YAY! Ten For Ren!

Jodi-odi-odi got tired of answering my questions and asked some of her own! YAY!

1. Where do you purchase your PG Tips tea?
The last box I had came direct from London, England, courtesy of my lovely friend the Brit. But I have also purchased it at CostPlus World Market. In fact, I am currently out of PG Tips and have been drinking Trader Joe’s Irish Breakfast Tea. But I think I want some more Tips.

2. Did you have a favorite toy as a child? If so, what was it? Do you still have it?
Hmm, I wasn’t big into toys. I had some dolls I liked. I made clothes for my “Mandy” doll and I had some Barbie type dolls but I was never really that into them. I did have an Emergency kit that I really got a kick out of. It had a defibrillator and everything. I was very fond of my bike and my skateboard. And I did have a blanket (it’s name was…Blankie) that I trucked around everywhere until I went to school.

3. You've told me you have insomnia. Have you discovered any tried and true remedies?
Well, I would have to say not sleeping next to someone who snores really helps. But that’s not always an option. I do use valerian when I remember to. OTC sleep aid when I don’t and sometimes something like Calms Forte or chamomile tea.

4. Did you lose power at work on Monday?
No, actually we did not. I listened to the radio though so I could hear what was happening in my neighborhood. And I was concerned that the traffic lights being out would screw up my ride home but they really didn’t.

5. Who is your favorite poet?
Ah, I like this one. I actually have three favorite poets (and here of some of my favorite poems too).
John Donne , David Berman and Alan Ginsberg.


6. I know that one of your favorite words is "peace." Are you hopeful that there can ever be peace in this world?
If so, do you think it will be within your lifetime?
Um, actually…no. I don’t think our human nature allows for true peace. And I am kind of ok with that. But I do think that we can learn to be more peaceful. That we can learn to respond to adversity and aggression in a peaceful manner, To use our time wisely before we blow the crap out of another country or in fact, beat it out of our brothers and sisters. I think total peace is a fallacy. I want to believe it is possible but I’m sorry, I just don’t. But still, that doesn’t mean it isn’t something I think we should strive for. I don’t believe in perfection either but I think it’s always worth a try.

7. What is the first concert you attended and who did you go with?
Ooh, I think that is probably Hall and Oates with the Polecats opening. I went with Nancy Huettner and her mother. I was never that big a Hall and Oates fan but then again, I didn’t dislike them either so I went along for the ride.

8. Do you have a favorite bookstore in L.A.? In the world?
In L.A. I am rather fond of the Iliad. It’s a used bookstore and I often find some really unexpected stuff there. In the world…well…there is a bookstore in New Hope, Pennsylvania pretty much right in front of the Bucks County Playhouse that I really like. In fact, if I had money, I think I would like to buy it. It’s not that big and it’s kind of cramped and you have to ask for help to find anything but I’ve always been fond of it. But I don’t actually know the name of it (I think it might be called Farley’s Bookshop).

9. What kind of animal was your first pet? What was its name?
My first pet was a dauchsund. I think he was adopted while my mother was actually pregnant with me. His name was Adolph von Strudel the Red Baron, but we just called him Adolph. Amazingly, he lived over twenty years. I think he may have even been 22 when he died. He was a very good dog.

10. What is your favorite tv cartoon?
Ooooh….I don’t know! I am, naturally, a fan of the Simpsons and Futurama. I also quite like Kim Possible. I have a lasting fondness for the Flintstones, old Tom and Jerry, The Pink Panther, Classic Warner Brothers (esp. with Daffy Duck)…oooh. I like cartoons all kinds of cartoons. I don’t know that I actually have a “favorite” though.