Questions

la_fields has seven questions for me. The idea is that someone answering questions would then generate questions just like the good ol' days of LJ, but I'm tired and will only consume, not propagate. Anyway, the questions:


1. The worst teacher you've ever had?

Probably my ninth-grade English teacher, who wasn't even all that bad. She just had a nasty attitude and clearly had no interest in her job, or kids, or the English language. A burn-out. The hour could have been spent in a doctor's waiting room as fruitfully.



2. Your best come-back (or if you like, the best response you came up with later and wish you had said at the time)?

There was an anarchist demo around the events of the 25th anniversary of Stonewall, and its slogan was "Stonewall was a riot, not a street march!"—at least that's what the dippy @ group Love and Rage tried to float. Anyway, one of their new members or contacts freaked out when the cops showed up and cornered us and she shouted up to someone watching the goings-on from the second-story window, "Call the police!" and I got to say "They're already here!" and point right as they charged us.


3. If forced to be around non-adults, do you prefer infants, toddlers, kids, tweens, or teens?

Toddlers. Or at least crawling infants. They can have races and they don't mind curses.

4. How do you like being married?

It's fun. I got a tax refund!


5. You said you got a dog for much the same reason I got a job; on a scale from 1 to Howard Hughes, how stir-crazy did you get before the pup?

Richard Yates-level. He ate every meal at a bar across the street from his apartment; I drifted back and forth between computer and diner twice a day and barely did anything else.


6. Where'd Kazzie her name?

Well, I wanted a two-syllable name as dogs can understand tonal shifts, and I wanted something that ended in a hard-e sound. I also didn't want any typical human names. Finally, I was interested in "power consonants" k, z, and x. After messing with names like Drinky, Gully, and Callie, Kazzie came right out!


7. Which of your novels did you enjoy writing most (or alternatively, which was the biggest pain in the ass)?

I don't like writing novels. I much prefer short stories. I suppose the easiest one was Sensation, so I liked that. Really, I like writing the first twenty thousand words of any novel, then things start getting tedious.