For some reason this meme is bringing Dante’s Inferno to mind rather prominently, but I’m sure that’s a coincidence. Yeah.

Seen everywhere, but most recently at Mindy’s and Zoot’s and you know I wanna be just like them when I grow up.

LAYER ONE:

• Name: Miriam
• Birthdate: August 17, 1971 (gifts not required, but always appreciated)
• Birthplace: Ithaca, NY
• Current Location: Lost in New Hampshire
• Eye Color: Hazel
• Hair Color: Darkest brown, a color I used to hate but have since become much more fond of as I watch it retreating under grey!
• Height: 5’6″
• Righty or Lefty: Righty
• Zodiac Sign: Leo (power, Min!)

LAYER TWO:

• Your Heritage: Polish and Russian
• The shoes I wore today: Ummm… I’m barefoot… but I threw on some sandals that were by the door to take the kids to school.
• Your weakness: Bargains
• Your fears: not being able to protect my kids
• Your perfect pizza: Hawaiian
• Goal you’d like to achieve: Raising my kids to adulthood with only manageable scarring; figuring out what I want to be when I grow up (and doing it).

LAYER THREE:

• Your most overused phrase on AIM: “LOL!”
• Your first waking thoughts: “Can I go back to sleep?”
• Your best physical feature: My eyes
• Your most missed memory: Going out for slightly-longer-than-recommended lunches with Andrea at IBM.

LAYER FOUR:

• Pepsi or Coke: I like to straddle the fence sometimes… Diet Coke with Lime, or Pepsi One.
• McDonald’s or Burger King: McD’s
• Single or group dates: Dates?? Um, single, as long as I’m fantasizing.
• Adidas or Nike: Nike.
• Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Ewwwwwww.
• Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate
• Cappuccino or coffee: Yes, please.

LAYER FIVE:

• Smoke: No
• Cuss: Only when I’m angry. Or frustrated. Or hanging with the girls. Or… oh shut UP.
• Sing: Indeed
• Take a shower every day: Absolutely
• Do you think you’ve been in love: Yep. It’s great for a little while and then sucks for a long time. Not sure I recommend it.
• Want to go to college: Again? Geez, how many degrees does a person need?
• Liked high school: Nooooooooooooooooo!
• Want to get married: Uhhh… I want to win the lottery, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to….
• Believe in yourself: Where it counts, absolutely.
• Get motion sickness: Ick, yes.
• Think you’re attractive: Physically? Um, no. (Not Quasimodo or anything, but nothing to write home about.)
• Think you’re a health freak: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! Sorry, what was the question?
• Get along with your parent(s): Taking the 5th on this one, for my own safety.
• Like thunderstorms: Yes!
• Play an instrument: Not any more… played cello for several years.

LAYER SIX: In the past month…

• Drank alcohol: Yes
• Smoked: No
• Done a drug: Do my migraine meds count?
• Made Out: *sniffle* No
• Gone on a date: No
• Gone to the mall: No, thank God.
• Eaten an entire box of Oreos: Not this month. Woohoo!
• Eaten sushi: Yummy, yes.
• Been on stage: No
• Been dumped: No
• Gone skating: No
• Made homemade cookies: Yesterday!
• Dyed your hair: I dyed Eileen’s hair, does that count?
• Stolen Anything: No

LAYER SEVEN: Ever…

• Played a game that required removal of clothing: Yep
• If so, was it mixed company: I’m sorry, do people do that not in mixed company??
• Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yep
• Been caught “doing something”: I’m not sure I’m getting exactly what this refers to, but I have a strict policy against being caught.
• Been called a tease: Only once, by a very stupid boy who had a very strange notion of a single kiss being an invitation to sex.
• Gotten beaten up: Nope
• Shoplifted: When I was about 5.
• Changed who you were to fit in: Would that work?

LAYER EIGHT:

• Age you hope to be married: Again? Ummm… when I’m smart enough to get it right. What age is that?
• Numbers and Names of Children: I have two kids, herein referred to as the Chickadee (6-yr-old girl) and the Monkey (4.5-yr-old boy).
• Describe your dream wedding: Uhhhh… one that results in a healthy, lasting marriage?
• How do you want to die: Never
• Where you want to go to college: I did my undergrad in the snow belt and grad school at Stanford… and if I’d known then what I know now, I would’ve done it ALL in Northern California. Ahhhh….
• What do you want to be when you grow up: Why does everyone keep asking me that?? Shut UP!
• What country would you most like to visit: Italy

LAYER NINE:

• Number of drugs taken illegally: Just 1, but I never inhaled. Or was that I never exhaled? I can’t remember.
• Number of people I could trust with my life: At least 5, probably more. Lucky me!
• Number of CDs that I own: Maybe 30. I just started allowing myself to buy frivolous things for myself (like music) just recently.
• Number of piercings: 3 in my left ear, 1 in my right, 1 in my navel. All but the standard 2 in the ears have closed.
• Number of tattoos: None, though I have often pondered one.
• Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Oh geez, I have no idea. As if my hometown paper or our little local rag here will somehow catapult me into celebrity….
• Number of scars on my body: Hmmm. Too many.
• Number of things in my past that I regret: Also too many, though in my right mind I wouldn’t change a thing; they’re all part of who I am.