Keith R.A. Decandido posted a list of sixty-one biographical questions–numbered to sixty-two, skipping number eleven.
I took a crack at answering them myself, and added a question, to bring the total number to sixty-two. Read away!
- First name?
Allyn. - Were you named after anyone?
Allyn Atworth Gardner, my great-grandfather. In 2003 I wrote about this in more detail. - Do you wish on stars?
No, I don’t wish on stars. What’s the point, really? I have consulted tarot cards and the I Ching at various times, but that’s not wishing. - When did you last cry?
Christmas Eve. I received a letter at work from one of the store’s young customers, and I was so touched by it that my eyes welled up, and I sat down in the backroom and cried some more. - Do you like your handwriting?
I’ve long forgotten how to write in cursive–the only thing I can render in cursive now is my signature. I print, and I like my printing. It’s bold, bouncy. It sometimes gets mistaken for a woman’s handwriting. It didn’t used to be that way–ten years ago my writing was very erratic. But I like it now. - What’s your favorite lunch meat?
Turkey. - What is your birth date?
24 June. - What is your most embarrassing CD?
A CD of Hobbit gangsta rap. - If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
There are times in my life when I would have answered, “No,” and truly meant it. Today? I probably would. - Are you political?
I follow politics. I vote. I fall left of center on the political spectrum. - Are you a daredevil?
I have little call for it in my life today, but yes, I will do things just for the endorphin rush. - Do looks matter?
I think so. - How do you release anger?
I break things. I throw things. - Where is your second home?
I don’t have one. - Do you trust others easily?
Trust is earned, not given. That’s something I hold to because of work, and I find it applies through life. Ronald Reagan said famously, “Trust, but verify,” and though I don’t hold much with Reagan, I can endorse his sentiment. - What was your favorite toy as a child?
Broke Blanket. It was a blanket I owned that I wore out, and it had a giant hole in it. Hence, “broke blanket.” Or, there was the book on the history of the Maryland-Pennsylvania Railroad that ran between Baltimore and York–I couldn’t read it, but I loved to sleep with it and wore it out. - Which class in high school do you think was totally stupid?
World Cultures, the tenth grade social studies class in West Virginia. It was a mix of world history and world geography, but with no focus on anything. Geography and history had both been touched upon in junior high school, so I couldn’t see what made World Cultures different enough to justify them again. - Do you have a journal?
No. - Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Yes, to the point where my staff cannot tell at times if I’m serious or not. - What are your nicknames?
I despise nicknames. I get upset with people who call me anything other than “Allyn.” - Would you bungee jump?
I would. See the question on daredevils. - Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
No, I don’t untie my shoes. I just pull them off. Neither do I untie them when I put them on. I just jam my foot in. - Do you think that you are strong?
Physically, I can hold my own. Emotionally, I have my up days and my down days. - What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Mint chocolate chip. - Shoe size?
10 1/2. - Red or pink?
Red. - What is your least favorite thing about yourself?
Sometimes I get lost in myself to the point where I tune out the people and things around me. Sometimes I do that a lot. - Who do you miss most?
As much as I would like to say some of my friends from college, I can’t. I miss them, but I miss some of my friends from high school more, though to quote Martin Blank from Grosse Point Blank, “I don’t know what I have in common with those people anymore.” Still, it’s Shelly I miss the most. - Do you want everyone to whom you send this to send it back?
It doesn’t matter. - What color pants and shoes are you wearing?
I’m wearing olive shorts and no shoes. - What are you listening to right now?
“The Connection,” on NPR. They’re discussing the President’s State of the Union address from last night. - Last thing you ate?
A handful of Hershey’s Kisses. - If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Silver. I don’t know why. - What is the weather like right now?
Rain, chaning over to snow later in the afternoon. - Last person you talked to on the phone?
A customer at the store last night. - The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Eyes. - Do you like the person who sent this to you?
Abso-smurf-ly. - What is your ethnicity?
Scotch-English. - Favorite drink?
Iced tea. - Favorite sport?
Baseball. - Hair color?
Black, and going grey at the temples. - Eye color?
My eyes change color from day to day. Today, they’re green. - Do you wear contacts?
No. - Are you single?
Yes. - Favorite food?
I would love to have a really good hot dog right about now. - Last movie you watched?
Young Sherlock Holmes, Monday night. - Favorite day of the year?
Opening day of the baseball season. - Scary movies or happy endings?
Scary movies. - Summer or winter?
Summer. Though I miss snow…. - Hugs or kisses?
Hugs. I’m a tactile person. - Do you have any favorite rants and, if so, what are they?
I do. The Star Trek canon rant comes quickly to mind. - What is your favorite dessert?
Cheesecake. - Who is most likely to respond?
I really have no idea. - Who is most likely not to respond?
See the previous question. - What books are you reading?
I just finished Peter Tremayne’s Absolution by Murder. I recently finished Nick Hornby’s The Polysyllabic Spree. I’ve also been working on G.W.F. Hegel’s The Philosophy of History and Edgar Vincent’s Nelson: Love & Fame. - What’s on your mouse pad?
I don’t have a mousepad because I use a trackball. - What did you watch last night on TV?
I didn’t. The last thing I watched was House on Tuesday. Before that, Arrested Development on Sunday. I don’t turn the television on every day. - Favorite smells?
Baking cookies. Especially if they have chocolate chips in them. - Favorite sounds?
The purring of a happy cat. - Rolling Stones or Beatles?
The Beatles, by a long stretch. I could count the number of Beatles albums I have–it’s well over fifty, counting solo albums by the former Beatles–but I have a single Rolling Stones album, 40 Licks. I do like the Stones, but I don’t go back to them, don’t ponder them, the way I do the Beatles. - What’s the farthest you’ve been from home?
Las Vegas. - Do you have a special talent?
Voice impressions. Particular favorites–John Hurt and Kermit the Frog. Why anyone would want to do an impression of John Hurt I couldn’t tell you, but I can.
My, that was fun, wasn’t it? 😉
Now to fix some coffee….