Friday Shuffle - Interview Edition

Two weeks of your patience has paid off - I'm finished with the tales from my vacation and we can now get back to regular stuff. I can hear you cheering from here.

A few weeks ago Carol posted the answers to some interview questions posed to her and she offered to interview her own readers so I took her up on it. And she even ties in my vacation to it.

1. When you went home in October, what was something that happened that surprised you, that you never expected? What was something that you expected to happen that never did?

I hope I can explain this well. Even though I knew the Peach Pilgrimage was happening - I knew it was going to happen the moment I announced that I'd be coming home for a visit - it still surprised me. I think I have a hard time - too hard - believing that people would really want to go to all the effort it requires to make such an event happen. In some crazy, self-deprecating way I feel so unworthy to have friends do this for me - for no other reason than they want to visit with me and want me to have fun. I was so bowled over by A arranging the suite at the Peabody and her doing it just because she wanted me - for all of us - us to enjoy it. I scratch my head and wonder what I ever did in life that was so good that I was blessed with friends like these.

What I expected to happen that never did was me buying a pile of books and me going to the movies. I had the opportunity a couple times but either I got too busy or I chose to do something else like go see my mother. I can always have Amazon.com send me books - they can't send me my mother.

2. Name 5 things about B that constantly amaze you.

~ How incredibly well-adjusted he is. The bitterness one may expect in someone who has experienced the misfortune of having an accident that has left him paralyzed for life simply isn't present in him.

~ I'm amazed at how well he speaks English. He never went to school for it - he taught himself. He doesn't speak it perfectly - and I don't either - but he's very good and gets better all the time.

~ I'm amazed at how patient he is and how he can think about a problem until he finally comes up with a solution. Whether it's a challenge in a computer game or him having to fix a problem on his computer or him trying to figure out how he wants to invest some money or trying to find the perfect new television for us - he will think about, research, consider, compare and whatever else he has to do, no matter how long it takes, until he finds the right solution. I'm all "Does this work? Okay, yeah, that's good enough then." because I don't have that sort of patience.

~ I'm amazed at his sense of trust in me. He is absolutely vulnerable to me. If I wanted to I could harm him in so many ways and yet he never wavers in his trust. I think all close relationships carry a sense of vulnerability and those in the relationship must trust one another but B is even vulnerable to me in that he's got to trust that I will feed him or take care of any other physical need. Most relationships outside of a baby/parent relationship don't have that deep a vulnerability.

~ And I'm amazed at his depth of love for me. If I did something really good to deserve the wonderful friends I have then I must have done something extraordinarily good to have the love B has bestowed upon me.

3. What's your favorite German food? What American food (other than Sonic, ha ha!) do you miss?

Oh I love currywurst. And Thüringer bratwurst fresh off the grill. And schnitzel, especially with hollandaise or a broccoli cream sauce over it. And I swear, french fries in Germany are way, way, way better than what you find in America. European potatoes just have more flavor than those big ass Russet potatoes used in America.

There's a lot of American foods I miss but one that I have difficulty replacing in Germany is a nice, thick rare steak.

4. Can you name an experience in your past that had an immediate and significant impact on your character? Forming it, strengthening it, challenging it, etc.

My father's cerebral aneurysm. It left him in a vegetative state for nine months before he finally passed away. My mother refused to have him put in a nursing home and had him brought home from the hospital so she could, with the help of hospice, care for him herself. I saw what love can do when you're given challenge. I saw how love can make you do things that are difficult, painful, disgusting, horrific - things you never thought you could do or even tolerate being around. I saw how you can do what's important for someone you desperately love just because you have no other choice - it has to be done and you love that person so much. I think that experience directly prepared me to meet B and for me to take on the challenge of his care.

5. What's you favorite holiday? Why?

My darling, dear, dear friend, Susan, will immediately know the answer to this because she'd answer the same - it's Christmas! Susan is also one of the reasons I love it so much - she shares my enthusiasm for decorating for Christmas and when I lived in Virginia we'd spend the months before Christmas shopping at all sorts of places looking for unusual or one-of-a-kind decorations - tree decorations especially.

I love the preparations for and the traditions of Christmas. I love to see houses absolutely covered in Christmas kitsch. Know those houses they show on the TV news that are coated in flashing, gaudy lights and figures? I cheer them when I see them and yell "Yeah! More! More!". I love the Christmas market with its lights and music and sale stands and the yummy, trashy food they sell. I adore Christmas music - I play is constantly during the holiday season. I am crazy for Christmas movies and get disappointed if I don't see all my favorites.

And I love the quiet of the day itself. By the time Christmas day itself rolls around I'm done with the rush and flash and anticipation and am ready to reflect on the meaning of the day.

Okay - that's five asked and five answered. And now I wish to offer my interviewing services - leave me a comment if you'd like me to interview you for you to answer on your blog. Check back on the comments on this entry for your questions. You NaBloPoMo participants may especially be interested in an interview since that'll knock off one of your daily posts!

It's Friday. Time for a shuffle.

1. Girls In Their Summer Clothes - Bruce Springsteen.
2. All That Heaven Will Allow - The Mavericks (Written by Bruce Springsteen - I think Bixente the iPod has a crush.)
3. The Show Must Go On - Three Dog Night
4. Highroyds - Kaiser Chiefs
5. Himmelblau - Die Ärzte
6. Clean Town - Mando Diao
7. Laughing - The Guess Who
8. Black Night - Deep Purple
9. Tortured, Tangled Hearts - Dixie Chicks
10. The Fool On The Hill - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

Happy weekend, folks!