1. Do you believe in reincarnation?
Not really, though I’m not dismissing any possibilities.

2. If you could pull any [high school] prank, what would you do?
It’s not exactly the sort of thing I do, pulling pranks. It goes too much against the grain (too little of “do unto others as you would have others do unto you” and too much cheap laughs). Some students of my mum’s once bodily lifted the (rather small) car of one of the less popular teachers onto the tall pile of snow left in the middle of the schoolyard by the snowclearing vehicles. I would probably have enjoyed something like that (I would probably even have laughed had someone done it to me, though I would have been rather mad at the same time…).

Voice in my head: Vonda Shepard – I only want to be with you

I have a spot, approximately 4 fingers wide and 3 fingers tall, just under my right boob, on the bottom rib, which really hurts, due to having been hit repeatedly at last night’s karate practice.

We’re not actually at a stage where we’re supposed to hurt each other yet (no fights, just stylised moves – the guy who hit me wouldn’t have if he’d been better at judging distances), so this is the first time I’ve been “injured”.

Karate is fun (no, really).

Voices in my head: (Hit me baby one more time would be appropriate, wouldn’t it? Though I don’t actually like being used as a punchbag, normally. It’s actually:) The Knack – My Sharona

1. Under what circumstances is the deliberate taking of life ucceptable (sic.)?
I assume they mean “acceptable”, in which case the answer is “None”. The only qualification of that I can think of right now is in a case of immediate self-defence (you, or someone close to you being the subject of an unprovoked attack) if you can’t stop the attacker any other way (and in most cases only professionals would be able to deliberately unarm/maim rather than kill).

2. What is your worst habit?
Procrastination.

Something I’m not terribly good at, obviously, but you can’t help mulling them over, can you?

My father travels quite a lot in his work. Recently, I was discussing this with my mother (while he was away) and I said “But isn’t it nice to have the house to yourself occasionally?” but she said she didn’t really feel that way. I somehow think I would. Maybe I’m turning into a confirmed old bachelor(ette) or maybe it’s the introvert/extrovert thing rearing its head again, but I’m not sure that I could ever put up with having anyone around for 24 hours a day for long periods. I’ve talked about this necessity for being alone before, and I was thinking recently that having a husband who went away for periods allowing me to start missing him and then came back, but went away again before I would have time to get sick of always having him around would be ideal. Like my father used to do when he was commuting from Hamar to Oslo, he’d be home at weekends and once during the week. I think I could handle a husband like that. Not sure I could handle one that was at home every evening. Problem is, I suppose, that it wouldn’t quite work like that, as he’d be bound to be gone when I wanted him there and probably be there at times when I wanted him gone, unless I could make him come and go whenever I pleased, but that would not be so much wife/husband as mistress/slave, and I somehow don’t think I’d enjoy that, either. The other problem is if I had a husband who was away and we had kids I’d have to have the kids around all the time, which would hardly be ideal. Maybe I should aim to get a husband who can stay at home (I mean, he can go to work and all, but not travel much) and do all the travelling/commuting myself? Now there’s an idea.

Oh, just ignore me, I’m rambling.

Voice in my head: Avril Lavigne – Complicated

According to Donna, everybody’s doing it.

Your Brain Usage Profile

Auditory : 44%
Visual : 55%
Left : 60%
Right : 40%

Robin, you are somewhat left-hemisphere dominant and show a preference for visual learning, although not extreme in either characteristic. You probably tend to do most things in moderation, but not always.

Your left-hemisphere dominance implies that your learning style is organized and structured, detail oriented and logical. Your visual preference, though, has you seeking stimulation and multiple data. Such an outlook can overwhelm structure and logic and create an almost continuous state of uncertainty and agitation. You may well suffer a feeling of continually trying to “catch up” with yourself.

Your tendency to be organized and logical and attend to details is reasonably well-established which should afford you success regardless of your chosen field of endeavor. You can “size up” situations and take in information rapidly. However, you must then subject that data to being classified and organized which causes you to “lose touch” with the immediacy of the problem.

Your logical and methodical nature hamper you in this regard though in the long run it may work to your advantage since you “learn from experience” and can go through the process more rapidly on subsequent occasions.

You remain predominantly functional in your orientation and practical. Abstraction and theory are secondary to application. In keeping with this, you focus on details until they manifest themselves in a unique pattern and only then work with the “larger whole.”

With regards to your career choices, you have a mentality that would be good as a scientist, coach, athlete, design consultant, or an engineering technician. You can “see where you want to go” and even be able to “tell yourself,” but find that you are “fighting yourself” at the darndest times.

There has been excellent news, lately, on the plans to make a film out of Bridget Jones – The Edge of Reason. Renée Zellweger has agreed to do Bridget again, and thus have to put on some weight, and this has to be a good thing, as she’s been looking like a stick-insect lately, whereas in the first Bridget movie she looked quite lovely.

In this connection Colin Firth has obviously been asked about the whole thing, and I join India Knight in rejoicing at his answers:

I take comfort from the words of wise Colin Firth, who last week expressed his amazement at the idea that Renée Zellweger, his Bridget Jones co-star, should have been considered “fat” in the film. “Most guys I know prefer curves. She didn’t look fat to me as Bridget Jones – not at all. It didn’t even occur to me that she was in any way overweight.” Firth went on: “There’s all this self-torture thing going on. It’s not attractive, it’s not healthy, and it’s not sexy.” Hooray! Double helpings of doughnuts all round.

I might have to revise my opinion of the dear Mr. Firth, he’s always had a bit of a problem living up to his characters whenever I’ve seen him in interviews, but if he is going to say sensible things like that he might not be so boring after all.

Or should that be “More answers to questions”? The daily double…

1. Is there a song that’s so beautiful, it makes your heart break?
Well, I don’t think my heart is very easily breakable, actually, but “A Little Fall of Rain” from Les Mis makes me cry (though that’s as much because it’s so sad as because it’s beautiful).

2.What is your favorite song ever that you can relate to? Why?
One of my favourite songs ever is Beeg Gees’ You Win Again, but I’m not sure I can relate to that, actually. Tricky. Ok, how about, at the moment, Alanis Morissette’s 21 Things I Want in a Lover. Why? It’s pretty obvious, really, isn’t it?

It’s this or that again.

1. “The Munsters” or “The Addams Family”?
The Addams Family.

2. “The Sopranos” or the “Godfather” movies?
Haven’t seen either, but whereas I do want to see the Godfather movies, I don’t particularly want to see The Sopranos.

3. “The Jetsons” or “Lost in Space”?
The Jetsons – they’re funny.

4. “Superman” or “Batman” (either the TV shows or the movies)?
A man in black leather with a cool cape as opposed to a man who wears his underwear outside his other clothes? Uhm. Tough one…

5. “Sex & The City” or “Friends”?
Friends, I very rarely watch it anymore, it’s getting a bit pathetic, but I’ve never watched Sex & The City regularly, and I did use to watch Friends every week for a while.

6. “The Wizard of Oz” or the “Harry Potter” movies?
Harry if I have to choose.

7. “The Simpsons” or “King of the Hill”?
The Simpsons, definitely. I never could get into King of the Hill.

8. “Grease” or “Saturday Night Fever”?
Grease. Saturday Night Fever is way too depressing.

9. Old prime-time soaps: “Dallas” or “Dynasty”?
Never seen either.

10. Not very thought-provoking this week…do you prefer TV shows or movies?
Movies, on the whole, though tv-shows have the benefit of being short and therefore more adapted to a busy schedule (which is why I haven’t watched a movie for ages).