Proust 2015
Posted Wed, 10/21/15
It's been more than three years since I took the Proust Questionnaire.
According to Wikipedia: "The Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one's personality. Its name and modern popularity as a form of interview is owed to the responses given by the French writer Marcel Proust."
Here's my latest answers to forty questions:
What is your idea of perfect happiness? Living alone.
What is your greatest fear? Heights.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? The inability to forgive someone who has wronged me and the resulting ability to freeze them out of my life for good.
What is the trait you most deplore in others? Self-fostered sense of entitlement or superiority because of age, gender, race, religious belief or political affiliation.
Which living person do you most admire? My mother, Joyce O'Toole.
What is your greatest extravagance? Books and computer paraphernalia.
What is your current state of mind? Unsettled.
What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Honesty.
On what occasion do you lie? To spare someone else's feelings, or when I think the topic at hand is no one else's business in the first place.
What do you most dislike about your appearance? My lips.
What is the quality you most like in a man? Integrity.
Least favorite qualities in a man: Someone who needs constant pandering or reassurance.
What is the quality you most like in a woman? Integrity.
Least favorite qualities in a woman: Someone who finds glee in another woman's misfortune or bad luck.
What do you most value in your friends? Integrity.
What is your most marked characteristic? Impatience.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? "May the saints preserve me" or "For chrissakes."
What is your favorite curse word? Piss off.
What sound or noise do you love? Rain.
What sound or noise do you hate? An animal crying in pain or loud television.
What or who is the greatest love of your life? My dog Foofer (1997-2007).
When and where were you happiest? May 16, 1997, when I first held Foofer in my arms (Pocatello, Idaho).
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My lips.
What do you consider your greatest achievement? Writing.
Where would you most like to live? Maine, Ireland or Scotland.
What is your most treasured possession? Books.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Incessant sunshine and hot climates.
What is your favorite occupation? Writing and/or web design.
Which talent would you most like to have? Artistic drawing.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Statistician.
What profession would you NOT like to do? Anything which entails being in the sun or hot temperatures.
Who are your favorite writers? Evelyn Anthony, Elizabeth Byrd, James Clavell, Dorothy Daniels, Ken Follett, Marilyn Harris, Susan Kay, Stephen King, Norah Lofts, Colleen McCullough, Marilyn Ross, Edward Rutherfurd, Bertrice Small, Barbara Taylor Bradford, Leon Uris, Alison Weir and Kathleen Woodiwiss.
Who is your hero of fiction? Conor Larkin (from "Trinity" by Leon Uris).
Which historical figure do you most identify with? Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.
Who are your heroes in real life? My mother, Joyce O'Toole.
What is it that you most dislike? Animal cruelty.
What is your greatest regret? Wasting the 1980s/1990s on relationships and marriages rather than pursuing my writing more aggressively.
If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? A maniacal black cat with green eyes and one arched brow.
How would you like to die? Peacefully, with Foofer coming to get me.
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Foofer is waiting for you.
That's the state of my mind for now . . .
A few of the questions require some thought, so give it a whirl if you feel so inclined.
*Related Posts: Vanity Fair Query (03/23/08); More Proust (11/19/08); Proust 2010 (12/20/10); Proust 2012 (02/25/12) and Proust 2015 (10/21/15).