Monday Mission

1. Many children have blankets, or a favorite nubby stuffed animal that they like to keep near them for security. Do you recall what you had for your "security blanket" as a child? When did you finally give it up? What brought that about?
Mine was an actual blanket. I had it for years and years, well into my teens, I believe. Strangely enough, I don't remember it disappearing, so maybe it lasted until I went to college, when pretty much everything that didn't go with me got tossed.

2. Now that you are a big kid, what do you have to give you that same sense of security?
In social situations, my camera. Gives me something useful to do, is a good topic of conversation, and also gives me something to do with my hands! And I know I'm pretty good with it, although I do get "performance anxiety" when I know a lot is riding on the results. I don't know that I have an equivalent at home--maybe my computer would be closest.

3. With a little over four months left in 2002, have you accomplished everything you wanted to for the year? Is there anything that you would like to accomplish before the year is over?
When I've allowed myself to be spontaneous, things have actually worked out better than I planned. But still, I get *so* little done, especially in that half of the year where I work two jobs. I'd like to put lots of stuff on Ebay (dolls, books, magazines, batches of clippings) to both get rid of them and make money. I'd like to do more LOTR-related travelling. I'd like to get caught up on website work, both on lilith but more particularly on my other sites, which have fallen woefully behind.

4. I don't know about you, but it seems to me children have it pretty good these days. Game systems, computers in the home, microwaves, cable TV, the internet, cell phones and pagers, they certainly have a wider variety of technology than most of us did as children. What modern convenience, if any, do you think it would be good for children today to do without? What would they gain?
A case could be made for any of them, depending on the family's (and the child's individual) circumstances. I think kids should use these "toys" responsibly, and preferably have them budgeted or rationed. If the child then decides to use the entire "budget" up surfing the web, so be it.

5. Many of us have one thing in which we believe we excel. What do you do better than most?
Strangely enough, I think it's photography, although I'm not technically very good. I'm willing to put a lot of time and effort (and money) into it, I will look through the lens for hours on end waiting for that perfect shot, I take a LOT of photos, and I take the time (and have the software) to make the best I can out of what I took.

6. In the United States, and possibly other countries, teenagers in High School usually wind up falling into several social circles or "cliques." Stoners, Rich Kids, Jocks, Cheerleaders, Band, Drama, Goths, and so on (though the names are probably different today). What High School "clique" did you find yourself in? Was it by choice or did it just happen? Did you look down on other groups? (Aw it's ok, it was/is High School, we all did dumb stuff)
I went to a very small high school, a very long time ago, and we didn't have a lot of cliques. Basically, you were either in or out. The rich kids, the cheerleaders, the jocks, and the otherwise just attractive, overlapped to a large degree and were all the "in crowd." The rest of us, whether poor, geek, band, or whatever, were just "not in." While there were maybe 5-6 people I knew well enough to talk to regularly, I had only one close friend in high school.

7. (it begins) I have great news! I won the contest and we now have plane tickets to anywhere in the world. The bad news is we have to pick a place now and leave in the morning. I can't decide where to go, so you get to pick. Where should we go, and what is the first thing we should do when we get there?
Well, first of all, who are you and what do *you* like? I have several different places I wouldn't mind going, so you might very well be the deciding factor. An easy one would be London, because there's just SO much to do there--I usually start off by dropping my bags and heading off to Kensington Gardens and the Serpentine, just to relax and unwind from the trip. I prefer not to do that during tourist season, though. Hmmm, is it Spring in New Zealand now? That might be another option. Start in Wellington and go off in search of LOTR locations. I love San Francisco and New York any time of the year, any occasion.

BONUS: Must I beg you?
Nah, just gimme some kind of sign, girl.