Interview Me...

Happy Mommy did this fun game called, "Interview Me".

Here's the general idea if you'd like to play along:
The Rules: Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me.” I respond by asking you five questions (left in my comments) so I can get to know you better. If I already know you well, expect the questions may be somewhat personal! You can update your journal/bloggy thing/whatever with the answers to the questions (please don't leave your answers in my comments unless you don't have a blog). You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

So, here are the answers to the questions Happy Mommy asked me:

1) What one thing about yourself do you most wish you could change?

My pack-rat tendencies. I keep telling myself that if I could just start over with a clean house, I could keep it nice, and it would all be easy. (Ha ha.) But every time we get it all nice, the clutter bug strikes, and every flat surface is covered with stuff again. And I have boxes of stuff I should probably just get rid of. Except for the books--those will never go away!

2) Do you like talking on the phone?

No way! I never talked to friends on the phone when I was a teenager (or any other age, for that matter), and I have this continual aversion to the phone even now. I have to psych myself up to make calls and will do just about anything to avoid it (including taking all the kids with me on an errand rather than call to see if someone will watch them). The only reason I ever get a babysitter is because the girl we like takes piano lessons from my husband and her mother answers email. I think it's a pathological aversion...

3) What scares you?

On an elemental level, I don't like free-falling or deep, deep water, but I can still ride roller coasters and go on boats. For heart-stopping, there's always that moment of panic when I turn around in public and can't find a child (although I've never lost one for more than a minute). But I don't think I've ever had paralyzing fear of anything. Even in my dreams and the bad guy's after me, I'm always running one step ahead.

4) What is your favorite book? If necessary, narrow it to Top 5.

If necessary...hahahahaha. If you picked a genre, this might be easier (maybe), but I'll see if I can pick a cross-section to give you an idea... Okay, top 5 arbitrarily favorite books: There's No Such Thing as a Dragon by Jack Kent, Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, Nightfall by Isaac Asimov, Women of Genesis by Orson Scott Card, aaaand Mary, Martha, and Me: Seeking the One Thing That Is Needful by Camille Fronk Olsen.

5)Why DO you love spreadsheets so much?

Good question. I love spreadsheets, first, for the same reason I love math. I'm good with numbers, and love to see connections in how things work and patterns in data sets. I'm a miser, by nature, and like to watch the numbers in account balances creeping upward. I like the feeling of control over finances when I can track where everything is going--and know where we could cut back if necessary and where reserves are should they be needed. It's like a contest to watch trends (like in electric bills or grocery budgets) to see what influences the peaks and troughs (like summer a/c and having over company). It is my tenuous grasp on the professional world, and I think of myself as the family CFO. And finally, it's also, believe it or not, a creative outlet. I like to make my spreadsheets elegant looking, and I use Visual Basic programming to add little niceties. I even 'programmed' a spreadsheet times table for Sarah to practice on.