I usually don't do Friday Spies©, but I like the questions this week. (Via BTQ, of course.)
1. What time do you go to bed? What time do you wake up?
In bed before 10:30, asleep before 11. I usually read in bed for a while. I wake up some time between between 5:30 and 6:30; I hate alarms.
2. What do you want done to/with your body after you die?
In case I die and JW goes with me, I'm putting this here for posterity: I want to be cremated and I do NOT want to be embalmed. I don't care what happens to my ashes.
Embalming disturbs me. It feels wrong to take the body of someone you loved, pump it full of chemicals, put makeup on it, and dress it up like the person is still alive so you can display it for your friends. The person you loved is gone. This thing you've created isn't them. Respect their memory. Respect their body.
Many families would be horrified if you suggested stuffing their dead dog and putting it in the living room. But that's exactly what they do to their dead grandmother.
3. Describe your dream house.
Modern and loft-like, with lots of open spaces and lots of light. But also with little nooks and crannies, and window seats, and some small rooms. It would have at least one secret passage, and three floors. With carpeted stairs. It would be simultaneously open, airy, and cozy. It would be cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It would have a huge kitchen, and really nice bathrooms that never get dirty (it's a dream house, right? I want a pee-repellent toilet seat too). And it would have enough rooms for everything I wanted to do -- a gym, a library, a craft room, a music studio, a dance studio, an art gallery. The walls in the TV room would be soundproof. I would decorate in neutrals with some bright colors thrown in, and have a big stuffed bear like they have in Paper Source. (You can't see it in the picture, but there's a big bear in there. It's probably eight feet tall. It's a stuffed animal bear, not an actual bear that's stuffed, and it has moving limbs. Every time I see it, I think that one day, when I'm rich, I'll buy it.) Finally, I would have a big garage and a heated driveway so I'd never have to shovel; the snow would just melt right off.
And I'll throw in a turret for JW.
If I don't have a maid to go along with the dream house, I'll settle for a much smaller place. But I still want the bear.
4. Are you an excellent driver? Do you speed, or drive the speed
limit? Ever been ticketed?
No, I'm not an excellent driver. I know this is very gender-stereotypical, but I'm terrible at spatial relations. I have a hard time telling where the car starts and ends, and how far away things are. I think being taller would help; I'd be higher up in the seat and able to see more. As it is, I sit on a cushion to drive. I am a careful driver, though, so it mostly makes up for my lack of spatial skills.
I speed a little. I live in the Northeast; if you don't speed, people tailgate you.
I've never been ticketed. I've been pulled over twice -- once I was completely lost and drove over a curb, once for an illegal U-turn -- but the officers let me go both times. Looking little and helpless can be annoying, but there are certain advantages.
5. What is your favorite animal, mineral, and vegetable?
Animal: penguin.
Mineral: salt.
Vegetable: hmm... I like fruit more than vegetables. I'll say eggplant.
