Category Archives: quizzes and lists

I got me some tag.

5 things found in your bag:
1. Hand lotion
2. Skip Hop diaper thingy
3. Random earrings
4. Fruit leather and raisins for the Hatchling
5. Sigg water bottle

5 favorite things in your room:
1. Funky 70s-era chrome mobile
2. Ikea gingko-patterned duvet
3. Walk-in closet
4. Big painting of violets done by an artist friend
5. My sweet, sweet, cherry sleigh bed

5 things you have always wanted to do:
1. Win the lottery.
2. Run my own theatre (company and building).
3. Be an expert at something physical: dance, yoga, Tai Chi, something like that.
4. Go to New Zealand.
5. Learn Welsh.

5 things you are currently into:
1. Gardening/Landscaping
2. Blogging (duh)
3. Procrastinating on my dissertation
4. Long romantic moonlit walks on the beach … er, wait. Wrong list.
5. Playdates with cute toddlers

5 people you’d like to tag:
1. Eric with a C
2. Shanny
3. Mom and Kiddo
4. Amy
5. Ali

The bolded bits apply to me. (Stolen from Wyliekat)

1. Father went to college
2. Father finished college (and then some – he’s a PhD)
3. Mother went to college
4. Mother finished college (and then some – she’s a PhD)
5. Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor (sister is an attorney, parents and some grandparents are professors)
6. Were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
7. Had more than 50 books in your childhood home
8. Had more than 500 books in your childhood home (thousands, probably)
9. Were read children’s books by a parent
10. Had lessons of any kind before you turned 18
11. Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 (gymnastics, piano, viola, voice)
12. The people in the media who dress and talk like you are portrayed positively (In the sense of being white and upper-middle class, yes. In the sense of being female, less so.)
13. Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18
14. Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs (I went to the college where my father taught, so my tuition was covered.)
15. Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs
16. Went to a private high school
17. Went to summer camp
18. Had a private tutor before you turned 18 (for specific subjects)
19. Family vacations involved staying at hotels
20. Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 (au contraire – I think my mom made every stitch of my clothing until I was about five, and then it was all about thrift stores and hand-me-downs)
21. Your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
22. There was original art in your house when you were a child
23. You and your family lived in a single family house
24. Your parent(s) owned their own house or apartment before you left home (I assume this means own outright, not just living in and paying a mortgage)
25. You had your own room as a child
26. You had a phone in your room before you turned 18
27. Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
28. Had your own TV in your room in High School
29. Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
30. Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16
31. Went on a cruise with your family
32. Went on more than one cruise with your family
33. Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up
34. You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family

The list is based on “What Privileges do You Have?” an exercise developed by Will Barratt, Meagan Cahill, Angie Carlen, Minnette Huck, Drew Lurker, Stacy Ploskonka at Illinois State University. The exercise developers ask that if you participate in this blog game, you acknowledge their copyright.

I always knew I was privileged, but looking at this list, boy HOWDY was I privileged – even though my family was pretty cash-poor (like, public assistance poor) for most of my childhood. It’s interesting to think what this list will look like for the Hatchling. I imagine she’ll bold the same ones I have plus some – though certain entries on this list, such as the TV in her room and the credit card in her name, will only happen over my dead body. Feel free to post your own privileges in the comments.

I done been tagged.

Total Number of Books?
Ehm … a bagajillion? I honestly have no idea how many books I own. Doing an extremely rough estimate by linear feet of shelves, I have over 1,100 out in the house, plus probably another 800 or so in boxes in the basement or at my dad’s house … so let’s say around 2,000. It’s a nice round number. I’ve only managed to categorize a fraction of them into my LibraryThing account (are you on LT? Friend me!), but someday I’d like to have them all in there.

Last Book Read?
His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman. I figured I’d better reread them in time for the movie, though with the reviews that’s been getting I might not bother.

Last Book Bought?
Lessee … probably the last book I bought was First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde. Oh, no – that’s the second-to-last. The LAST one I bought was the Penguin edition of Jane Eyre, because all I had was a hardcover copy of the complete works and that’s a pain in the ass to read.

Five Meaningful Books?
Jesus. Meaningful to whom? Meaningful how? I think I’m going to take a “desert island” approach to this one. Also I’m going to cheat:

Complete Works of William Shakespeare. It’s, like, the alpha and omega, man. You want “meaningful,” it’s all in here.

The Complete Works of Jane Austen. If pressed, I could be convinced to limit this entry to Pride and Prejudice, which is my favorite. But it’s my damn list, so I’m gonna cheat how I wanna.

The Peter Wimsey mystery novels, by Dorothy L. Sayers. THE BEST murder mysteries ever written. You will never convince me otherwise. There are other good writers out there, sure, but in this genre Sayers is the queen.

Plato’s Republic. Enough to think about in this one to last you several lifetimes. That Socrates was one freakishly smart cookie.

The Oxford English Dictionary. Unabridged, of course. I realize this choice might look like my idea of a pun on “meaningful,” but while I’m certainly capable of that sort of joke, this would be on the list regardless. There is a bunch of fascinating shit in that book, know what I’m saying? Plus if you get the compact version it comes with this little drawer and a magnifying glass. That is teh coolest.

Tag 5 Others
Ali at a drop in the ocean
Questionable
Sarah at the caffeinated priest
Eric with a “C”
Katie at Not Done Yet

Are you Well Envoweled? We checked 1,000,000 names and 38.4% had more vowels than ‘Elise Robinson‘. That means you are well envoweled. Check your envowelment, find your Power Animal, and see your name in binary at isthisyour.name

(via Christopher)