20 Questions for Simona - 2006
A look back at my headspace in '06
This interview was done in February 2006.
Interesting to look back and see what still holds, and what's changed for me.
What does perfect happiness mean to you?
Feeling safe and loved, and knowing that my family is also safe and loved. That and warm pastries. Or Bailey’s Irish Cream over coconut ice cream.
Your most embarrassing moment?
When I was in university, there was a boy I liked, and I wanted to dance with him, but I was too shy to let him know I was interested. So I acted disinterested and made up a story about taking a bet with other girls that I couldn’t ask him for a dance. In retrospect, that was pretty insulting. He was gentleman enough to dance with me, but then when the music was over he left me on the dance floor, saying, “Well, I hope you won your bet.”
Your favorite smell?
The scent of my mother’s dresses when I was a child. I used to sit in her closet and sniff her dresses.
What do you like most about your appearance?
I like the half-dozen gray hairs I have sprouting up. I think they’re cool.
What do you dislike most?
My slouch. I developed scoliosis during my teens from spending hour after hour hunched over a book.
Cat or dog?
Cat! Cat! Cat!
How do you relax?
Relax? With two babies in the house?
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Breastfeeding.
What is your favorite word?
Nénuphar. It’s French for water lily. It’s the gentlest, most musical sound, and I always see soft lilac in my mind’s eye when I say it.
What is your greatest regret?
When I was about 8 I read in a book that cats have the ability to right themselves mid-air, so I decided to try it with a little gray kitten I’d brought home. I think I’d named him Smoky. Well, I held him out at arm’s length, upside down, and let go. Turns out, he was only a few weeks old and hadn’t yet developed the ability. He broke his neck.
On a lighter note, I wish I’d learned to play a musical instrument or to ride a bike.
You live in Trinidad. Have you traveled overseas much?
Quite a bit. I’ve been around the US and the Caribbean, especially to Jamaica and Martinique, and throughout Europe, especially to England, France Spain, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. When I was 21, after I graduated with a degree in Language and Literature, I was a Teacher's Assistant in two French high schools for nine months.
If you could travel to any country in the world, which would it be?
I don’t have any particular country in mind, but I’ve always wanted to go East. Maybe Thailand.
What do you like to see most on a man? Boxers or briefs?
Those sexy tight boxer-briefs. Especially gray ones.
To whom would you like most to say you’re sorry, and why?
My sister. My brother and I ganged up on her when we were children and teased her unmercifully about everything, from being too young to play with us to having glasses. We made her childhood miserable.
What’s your pet peeve as far as people are concerned?
I hate religious arrogance, this idea people have that their religion is somehow better than anyone else’s. It’s a recipe for violence, cruelty and persecution.
Have you ever said ‘I love you’ and not meant it?
Uh, yeah. In my errant youth, I’ve felt pressured into returning the compliment, even when I knew some boy was just saying it to get some.
What keeps you up at night?
The thought of dying before my children are grown.
When and where are you most content?
When one of my babies reaches out in sleep and holds my hand.
What would improve the quality of your life?
More time to write.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
I don’t know the name of it, but it
goes “When I’m dead and buried, don’t you weep after me…” On second
thought, that probably is the name of the song.
