The interview game

I better get some comments on this one =) I know there are a few readers out there!

Here are the official rules of the interview game:

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
6. I will answer reasonable follow up questions if you leave a comment.

Here are my answers. Enjoy!

Questions from Mary-- http://missmaryb.blogspot.com

1) if you could only hold on to one photograph for the rest of your life, which one would it be and why?

This is definitely the hardest question. I LOVE photographs, taking them, looking at them, looking at other people's, etc. I guess the one that sticks out to me now is one Jenny J. took of Fermin and I when we were dating in our apartment. It's definitely the best picture around of us, we both look normal and even good. It evokes an odd turning point in our relationship. If I could pick a runner-up 7 photos, there would be one of Sara and I, one of Jenny and I, one of Mary, Erin and I, one of my family, one awesome Great Wall shot I have to remind me of China, a picture of these two adorable girls in my classroom in India, and a picture we took of Fermin's whole family in Mexico.

2) pick one year you'd like to live over again as is. which one is it and why would you choose it?

I suppose I would live my first year of college over again. I think if I had been a little more focused on the opportunities available to me in college as a fresman I would have done a lot of things differently. I really wish I would have done half the things I was interested in in Madison, taken more risks in meeting people, and not spent most of the year with just one guy. I might have held out to get a different job than I did, perhaps being a Capitol page or working on State Street. I might have read more, started writing at the Cardinal earlier, who knows? But then again, if I had made a lot of new friends my freshman year I might not have been looking for new relationships my sophomore year, so maybe it all worked out for the best. =)

3) better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? why?

No question-yes yes yes. Love is a mechanism for change in a person's heart and soul. Of course I'm speaking from the perspective of having relatively recently fell in love, married, etc. But if I think about the future about the possibilty of losing that love through some tragedy or something, I could never want to take it back. I've learned so much. I think if you open your heart to a person you are never the same and would never want to be.

4) what's your favorite memory of living with me and erin in college?

I often think of those days the three were home at the same time and somehow ending up sitting in our tiny kitchen. One of us sitting on the counter, another perhaps stir-frying and other other having a rum and coke. =) I would undoubtedly be wearing my grey Tsinghua sweatshirt, perhaps Erin in the Hans-blue-hooded sweatshirt and Mary wearing something a little more presentable. We would just hang out, eat, talk, enjoy each other's company. It was comfortable and homey at those times.

5) what do you most look forward to sharing in your life with fermin?

I look forward to traveling together. That could be anything from going to Chicago for a day to perhaps visiting Texas or the Southwest to ideally heading to Asia someday. There is definitely some time in Mexico in our future. I love travel, and Fermin has such a different perspective on the world than I do because of his background; it's fascinating to see what he thinks of places, cultures, people. I think he gets an equal kick out of seeing how I see and experience the world.