March 6, 2009

  • The Proust Questionnaire

    The Proust Questionnaire has its origins in a parlor game popularized (though not devised) by Marcel Proust, the French essayist and novelist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature. Here is the basic Proust Questionnaire.

    1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
    Self actualization, based on that triangle from a guy named Maslow. I'm still working on that.

     2. What is your greatest fear?
    Loosing my memory, and the ability to make new ones.

    3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
    Unintentional thoughtlessness.

    4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
    Malice

    5. Which living person do you most admire?
    Barbara Walters and Oprah Winfrey.

    6. What is your greatest extravagance?
    Cartier watch

    7. What is your current state of mind?
    Procrastinating... (I *swear* I'll get back to work after this post!)

    8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
    Conservatism

    9. On what occasion do you lie?
    I don't, please refer to #3.

    10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
    Absence of flawless skin

    11. Which living person do you most despise?
    Rush Limbaugh. *shudder*

    12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
    Selflessness.

    13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
    Independence.

    14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
    Um... my hubby says there are a lot of them... Queen of the Cliche's!

    15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
    Abigail

    16. When and where were you happiest?
    When I held my daughter in my arms for the first time.

    17. Which talent would you most like to have?
    The ability to do complex computations in my head.

    18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
    I'd want to be more tactful.

    19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
    Hrm... I haven't done it yet. I'll get back to this one in 3/4 years.

    20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
    The embodiment of good-will.

    21. Where would you most like to live?
    NYC is great... I would Love to have a place right on Gramercy Park.

    22. What is your most treasured possession?
    My photos. (perhaps that was a cheezy answer... but see #2)

    23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
    Feeling alone, and not being able to see all the people that cared about me.

    24. What is your favorite occupation?
    Anything having to do with planning and then the creation of something. vague, eh? I guess that's why I'm a Project Manager.

    25. What is your most marked characteristic?
    No reservations.

    26. What do you most value in your friends?
    The ability to tell it to me straight.

    27. Who are your favorite writers?
    Paulo Coelho, Ayn Rand (with a bit of realism), Shel Silverstein.

    28. Who is your hero of fiction?
    Dagny Taggart

    29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
    Marie Antoinette and her mother-in-law, Catherine d'Medici... and maybe her cousin, Elizabeth. It's all about the strong women.

    30. Who are your heroes in real life?
    My Aunt Alexis, who was the first to come to the states and bring everyone else over.

    31. What are your favorite names?
    Elizabeth, Catherine, Sophia, Schyler, Avery, Jonathan, Christopher... and Abigail.

    32. What is it that you most dislike?
    Hypocrites.

    33. What is your greatest regret?
    Being too open?... but you end up learning from your mistakes.

    34. How would you like to die?
    VERY old... as a great-great-grandmother.

    35. What is your motto?
    Live life to the fullest (still! After all these years!)