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On Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:32:31 UTC Mel Sundquist (20) answered the Proust Questionnaire (click on a question to read other answers):

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
Self-doubt.
Where would you like to live?
A less disorganized version of the place I'm living now.
What is your idea of earthly happiness?
To easily switch back and forth between being comfortable and being stimulated. A balance of serenity and electrocution.
To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
Hyper-criticism, self pity, and trusting an overactive imagination.
Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
What's the point of having a fictional hero? I don't want to be inspired by a fabrication - I'd rather find a hero in the real world.
Who are your favorite characters in history?
Nellie Bly, Harry S. Truman, Ed Murrow, William Shakespeare, Simone de Beauvoir.
Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
I'm quite fond of myself. But as of now I'm not quite mature enough to look up to other women that I've met - I still feel they can do better.
Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
I'm attempting to think of who I try to emulate. How about the women I imagine on my own - the women of the Civil War, the happy single mothers and the columnists.
Your favorite painter?
I don't know. I do like Jackson Pollock quite a bit.
Your favorite musician?
David Bowie
The quality you most admire in a man?
A conformity between words and actions.
The quality you most admire in a woman?
A candid nature. Confidence and mysterious truth.
Your favorite virtue?
Choosing from the Roman virtues. This is difficult for me to answer. Each virtue is a favorite. I wish that I had more dignity, the people close to me had more gravitas, I enjoy humor in new acquaintences ... Can't pick just one.
Your favorite occupation?
Knitting. I enjoy the effects of most occupations more than the actual activity.
Who would you have liked to be?
What a miserable question. I like to be who I am and I'm not at all old enough to "have liked to be" anything. My existence isn't yet in past tense.
Your most marked characteristic?
I don't think I can answer this. Marked how? Noticed by whom? This isn't for me to answer.
What do you most value in your friends?
The ability to show love and criticism. Depth and breadth of character.
What is your principle defect?
I want to say inconsistency, but that in no way means that I want to be consistent. Stagnant. But I go in circles and forget who I was before I can learn from it.
What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
To lose my daughter. Or to not deserve my daughter.
What would you like to be?
I would like to be more able to fill out this quiz quickly and honestly, without thinking in circles.
What is your favorite color?
Gray
What is your favorite flower?
The one that's still in the ground.
What is your favorite bird?
The bumbling stupid little quail that live in my neighborhood.
Who are your favorite prose writers?
I'm going to translate "prose" as "fiction." I like Edgardo Vega Yunque, John Steinbeck, Edwidge Danticat, and Truman Capote among others.
Who are your favorite poets?
I don't much like poetry. I can stand ee cummings and Edna St. Vincent Millay.
Who are your heroes in real life?
My dad, Robbin, Jennie, David, and that hitchhiker. Here, I don't only mean "hero" as someone that I look up to, but someone who has saved me.
Who are your favorite heroines of history?
I don't know any of them well enough to say.
What are your favorite names?
Old-fashioned names with many syllables and potential nicknames.
What is it you most dislike?
Driving at dusk. Pain that impedes sleep. Any unpleasantness that I can't justify or blame on someone else.
What historical figures do you most despise?
The overrated ones. Michael Jackson.
What event in military history do you most admire?
I can only think of events I've seen in movies, which I'm taking as proof that I don't have the knowledge to choose.
What natural gift would you most like to possess?
Wit.
How would you like to die?
I'm trying not to have any expectations concerning death.
What is your present state of mind?
Confused. Tired. Laughing. Worried. Skeptical. Guilty.
What is your motto?
"don't"

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