
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (it’s time I had some time alone)
I feel fine
(repeat chorus)
The other night I dreamt of knives, continental
Drift divide. mountains sit in a line, leonard
Bernstein. leonid brezhnev, lenny bruce and lester
Bangs. birthday party, cheesecake, jelly bean, boom! you
Symbiotic, patriotic, slam book neck, right? right
(repeat chorus)
It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it
It’s the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine (it’s time I had some time alone)
(repeat chorus 2x)
Fine
It’s the end of the world as we know it (it’s time I had some time alone)

21) Tell me about a secret indulgence in which you love to partake, but not very many others know about.
Fudge Stripes. God, I love Fudge Stripes. That's why I can't have them at home - I'll eat the entire package in two days. If that.

22) What's the best "family name" you've got a claim to (IE, your uncle Egebert...)?
Jagertha VanSickle. No lie. A distant great aunt, I believe.

23) Quick - you're invited to a dinner party. What's the most tempting menu you hope to be offered?
Anything cheesy and meaty. But especially cheesey.

24) When is the last time you hand-wrote and mailed (with postage) a paper letter?
Friday. I write five letters a week to clients.

25) Think way back: what was the best art project you ever did while in school? What made it so fantastic?
I SUCKED at art. I'm not terribly creative visually, and I have zero hand eye coordination - have you SEEN my handwriting?? Probably the best thing (or the one that I remember) was a pillow I made in Home Ec in 7th grade - it matched my room (peach and green - it was the 80's). It two E's back to back - one for Edina (yes, I hail from there) and one for Elizabeth (my middle name, but I always liked it better than my first name). It's fuzzy. :)

26) You're very, very late to something incredibly important one morning, and you are also wickedly hung over. You have to choose to do only one of the following: you either get to shower or drink coffee. You can't do both; which do you pick, and why?
Shower. I may be a total bee-youch without my caffeine, but I cannot be seen in public without a shower. My hair would frighten small children, and now that it's short, I can't tame it as well as I used to be able to...