My Interview!

There is this interview meme that has been going around and I love it because it is not the usual 'what is your favorite...' type of questions. Every meme is different. They are different because each interview is tailored for each person answering them. Especially when the person interviewing you takes the time to get to know a little about you, if they dont already, like Chesca did. I can't believe she found obscure facts like my friend Ton and the Secret Pot!

Thank you, for the very insightful interview questions, Chesca. I enjoyed answering them.

Do YOU want to be interviewed?

Interview rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions. (make sure I have your email addy)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Now on to my interview...

1. You have described yourself as a pleaser and yet you've managed to skip all your school reunions. Why?
I think I'm a pleaser more towards the people that matter to me. I loved my high school years. I think like so many others, my best and worst memories happened during this period. There were lots of 'firsts' that will forever be etched in my memory. I think part of me is afraid to break the legend in my mind that's why I haven't attended any reunions.

2. Friendship is something that is worked on. Yet You and Ton don't seem to need to "work" on your friendship. What is the secret to a lasting friendship?
I met Ton when I was in 10th grade. She was new to the school, having just moved here from the Philippines. At first I thought she was going to be 'suplada' (snob) as she came from one of the elite private schools in Manila. I was wrong, she was/is one of the most unpretentious, down to earth, and candid people I know. We have what I call an 'easy' friendship that is taken for granted and not really worked on. We don't get into the 'why haven't you called' or 'you didn't do this for me' routine. In high school, we spent almost everyday together but yet allowed ourselves to be involved with our own interests without jealosy or recriminations. We practically lived in each other's homes and got to calling each other's moms just plain MOM. We are godmother's to each other's children. We now live on different coasts and prior to that she and her family moved back to the Philippines for a while for her husband to finish his studies. Through it all, we managed to keep in touch. Sometimes we don't talk for a whole year but when we do, we just pick it up right where we left off like it was just yesterday. I like that.

3. What is it about the movie "Ever After" that makes you cry? Are there any parallels or secret fears of a parallel in your life that make this movie affect you? share.
Besides being your typical chick flick, sappy romance? Besides being the typical Cinderella story where prince charming sweeps you off your feet that most little girls fantasize about? The scene that always brings tears to my eyes is at the end where she says, "Say it again.....say my name". It is that moment when someone you've given your heart to really sees who you are but still loves you anyway. He's not going to wake up after the 'happily ever after' part and realize he got a lemon. He knows he's getting a lemon (he knows its name!) and is looking forward to the lemonade. I think if I have a secret wish, this would be it, for my husband to truly see me, to know me inside out, to know what I'm going to think before I even think it. Now this relationship, marriage, for me, is the one that needs to be worked on constantly. We are on our way, but it's an ongoing process (even after 14 years), and thank goodness it seems we are making progress everyday. I suppose that much is all I should expect and look forward to. Maybe in our old age we can finally sit back and share and ice cold lemonade ;)

4. You describe yourself as Loving,QUIET, and flexible. How can you reconcile the description of QUIET with the fact that you've been able to ask a complete stranger out (at one point in your life) or that at a restaurant, you've managed to sit at a stranger's table and have a meal with them? (i find this extrememly funny btw. reminds me of a seinfeld episode)
I am generally shy, but quiet may not be such a good adjective for me afterall. I'm a slow starter. It takes me time to warm up to situations and people, but once I do, I don't think I'm quiet at all. I've have my gregarious moments ;=P I'd like to think of myself as an observer rather than the star of the show. So most people will probably look at me and say I'm quiet because I don't say much.

Asking out a complete stranger, that was more of a dare than a habit. There wasn't a second occurence. Sitting in a restaurant with a stranger with no other purpose than for companionship, that is another matter. I think there is a certain comfort in anonymity. When you know you may never see this person again, and you are just interacting in this moment, you can dare to be more open, more candid in your conversation than with someone whose opinion matters to you (another instance where 'pleasing' is rearing its ugly head :)).

5. What would be in your "secret pot"? What would be in your sister O's? how about your mom's?
And if it is possible to answer this in this forum, what sister are you closest to and why?
The secret pot! My secret pot contains anything that I enjoy but no one else in my family does. My online friend Stel coined this term and finally named my peculiar obsession. The secret pot usually contains something fatty, fishy, or just plain weird to my husband and kids (and probably to most people). Click on the secret pot link to see some of the ones I've posted In Our Kitchen. Sister O's and my Mom's secret pot will be almost identical to mine. I am actually the secret pot instigator in my mom's house. Although sisterO is an avid foodie, she relies on me to supply her with the sins of the secret pot. Mom, well she was the original, so my secret pot merely copies hers. :)

Sisters....ah, dangerous grounds to tread what with sibling rivalries and all. I'm lucky though because even through there are three of us and we've gone through the typical sibling rivalries and conflicts, I'd like to think that we've emerged, in our adulthood, to be closer sisters and friends, and at the worst at least learned to tolerate each other. My sisters and I, as close are we are now, but probably due to extreme sibling rivalry in our younger days, are VERY differrent individuals. So I can honestly say that I am close to both of them but in different ways.

Sister O was the middle child and proudly carried all the angsts to go with her position. She was the rebel child. She was the sister you'd like to deny in high school. She is outspoken and has strong opinions that she will not hesitate to share with whomever. She was the rebel, and has been labeled the black sheep at one time or another. She was the ubiquitous party girl. Now she is a stay at home mom to two little girls and you wouldn't think it's the same girl. Well, she's not. Not the same girl, I mean. She is now a woman, and a mom, and a good friend.

Sister S, being the baby of the family, has always been that. Someone you just want to take care of. She is my buddy. She too is quiet, to an extent. She has a wry sense of humor that my youngest seems to have inherited. They have both been gifted with the talent for one line zingers. Just when you thought you've gotten away with something, she'll let loose one of her insightful zingers that just cuts straight to the heart of the matter. She is the quiet river that runs deep. She is not a baby anymore and doesn't need taking care of. Oftentimes she's the one who's doing the taking care of now, but no matter how old she gets, I think she will always be the baby of the family. That's just how it is. How we are fated by the order of our births. Me, I am the oldest. I'll always be the 'manang' (big sister), the one that gives in. Just because that is just how it is.