Avitable and the Proust Questionnaire
Thanks to the lovely Finn for this series of questions, taken from the Proust Questionnaire from Vanity Fair magazine. She picked and chose her favorites, and I'll just trust her choices:
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Like yin and yang, there would be no perfect happiness without perfect unhappiness. I think I'd rather just have normal happiness instead.
What is your greatest fear?
Being forgotten.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My selfishness.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Insincerity.
On what occasion do you lie?
I lie for the development of my persona. I lie when I'm trapped. I lie when I'm scared not to.
What is your greatest extravagance?
My life is kind of an extravagance in and of itself.
What is your current state of mind?
Constantly working, never resting, always thinking of one thing while doing another.
What is the quality you most like in a man?
Vulnerability
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Wicked sense of humor. (same answer as Finn)
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I tend to justify my actions by saying "I'm just saying" a lot.
When and where were you happiest?
When I was inside a bubble for an hour.
Who are your favorite writers?
Stephen King, Lee Child, John Sandford, Dean Koontz, classic Anne Rice, Robert B. Parker, Dennis LeHane
Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I was musically inclined.
If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
That they weren't Republicans.
If you died and came back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A body pillow.
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My weight.
Where would you like to live?
Los Angeles.
What is your most treasured possession?
I don't have one. Updated: upon further reflection, maybe my hard drive because it has most of my memories.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Loneliness.
What do you most value in your friends?
Acceptance. (same answer as Finn)
What are your favorite names?
I don't have any.
What is it that you most dislike?
Stupidity borne out of ignorance.
What is your greatest regret?
Making a decision out of fear.
How would you like to die?
Protecting someone.
What is your motto?
Avitable: Tact is for pussies
Adam: What, me worry?

NO TREASURED POSESSION?!? I'd have thought it was my copy of "Star Trek: Countdown" since I never got it back after ConFab!
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@Dave2, I just bought a brand new version that will be shipping to you today.
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@Avitable, Juuuuust joking…
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@Dave2, I had it set aside to send back and with all of the decorating, I'm sure it got stuck in a box that I won't find until next year, so I really did just order one that should ship straight from Amazon to you! I completely forgot about it – sorry!
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"…classic Anne Rice"
*sighs* I love you.
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@CP, her old stuff was good stuff. Too bad she went crazy. Well, crazier.
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If you came back as a body pillow, I would buy two – the Avitable body pillow sandwich. Never lonely, always delicious.
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@Maria @BOREDmommy, you don't want to EAT the body pillows!
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Do you mean you don't have any treasured possessions or not one- more than one?
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@Valerie, well, I was trying to think of anything that I couldn't leave behind if I walked out the door right now. And maybe my hard drive, because it has all of my memories and photos.
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You and I have so much in common and are so very alike.
I feel so… dirty.
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@Faiqa, it's uncanny, right? You're like my sister from a browner mister.
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I've read all of your favorite authors and I dig them too. Well, not so much with Dean Koontz. He was kind of a temporary guilty pleasure for me back in the day.
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@B.E. Earl, Dean Koontz has gotten better now that he writes quirkier stuff. And Intensity remains one of my favorite books of all time.
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@Avitable, Yes to that. (Koontz)
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@Avitable, I use to love Dean Koontz, but then I read One Door Away from Heaven and something else and thought he really was getting out there with his writing and it wasn't as great as it once was.
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I think that the fear of being forgotten is a big one in many of us. I also think that you don't have to worry about that.
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@Badass Geek, well, I appreciate that.
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Proust posers provide pensive posting.
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@avatgardener, Avitable? Pensive? Surely you jest!
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@muskrat, I'm totally filled with pensitivity.
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@avatgardener, pensive penis posting perhaps.
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"I'm just sayin'." justifies everything in my world.
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@Ashleigh, it used to, but I get called on it now!
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Re: #2. Who are you again?
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@Grant, ha. Fucker.
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Brilliant! You could turn this into a meme and totally get richer!
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@muskrat, I should. I like to capitalize on the efforts of others too!
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I think that if you were to post one of those thingies where people anonymously tell you the qualities that they feel you have, selfish wouldn't even be in the top one hundred.
You are one of the most selfless people I have ever met.
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@Sheila (Charm School Reject), thank you. It's not true, but I appreciate that.
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@Avitable, You do realize I only have like, six friends right? So really, it's not that much of a stretch.
Accept my compliment dammit.
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@Sheila (Charm School Reject), ok. Thank you!
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I want my Avitable body pillow! Wait, would it be hairy?
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@Finn, yes, but in a warm, inviting way.
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That's it – between Finn, you and Dave2 doing this, I am totally doing it.
Your favorite name is SYBIL.
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@Sybil Law, but that's not even your real name!
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I love seeing this side of you. Now I want to squish you.
PS. I wish my family weren't Republicans either.
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@Shauna, squish me like a bug, right?
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@Avitable,
Oh. Shit. I guess I didn't make myself clear.
Not so much squish you like a bug as make you pocket size.
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I love classic Anne Rice too. And she did go crazy. And it's not right. I'm just sayin'.
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@Lisa, you are right. She went off the fucking deep end.
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Thank you, Adam, for doing that straight.
And may I suggest (I know you have SO MUCH time at your disposal), as an addition to your library of authors – Jasper Fforde? Read "The Big Over Easy" and then "The Fourth Bear". If, after those two, you seek more Fforde, then go back and start at the beginning of the "Thursday Next" series of books (That's the name of the heroine) – "The Eyre Affair".
I promise – you will not regret the time spent.
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@lceel, I thought this one was worth answering truthfully. What genre does Fforde write?
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@Avitable, I guess you could call it "Alternate Reality". Other than that, his books rather defy description.
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Stephen King and Dean Koontz FTW! (Because I so had to throw in some netspeak there.)
But seriously, all of your answers sounded sad, so here's a hug. *hug*
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@Elizabeth Kaylene, sad? Nah, they're not sad. Just serious!
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Ha, I was doing this too, but it all become complicated words and thoughts and blergh in my brain. You succeeded where I failed.
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@Cri, werdz is hard.
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@Avitable, Yes! Thank You! Unless you're mocking me, thank screw you, Jirk! >.<
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Stephen King pre-car-accident and Anne Rice pre-Jesus were good. You cannot deny.
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@Poppy, King post-accident has been excellent, too. Just different.
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Great idea! Love the Proust Questionnaire. You were inside a bubble for an hour?! I must have missed that post!
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I love that Finn started this and I love that you want to die protecting someone. That was my favorite answer.
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