I long resisted the meme for reasons I shall keep to myself (Abraham Lincoln’s quote, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt,” comes to mind.) I did this one because it was different and another because it was literarily and emotionally convenient, but when the Washington Post succumbed to the spreading-faster-than-an-STD-in-a-whorehouse Facebook Meme, limits had to be drawn. Surely I can write a better meme, my hubris cajoled me into thinking. Then I spent far too long thinking about it and only crafted the following eight questions.
- Most people have at least heard Rene Descartes’ elegant cornerstone of philosophy “Cogito Ergo Sum” which translates from Latin to “I think, therefore I am.” One of my favorite magazines, Automobile which plays the role of New Yorker to Car & Driver’s US Weekly, uses a derivative phrase to encapsulate its existence – “Cogito Ergo Zoom, I think therefore I go fast.” What would your derivative be? Cogito Ergo ____________
- I find 99.99% of all Employment Applications to be disrespectful of the tree that gave its life for the printing. Canned questions with even more practiced answers yield no useful information that could not be gleaned from a resume. If you were able to add one substantive question to every standard application what would it be?
- I think that manner in which people treat restaurant service staff is among the truest measures of character. What unconventional behavioral norm or standard do you use as a personal tape measure?
- 2009 hands you an unexpected, wrapped gift with a large bow. What is inside? You then have to gift this box anonymously to someone else. To whom do you give it and what is inside?*
- You recently witnessed a Mob hit. After testifying, you entered the Witness Protection Program. Where would you like to be sent? Who would you miss the least?
- The Johari Window is a decades old personality test. Four panes of a window are used to represent the self that is known to you and others, the self only known to you, the self that is known to others but not you, and the self that is unknown. Two part question: What are the rough percentage sizes of your window panes, and how has blogging changed your window?
- Opposite ends of the Bell Curve: name something you do so poorly that you are an outlier to the left and something you do so well that you are an outlier to the right – assume a normal distribution; therefore the outliers represent the worst 2.5% and the best 2.5%
- Gimmie a couple truly Pet Peeves – nothing grand like intolerance or people who kick puppies; list something rather trivial that irks you way more than it should.
The rules:
I ain’t tagging a soul. If you wish to respond in the comments, or on your own blog, that would be nice. I will answer questions another day.
* This question was written in conjunction with mostly by Single Girl for a three way we had with Katertot for the interview meme (still waiting on your answers, lady.)
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