Ten On Tuesday On Friday

Poets make pets of pretty, docile words:
I love smooth words, like gold-enamelled fish
Which circle slowly with a silken swish,
And tender ones, like downy-feathered birds:
Words shy and dappled, deep-eyed deer in herds,
Come to my hand, and playful if I wish,
Or purring softly at a silver dish,
Blue Persian kittens fed on cream and curds.

I love bright words, words up and singing early;
Words that are luminous in the dark, and sing;
Warm lazy words, white cattle under trees;
I love words opalescent, cool, and pearly,
Like midsummer moths, and honied words like bees,
Gilded and sticky, with a little sting.

I have kind of completely abandoned the idea of getting my Ten on Tuesday on Friday questions from Roots and Rings (I'm not going to link her blog because, I mean, what if she comes over here and reads this? I'll feel really bad, it's not her fault that I'm not interested in answering ten questions all about dating. What I mean is that you are not interested in hearing my thoughts on dating--in ten different sub-topics. Let's end this parenthetical statement.). Instead I'll answer ten questions from that book that I bought on impulse that one time and haven't really done much with. I will answer the first ten questions that I land on randomly. I won't edit them depending on the level of interestingness or my ability to come up with a pithy answer. I'm giving you me, this morning. Me is a little boring sometimes and a little awkward sometimes and far too self-aware most of the times. So here we go, ten arbitrary questions from a book of prompts:

1. What is your most beautiful childhood memory of your parents? I was thinking about this the other day, actually. As I get older it's becoming more and more difficult to recall a lot of my childhood--particularly the good parts. I was a highly stressed out child. I went through a phase at the beginning of Jr. High when I would have panic attacks if I didn't get to bed before 10 because I was afraid that I'd not get enough sleep and then I'd fall asleep in class and for some reason that was a heavy fear. Anyway, when I was younger I'd walk in the living room sometimes and see my mom sitting on my dad's lap and that was always made me feel better. A little more safe. That was a nice relief.
2. You love it when people ask you... "Is your real name Elizabeth?" It makes me feel like I'm unique. It's nice to be unique in a way that you didn't put any effort towards.
3. An unfulfilled sexual fantasy: Alright, I said I wouldn't skip questions but I sure as hell didn't say anything about skipping answers.
4. If you had a plane ticket to anywhere in the world, where would you go? I know it sounds like it shouldn't be a toss up but it is. In college we studied the Fjords of Norway and what I wouldn't give to see them in real life. But on the other hand, and maybe it's just because this seems more realistic to me, I want to take a few weeks and visit the west coast. Starting in San Fransisco and going north. I don't need a plane ticket for that, though. You need one to get to Norway. Trust me.
5. What is the best word to describe your current love life? If there is a word that means "romance is not really at the forefront but a heavy love for my friends and my siblings is growing deeper than I could have imagined" then I would use that word.
6. The Author who has affected you the most: Anne Lamott. Obvi.
7. Something that has been on your mind, lately: Should I do something potentially completely regrettable?
8. What is your most expensive possession? My laptop. And I got an extremely good deal on it. I don't think that I can buy something legitimate until my life feels a little more permanent. I sometimes fear that I'll hold on to things when I want to be holding on to my life. So I tend to not spend more than a few dollars on stuff.
9. On your wall hangs... my monster (photo at the beginning of this post). Well, lots of things hang on my walls but my monster makes me the most happy. When I was living in South Dakota with Jamie, we went to the Brookings Art Festival and we happened upon Sarah Kargol and fell completely in love with her collection. Neither of us had any money at the time but when Christmas came around, Jamie gave me the sweetest gift. She contacted Sarah and instead of just picking something that she'd already had and buying it for me, she commissioned this little mixed-media piece just for me. She wanted to incorporate my love for literature with a monster. Sarah took this poem, Pretty Words, by Elinor Morton and turned it into an adorable monster. I like the contrast in angry and adorable and lovable and barred teeth. I've never been given such a thoughtful gift. I miss Jamie so much, particularly today.
10. One time that you were flattered to speechlessness: The time I heard, "I'm in love with you" as opposed to "I love you."

End.