Lil did it, Mari did it, now I’m doing it. Why? Because I’m a sucker for quizzes and surveys, of course! And, well, two of my favorite people can’t be wrong, right?

8 things on your desk:
Kyocera Palm-phone in its cradle
Far Side Last Impressions (2002) daily calendar
stack of rewritable CDs
stack of (probably) dead hard drives
laptop docking station
webcam
stack of Very Important Papers (stuff I didn’t throw away when I first saw it)
mousepad with American Totoro card inserted (thanks, Mari!)

7 things you touch every day:
Wendi and the kids
computer keyboard(s)
Kyocera Palm-phone
the remote control(s)
that damned beat-up bed with the poking-springs mattress
the fridge
the front door

6 movies you can’t live without:
Princess Bride
Spirited Away
The Castle of Cagliostro
The Fellowship of the Ring (presumably the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, but we don’t know yet do we?)
Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
Tenchi Muyo In Love

5 nicknames you have had in your life:
Caramel
Duckie
“Carl Charisma”
Rael
“Carol” <-- more of a common mispronunciation than a nickname, but I needed five...

4 places you want to visit:
The Studio Ghibli Museum in Japan
Just about anywhere scenic in Australia and/or New Zealand
The pyramids on the Giza plateau
The Farm, Surrey (Genesis recording studio)

3 things you wish you could change about yourself:
My teeth
My physique
My stamina (Okay, don’t go taking that the wrong way, you pervs.)

2 phone numbers you call most:
Home (What, you want the actual number? Nice try…)
Voicemail

1 person you plan to spend the rest of your life with:
That Wendi person who just refuses to get fed up with me

Name four scents you love:
1) Chocolate
2) Cinnamon
3) Spring rains
4) Pine forests

Name four things you’d never wear:
1) Anything with polka dots
2) A tutu
3) Nipple clamps
4) Ecclesiastical garb

Name four television shows you love:
1) Junkyard Wars
2) The Daily Show
3) Samurai Jack
4) Kim Possible (go ahead and laugh… it’s really good!)

Name four bands/groups most people don’t know you like:
1) Thomas Dolby
2) Depeche Mode
3) The Space Brothers
4) Madonna

Name four drinks you regularly drink:
1) hot cocoa
2) orange juice
3) water
4) root beer

Name four random facts about yourself:
1) I was named after the Czech playwright who gave us the word ‘robot’.
2) I was born in Ketchikan, Alaska.
3) I worked for about nine months at a Radio Shack.
4) The only video game I ever truly mastered was Pitfall II.

Name four random facts about your family:
1) I have two aunts and two uncles, as my mother is the oldest of three sisters and my father is one of three brothers.
2) My mother is on her sixth husband.
3) My father attended Juilliard. Yes, that one.
4) My paternal grandmother passed away on 11 Sept 2001 in Kingsville, Texas. Most of her adult life was spent in New York City. Draw what mystical meaning from this you like.

What’s on your bedside table?
Books, alarm clocks, lamp, comics, Wendi’s jewelry box, deoderant, pens, coins, Stewart (little stuffed tiger), stack of music CDs, probably other stuff as well

What’s the geekiest part of your music collection?
Probably my copy of the Chronos (cool IMAX movie) soundtrack. Maybe it’s all of those Pet Shop Boys imported singles. Or the Akira soundtrack. Or my CD3s. Or the cheap sound effects library. Or the Rocky Horror soundtrack. I could go on…

What do you eat when you raid the fridge at night?
I raid the fridge at night for drinks, not eats. Orange juice usually.

What is your secret guaranteed weeping film?
Nothing comes to mind right now, but there probably are movies that can make me cry. *shrug*

If you could have plastic surgery, what would you have done?
Make this root-beer belly go away. (Okay, I’m not exactly fat, but still. *sigh*)

Do you have a completely irrational fear?
Several, actually. Bugs are the worst.

What is the little physical habit that gives away your insecure moments?
I’m always insecure. Probably talking/laughing too loud, though.

Do you ever have to beg?
Nope. Whine, yes, but not beg.

Do you have too many love interests?
Nope. (My flippant answer is, “There’s such a thing?”)

Do you know anyone famous?
Define “famous.” I work in radio so I get to meet the occasional actor or singer, and some of the people I work with are kind of “locally” famous. Or infamous, if you prefer.

Describe your bed:
A box spring and mattress on the floor with sheets and blankets. Alternate description: That happy fun place. *evil grin*

Who should play you in a movie about your life?
Toby McGuire. Why not?

Do you know how to play poker?
Just barely. I understand the hands, I just don’t have the knack of the pokerface or of smart bidding.

What do you carry with you at all times?
Keys, wallet, digital encumbrance (used to be cellphone and pager, now just the phone)

How do you drive?
Backseat.

What do you miss most about being little?
You mean I’m not little anymore? Um… Oh. *blush*

Are you happy with your given name?
When I was about four years old I told my parents in no uncertain terms that I would henceforth answer only to “Carl” and not “Care-Ell” as my name is more properly pronounced.

What color is your bedroom?
It has a color? Well, the walls are white, but you can’t really see anything else…

What was the last song you were listening to?
Something on the radio. (I’m setting up in-house streaming for our radio stations.) The last thing I listened to voluntarily was Garbage’s “When I Grow Up.”

Have you ever been in a school play?
Almost. I was to be in a one-act play I can’t recall the name of (as Wadsworth The Word Worker; that Greta The Grammar Guardian was a sweet little hottie!) based loosely on some Aesop’s Fables, but then our high school “Oklahoma” production went to the state drama fair and… well, that spelled the end of the one-act productions. It’s probably for the best. I have the script in one of my keepsake boxes.

Have you ever been in love?
Have I ever NOT been in love?

Do you like yourself and believe in yourself?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. This probably just means that I’m normal.

Have you ever done any illegal drugs?
Does second-hand pot smoke count? Let’s just say, “not on purpose, thanks.” I could tell you about the time my mom got me to stop being carsick during our weekly trips to (I think it was) Methow. She figured that if I took a bong hit it would relax me, you see. I politely declined, but I also didn’t throw up in her boyfriend’s car. Go figure.

Do you think you’re cute?
No… but a number of people describe me so. I’ve learned to live with it, as there are worse things they could be saying. (“Well, um, you have a great personality!”)

Do you consider yourself to be a nice person?
I consider myself to be a generally gentle person, but I’m not always nice. Sometimes my moods run away with me, and the people around me suffer for it. I always mean well, though. *sigh* I grew up as a Fixer (go read some 12-step jargon if you’re really curious), so I usually try to make others happy… or at least happier.

Do you spend more time with your girlfriend/boyfriend, or your friends?
*grin* If I say I spend more time with my girlfriend, my wife would kill me. To be blunt, I don’t have a lot of friends, and those I do have I almost never get to see. There, are you happy now? (I get the distinct impression that this survey was originally meant for a younger crowd. Oh well.)

Whee, wasn’t that fun? Now you try.