勝美2

365.

1. Who made you feel good this week?

My niece made her first telephone call. To me.

Claire: Are you still friends with that lady in Canada who loves BTS?
勝美: Claire? Is that you? Does Mommy know you're on the phone?
Claire: No.
勝美: Uh huh. So. What's up?
Claire: Tell her BTS is going to be on Nick.
勝美: ♫ ♪ Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick Nick ♫
Claire: ♫ NICKELODEON! ♪
勝美: That is very thoughtful of you. I'll be sure to tell her.

Then she sang a new song she learned in virtual school and hung up. We'll have to work on the salutation annd farewell etiquette part. And not to breathe directly into the microphone.

2. Have you ever seen the same movie more than twice at a theater?

Only Angels Have Wings (USA, 1939, B&W) starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. To this day, if either my friend Spewgie or I say, "Calling Barranca. Barranca," to each other, we crack up.

3. Do you still have toys, clothes, or schoolwork from when you were very young?

Kindergarten naptime blanket. Peter Rabbit embroidered by my grandmother. Flopsy and Mopsy have their backs turned and have cottontails.

4. Who is your favorite Star Wars character?

Not really a Star Wars fan. One of those cute little furry guys.

5. Do you tend to be more optimistic or pessimistic?

The glass is half full.

6. How important is the decor of a restaurant to you?

Am I eating hot dogs? Or roast duck?

7. Did you have a teacher who inspired to learn and grow as person?

Several. The teacher I had for sexth, seventh and eigth grade who introduced us to Shakespeare.

8. What is the worst food you’ve ever had to force yourself to eat to be polite?

I read a story a long time ago about Robert McNamara and Bobby Kennedy flying back from a fact finding mission and stopping somewhere to refuel. Local tribespeople greeted their plane and offered them their local delicacies. Kennedy balked at the goat's eyeballs.

"Do it for the good of your country."

What I find most disturbing about that story is American people are laughing at a different culture.

Then there is another story about Americans doing research in the Amazon jungle. A tribe offered them supper. I think we all pretty much know the diet of Amazonian tribes. This story has a happy ending. No one described being grossed out. They were amazed at the overwhelming generousity.

9. What is a mistake people often make about you?

That I'm Chinese.

10. Have you ever been sky diving, bungee jumping or scuba diving?

Scuba diving.

11. What class at Hogwarts would you really excel at?

It's leviOsa, not levioSA. I think I'd be a better Hermione Jean Granger than Emma Watson.

12. What new fact have you recently learned?

The Nile crocodile can grow up to sixteen feet. But most of them only have four.

13. What’s something you were afraid of as a child? Are you still afraid of it?

Falling down stairs and Egyptian gods with animal heads. Yes.

14. What compliment do you receive most often?

I get hit on all the time. Most commonly at the Pick 'N' Save while grocery shopping. "You smell really beautiful." Even if  I'm not wearing perfume.

15. Are you right- or left-handed? How competent are you with your non-dominant hand?

Left-handed. Most left-handed people are very good with their right hands out of necessity.

16. Which Muppet are you most like?

One of those crabby old men in the balcony.

17. What are the people around you doing right now?

Myrtie is curled up, fast asleep.

18. Do you give up easily on things when they get tough, or are you a stick-to-it person? Can you think of examples when your usual approach was the wrong thing to do?

Stick-to-it. In the words of Vince Lombardi, play with the small hurts. Not necessarily the smartest thing.

19. You’ve just been chosen as the eighth dwarf. What’s your name?

Pretty.

20. If someone you were trying to impress was coming over to your home for dinner, what would you make for them?

KFC and caviar.

21. Do you believe in soul mates?

Yes. I know two couples who've been going out since grade school.

22. What small thing can you plan to do tomorrow that you’ve never done before?

Go to Taco Bell for their new Taco Bar.

23. What would your teen self think of the adult you’ve become?

She would approve.

24. What’s the biggest problem you’re facing today?

The Hawaiian delicatessen's coronavirus special this week is:

1 pint homemade soup du jour
1# kohlrabi slaw in papaya seed dressing OR 1# lihing carrot pineapple slaw
1# OKG macaroni potato salad
1# char siu chicken OR 24 oz smoked Hulihuli cornish game hen with pineapple teriyaki sauce
1# kalua pig
1# purple sticky rice
2 tropical desserts

Okie dokie. We know we're getting the cocoanut curry soup, carrot pineapple salad and cocoa cream puff and a mango cake for dessert. But do I order the char siu chicken or hulihuli game hen?

25. What two colors do you think look best together?

Somewhere I saw Italian men playing a medieval game similar to football or rugby. They worn those pantaloon-type pants and matching striped hose. One team was in broad alternating black and khaki stripes. Really striking.

26. Popcorn or pretzels?

Popcorn.

27. What’s one thing you can do today that will make tomorrow easier?

Pour bleach into a spray bottle.

28. Have you ever realized too late (e.g. after you've left the house) that you've been wearing an item of clothing inside out or backwards?

No. But I have worn a navy sock and a black sock.

29. What parenting technique do you differ from your parents about?

Not being a parent yet, I'll wait twenty years before answering.

30. Make a list of three things you can do today to be kind to yourself.

Sleep in. Go to Taco Bell for the new Taco Bar.

31. If you could acquire a talent without any extra effort, what would it be?

I would like to be able to ride a horse like an Asian nomad woman.