Plus ca change

Stealing from Jerry's playbook. The hair, the pants, the falsetto (the last two may or may not be connected)

Me, me, meme

So, I've managed to defer posting the contents of the deluge of excellent mix CDs I've received recently in favor of this very intriguing meme, courtesy of Jerrysan and originating from Ms. Stewison.

Below are five questions devised especially for moi by Jerry, and my answers. They were awesome questions, and very thought provoking!

1: What erroneous assumptions have you found that we Americans make about Scotland, or about you as a Scottish person?

There have been many; some have surprised me, and some are understandable. I think the funniest erroneous assumption is that I am sophisticated and cultured. There are a couple that just seem ignorant; that Scotland is a part of England and that English is not my first language ('Wow, you speak English real good'). Another very common one is that I am familiar with every facet of Scottish culture and know every folk song and singer there ever was. Often, Americans seem to think Scotland and Ireland are the same place. I have never been accused of cheapness, luckily. But it has been assumed I know how to play golf, and am interested in doing so (nope).

2: If you could send a message to yourself at any point in the past, what (and when) would the message be? (For the sake of argument, let's exclude things like "Buy Microsoft at $5/share".)

I think I would like have told myself that I'm going to turn out to be pretty tough and self-sufficient, and I think I would have liked to tell myself that during college, when I felt sort of lost a lot of the time.

3: If you could be any fictional character, who would you be and why?

Sophie Fevvers, from Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus. She is a wonderful strong, mysterious, desirable, larger than life character. I also love that whole fin de siecle vibe in that book, when science was still somewhat magical and modernity was waiting in the wings, and I would loved to have been around at that time.

4: Which would you rather have had: your own childhood, or the one your son is having right now?

No question, mine. I loved my early childhood; I grew up in a small, pretty seaside town, and it seems like we spent every sunny day on the beach. I also loved having sisters and a dog when I grew up; I can't imagine being an only child. I do think my son and I are closer than I was to my parents growing up though, and he has more material things than we had.

5: If you could ask your cats a question and have them respond in English, what would it be?

What in hell do you DO all day?

To spread the joy, if you would like to be interviewed by me (I promise no papparazzi or upskirt shots), please leave a comment indicating your wish. I'll send you five questions, and you can post your answers on your blog, or on mine if you don't have one. Then explain on your blog how it all works and offer to interview someone else, and devise five questions for them. If you don't do this within three days, your penis will shrivel and dry and drop off. Or if you're a girl, someone whose penis you like will suffer the same fate.