Ten on Tuesday! Volume 4

It's Tuuuuuesday!  Which means, time for another Ten on Tuesday!  As always, brought to you by the wonderful Roots and Rings.  And again, as always, head on over to her blog to link up with Mr. Linky if you decide to join in on the fun, too.  Can I just say that I'm oddly proud I've kept up with this 4 weeks in a row?  That's longer than all my relationships. I mean, I've never had a real relationship in the first place, but why dwell on that?  On with the questions!

1. What is your favorite travel destination spot?
I have to say it's a bit of a toss up between the South of France and Alberobello, Italy.  Alberobello is just the cutest, most quaint place I've ever been.  It's filled with so much tradition and history, and at the same time it's so welcoming to everyone.  Maybe it's just because it's so different from what I'm used to, but everything is just so interesting there I don't think I'd tire of it.  And the South of France is stunning.  St. Tropez and Marseille are so imprinted in my head that they've become my place of escape, my haven and happy place.

2. Cats vs. Dogs.
Am I allowed to pick neither?  I've never had a pet my entire life, so I grew up without that attachment.  I find both adorable, and I am equally as scared of them.

3. Do you believe in fate?
I do.  I very much do.  Things, both good and bad, have happened in my life that just feel so right at that very moment that I would never be able to dispute it.

4. Do you believe in karma?
Like fate, I very much do.  I've seen it happen, both in terms of it working in my favor and karma working against me.  I feel it's the way the world rights itself when all goes wrong.

5. Everyone has a unique laugh. Do you like yours?
What a fun question!  I don't, actually.  I have two types of laugh: a ridiculously silent one where people have no idea I'm laughing, and this loud, bubble of a noise that feels like it burst out of me.  The silent one is what happens when I find something extremely humourous, but it gets frustrating because people think I'm not being sincere.  The loud burst one I just find annoying, and honestly, too loud.

6. Is love really all you need?
Yes.  A little love can go a long, long way.  I hardly think you could say that about anything else.

7. What’s your take on the whole 2012 scare?
I view it the same way I viewed the y2k scare: indifference.  If it's a bunch of hooey, then it makes no difference to my life.  If it is true, then what else can we do about it other than wait for the inevitable?  Which, incidentally, is inevitable no matter if it happens 2 years from now or not.  I mean death, not the apocalypse or end of the world, by the way.  If we are truly living our lives as if "it's our last" or "in the moment" or any other of those cliches, when the world ends should be no impact.

8. If you won a million dollars and had to give it all away, who would you give it to? (Family and friends not included.)
I'd split it between AIDS and cancer research, and the education system.  I took a class on AIDS in college, and it was both inspiring and tragic to hear the people who are living their life with this disease.  The virus is just so torturous in its spontaneity and mutations.  And I say the educational system, because it's so sad to see the toll budget cuts have done to the education of children and adults alike.  The things that make school so enjoyable are being disposed of: new and updated textbooks, field trips, library hours, elective classes, arts programs, etc.  We're not even giving people the chance to see the good in learning.  So little value is put into experience and variation and so much stock is put into memorizing the shite needed to pass a damn standardized test that hardly measures the standards anymore (yeah, I'm looking at you No Child Left Behind.  I could stab G-Dub for implementing that).  If I hadn't had journalism and ceramics class in high school, or the teachers that gave me such support, I can guarantee I would be nowhere near where I am today.

9. Do you believe in God/religion/the power of prayer?
Woah, deep question, on topics I very carefully avoid on this blog.  How about we keep it to this: I believe in the power of belief and faith.

10. What New Year’s Resolution do you always make but never keep?
Aside from the "lose weight" one?  I always manage to break "keep up with friends better" by the end of March or so.  You would think that would be the easy one since I love my friends so much, but it isn't.