Robert Manners

Just Checking In...

Hi, friends! Today it is still hot, but I am cool in my office (dreading to leave). The Saga of the Accursed Binders Project continues to plague my life...today I had to go through that whole pile of documents to find new exhibits for the second section of the binders, as well as wrestle with editing the Boss Lady's prose. Not much else of great interest has happened today.



But I feel that I ought to take up some space on the web anyway, so I am going to give you a survey I borrowed from William, who got it from Kat, who got it from Smitha, who got it from Ginn, who got it from Wogs (who probably got it from somewhere else, but I couldn't find out...)



I. Stats

1. First Name: Robert (or Marlénè)

2. Hair Color: Medium ash brown with grey streaks.

3. Middle Name: Eugene...for which I have yet to forgive my parents.

4. Hair Style: Sort of a short shag, parted on the side and layered all around.

5. Eye Color: Bluish grey.

6. Height: 6'3"...unless I'm in heels...

7. Location: Beautiful Lake Merritt, Oakland CA.

8. Birthday: December 27...I decline to state which year.

9. Zodiac Sign: Capricorn with Gemini rising and Scorpio moon.

10. Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?: Nope. Well, I have lots of 'girl'friends...

11. Do you have a crush?: Not at the moment...unless we count celebrities...



II. Favorites

1. Favorite Animal: Men...they make absolutely awful pets, but they're just so darned CUTE!

2. Favorite Sport to watch: Pairs figure-skating and Greco-Roman wrestling (preferably nude).

3. Favorite Color(s): All of them.

4. Favorite Friend(s) Offline: Uhhhh...Caroline, Dalton, Joanna, Shiloh, but not necessarily in that order (whichever is reading this right now is my favorite).

5. Favorite Friend(s)Online: You are!

6. Favorite Song(s) of the Moment: I don't have one. But I've been singing "Stardust" a lot lately. It's so pretty!

7. Favorite Movie Quote: "Everybody has a heart...except for some people." Bette Davis as Margo Channing in All About Eve.

8. Favorite Store: Uhm, gee, I don't think I can choose just one...does eBay count?

9. Favorite Feeling: Orgasm.

10. Favorite Shoes: Canvas sneakers, in general...my light khaki Bass tennis shoes to be specific.

11. Favorite Fragrance: Bergamot.

12. Do You Wear Make-Up?: What do you think? Not daily, though.

13. Which is more important, personality or looks?: Uh...both? Personality without looks is okay, looks without personality is okay...but one really ought to have both.

14. What kind of personality do you like in a guy/girl?: Easy-going, intellectual, humorous.

15. Do you move fast or slow in a relationship?: I fall in love fast, but act on it very slowly.

16. What is your idea of the perfect guy/girl?: If we're aiming at perfection, let's see...six feet five, muscular but not too much so, a dancer's physique; either blond hair with brown eyes and gold skin or black hair with blue eyes and pink-white skin; face that could launch a thousand fashion magazines; large, elegantly attenuated hands and feet with a great manicure; high IQ with distinct sense of humility; musically talented, well-read, with good manners; rich as sin and deliciously generous; completely besotted with me; oh, and a REALLY BIG...

17. Would you ever ask someone out?: Someday I will ... someday.

18. Do you prefer blondes or brunettes: I have a weakness for blond boys, but brunets are by no means discouraged!



III. Love, Life & Friends

1. What is the first thing you notice about someone?: Clothes and general appearance.

2. When's the last time you cried?: Real whole-hearted crying? Or just water coming out of my eyes? Both were at movies...I wept quietly at the end of House of Mirth last week; I sobbed openly at the end of Billy Elliot last year.

3. What do you want to be when you grow up?: Omnipotent.

4. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?: Only the one...

5. Do you want children?: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!.

6. How far have you gotten?: With what?

7. Do you like someone right now?: Not somebody in particular.

8. Do they know?: If there was someone I especially liked, he'd be the very last to ever know about it.

9. Do you have a best friend?: Yes.



IV. Within the last 24 hours, have you...

1: Had a serious talk?: No.

2: Hugged someone?: Yes

3: Gotten along well with your parents?: I emailed my mother this morning...

4: Fought with a friend?: I can't even remember the last time I fought with a friend.



V. Do you like to...

1: Give hugs?: Yes.

2: Give back rubs?: Not really, it hurts my hands.

3: Take walks in the rain?: Yes, if it's warm out.

4: You ever have that falling dream?: All the time.

5: What is on the walls of your room?: Let me think...wallpaper, of course...bookshelves...two mirrors...I took down most of the pictures...two Aahmes Lodge commemorative plaques (my late Grandfather's)...a peacock-feather fan and a painted Chinese paper fan...some necklaces hanging from a hook...and a Joe Phillips calendar.

6: When you chew gum, what kind?: I don't chew gum.

7: Do you use ChapStick?: Yes...vanilla mint flavor with vitamin E. I think I'll put some on right now.



VI. In the last month have/did you..

1. Drink?: No (not for seven years!)

2. Smoke?: No (not for almost four years).

3. Drugs?: No (last drug was prescribed Vicodin, about six months ago).

4. Have Sex?: Every day...oh, you mean with other people? Then, no, 'fraid not (in six years).

5. Made Out?: No.

6. Go on a date?: No.

7. Go to the movies?: Yes...I last saw The Cat's Meow (loved it!); before that I saw Nine Queens (interesting, great ending, but it was in Spanish so I didn't get all of it).

8. Go to the mall?: Yes, three of them...Bayfair, Southland, and Hilltop.

9. Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: Over the course of four days, but yes, I ate the whole thing (editor's note: Oreos come in packages, not boxes).

10. Eaten sushi?: Gack. But so many of my friends love it, I always have tempura when I go.

11. Been on stage?: Yes!

12. Been dumped?: No.

13. Had someone be unfaithful to you?: Uhm, obviously not...

14. Watched The Smurfs?: Are they still on? I used to collect Smurf figurines, but that was before they were a cartoon.

15. Hiked a mountain?: Why the hell would I do that? Unless the guy from Question II.16 was up there...then I'd think about it.

16. Made homemade cookies?: No (but I made cobbler!)

17. Been in love?: No. Not this month, anyway.



VII. More stuff...

1. Are you popular?: I'm world famous...in Poland.

2. Are you pretty?: I'm drop-dead gorgeous...but only in full makeup.

3. Do you have your own phone line?: No, I share with the Grandmother.

4. What is your favorite word to say?: "Crapomatic."

5. What is your favorite phrase to say?: "Flippety Flappety Floop."

6. What are you doing right now?: Avoiding going home and cleaning the dining room.

7. What song are you listening to?: I've got the radio on, and their website says it's William Boyce (English, 1711-1779), Symphony #7 in B-flat, Academy of Ancient Music recording.

8. What are you wearing?: Blue-and-white-striped Perry Ellis cotton shirt, tan Gap easy-fit chinos, navy Bass deck shoes, burgundy Calvin Klein midrise briefs, Citizen gold and brushed steel watch, Suzanne Somers sterling trilliant CZ bangle.



VIII. Preferences-pick

1. Cold or hot?: Cold...you can always put more clothes on.

2. Lace or satin?: Satin. Lace always gets caught on my rhinestones.

3. Blue or Red?: Can't I have both?

4. New or old?: Old. Except for boys and clothes: those I like fresh and shiny and new.

5. Rain or snow?: Rain!

6. Give or receive?: That depends entirely on the context. But I like giving things to people.

7. Wool or cotton?: Cotton (wool is so smelly when it gets wet).

8. Rose or Daisy?: Daisy Wynan-Roses. I guess that's both?

9. Private school or public school?: To go to? Or to cruise? I went to public schools. But I guess I like secular private schools, they have a sort of WASPy cache about them.

10. Chocolate milk or plain milk?: Everything is better with chocolate.

11. Celsius or Fahrenheit?: Farenheit. I strongly dissaprove of the Metric System.

12. Spring or Fall?: Fall.

13. Inny or outty?: Inny.

14. Now or then?: Now.

15. How many fingers am I holding up?: All of my fingers are on the keyboard. Where are yours?

16. Scent?: I currently smell mostly like April-Fresh Downy, with just a hint of coffee on the breath.

17. English or Math?: Anglais, bien sûr.

18. Bath or shower?: Showers are so much easier, but baths are so much nicer.

19. Bedtime phrase?: Mmrphlphghm.

20. Self-stick or lick?: What? Oh, I guess you mean stamps. Do they still make licky stamps?

21. Cursive or print?: I usually write in cursive, but if I want somebody to be able to read it later, I have to type.

22. Do you like surprises?: Not really...unless they're quiet, pleasant surprises.

23. Paranoid or Cautious?: I tend to be cautious, but optimistic.

24. Heights or Crowds?: God, talk about the lesser of two evils! I think I'll go for heights, they're only scary if you look down, while crowds are scary no matter what you do.

25. Half-full or half-empty?: Neither. All things are exactly as they should be at this moment.

26. Top or bottom?: Top or bottom of what? Uhm...do you mean sexually? It depends on the other person.

27. Do you/Would you dye your hair?: I've rather outgrown caring what color my hair is...I spent my entire twenties pretending to be blond, and then I went from sunny-blond to platinum to cerise when I was living with an amateur hairdresser (and my nephew's kindergarten class laughed at me), and then I stopped coloring altogether.

28. Speeding or running red lights?: I love to speed.

29. Gold or silver?: Gold.

30. Bad habits?: No thank you, I have plenty of my own (procrastinating, withdrawing, and road-raging being the most prominent).

31. Piercings?: Earlobes.

32. Erogenous Zone(s)?: I'm sure I have some, but I've forgotten where they are.

33. "Maybe" or "Mebbe?": Maybe! Geez.

34. Snore or talk?: Neither. I am quite silent in my sleep (or so I've been told).

35. What do you wish you'd done?: Taken better sexual and educational advantage of my youth.

36. Fetish?: Effeminacy.

37. Do you have one of THOSE voices?: Huh???? Yeah, I probably do.

38. Jammies or naked?: I prefer to sleep nude, but I do love to wear pajamas around the house.

39. Neurotic or psychotic?: Neither. I am quite well-adjusted, thank you. Stop laughing!

40. Do you talk to yourself?: All the time...that way I never have to explain what I mean.

~~~~~~~

Well, that was fun. I hope the Friday Five tomorrow is fun. I haven't done it in a couple of weeks. But if it's boring, I'll just use the next survey I've found, back at Let's Try This Again. In the meantime, try this on for size (it's after Memorial Day, we can wear white pants again...though I rather wish he would take them off):