Questions from Mados

Mados gave us a Leibster award and asked:

1. If you were to do a research project (no limitations, all resources provided), what would be its title and subject area?
2. Do you have a formal degree/education – and what is it?
3. What is the worst job you ever had, and why?
4. If you had the chance to travel to another planet and return, which planet would you go to (not considering risk and travel time)?
5. If you and everybody you knew were to leave Earth on a generational spaceship and never return, which 3 words would best summarise your feelings about life on Earth?
6. Who is your favourite author?
7. Have you ever thought of starting, or actually started, your own business – or undertaken freelance work?
8. What is your preferred balance between solitude and socialising (including with close family, but pets don’t count) – as a general ‘rule of thumb’, in percent?
9. How do you prefer to socialise most of the time – Online or Offline?
10. Has blogging helped you to develop as a person or change your life in a positive direction?
11. Which advice would you like to give new bloggers?

That’s a lot of questions.

#1:

1.  “#1’s thoughts on taste-testing ice cream and gelato throughout the world”
2.  PhD
3.  High school internship doing data entry for a geneticist.
4.  I’m fine with Earth, thanks.
5.  Wet.  Skies.  Ground.
6.  How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
7.  I do freelance work when it gets offered to me, which is generally a few times a year.  I don’t usually seek it out.
8.  Depends on if you’re counting work or not.  Without work, 10-20% outside the family.  Including work as socializing, more like 50% outside the family.  If the family counts as socializing then 95%.  I like my family.
9.  I do most socializing online these days, but it depends on who I’m socializing with whether I prefer IRL or online.
10.  Blogging gets me to think deeply about some things I only think shallowly about.  Don’t know if that is good or bad.
11.  Dude, it’s just a blog.  Also:  People who blog about being neurotic get more neurotic so they have something to blog about.  Don’t succumb to Sandra Tsing Loh syndrome.

#2:

1. If you were to do a research project (no limitations, all resources provided), what would be its title and subject area?  “How long would it take #2 to become bored if her only job was to lie around and read novels in between naps?  Followup: How much money would then be necessary to make an academic position comfortable again?”  These are empirical questions.  (#1 pokes in… ooh, I changed my mind, I want the latter!)
2. Do you have a formal degree/education – and what is it?  Ph.D.
3. What is the worst job you ever had, and why?  When I worked in a cubicle at a normal desk job.  It ossified my brain.
4. If you had the chance to travel to another planet and return, which planet would you go to (not considering risk and travel time)?  Can I pick a fictional planet?  Because the ones around here seem a little short on restaurant options.
5. If you and everybody you knew were to leave Earth on a generational spaceship and never return, which 3 words would best summarise your feelings about life on Earth?  Down With Patriarchy.
6. Who is your favourite author?  *Brain asplode*  Too many answers!
7. Have you ever thought of starting, or actually started, your own business – or undertaken freelance work?:  oh, heck, no.  I am not a businessperson.  I’m not averse to some freelance work if it comes to me; I have neither the time nor the inclination to search for it, and no time to do a lot of it.
8. What is your preferred balance between solitude and socialising (including with close family, but pets don’t count) – as a general ‘rule of thumb’, in percent?:  Dude, I am so introverted.  I prefer to spend lots of time alone with my partner, and some time alone by myself.  I like to hang out with friends occasionally, a few times a week.  My family all live very far away (except my partner).
9. How do you prefer to socialise most of the time – Online or Offline?  Depends on with whom.  Often, not at all.
10. Has blogging helped you to develop as a person or change your life in a positive direction?  Uh… not really.  I guess accountablogging is helpful but I don’t do that much of it.
11. Which advice would you like to give new bloggers?  Make sure people can leave comments in a non-irritating way.  Patrol for spam.  Please be interesting.  Capital letters are your friends.  I refuse to read anything that has 1 sentence and then a cut tag; you have to put at least most of it on the front page or I won’t go further.  No ads, please.  (#1 adds:  Centering all your text does not make your blog cute, just annoying.  Also, #2 has adblock, so you can ignore that part about ads– she won’t know.)

So now, gentle and grumpy readers, help us think of 11 new questions to ask!  (Also, feel free to add your answers!)