I interview ... Allison

According to the rules I established here, seven questions for Allison are below:

Name: Allison
Location: Toronto
Age: 27
Interview date: 4/17/07 and 5/3/07

1. What is the most satisfying thing you've accomplished today?

I rode my bike to work! It took 45 minutes, the wind blew directly in my face the entire time, and the hills at the end almost made me lost my breakfast, but I did it! I have beautiful visions of becoming one of those bike people now. Maybe I'll start wearing spandex (break out the biker shorts from 1990 perhaps) and constantly talk about how much better biking is than driving, etc.

2. You moved to Canada last fall. How does living in Canada compare to living in the U.S.? Pros, cons, things you thought you'd miss and don't, things you didn't think you'd miss and do ...

I like Canada, I definitely do. Toronto's great - apparently UNESCO has named it the world's most culturally diverse city. It gets a little tiring to be an American sometimes though , like when my co-workers make their daily cracks at Americans during lunch, followed by a quick "sorry, Allison." Yeah, sure you're sorry. Sorry that America KICKS ASS! No, I'm kidding. Really.

So the con is definitely the anti-Americanism. Oh, and also a lack of good, middle-class priced shopping. As for a pro, I guess I like the fact that everything is just a little different. The people talk a little differently, the houses look just a little bit different sometimes, they play hockey instead of football, etc. It makes life seem interesting, even if it isn't on paper so much.

3. What were some of the names you gave your dolls as a child? Do you remember how you came up with them?

I was such a pathetic rule follower. When my Cabbage Patch Kids came with names, I didn't dare change them. I named other dolls really boring things like Stacey, Leslie and Joey. I named a pumpkin one Halloween - Morbidda Destiny. Even that wasn't creative though, because I ripped it off Kristy's little stepsister Karen from the Babysitter's Club.

4. What is your favorite book, and why?

Hm... I don't actually have a favorite book. I don't have a favorite author either. I have favorite bookS and authorS though. As for books:

The Passion of the Western Mind (Richard Tarnas) - A fascinating history of thought and how all sorts of fields of thought link together. I could feel my tiny brain exploding while I read it, and it made me want to read all sorts of philosophies and histories I'd never thought about before.

Where I'm Calling From (Raymond Carver) - I've always been a sucker for good things in the midst of misery and vice versa, and his stories are full of that. They make we want to cry for so many different resons at the same time.

The Collected Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne - I just love the way he writes! He's so funny and so dark all at the same time.

5. Do you plan on attending our ten year high school reunion next year? Can you believe we have a ten year high school reunion next year?

You know, I don't think I will. I think I would just be disappointed by the fact that no one is waiting with bated breath to see what I've been up to. I really am curious to see what everyone else has done with the last 10 years though... maybe everyone can just create a personal website. I can snoop at my leisure then, and get all the details from the anonymous comfort of my living room.

And yeah, 10 years? I can't believe it.

6. What was the best part of your recent trip to Montreal?

I really loved people watching. We stayed in Plateau Mont Royal, which apparently is this really trendy, funky neighborhood. I'd sit by the window in a coffee shop and just watch everyone as they passed by. They looked so sophisticated and European.

7. Would you please write an acrostic poem on CHINA below?

Coal fumes, pollution and construction dust, what
Have I done to my lungs?
Inspiring and beautiful,
Nevermind the black soot you blow into your kleenex.
Aach, who worries about such things?


Next time, one of my many friends named Heidi!