The Interview Meme
Jan. 7th, 2007 03:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
same_skyInterview Meme Rules are as follows: You comment on this entry requesting an interview. I respond with five questions. The questions will theoretically be tailored to you based on what I know of you (or want to know). You copy and paste those questions into your own journal, and write the answers, along with these rules. Anyone wanting an interview from you continues the game by requesting an interview from you.
Questions from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
e11en.
1. (Borrowing from Carrie) Did you ever consider living in Sweden instead of M moving here or would you ever consider it in the future?
Yes, we've considered it off and on. It has just always seemed more practical that we live here. I was in college when we met, and I finished my last year after we were married. I would have had to drop out to move, and that was something no one wanted. Practical considerations included the language thing, the fact that I am absurdly close to my family and just our general life plans. This is contrary to what everyone else seems to say, but I didn't want to have kids in Sweden. I know that it's a lovely place to raise children, but I really didn't want them to grow up away from my family. That doesn't mean that I think that's the choice for everyone to make, but in my situation... I am the only child that my parents have left. Moving permanently to another country and keeping them from bonding with subsequent grandkids seemed harsh. And, yes, I know that's unfair to M's parents, but you know what? I have also kind of figured out a long time ago that this whole thing about my brother? It is an unfair situation all the way around.
However, I really did want to live in Sweden for a few years. Ideally, that would have been before he moved here, but that was out. At a certain point in our marriage (a year or two) I got it into my head that perhaps we should go ahead and live there for a while, but M was against the idea, and he convinced me that he was right. My thought was that at the time, neither of us were working, or working at full capacity (so to speak) and maybe it would be better if we moved back to Sweden while we still could afford to get settled into life there. M didn't want to pay for moving our stuff again (having just done it recently) and he also pointed out that if we did that, we would establish ourselves there, and then what? We're happy and doing well and then decide to have kids--at that point, we will NOT want to drop everything and move back here with no job and no savings. And, he was right about that. It just wouldn't have worked, so we pretty much dropped everything right then. Having said that, it was pretty hard when we went back for our first visit and dropped in at his old job, and was semi-seriously asked to return. Probably harder for me than him because you know I have that M-job guilt complex.
2. If you could buy a brand new car (as in not just new to you but from the car dealer, not previously owned), what would it be?
Oh, that one's easy! I would love a brand new Volvo. M sold them here for a while (irony) and I'm a big fan of the concept of a large, safe, family car. I am just not a flashy little car person. Something new in the car situation is going to be on the horizon in the next few months, I bet, but it won't be a brand-new car, sadly. (I can't justify buying a new car, at least not at this point in my life--though I really want to at some point, practicality be damned.) My car isn't practical for a car seat, so we'll have to switch vehicles at the very least.
3. What magazines (if any) do you get?
None. I used to get Wired, but I finally got fed up with how female-exclusive they are for being such a popular and fun name in the technology market. We used up worthless airline miles for a stack of magazines at some point--there were others but I didn't enjoy them at all. I'd generally rather read books, so they sat idle and made me feel like I needed to put "read magazines" on my to-do list, which isn't exactly entertainment. M gets PC Gamer, which is not part of the question at all but I just wanted to tell everyone that he is really THAT MUCH of a dork.
4. What's your favorite movie?
Ocean's Eleven, I think. Lord of the Rings, but that doesn't count as a movie so much as a trilogy, and I can't pick out just one because they're only good as a set. Of course, my traditional answer to this is Dirty Dancing, because I will always be nine at heart.
5. Looking ahead at parenthood, are there some things you can see yourself being active in where Ducky is concerned or that you definitely don't want to do? Like girl scout leader or den mother for boy scouts, soccer leagues, etc.?
Will I get my parenthood badge taken away if I admit that I really don't want to do any of those things? ;) I am pretty uninterested in sports, so I'll definitely try to limit my involvement in those things to sitting in the bleachers. And although I haven't been to church regularly in eleven years (there is another post right there) I would like to begin again for Ducky's sake so that s/he will grow up doing the Sunday school and perhaps eventually the youth group thing. (I am not saying this because I feel that s/he should do it but I don't need to--I do, but since I know what I believe already, it's very easy for me to be lazy... but I don't want our baby to grow up with no religious background.) We will also probably continue being active in our local Scandinavian Heritage club--there are other (bi-lingual) children for her to grow up with there, and it will be good if s/he participates in cultural heritage affairs like Lucia. Other than those two things, I don't know. Oh, I do know one thing--I will NOT be active in the baby pageant circle. It kind of sucks, too, because my niece did that as a baby (I was a teenager then) and it was fun. I really did not put much thought into it at all until M finally burst out one day with "OH MY GOD I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DO NOT FIND THIS TERRIBLY OFFENSIVE." And, I didn't, really, and so I argued the matter... but later realized that he is totally right. I DO find it terribly offensive. I had just never thought of it outside of the lens of what I grew up believing. I honestly can't believe I didn't think of it before it was pointed out to me. I am generally very vocal on the ways in which we are still a pretty sucky society as far as gender equality goes. Now? I don't so much agree with my child being judged for her beauty when in fact, I find beauty the least interesting measurement possible. And I sure don't believe that our baby girls need to be taught that their beauty is the only important thing. Sometimes I really hope Ducky is a boy, actually, when I think about the pitfalls of raising a girl.
Questions from
e11en.1. (Borrowing from Carrie) Did you ever consider living in Sweden instead of M moving here or would you ever consider it in the future?
Yes, we've considered it off and on. It has just always seemed more practical that we live here. I was in college when we met, and I finished my last year after we were married. I would have had to drop out to move, and that was something no one wanted. Practical considerations included the language thing, the fact that I am absurdly close to my family and just our general life plans. This is contrary to what everyone else seems to say, but I didn't want to have kids in Sweden. I know that it's a lovely place to raise children, but I really didn't want them to grow up away from my family. That doesn't mean that I think that's the choice for everyone to make, but in my situation... I am the only child that my parents have left. Moving permanently to another country and keeping them from bonding with subsequent grandkids seemed harsh. And, yes, I know that's unfair to M's parents, but you know what? I have also kind of figured out a long time ago that this whole thing about my brother? It is an unfair situation all the way around.
However, I really did want to live in Sweden for a few years. Ideally, that would have been before he moved here, but that was out. At a certain point in our marriage (a year or two) I got it into my head that perhaps we should go ahead and live there for a while, but M was against the idea, and he convinced me that he was right. My thought was that at the time, neither of us were working, or working at full capacity (so to speak) and maybe it would be better if we moved back to Sweden while we still could afford to get settled into life there. M didn't want to pay for moving our stuff again (having just done it recently) and he also pointed out that if we did that, we would establish ourselves there, and then what? We're happy and doing well and then decide to have kids--at that point, we will NOT want to drop everything and move back here with no job and no savings. And, he was right about that. It just wouldn't have worked, so we pretty much dropped everything right then. Having said that, it was pretty hard when we went back for our first visit and dropped in at his old job, and was semi-seriously asked to return. Probably harder for me than him because you know I have that M-job guilt complex.
2. If you could buy a brand new car (as in not just new to you but from the car dealer, not previously owned), what would it be?
Oh, that one's easy! I would love a brand new Volvo. M sold them here for a while (irony) and I'm a big fan of the concept of a large, safe, family car. I am just not a flashy little car person. Something new in the car situation is going to be on the horizon in the next few months, I bet, but it won't be a brand-new car, sadly. (I can't justify buying a new car, at least not at this point in my life--though I really want to at some point, practicality be damned.) My car isn't practical for a car seat, so we'll have to switch vehicles at the very least.
3. What magazines (if any) do you get?
None. I used to get Wired, but I finally got fed up with how female-exclusive they are for being such a popular and fun name in the technology market. We used up worthless airline miles for a stack of magazines at some point--there were others but I didn't enjoy them at all. I'd generally rather read books, so they sat idle and made me feel like I needed to put "read magazines" on my to-do list, which isn't exactly entertainment. M gets PC Gamer, which is not part of the question at all but I just wanted to tell everyone that he is really THAT MUCH of a dork.
4. What's your favorite movie?
Ocean's Eleven, I think. Lord of the Rings, but that doesn't count as a movie so much as a trilogy, and I can't pick out just one because they're only good as a set. Of course, my traditional answer to this is Dirty Dancing, because I will always be nine at heart.
5. Looking ahead at parenthood, are there some things you can see yourself being active in where Ducky is concerned or that you definitely don't want to do? Like girl scout leader or den mother for boy scouts, soccer leagues, etc.?
Will I get my parenthood badge taken away if I admit that I really don't want to do any of those things? ;) I am pretty uninterested in sports, so I'll definitely try to limit my involvement in those things to sitting in the bleachers. And although I haven't been to church regularly in eleven years (there is another post right there) I would like to begin again for Ducky's sake so that s/he will grow up doing the Sunday school and perhaps eventually the youth group thing. (I am not saying this because I feel that s/he should do it but I don't need to--I do, but since I know what I believe already, it's very easy for me to be lazy... but I don't want our baby to grow up with no religious background.) We will also probably continue being active in our local Scandinavian Heritage club--there are other (bi-lingual) children for her to grow up with there, and it will be good if s/he participates in cultural heritage affairs like Lucia. Other than those two things, I don't know. Oh, I do know one thing--I will NOT be active in the baby pageant circle. It kind of sucks, too, because my niece did that as a baby (I was a teenager then) and it was fun. I really did not put much thought into it at all until M finally burst out one day with "OH MY GOD I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DO NOT FIND THIS TERRIBLY OFFENSIVE." And, I didn't, really, and so I argued the matter... but later realized that he is totally right. I DO find it terribly offensive. I had just never thought of it outside of the lens of what I grew up believing. I honestly can't believe I didn't think of it before it was pointed out to me. I am generally very vocal on the ways in which we are still a pretty sucky society as far as gender equality goes. Now? I don't so much agree with my child being judged for her beauty when in fact, I find beauty the least interesting measurement possible. And I sure don't believe that our baby girls need to be taught that their beauty is the only important thing. Sometimes I really hope Ducky is a boy, actually, when I think about the pitfalls of raising a girl.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 12:23 am (UTC)2. Do you expect that you will move back to Sweden at any point?
3. What do you miss about living there?
4. Does Max do anything adorable that you can't get enough of? Or, what is your favorite part of being a parent?
5. Do you miss caffeine? Did you give it up in its liquid form only or do you not eat stuff like chocolate?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 08:39 pm (UTC)I really enjoyed reading your answers! And now... I want to play. I think. Yes, go ahead :)
no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 12:35 am (UTC)2. What is your absolute favorite thing to eat?
3. Someone is giving you $100,000. What do you buy? (No fair investing, etc.)
4. What is your favorite thing about your job?
5. You are stranded on a deserted island. You may take the complete works of any one author. Who would it be?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 01:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 08:47 pm (UTC)Good answers. I feel the same way about the beauty pageants. I'm just so much more interested in what else a person can do than look attractive. And the child beauty shows creep me out! haha
no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 02:44 am (UTC)2. What's up with the store? Is it still around now that you're working full-time?
3. What's the best thing about Robert?
4. What's your favorite feature or room in your house?
5. Is there anything you just cannot resist?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 10:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 02:55 am (UTC)1. What is your absolute favorite thing about your wife? ;) (You totally set yourself up for that one, boyo.)
2. You are creating a new country from scratch, using the best parts of both America and Sweden. What's it like?
3. What are you most looking forward to about impending fatherhood? What are you most dreading?
4. Someone is giving you $100,000. (No investing.) What do you spend it on?
5. What's the hardest thing you've ever done voluntarily?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-07 11:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 02:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 03:45 am (UTC)I took Ingrid to the Y yesterday for her gymnastics and swimming lessons and the younger brother of one of the girls who rides the school bus with Ingrid was in the class too. I got chatting with the girl and her mom and it came up that the girl does girl scouts and the mom is the troop leader. I would so never do that. I have a friend who has been the coach for her daughter's soccer team and other things like that. I guess I'm glad some people do want to but I am just not one of them.
Your answers to the first question are kind of familiar. I could say more but that would make this comment too long.
Is it ok to have you ask me interview questions or is that not how this is done since these are your answers to my questions?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 02:59 pm (UTC)Regarding interviewing the interviewer, I don't know what the rules are. I was kind of wondering about that, too. I guess we might as well. The meme police will just have to be okay with it. ;)
1. Whatdo you love best about Ingrid? Anders?
2. Does anyone ever give you grief (or just have trouble) with your kids names? (As Anders and Ingrid aren't the most absolute common names in the US.) As a subquestion, which pronounciation of Anders did you go with? I think I remember you talking about two different options before he was born.
3. What's your favorite indulgence?
4. The household fairy has come, and you will no longer be required to do one household chore because it will be done automatically. What will it be?
5. How's the bilingual kid thing going? Is it easier or harder for G to speak Swedish with them now that there's two?
no subject
Date: 2007-01-08 03:34 pm (UTC)