The Proust Questionnaire (aka Tina Fey and Friends)

First posted here on January 28, 2015.

I really want to blog about this exhibit, which I saw yesterday at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. But I've been up sick since 3am and - probably because there's a storm coming soon - I swear it keeps getting darker, not lighter. So I'm going to do the Proust Questionnaire instead. Spoilers: It's mostly about Tina Fey. And painful earnestness. Read at your own risk.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
36 hours alone in an unfamiliar city

What is your greatest fear?
Waking up one day to realize that I don't recognize or want my life

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Jane Austen

Which living person do you most admire?
Tina Fey

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Anxiety

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Unkindness. Also (oxymoronically?) tediousness

What is your greatest extravagance?
Coffee shops and juice bars

What is your favorite journey?
Saturday morning bike rides to the Georgetown AMC movie theater

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Obedience

On what occasion do you lie?
To cover up stupid mistakes

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
"Really," "f**k," "Here's the thing..."

What is your greatest regret?
The times that, through combinations of negligence and ignorance, I've hurt other living people and things

Who or what is the greatest love of your life?
Ross and Creature

When and where were you happiest?
On top of a rock at Joshua Tree National Park in the middle of the night with Ross, watching the stars and listening to the coyotes sing

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to draw accurately

What is your current state of mind?
Restless

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
At the moment, I would just love to not have this cold anymore

If you could change on thing about your family, what would it be?
I would have my dad back

What is your most treasured possession?
A corn husk doll I made with Dad at the San Jose Children's Museum

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Having to carry two bags of groceries and my backpack on the Metro at rush hour

Where would you like to live?
New York

What is your favorite occupation?
Filmmaker

What is your most marked characteristic?
My easy smile

What is the quality you most like in a man?
A sense of humor

What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Easy-goingness

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Elizabeth Miervaldis Lemon

Who are your heroes in real life?
My grandmother, my stepmom, Heather, Tina Fey, Aunt Bevan

What are your favorite names?
Jane, Liesl, Liam, Martin, Jules

What is it that you most dislike?
Cruelty

How would you like to die?
Not in a plane

What is your motto?
"Inspiration usually comes duringwork, rather than before it."
-Madeleine L'Engle

"There are three ways to ultimate success:
The first way is to be kind.
The second way is to be kind.
The third way is to be kind."
-Fred Rogers