20 Questions

[Kerry]

This poll appears each Sunday in one of  the local newspaper here in Sydney and is completed by a different celebrity each week. Now it’s your turn!

To respond, click on Quote in the top right corner of this message and enter your responses to the following questions. Delete the preamble and instructions above this line.

1. What was the happiest period of your life and why?

2. What was the saddest time?

3. Who is your best friend?

4. What’s something about you that not many people know?

5. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

6. What simple pleasure gives you the most joy?

7. If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be?

8. How do you relax?

9. Describe your perfect day.

10. Who is your celebrity crush?

11. What part of your body gives you the most trouble?

12. What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

13. Describe the best meal you’ve ever had.

14. What six things are essential to your health?

15. Are you healthy?

16. What is it that you can’t live without?

17. What is it that you don’t understand?

18. What do you fantasize about?

19. What is it about you that your friends do not understand?

20. What’s your 5-Year Plan for the future?

[Kerry]

1. What was the happiest period of your life and why?

There have been many happy times throughout my life. My early childhood at home (not school) was a happy time. And I will always look back on the time George and I were together as a very special and happy time for me. And I am happy at this present time in my life, in retirement.  

2. What was the saddest time?

The loss of my mother and father.

3. Who is your best friend?

George, my best friend and soul-mate.

4. What’s something about you that not many people know?

The contents of my Will.

5. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A homemaker. When I was little, I would follow my mother around, watching her cleaning the house and preparing the evening meal, so that everything was just perfect for when Dad and my three older  brothers got home at night. I remember thinking , at a very early age, that I’d like to be just like Mum when I grew up. And even at that age, the fantasy was to do it all for my “husband.” As Emory said in The Boys in the Band, “I’ve known what I was since I was four years old.”

6. What simple pleasure gives you the most joy?

Eating chilled grapes from the refrigerator on a hot summer day.

7. If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be?

I’ve made mistakes and hurt loved ones along the way. I wouldn’t go back to apologize. I’d go back to make sure I didn’t do those things in the first place.

8. How do you relax?

Meditation.

9. Describe your perfect day.

Meditation
Walk by the harbour foreshore.
Long relaxing shower and personal grooming at my leisure
Extended alfresco lunch with George at nearby café
Light evening meal at home
Television and Internet
To bed on crisp cool white linen sheets
 
10. Who is your celebrity crush?

Christopher Meloni.

11. What part of your body gives you the most trouble?

My right foot. It was broken in a car accident some 30+ years ago. It gave me no pain until relatively recently. I now take Omega-3 fish oil capsules each day and since doing so, have experienced no further pain.

12. What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

Find enlightenment. Ha! Easy-peasy! NOT!

13. Describe the best meal you’ve ever had.

Anything cooked by my mother.

14. What six things are essential to your health?

Healthy diet
Adequate sleep
Light exercise
Daily meditation
A positive outlook
A good sense of humour

15. Are you healthy?

I have a complete medical check-up annually. I take no prescription medication. I enjoy excellent health.

16. What is it that you can’t live without?

My interior life.

17. What is it that you don’t understand?

Life, death and the whole damn thing.

18. What do you fantasize about?

There is a beautiful house that exists only in my head. It is my dream house. It is located on a high cliff top, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, on a deserted stretch of the New South Wales coast. It is on a promontory of land with a private, gated road leading to the house. The gate can only be opened by the remote control in my exclusive possession.

19. What is it about you that your friends do not understand?

Why it is that I keep my grapes in the refrigerator!

20. What’s your 5-Year Plan for the future?

Happily and comfortably retired.

[delalluvia]

1. What was the happiest period of your life and why?

The last 4 years.  I was finally making enough money to have hope for the future.  My salary was enough to take dream vacations to Europe and I was able to plan for buying my own place and maybe retiring.

2. What was the saddest time?

Now.  The job is gone, no new job in sight, my unemployment is running out, I'm moving from a place I love back to a place when I left the first time, I told myself I'd never go back to.  Unemployment is telling me that I need to take up to a 10K dollar cut in pay so as to be eligible for jobs, which means my dreams of travel, buying my own home and maybe retiring are gone.

3. Who is your best friend?

My teacher friend.

4. What’s something about you that not many people know?

I'm a slash-reader/writer and beta.

5. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Astronaut.

6. What simple pleasure gives you the most joy?

All my pleasures are simple.  They all give me joy otherwise they wouldn't be pleasures.  

7. If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be?

I wouldn't.

8. How do you relax?

Read.

9. Describe your perfect day.

10. Who is your celebrity crush?

Ewan McGregor.  He's the boyfriend I always wanted.  When you're a quiet, bookworm kinda gal with calm, at-home hobbies and no love of children or family in particular, you are always attracted to the guy who is not like you at all.  Ewan is not the intellectual type, he's outgoing, adventurous, taking chances, big traveler, social butterfly lad, big family kind of guy and cute to boot.

11. What part of your body gives you the most trouble?

My neck.  I slept funny one February night in 1997 and twisted it so badly, it's never been the same and I've been suffering an uncureable chronic sort of myalgia from it ever since.  The pain radiates down my neck, shoulders, back and sides, which I find extremely troublesome since I sleep primarily on my back.

12. What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

Tour Italy.

13. Describe the best meal you’ve ever had.

Too many.  From great homecooked meals to the most expensive restaurant meals in town.  Eating very well is a hobby of mine.  

14. What six things are essential to your health?

I can't think of six.  I can name 3 right off the bat.

1)  Peace of mind - to feel safe and secure

2)  Financial stability.  If I don't have this, I get extremely stressed, depressed because what is most important to me - peace of mind - is gone.

3)  Clean, quiet, safe home.  If I don't have this, I get depressed and stressed.  I lived with my sister, her husband and baby while I was going to college - they fought, had sex loudly, were both slobs along with a crying baby - I started grinding my teeth in my sleep.  Something I'd never done before.

15. Are you healthy?

So far.

16. What is it that you can’t live without?

Money.

17. What is it that you don’t understand?

About what?

18. What do you fantasize about?

Winning a HUGE lottery.

19. What is it about you that your friends do not understand?

Why I'm such a homebody geek.

20. What’s your 5-Year Plan for the future?

Don't really have one right now.

[Monika]

1. What was the happiest period of your life and why?
The last few years. I´ve gotten to know myself better over the last couple of years.

2. What was the saddest time?
The year I lived far away from my family and friends

3. Who is your best friend?
Sophia who I´ve known since kindergarten

4. What’s something about you that not many people know?
that I generally think people don´t know me very well at all

5. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A cop and investigate murders

6. What simple pleasure gives you the most joy?
To think back on places I´ve been, to read, eat breakfast with my parents, light candles

7. If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be?
Nothing

8. How do you relax?
I read novels, fics and maps

9. Describe your perfect day.
I wake up. I´m on a road trip somewhere and I have the entire day ahead of me to do as I please. Í feel free and trouble free.

10. Who is your celebrity crush?
Jake Gyllenhaal. He´s beautiful.

11. What part of your body gives you the most trouble?
No one in particular. I need to loose weight.

12. What’s one thing you want to do before you die?
Travel to Alaska.

13. Describe the best meal you’ve ever had.
I´ve had many, many good meals.


14. What six things are essential to your health?
- to feel safe
- that my parents are well

15. Are you healthy?
Yes

16. What is it that you can’t live without?
My parents, traveling

17. What is it that you don’t understand?
Religion.

18. What do you fantasize about?
Traveling

19. What is it about you that your friends do not understand?
The depths of my obsessions

20. What’s your 5-Year Plan for the future?
Do as much traveling as possible and to write more

[CellarDweller]

1. What was the happiest period of your life and why?

I'm living in it now.  I've accepted who I am, personal responsiblity for my health and finances, and traveling to destination I never even dreamed of going.  

2. What was the saddest time?

When my first "ex" broke up with me.  He lived in another state, and we touched lightly on the idea of me moving to his place, away from my family and friends.  He was right to break it off, but at the time, I didn't see that.  I was convinced he was "the one" and when that rug got pulled out from under me, I was blind-sided and in a depression for about 2 months.  I ended up going to therapy and got through it.

3. Who is your best friend?

I have so many friends now, more than ever before, I don't know that I can pick a "best" friend.

4. What’s something about you that not many people know?

That despite my outgoing nature, I'm very self conscious when it comes to meeting new people.

5. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A cowboy, and then later, a bus driver.  I have no idea why I wanted to be either.

6. What simple pleasure gives you the most joy?

laughing with friends.

7. If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be?

I would've found the courage to come out sooner.

8. How do you relax?

Tylenol PMs.

9. Describe your perfect day.

Sleeping in until 10am
Light breakfast
some time online
nature walk by some waterfalls
shopping
going to the "gay friendly" part of a city, and walking around holding hands
Nice dinner
tv and hot chocolate
make-out session that leads to more
sleeping in "his" arms, whoever "he" will be. 
 
10. Who is your celebrity crush?

Neil Patrick Harris.

11. What part of your body gives you the most trouble?

My lower back gets sore from time to time, but nothing serious.

12. What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

get married!

13. Describe the best meal you’ve ever had.

Geez...I've had tooo many good meals.

14. What six things are essential to your health?

Healthy diet
Adequate sleep
moderate exercise
Fun music
A positive outlook
A good sense of humor

15. Are you healthy?

Haven't had a yearly exam yet, but the last one I did, my weight had dropped, my blood pressure, sugar levels, and cholesterol were all normal.  The only issue I have is allergies.

16. What is it that you can’t live without?

Internet.

17. What is it that you don’t understand?

Hate and intolerance.

18. What do you fantasize about?

My future with a partner, in a small house, maybe a cat.

19. What is it about you that your friends do not understand?

Why did I have such an extreme reaction to Brokeback Mountain!

20. What’s your 5-Year Plan for the future?

We're supposed to plan that far in advance?

[southendmd]

"Chuck, get in here!"

[CellarDweller]

Oh, if he was single and I had a shot.

[Sammi]

Geat idea for a topic.  Being new I am enjoying reading what people are all about. 

[delalluvia]

I don't particularly care about Neil Patrick Harris one way or the other, but I'll certainly admit that pic of him is HOT! 

[Sammi]

1. What was the happiest period of your life and why?

My "coming of age" years - age 11-14. Going away to summer camp, having crushes on boys, the music of the time. The best.
 

2. What was the saddest time?

Honestly I don't think I have experienced my saddest times yet. If I have, then yay me, because it was not that bad.  Probably in my late 20's when I was panicking about marriage.

3. Who is your best friend?

My sissy.

4. What’s something about you that not many people know?

That I like country music. 

5. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A mom.  I always knew that I wanted to be a mom since I can ever remember.   I also wanted to be a teacher, or work in a gift shop.

6. What simple pleasure gives you the most joy?

Drinking a hot chocolate.

7. If you could go back in time and change anything, what would it be?

Probably nothing because of the butterfly effect, you know?  But if I had to pick something I would have had my two closest girl friends as bridemaids in my wedding.  At the time it seemed important to me that I not have too many bridesmaids.  But now I look back and think, who cares?  And I would have never have said all those mean things to my mom when I was a teenager.

8. How do you relax?

TV, blankets, pilliows, wine.

9. Describe your perfect day.

Go to the beach with my daughters.  We do not need to wear sunscreen and we do not sunburn all day.  We go to dinner and get fried scallops and clam cakes.  We drive home singing Jimmy Buffet songs together.  On the way home I notice that I am tan, not burned, and I have a watch line.

 
10. Who is your celebrity crush?

I have to say it is none other than Jake Gyllenhaal.  I also like David Duchovny.

11. What part of your body gives you the most trouble?

I don't have aches and pains or anything.  Sadly my greif is with such shallow cosmetic things like aging and weight.

12. What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

Have grandkids

13. Describe the best meal you’ve ever had.

I love food, I have had many good meals.  One that stands out is getting Chicken Teriyaki at the Polynesian restraunt in DisneyWorld at age 9.  It was my first "grown up" meal.  To this day Chicken Teriyaki and rice pilaf are one of my favorite foods.

14. What six things are essential to your health?

Sleep
Water
Excersize
Calcium
My face cream
Connections to people/relationships
Sunshine



15. Are you healthy?

Yes - thank god. I have had a few near misses and luckily I am OK.  SFSG.

16. What is it that you can’t live without?

My girlies
Sleep
Photos

17. What is it that you don’t understand?

So so so many things.

18. What do you fantasize about?

Someday finding "the one", that person.. that you know... is it.

19. What is it about you that your friends do not understand?

Why I am so defensive.

20. What’s your 5-Year Plan for the future?

Get financially stable and finish furnishing this house.  And get some new shoes.