As promised, here are some fun questions I answered so you can learn a little bit more about me.
- If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
London. I would live in London.
- What is your favorite book to read?
Right now, anything Sherlock Holmes. Currently, I’m reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- What was the last movie you went to? What did you think?
The Imitation Game. It was a brilliant movie, an astonishingly important story, and I think anyone who has ever felt different should see it. I cried several times in the theater (and it was actual real crying, not just trying to hold back tears). Also, this. I think that’s extremely important, too.
- If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
BREAKFAST. I love breakfast more than I love just about anything else in the entire world. Seriously, bacon and French toast and pancakes and home fries and sausage and omelettes…but also, you can have cake or pie or cookies, or…or cold pizza… Okay, so I might be cheating on this one, but I choose breakfast. (And now you all know that I have pretty atrocious eating habits :P)
- Who is your favorite author?
Do I have to choose one? I feel obliged to say J.K. Rowling since Harry Potter was such a huge part of my childhood. But I also obsessed over Roald Dahl’s, Eoin Colfer’s, and Eva Ibbotson’s books when I was a kid. Now I love Stephen King and Neil Gaiman.
- Have you ever had a nickname? What is it?
I pretty much let my friends call me whatever they want. They all pick a variation of Becca. I’ve been called Becca, Bec, and Bec Bec. I think I would have to draw the line at Becky, though.
- What are your hobbies?
I don’t have as many hobbies as I used to, which makes me sad. The only hobby that I’ve clung to for my entire life is reading. Print books, e-books, fan works, whatever. I’ll stay awake until 3AM to read them all.And I’m a huge nerd. I’m not sure if that counts as a hobby, but I could talk for hours about certain books or TV series or movies.
BBC Sherlock’s 221 B Baker Street (187 North Gower Street, next to Speedy’s Cafe)
- What is the worst gift you have received?
For one of my birthdays (Maybe 16? It was somewhere around there) my neighbor gave me a cat toy wrapped in a McDonald’s napkin. That has the potential to be funny, but it was a serious gift. He bought a teenage girl a little round cat toy with feathers and gave it to her wrapped in a fast food napkin.
- If you were a super-hero, what powers would you have?
I would want to be fluent in every language. All of the spoken ones and all of the sign languages and heck, let’s be able to talk to animals, too.
- What form of public transportation do you prefer? (air, boat, train, bus, car, etc.)
Trains. I love sitting in a window seat and watching the sights go by. And I think there’s something wonderful about getting lost in a book while taking the train.
- What’s your favorite zoo animal?
Sloths, but I get pretty excited about red pandas, too…and when I was in Australia, I got to meet koalas, dingoes, echidnas, and wombats… That was magical. 😛
21-year-old me feeding some echidnas at the Australia Zoo
- How many pillows do you sleep with?
Two
- What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
I’d like to say skydiving, but I was attached to a trained professional for that…so, I guess bungee jumping. In that situation I was just trusting the big elastic cord tied to my feet and the dudes who were in charge of it.
AJ Hackett Cairns
- What was the last book you read?
Um…It was either Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch, or The Sign of Four by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I don’t remember which one I finished most recently…
- How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
It depends on what I’m getting ready for. Generally, it takes about 45 minutes – an hour to shower, dress, and do the whole bathroom hygiene/hair routine. Less time if I don’t have to wash or dry my hair…More time if I have to shave or eat breakfast.
- Do you love or hate rollercoasters?
Love them. LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I rode my first roller coaster when I was seven and I’ve never looked back. I love the feeling you get on a coaster you’ve never ridden before- right at the tipping point of the first big hill when you’re sitting in the first car. You can see the entire roller coaster sprawled out before you. It’s like a huge surge of excitement and adrenaline, mixed in with that immediate self-preservation thought of “Oh shit what have I gotten myself into?!”And I love riding coasters with other people. Like, if I don’t know you well, get ready, this is going to be a bonding experience. I’m probably the hugest roller coaster screamer out there. I’m that person you hear while you are waiting in line and my screams give you butterflies but you’re too far up in the line to even consider backing out now…
Stealth at Thorpe Park Fright Nights
- What’s your favorite movie?
Ugh, again with the choose one? My favorite movies are (in no particular order):
-Aladdin: One of the first Disney movies I saw in theaters. (Yes, I know I was 2 when it came out, but that was back when movies stayed in theaters forever.) I remember wanting to be Jasmine. And the beginning with Robin Williams as the street vendor made me laugh. It still does.-The Nightmare Before Christmas: My love affair with Tim Burton and Danny Elfman began early. This is one of those movies that I look back on and think, “Wow, this should have scared me as a kid.” But it didn’t, and I still love it. Maybe I subconsciously sympathized with Sally and her yearning to get away. Nah, you’re right, probably not. It was probably the awesome stop motion claymation and the creepy-but-still-awesome singing skeleton man.
-The Great Mouse Detective: I rented this movie from Blockbuster so many times, my mom bought me my own copy. Even when I was a little kid, I remember that the scene with Ratigan and Basil on Big Ben stressed me the heck out. I loved the movie when I was little and now I can appreciate how they smushed so much Sherlock Holmes-y goodness into it. And it’s funny, because a lot of my fellow Sherlockian friends have this movie in common as a childhood favorite.
-The Princess Bride: This one doesn’t really need an explanation, does it? Instead, I’ll give you a fun fact. I love shouting “Have fun stormin’ the castle!” at people as they leave.
-Iron Man: I saw the first Iron Man movie with some of my friends who worked at the movie theater. I didn’t know I would soon be a Marvel movie junkie. Robert Downey Jr. blew me away and I loved his transformation from weapons-manufacturing-billionaire to troubled-superhero-with-a-heart. Also, Pepper Pots, badass extraordinaire.
-Pride: This one is more recent, and it hasn’t gotten nearly enough press, in my opinion. If you haven’t heard of it, here’s the gist: Welsh mining strike in the 1980’s. Really bad- people starving and the government being antagonistic. Enter Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), a rad group of gays and lesbians from London who start raising money for a small mining community in Wales. This movie has got everything- a coming of age story about accepting yourself and others, living during the AIDS crisis, people supporting people, tolerance, and also a butt-ton of humor. And Andrew Scott being a bookshop-owning cutie pie. I’ve seen this movie several times and I still cry happy tears.
- What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten?
Probably a chocolate covered cricket in 11th grade Advanced Biology for extra credit. But I also tried alligator and kangaroo once.
- Have you ever had a surprise party? (that was an actual surprise)
Yes, before I left to study abroad in Australia, my mom got a bunch of my friends and family together for a party that was the biggest surprise ever. Friends from high school and college were there, along with my family who drove all the way from Virginia to attend. There was a sheet cake with a kangaroo on it.
- What is one thing you will never do again?
Date someone who doesn’t accept me for me. Or stay in a relationship after it becomes clear that things aren’t going to get better.
And some personality tests and other things you might be wondering…
- Myers-Briggs: INFJ
- Alignment: Chaotic Good
- Kinsey Scale: 3
- Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff
Midnights & Miles 