Magical 11 Blog Tag

Cassandra tagged me, so here we go!

The Rules:

1. Post rules.
2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself.
3. Answer the questions from the person who tagged you.
4. Make up 11 questions for the people you tag.
5. Tag 11 people.
6. Let them know about it.

So here are my fun facts, different from the 7 fun facts I wracked my brain to come up with last time:

1. I am the oldest of 5 siblings, and have 3 brothers and a sister (in that order)
2. Two of those brothers speak German, one speaks Korean, and my sister speaks some Japanese. Then there's my Danish. Add in our respective spouses, and we have quite a collection.
3. Then my husband speaks Spanish--with a Chilean accent--and he doesn't like to hear me try to say anything in Spanish. Because it comes out with a Danish accent, and it is not good.
   
4. I like reading books about housekeeping way more than I like actually doing any housekeeping. I watch reality shows about messy people just so I will get inspired to clean.
   
5. We all have Google doppelgängers, but mine is truly my opposite number. He's a high-level government official in an African country.
   
6. I have never been to Ikea. Not once. I'd like to go, though.
7. What I'd really like to do is travel a lot. If I had my way, I'd visit India, the UK, Japan, or lots of other places. I would happily take my family and live for a year in London or India. Someday, maybe.
   
8. I am very good at sewing. Not so much with the tailoring, but I can produce some very nice girls' dresses, costumes, doll clothes, or quilts. I'm especially addicted to heirloom sewing, which is impractical, expensive, and mostly for people who are slightly bonkers. But oh, so pretty!
   
9. And I'm pretty good at some kinds of embroidery. I'm taking an online embroidery class now to learn some things, which is fun.
10. I went to Berkeley for my undergrad, and I loved it. Now I have a "Berkeley Girl" bumper sticker on my car. My parents met at Cal, and so did my paternal grandparents. I would love to send my girls there, but it's awfully expensive and difficult to get into now. So we're encouraging them to go to BYU, but I'm a bit wistful about it.
11. Pretty much the only song I can play on the piano is the Pink Panther theme.
    

Here are the 11 questions I have to answer:

1. If you could live in any age (present day included), which would you choose? I used to think I would love to live in a different time. But now I'm pretty sure I'd be dead of some hideous bacterial infection before anything interesting could happen. And I'm really, really fond of hot showers, air conditioning, the Internet, the effects of dentistry, and not being treated like chattel. But there are all sorts of times and places I would love to visit if I wouldn't die! I'll pick the Renaissance, but that's almost a random choice.
   


2. Is there a literary character you identify with? When I was a kid, it was Meg Murry (me and every other awkward girl out there). Now I don't really have one.
   


3. The world is divided into two different kinds of people: those who plan their own funerals and those who don't. To which do you belong? I haven't planned it yet, but I will. I've already informed my husband how I would prefer to be buried. These things come up in conversation when I'm around.
   


4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be? As far as a permanent, forever location goes, I'd pick right here. We love it here and want to stay (although I would happily boot the city council to the next galaxy). But I would also love to live somewhere else for a year--preferably India or somewhere on the British Isles--as long as I could come back here afterwards.
   


5. How do you manage the balance between reading and going out? Going...out? What is that? I read while at home and while I'm driving the kids around (I like Mondays, because it's riding lessons and I get to sit in the car and read for an hour while they trot around the ring). My husband and I like to go out on Saturdays, which is really nice, but otherwise I don't go out a whole lot anymore; I'm too busy!
   


6. What is your favourite quote? I don't know if I have one favorite, but here's one I put on the fridge: "There is no situation so terrible that whining cannot make it worse." (Jeffrey R. Holland)


7. The eternal question: Which is better, Oxford or Cambridge? Ooh, that's a toughie. I'm annoyed at Oxford for booting C. S. Lewis, and happy with Cambridge for welcoming him, but Oxford is the land of Tolkien and Diana Wynne Jones and all sorts of people! To be honest I don't even know all that much about Cambridge besides that it's more sciencey, so I'm not very qualified to answer.
   


8. Is there a song which has a special meaning to you? Lots of them! I will pick...The Rock Lobster by the B52s, which has many happy memories of good times with friends.
   


9. What is your favourite quote? This time I'm going to go with my favorite silly line from a song: "We could swoop low on trees, or sweep under carpets, we could dive into suns--though it's not recommended..." ("Heavenly Pop Hit," by The Chills)


10. Romantic comedy or thriller? SF/Fantasy! Hm, I like thrillers as long as they're not too thrilling, and romantic comedies as long as they are Bollywood movies. So I guess thrillers win as far as the English language goes. I'm reading one now.
    


11. Why do you read? For about the same reason that I breathe; I don't quite know how to get along without it. I have always read. I suppose I read to learn about the world and the people around me.

Here's the problem--I don't like tagging people because it's too much like a chain letter! So, here are my 11 questions, but you can answer them in the comments. I want to hear from all of you, and if you want to post on your blog, consider yourself TAGGED by me.

1. Can you type properly, or are you a hunt-and-peck kind of person?
2. Name your favorite hobby besides reading.
3. Why are you named what you are named?
   
4. What is your favorite breakfast?
5. Charles Dickens or Leo Tolstoy?
6. Are you more of a big-city or a rural sort of person?
7. Are you going to celebrate Pi Day, and with what kind of pie?
8. Would you rather have Indian or Mexican food for dinner?
9. Who was your best friend when you were 10?
10. As long as we're doing nostalgia, what was your favorite song when you were 14?
11. What odd thing has happened to you lately?