Intermission – TOTW All-in-1
| 1. | If you could pick any place in the world to live, where would it be? |
| Westport, California. It’s a tiny little nothing town on a cliff overlooking the ocean. | |
| 2. | What is one thing you would like to learn more about, but haven’t been able to? |
| Politics. I like to know what’s going on in the world. I even run a non-partisan group on Facebook in an attempt to get people to discuss issues intelligently. | |
| 3. | What is an accomplishment you are particularly proud of? |
| There are many young women – former students, nieces, cousins, etc. – who look to me as a role model. They reach out to me for advice and to discuss things that trouble them. I live for that. | |
| 4. | What is something you did as a child, that you miss doing now? |
| I used to sing really well. My voice hasn’t aged well. I miss singing. | |
| 5. | The most surprised I’ve ever been… |
| I’d have to say it was the day I got a positive pregnancy test after having been with a man who was supposedly sterile. | |
| 6. | When was a time you stood up for yourself? |
| There have been many times. My favorite story to tell about it, was when I went with a friend of mine to help her buy a used car from a dealership. I’m a little more direct than she is, so when they tried using the bullying tactics they use on women, I shut him down right away. He complained that the sales guy wasn’t going to make much money off this sale. Probably only about $150 or so. I turned to my friend and said, “Julia, how long have we been here?”
She said, “About an hour and a half.” |
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| 7. | Which of your values do you value most? |
| Love. I believe that God is Love and Love is God. I try to interact with people in the most loving way possible. I’ve made friends with people who hated my guts. | |
| 8. | Do you believe in soulmates? |
| I believe that we can meet people who just feel like we were meant to be together. I found that in my friend Adina. We are not lovers. We just love each other deeply. What I don’t believe is that there is only one soulmate. | |
| 9. | What cause would you be an activist for? |
| Gay rights. In California there was a proposition on the ballot to ban gay marriage. I had a sticker on my car saying, “Vote NO on Prop 8.” I had a colleague come out to me because I had that sticker on my car. She’d recently married her partner and had been afraid to tell anyone. | |
| 10. | If you could create a character in your favorite book or film story, what would you be? What would you do? |
| Oh, that’s easy. I’d be a professor at Hogwarts. I’d teach Muggle Studies. I’d be best friends with Minerva McGonagall and Mollie Weasley. I’d be a member of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s Army, and I’d have written letter after letter to Neville Longbottom’s grandmother, telling her what a precious grandson she had and how proud she should be. | |
| 11. | If you could change one choice you made in your life, what would it be? |
| I am writing a memoir, and I haven’t gotten to this story yet. Keep reading. It’s coming up very soon. | |
| 12. | Share your favorite food or dish growing up. |
| My mom used to make homemade egg noodles. They were thick and chewy and if I had a choice of those or going to pizza, I’d pick the egg noodles. | |
| 13. | If you could bring back one person and have a conversation with them, who would it be? |
| This one is hard. There are many people I’d like to talk to again. But the one with whom I have the most unfinished business is my ex-husband, Dave. I’d tell him that I understand, now, that he was mentally ill, and I’m sorry that I didn’t know it then. | |
| 14. | Tell us five things you are grateful for. |
1. My family
2. My friends
3. My pets
4. Facebook/Open Diary
5. I can’t tell you this one, because it will give away part of my story.
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| 15. | Nobody knows that I… |
| I honestly can’t think of anything about me that nobody knows. I’m an open book. I don’t keep secrets. Even my body has been thoroughly explored by doctors, trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with me. So. No secrets. 😊 | |
| 16. | What do you consider your greatest strength? |
| I’m smart. I can figure out just about anything if it’s logical. I built my first gaming computer with no training. I’ve been the go to tech person in every math department I’ve ever worked in. | |
| 17. | Who are you descended from? |
| Supposedly, I’m descended from Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. I don’t know how much of that is true, but it’s not something I’d want to brag about. | |
| 18. | Tell us about a particularly enjoyable day. |
| One of my nieces has been raised by my parents since she was a baby. Since I have no children, I have always made a special effort to do stuff with her and include her in outings with my sisters and their kids.
One year, I wanted to have a professional picture taken of the all of the grandkids for my parents. So the day that we were supposed to do it, I went over and picked up my niece, Dani is her name, and took her out to lunch. We went to McDonalds and she played in the play place. Then we went to Walmart to buy her a dress. I’d never shopped for dresses with a little girl before. It was such a joy. She hugged me several times throughout that day. |
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| 19. | A teacher’s influence |
| I have already written about a teacher’s influence, here. | |
| 20. | Three foods you would take to a desert island |
| Water, Pizza, Grapes | |
| 21. | The most beautiful scenery you’ve ever seen |
| I walked down a highway, past a forest clearing one summer evening in Büdingen, Germany. It was dusk, and out of the corner of eye I saw a flash of light. I looked to my right and saw a sight that looked like it was out of a fantasy movie. Thousands of fireflies danced gracefully in the evening light. I expected a unicorn to appear. | |
| 22. | What inspires you? |
| Young people. I love working with young people. I love watching them pursue their dreams. It energizes me to get a young person excited about something like math when they’ve always hated it before. | |
| 23. | What is your first childhood memory? |
| I have a very faint memory of my mother bathing me in the kitchen sink. The counter had a metal trim that was loose. I remember my mom lifting me into the sink, and that metal strip pulled away from the sink and snapped back. | |
| 24. | What qualities are important to you in a close friend? |
| Open-minded, honest, good sense of humor, treats people with respect, has respect for the world of Harry Potter. | |
| 25. | What do you do or where do you go when you need to renew your spirit? |
| I go sit on the back porch with my dogs. If I still lived in California, I would say Westport California. | |
| 26. | Are you a water person? |
| I don’t know what this means. I like to drink water. I like to be in water. I like to be near the water. So, yeah, I guess you could say I’m a water person. | |
| 27. | What should you say no to? |
| I should say no to chocolate. I could if I wanted to, but I don’t. I should, but I don’t. | |
| 28. | What is the one thing you want to be remembered for? |
| I want to be remembered for my passion for working with young people. | |
| 29. | What’s your earliest memory? |
| See # 23 | |
| 30. | Tell us about a time you had to save yourself. |
| This is a story that will be addressed in the next few entries. It goes along with #11. |
Muggle studies would be an excellent career choice. Not sure I would ever get the job being a Slytherin.
Ive always really admired teachers. Really wanted to become one myself but life happened. I love knowledge and learning. There is nothing more humbling or fulfilling than learning or being wrong and exploring why
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I’m excited to read more of your meoir to find out some of these answers.
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