CNN ran a story about odd interview questions the other day. Back in the dark ages of blogging, when we were all on Livejournal, these sorts of questions were a staple of the daily conversation. They were called Memes, and were a cross between writing prompts and the kind of paper games preteen girls played at sleepovers back in the ’80s. But they were fun because they got a writer out of the “and today my Honey Nut Cheerios seemed extra soggy” tropes that writing about daily life leans towards and, when done properly, they encouraged the readers to post their own replies to the same questions. So when I saw a list of questions that looked interesting, that I hadn’t answered before, and (for a few) that I didn’t know how I would answer, I figured… why not! So in the spirit of 2005, feel free to repost this on your blog (comment with the link!), or to answer the questions for yourself in the comments!
• If you were a superhero, who would you be and why?
Here I am handicapped by a complete ignorance of super heroes. Also, the percentage of super heroes sharing my gender is small, and have a tendency to be used as an accent. I’m ruling out Spiderman as being too dark and depressing. That also rules out Batman. (He may be rich and powerful, but he does not have fun with it!) I checked out a list of female super heroes, and none of them really speaks to me (except maybe Elastigirl … but I don’t aspire to her life. With the exception of her super power, I more or less have it.)
So I’m going to cheat and say that I’d like to be Aang from the Last Airbender (the cartoons, not the movie). I mean, he’s practically a super hero, right? But he doesn’t let that get in the way of some good old fashioned fun!
• If every time you entered a room your theme song played, what would it be and why?
I’m going to pick the trumpet entry from Cappriccio Italien. I mean, trumpet = me. That piece was one of my first major performances. It’s dignified, exciting and unlikely to be missed.
• On a scale of 1-10, how weird are you? Why did you choose that number?
6 passing as 3. No one of my areas of interest is THAT WEIRD by itself. In fact, I can appear to be a model of propriety and dignity. But the combinations of my interests are unusual, and appearances can be deceptive. I think we all believe we’re more unusual than most people (because we know the most about our own quirks), which is why I don’t rate my weirdness higher. I understand that likely bias. Which is WEIRD. AmIright?
• What was your best MacGyver moment?
Fun fact! Practically 70% of my gaming characters end up either trying to have prophetic powers or MacGuyver skills. I don’t know why this is, but it must speak to some deep aspiration on my part to be so incredibly resourceful and well educated that I can make a battering ram out of a bicycle, some gum wrapped in tinfoil and a lighter. In truth, I’m an anti-MacGuyver. It’s not that I can’t or won’t improvise, but rather that my skills lean towards planning and preparation.
• If you saw someone steal a quarter, would you report it? If not, what dollar amount would you report?
I found this the most challenging of the questions. I’m quite sure I would not report someone stealing a quarter. But I don’t know what dollar amount would trip my alert-o-meter. I think part of it would be my lack of certainty that a theft had actually occurred. I mean, are we talking about someone taking something out of a wallet I know is not theirs? Stealing from me? Most circumstances of theft where I might be an observer would be less clear cut. I think my uncertainty about reporting has more to do with a general inability or unlikeliness to spot unethical or amoral activity. I consistently fail to notice or correctly ascribe malfeasance. If I was 100% sure that it was a theft, I would probably report it at about $5. I think.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/03/21/cb.odd.interview.questions/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Leave your answers or links in the comments!
My Truant Pen 
Superhero — Batman was not dark when I was watching him. Oh the re-makes. I would be Batman because he was willing to help humanity when he didn’t need to and because he was a mentor to Robin — the boy sidekick.
Entry music — Hallelujah Chorus — it used to be on my cell phone but I figured out that I had to re-buy it EVERY TIME I switched phones, which made me grumpy. Such a resurrection song!
Weird — Who me, weird. It is an old expression, but. .. “Everyone is *weird* but thee and me, and sometimes I think that thou art a bit odd.” ** think here an old fashioned word for weird that means something very different now.
MacGyver moment: Heidi would not want me to tell but it involves forgetting a diaper bag and a fancy restaurant complete with cloth napkins.
Stealing: I would be much more likely to confront than report. A quiet, “You need to put that back,” is my style. It has been years since I wrote a student up (gave them a discipline slip) — I don’t even know where the slips are. I think a personal approach usually works better. My second option would be to tell the person who was the victim.
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I am wonderwoman……is this an interview or an audition….interesting questions…..
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superhero…..cat woman……….the movie embraces women and their needs and wants….but actually makes a woman confront her true self…..no matter the cost
penny lane……..you figure that one out!
macGyver moment……..storms came though fayetteville……we lost power……needed a battery…..took a quarter put it in the battery case…..using smaller batteries….had to fill the space so the batteries would make a complete circuit…..voila! we had lights!
Stealing…….i would turn them in……if a person would steal a quarter….because its more than just a “quarter” its principles…..its character……and i look at it this way……if a person would steal a quarter what else would they take and if everyone took a quarter….companies would go broke.
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