1. What honours/diplomas/degrees etc do you hold, or, how did you end school/college in terms of honours etc?
Just a high school diploma. And I regret not going to college - my knowledge base would have been much broader, and I would have been able to advance much more quickly career-wise. Went to a math and science-oriented high school and that was a mistake (although it was an excellent school). Had a fairly good average in the high 80s on graduation, but that was only on the strength of English grades and other courses involving language. I was middling in Science classes (except that I loved Chemistry), and did very poorly in Math classes barely getting by by the skin of my teeth.
2. Who is your favourite fictional character?
This is a tough one – maybe Dorothea Brooke in
Middlemarch (a book Marie recommended and I really loved). I identified with that character in various ways.
3. What’s the longest you’ve even been awake, without any sleep?
About two days, I think
4. A bird flies into your house/room/apartment/office: what do you do? Try to let it out, open the window, doors, etc.
This actually happened in our apartment twice, when sparrows flew in through the terrace door. The first time it happened, I just waited until the sparrow flew back out. The second time, we had a sparrow that wouldn’t leave
– so I bought a butterfly net and gently caught and eased it back outside.
5. I guess not so much now, or maybe, but when you buy or used to buy books, if your favourite author had a new one out, did you go for the hardback or wait until it came out in paperback?
Same as rubber soul – I don’t really follow modern authors. I usually read non-fiction or classics, in paperback. If a book means a lot to me, I’ll sometimes repurchase in hardcover – but that’s a rarity.
6. What’s your opinion, generally, on advertisements/ commercials?
I have little patience for them – and get frustrated when I can’t fast-forward through commercials/ads, especially if I'm really engrossed in a program.