Meggy's Ink: Una Mariah - what a lovely name

I've been awarded again – the "Artsy Award," which is funny, I think. Am I really that artsy? I suppose some would say so, but I had no idea it came through on my blog.

Anyway, I was awarded by the lovely Rose M. from The Golden Road. You know the usual rules: if you're awarded, link back to your judge, answer the questions and then make some up for the next person, and award more people. Because I know you're probably about to just scroll down to the bottom and find out if I awarded you (if you haven't already), when you get back, let me assure you that I do not obligate you with the responsibilities of said rules. Although that defeats the object and takes all the fun out of it, I swear this award has come through me three times now – it's had its day and it may be time to move on. As wonderful as it is to receive awards, when you begin to get the same reward more than once, it rather loses its charm.

So the five questions that Rose left for me are:

Ice cream or cookies?
Would you rather be sitting inside by a crackling fire, reading a good book, and sipping hot chocolate or outside in the dark, surrounded by friends, and playing a a night game of capture the flag?
Who is your favorite author?
Are you a Science/Math kind of person or English/History?
What is the most common phrase, quote, or saying that you use in everyday life?

Well, the first is surprisingly tough. My first instinct is to say ice cream, because even when I've eaten way too much at dinner or if I'm feeling sick, ice cream is just the thing. It really is. My mother might declare it improbable, but I think all ice cream comes from a magic fairy's factory and is charmed to have healing qualities. On the other hand, sometimes I want one of my famous peanut butter cookies, or a sugary tea cookie to dip in my tea or cocoa. (By the way, I've been using cocoa instead of hot chocolate for some time now, but here at college, I feel like I get a funny look every time I use it. I know that the last time I was in a diner in Virginia and I ordered cocoa, I got a Coke. Maybe the word cocoa is even less popular here than back home?)

Anyway, I love crackling fires, books, and "hot chocolate". All together, they make a great team. And I think I'll have to choose that one; because as much as I like the dark, and friends, and games, they tend to stress me out after a good length of time. I love sitting by a fire with a friend and just talking, especially when I get the sense that this friend is totally excepting of anything I have to say.

Ah! The burning question! Whenever someone finds out that I like to read, they ask, quite naturally, "Who's your favorite author?" At that point, I blush and say shyly, "I know it sounds pathetic but I don't have one." I used to be a big fan of Diana Wynne Jones, but her style began to rub me the wrong way. It lacked eloquence, especially when read aloud. I love C.S. Lewis, but I don't run out and try to read everything he's ever written. I love Tolkien, but I haven't finished any of his works. I haven't read G.K. Chesterton, but I've got an overwhelming sense that I should.
Edit: the true mark of a reader is not whether she has a favorite author but whether she smells the pages of her books <3

Now, Science/Math or English/History. I'm afraid I never was much interested in History. Names and dates tend to get lost. It's like reading a play without understanding how it would look when staged, confusing the characters and not understanding the time period. But I almost majored in English. Science has, for a long time, baffled me, but I've always been fascinated by how the world works. For example, if you're on a skateboard and you jump, you'll land a foot or two ahead of where you took off. But if you're standing and someone's skateboard comes rolling down the hill toward you, you land in the same spot, as the skateboard rolls on under you. Or if you're sitting in a car, you seem to be essentially motionless, but you're actually moving 30mph. And if the car screeches to a halt, you keep going until your seat belt catches you. Isn't that incredible? Physics. As for Math, well, I wish I could understand numbers but I'm afraid it's a lot like learning Chinese. ....And I have a feeling I'd be a lot better a learning Chinese than I am at learning Math.

Lately, "Tough" has been creeping back into my vocabulary – after a long hiatus. I predict, however, that I may start using it in some rather inappropriate moments so it's got to go back to wherever it crept from. "Like" has most annoyingly penetrated my vocab. I'm not sure why, because I don't think anyone I hang out with uses it much, but suddenly I do. I, like, have always found it, like, annoying when people, like, use it, like, pretty much every other, like, word. It distracts from the point of the sentence and nullifies the legitimacy. As for an actual saying: "You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I would more willingly part withal."

I think that should sufficiently answer those questions, although I'm sure you would have been content with three-word answers. But where's the fun in that for me?

I dub thee'all "Artsy". Now go – out into the world to be so. And while you're on your most holy quest, answer these five questions:

If you were offered a place in the quest to find the Holy Grail, would you go?
If you were offered a ride by a man in a blue box, would you accept?
If you found yourself on the bridge of the USS Enterprise, would you fly willingly through the cosmos?
If you saw Brego galloping in haste, would you follow him?
If you overheard someone say, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," would you run to the castle to save the prince?

And with that, I leave you one final warning, passed down through the ages, found on the last bit of scroll from the time of the wars:

Fritos × breakfast = not as good as it sounds

Good luck.

~Meggy