Self-awareness Exercise

1. First name and middle name? Middle names are uncommon where I come from.

2. What holiday is your birthday closest to? Spring Equinox (in North Hemisphere).

3. Favorite fruit? Any berry, but lately bilberry is the chart topper in my fridge.

4. Does it bother you when someone says they'll call you and they don't? Lately, I’ve been happy nobody calls me. Peace rules!

5. Are you allergic to anything? Anise.

6. Is there someone/something you want? Yeah, all the time. Also, I’m usually working on getting them.

7. When was the last time you went swimming? I can’t swim.

8. How many U.S states have you been to? None.

9. How many states have you lived in? Two. RJ and SP.

10. Have you ever lived outside the U.S.? Yeah, my whole life! :D

11. What's your favorite kind of alcoholic drink? Morangoska, I guess (Strawberry caipiroska, a very Brazilian thing: squashed strawberry, sugar/honey and vodka!)

12. Does anyone like you? Hell, yeah!

13. Do you have any strange pets? My boyfriend.

14. What is your dream car? A zeppellin. How do you spell that?

15. What'd you do yesterday? Wrote a poem, composed a blog entry, listened to Julia Cameron’s CDs ‘Reflections on the Artist’s Way’. I also gave my boyfriend head in the morning.

16. Are you bipolar? Yeah, but fortunately, I’ve truly learnt to live without the worst part of it.

17. So do you and your ex's have a good relationship? Yes, with ALL of them, except for one—who doesn’t have a good relationship with anybody except for his dog. Come to think of it, I’ve got more than enough reasons to believe that dog lovers are usually sociopaths to some degree…

18. Where would you want to go on a date? Neuschwanstein Castle, on a romantic date, but there’s no chance my boyfriend would enjoy that, so I guess the only time in my life I’ll be able to be romantic is when I go to a scorching hot nudist beach with roving dogs and no trees around. Or a place with tecnically perfect eighteen-century architecture and smoker-allowed restaurants. On a dream solo Artist Date, I’d choose Alex Grey’s Church of Sacred Mirrors, in NY.

19. When's the last time you were kissed? 40 minutes ago or so.

20. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally? Yeah.

21. Ever been kissed under fireworks? No. I’ll have to try that one, but being kissed under the rain is marvellous!

22. What was the last text message you received? In the mobile, Diane telling me it was ok that I didn’t come that morning due to a last-minute change of plans here. Online, Somebody telling me his husband wanted to have a shower with me! :D

23. Have you ever bungee jumped? Oh, Gods, NO, but it’s on my to-do-before-I-die list!!

24. Have you ever kayaked? No.

25. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you? All the time. They seem to like me better than ppl my age.

26. Are you an extreme racist? No, I am not.

27. What sound are you listening to right now? Nothing. Jose asked me to put his favourite singer, a VERY BORING greek moaner, and I pretended I didn’t hear him, so we’re in silence. The more I can postpone haris alexiou, the merrier!

28. What's your favorite song at the moment? Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s My Life’. After moving from my parents’ house, I lost much of my grunge roots and now I find myself loving one of the most anti-grunge groups of the 90s…

29. What was the last movie you watched? A documentary about Dragons.

30. When was the last time you went on a trip? I think two weeks ago, we went to a miserable, hot, dry village in the middle of España Profunda called La Seca.

31. Have you ever seriously vandalized someone else's property? Only companies I worked for. No, serious, I have received much more damage then caused my whole life.

32. Have you ever been punched? Yeah, at school, several times x(

33. What's the first thing you notice about the same sex? Lips.

35. What do you usually order from Olive Garden? Ok, no Olive Garden anywhere I’ve lived, so I’ll tell you what I order from Chinese deliveries: Fried Tou-fu/Tofu with spicy sauce.

36. Say something totally random about yourself? I hate the heat.

38. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celebrity? In Zaadz about every two weeks somebody totally unknown came out of the blue to tell me I look like Orlando Bloom. In a way, I agree. Do you?

39. Do you have freckles? No, since when I was a kid. My shoulders used to be all freckled.

40. Are you comfortable with your height? Yeah. Now, I am.

41. Do you love someone right now? Yes.

42. How tall are you? 1,79 m. I think that’s 5’ 10” in English.

43. Do you speak any other language other than English? Yeah, lots o’ them!

44. Have you ever ridden in a limo? No, I’ll do what on my Oscar evening.

45. Has anyone you were really close to passed away? Hm, I’m not sure I was close to my grandparents.

46. Do you watch MTV? Only when I’m in somebody else’s house, in a party.

47. What TV show do you hate? Anything too heterosexual.

48. What's something that really annoys you? Well, everything I can think of right now is the average Madrilean habits. Smoking like there’s no tomorrow, angry shouting, spending over six hours sitting down spilling useless opinions on the table, general empty vanity, inability to truly listen, conservativeness and unleashed, uneducated dogs.

49. Do you think Paris deserved jail time? I don’t care.

50. Do you have a celebrity crush? Kinda. Not strong enough to be called a ‘crush’, though…

51. Do you have a pet? No.

52. What is behind you? Clothes Jose hangs on the back of the chair.

53. Do you drive when you go on long trips? No, I hate driving.

54. What's the latest you have ever stayed out? Well after sunrise, at university.

55. Have you ever thought that you were honestly going to die? Yeah, when I had the Dengue fever. The sensation is the worst possible, because your whole body inflammates, and when you take any medicine, it’s even worse.

56. Were you ever rushed by an ambulance into the emergency room? Yeah, less than 4 months ago!

57. What are you wearing? Yellow t-shirt and underwear. My uniform.

58. Who do you live with? Don José.

59. What color is your hair? Brown.

60. What color are your eyes? Hazel.

[Image: me in La Seca. Even there, the Moon shines, and the underground river flows. Despite the Drought.]