Interview by Black Belt Momma

This is a slightly different meme that seems to be propagating. BBM has sent me five questions (I volunteered), and I will answer them to the best of my ability. If anybody wants me to interview them in return, let me know, and I'll toss five questions your way.

1.What is your favorite blog to read and why?

First off, I'll freely admit to being a blogoholic. I read about 30 regularly, divided among political, writing, martial arts, knitting, and friends, with some overlap of categories. There are half-a-dozen I check every day without fail. First among these, though has to be Pandagon. I started reading Amanda (Pandagon's owner), back when she wrote for only her own tiny blog called Mousewords. Actually, Mousewords was the first blog I ever read, before I was even too clear on what they were. Be warned, Amanda is a serious progressive and feminist, and often snarky and/or foul-mouthed. I like her because more often than any other person I read, she'll say something completely outside of my line of thought, and I'll say "You know, she's absolutely right, and I never would have come up with that!" Even when I seriously disagree with what she has to say, she's always interesting to read. Several other regulars at Pandagon are also good reads, so it's always my first stop.

Pandagon being political, my other favorites are Martial Views for a martial arts blog, See Euny Knit for knitting blogs, and Miss Snark for writing. Miss Snark is also very acid (though not technically foul-mouthed). I find it sort of interesting that I like reading that sort of blog so much since it's pretty much the opposite of how I operate.

2) What is your favorite TV show and why?

In contrast with blogs, I watch very little TV. A couple of shows a week is about it. In current fare, House would probably be my favorite. I like trying to beat the plot to the diagnosis (even if I've only done it a couple of times), and the lead character is marvelous. Unfortunately its airing time conflicts with karate class, so I mostly see it on DVD. Also, my life is beginning to resemble one of their case studies a little too closely for comfort.

3) What's the best meal you ever had?

That's easy. Hands down the meal at the CIA we had to celebrate my BIL's graduation from college. That would be the Culinary Institute of America, btw, not that other place, which I don't think serves memorable food. Everything I tasted was knock-your-socks-off good, and not even torching my hair on a table candle spoiled the evening.

4) If you could offer one piece of advice to a beginning martial artist, what would it be?

My first thought was to counsel patience, but on thinking upon it I decided against. Patience is so much a personality trait, that there are relatively few people who could take that kind of advice. Instead I think I'll offer the same advice I offer to people thinking of trying temp work for the first time. Don't be afraid to look stupid. You're doing something new. Something your body doesn't know how to do. Something your brain hasn't quite taken in yet. It's not going to come on the first try, and sometimes not on the twentieth. If you stick to doing only what you know you can do, you'll never get anywhere. Push yourself, be willing to look stupid doing it, and you'll get a lot further.

5) If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?

I've actually thought about this one several times. Which is weird, since I've never bought a lottery ticket in my life. First, I would buy my in-laws house for them and get it fixed up while I was at it. Second, I would donate enough to let my kids' elementary school build a desperately needed new wing. Then I would probably hire a professional organizer and cleaning crew to come in and tackle the perpetual mess that is my house and show me how to maintain it. Oh - and a couple of new cars. Our old ones have been nursing along for some time now. The "new" car is nine years old with nearly 200,000 miles on it. It would be lovely to be able to take a long trip without worrying that something drastic is going to fall apart on our transportation.

That's the interview. Thanks for the questions, BBM.