What My Cousin Made Me Do

My pesky annoying cousin, who demands I call her wonderful and beautiful, took my laughing at her for being a sucker as saying I'm a sucker too, so now I have to be interviewed by her on my blog. Love ya Nean ;-)

The Interview:

1. If you could take a vacation (no expenses) anywhere in the world for one week, where would you go and who would you take with you?

There are a lot of places I'd love to visit for a week (or more). Someday I want to go back to Lesotho, I want to visit Scotland and Ireland, and I'd love to go to Taize, France. For a no expenses vacation, I'd probably jump at the chance to travel just about anywhere, especially if it was somewhere I could really learn about and experience another culture.

The who with part is a little trickier. I'd get too lonely if I went by myself, but I tend to need space and quiet time to think, so it would be hard to spend a whole week with someone very out going. I'd go anywhere with any of my covenant group buddies from my Africa trip, as well as a lot of the other Leadership Now people. There are people from my church and some other friends I might also choose as travel companions. As long we're talking anythings possible I could pick Fallon and some of my other ProU buddies, just because it would mean getting to meet them in person, but in reality it'd be terrifying to go away for a week with people I'd never met face to face.

2. Tell me about your dream job/career.

Do you know how ironically (un?)timely this question is? This week I've had some frustrations with my current work situation, so I've been thinking quite a bit about work and careers, what I'm doing now, and what I might eventually want to do. As difficult and frustrating as it can be at times, I love teaching and can't imagine having any other career (besides maybe eventually being a full time mom, but that would still be teaching just with kids of my own....) I think my dream place to teach at would be some kind of alternative school that emphasizes learning through living, and strongly considers student interests and learning styles when planning – something that embodies the educational values I grew up with home schooling.

3. What is your favorite way to relax?

Relax? What's that? I tend to have a hard time really relaxing. I can be lazy, waste time, etc., but that's not the same as relaxing. Even when I'm accomplishing nothing I tend to stress and worry over things and create busyness, rather than really relaxing.

To really relax I like to curl up in a blanket and drink hot tea, or lay outside watching stars (all the better if it's on the deck of a gently rocking sailboat). The right book to read, or sometimes when I write can help me relax. Connecting to nature also helps me relax, whether it's dancing in the rain, seeing the sun stream in the window, smelling crushed leaves or wood smoke, watching snow turn everything white, or feeling the wind in my hair.

4. If you had a million dollars, what would you do with it?

Ah, the million dollar question.... If I had a million dollars I'd want to give some to all the organizations I support. Pro-U would get some for an over due server upgrade, as well as for the scholarship. Some would go to Leadership Now (because they're awesome!). I'd give to Schreiber for their rec programs, and maybe donate to a few other places.

I'd also want to use some to pay for college, so I could get a degree without having to worry about money or balancing work and school. I'd give some to my parents for a new kitchen and to remodel the bathroom. I would use some to travel, and I would invest/save some.

5. What kind of music do you prefer and/or what is your current favorite song and why?

My tastes in music are pretty eclectic. The music itself can be just about any style for me to like it, but for me to really love a song it's lyrics need to speak to me. I hate it when I find a song with a really cool tune, but crappy lyrics.

I think my current favorite song is “Life in the City” by Michael Franti/Spearhead because the first line of it got me thinking about something that inspired a story I'm working on, and also because the more I listen to it the more powerful the rest of the lyrics seem. Franti is definitely my favorite artist right now, just because he writes such meaningful lyrics.

Now if anyone is into this and wants to be interviewed, let me know:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me" (or tell me some other way).

2. I will pick five questions to send to you by email for you to answer.

3. You will update your blog (or FB note) with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation & offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you choose five questions for them to answer.