Questions Bipolar Version #8

Yes

Do you paint your fingernails?

Nope. Used to when I was younger, once set my nails on fire! 🔥 I had long nails and the nail polish was flammable. I was playing with a bic lighter using just my index finger to flame it and my nail caught on fire. Needless to say those days are behind me.

What your favorite section in a library or bookstore?

The section on finance.

Do you ever find yourself struggling with remaining present during a conversation?

If a conversation bores me i don't try to keep up with it. Life is too short.

Were you raised religious and did you enjoy it?

I came from a Jewish family and ended up with Vedantism, Catholicism, Methodism figuring significantly in my life. Then I spent years avidly studying Buddhism. So yes, lots of religion and I cherish that part of my growing-up and young years.



What was the most recent show you binge-watched?

We don't usually sit down & watch multiple episodes in one night, but we just finished three seasons of a Netflix program called "Shtisel." It's an Israeli television drama that details family life in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family in Jerusalem. If you dislike subtitles, you're out of luck, because they speak Yiddish & Hebrew. We look forward to future seasons when they are released in the USA.

If no one minds, I'll bounce that question again. What's the most recent program you binge-watched?

I am not a major league TV watcher, but of all I mostly watch late night comedy shows (Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Trevor Noah). Sometimes at one time we'll watch multiple in a night. We record them and watch later. We always have, even in the US. Definitely now living in Europe, since live they are in the wee hours of the morning in our new location.

Do you have a low, medium, or high pain tolerance and/or threshold?

I turn 60 in June. The past few years I've really felt the aging process. My body used to recover at an amazing rate...I played football in high school with relative impunity, but if I have a minor fall these days recovery isn't as simple! When I watch football these days, I find myself thinking, "Holy shite! That's insanity!" It's not that I've turned into a wimp in my old age, it's just that I avoid painful situations more than I once did. I'm not sure that answers the question, but aging changes the answer...

What is the boldest/craziest thing you did as a young person (16-25)?

I was a cocktail waitress in a town about 15-20 minutes away from my home town. As I was head waitress ( a story for another time) I had to close out. So it was the wee hours of the morning when I finished. I’d drive my mo-par car on the back roads flooring it to get back home where I lived with a friend and the party was still going. Good god a cow could have wondered into the road not to mention all the wild life and cops. 👮*♀️ I routinely went over 100 on those back curvy roads.

If you could live in any decade, which would you choose and why?

1960's.

then I can watch the first man land on the moon on national tv

and I can be a part of beatlemania
question: in the last 10 years, who do you think was the greatest loss to the world?. why

Robin Williams - I always thought he was comedy genius

Question: What sports do you follow?

I follow one NCAA football team (and a little of the teams they play). I also follow figure skating and gymnastics.

Did you participate in any sports in high school?

I played football and baseball in high school.

What was your favorite subject in high school, or your major if you went to college? What did you like about it?

Marine biology. In college my favorite subject of recent American history.

If you could change only one thing with your country what would it be?

Stop our civil war.

@Jmayfair...you need to write a question for the next person.

Who had the most influence on you growing up?

I had a music teacher who took me under her wing from third through eighth grades. She did more than teach music in school & give me private piano lessons, though. She checked with all my other teachers to make sure I was getting my work done there, and if I ever misbehaved in another teacher's class she made sure I had to answer to her, rather than the principal (the principal's office would have been a gift in comparison!). While I can think of other dedicated teachers who influenced me, Mrs. P gave me the gifts of music, academic rigor, and probably spared me the life of a hoodlum.

Briefly describe life in the city, town, or rural area where you grew up (sorry if it sounds like fodder for a novel).

Semi rural, but more and more houses built on the road (called "Goat Hill") over 20 years. I lived on the hill above a touristy small town, which is one of NJs cutest. If you walk along the ridge, you see the Delaware River below. They say Washington stood on a boulder there watching for the British. My family (on both sides) is deeply rooted in the area, with ancestors dating back to the late 1600s and early 1700s. I actually could go on and on, but won't.

Do you have any old family heirloom or memorabilia?

Yes. I have a silver menorah that is around 70 years old. It was made in Israel and purchased by my mother in NYC. It's heavy and quite beautiful.

Do you know how to swim?

I do but not the American crawl. Never could coordinate my breathing to when it was safe. But. I can do the butterfly, side stoke, backstro ke and am great at underwater swimming. My cousins and I had a ton of fun jumping out of boats and rescuing each other. We learned to undress and blow up our jeans.

Do you have favorite summer memories?

Yes I do. My fondest are memories in childhood camping with my family. Now I get a lot of mixed episodes in the summer that make it far less magical but as a child, it was my favorite season. What is your favorite good habit that makes life less stressful?

I'm not sure it can qualify as a habit, but my dog is very good therapy. "Big Papi" is a 7 pound Chihuahua-rat terrier mix. He makes my life less stressful in several ways. First, he's a lapdog who loves being petted constantly -- the petting is very soothing for me, too. Secondly, since he's small enough that a hawk could carry him off, we have to walk him on lead six times a day so he can "do his business" -- which forces us to exercise some of our stresses away. Finally, he makes us laugh (always good medicine). He's amazingly fast (Speedy Gonzalez fast) when running around the house after his toys; he thinks he a big, tough guy -- trying to attack pitbulls when we walk him (at a great distance, of course); and he always chases my hand when I move it under the covers at night. He's quite the character. I'm sure some of you find your pets to be big stress relievers, too.

Outside of your nuclear family (mother, father, sisters & brothers), who is/was your favorite relative? Give a brief description of them & tell us why they stand out.

My uncle Gil, he did classified work for the government so I wasn’t ever sure what he did but he also traveled around the world climbing mountains. From a very young age he talked to me as a person. When I was about 12 he gave me a set of books about expanding your horizons and looking at things from a different POV. He lived about two blocks from the ocean in San Diego and converted his land to native habitat way before it became a thing. Was into climate change back in the 60’s and 70’s. He was a very interesting person.

Good question I’ll repeat it, outside your nuclear family whi was/is your favorite relative? Give a brief description

My grandma. She just was so caring and sweet. She'd sit and read to us until her voice gave out. She taught me how to be a better person. She died 27 years ago today (I just realized this, not trying to write a memorial here).

Have you ever owned chickens?