Staffetta Dell'Amicizia

Yay! I've been tagged by Evil Pixie! This blog award is called the "Relay of Friendship" and in good graphics form, I have replaced the badge with a new one and rewritten the questions so they no longer are a direct translation from Italian. Here goes my answers:

1. When you were young and were asked what you wanted to be when you grew up, what did you say? Well, when I was in grade school, I wanted to drive the big yellow bus that came to pick me up every morning and during that same year, I was fascinated by the library van that came into our neighborhood even though they rarely had books that fit my age group. It's funny, in retrospect, because I have no interest in cars now, let my drivers license expire 6 years ago, and have to go take the DMV test this weekend so I can water Bob's plants while he and Ans are in Mexico and Eric is off learning how to sail our boat.

Later on, around age 10, I wanted to be a writer. I developed complex characters in my mind but soon discovered I didn't want anything bad to happen to them. The dream finally died when I was in college and realized there was no way I would reach a standard high enough to satisfy my expectations. In some ways, my blog reflects this younger mindset. Nothing bad ever happens to Leslie in Adams Morgan and I never have to stand up to anyone's criticism but my own.

2. What were your favorite cartoons? Josie and the Pussycats and The Flintstones (kazoo, in particular).

3. What were your favorite games? Well, I liked Barbies the best and even though that's not a board game, which I assume to be the direction this question is meant to take me, that's my final answer.

4. Which birthday was your nicest and why? In my childhood, I remember riding a white pony on my 8th birthday and receiving a Cheerful Tearful doll, knowing full well that it was very precious to me because I would never ask for a baby doll again. And now in my adulthood, I am going to say my most recent birthday, my 50th, because I have dreaded the ticking clock for so long and finally, this year, it didn't matter.

5. What things did you want to do when you were young that you haven't done yet? Well, young is relative. I want to walk the Camino de Santiago Compostela Pilgrimage in northern Spain. I want to speak Spanish fluently and I want to live in a foreign country again. I mean to do the last two. I doubt I'll do the first.

6. What was your first love? Sports or something else? Reading. I sucked at sports. I was small and am non-competitive by nature.

7. Who was your first musical idol? Donny Osmond, Bobby Sherman, David Cassidy, and John Lennon. Topo Gigio (not really).

8. What was your first sought-after and eventually received holiday gift (Santa Claus, St. Lucia, or Jesus Child)? Hmmm. I am still waiting for that Barbie Dream House with the convertible in the garage and the vanity table on the second floor.

There you have it! So, in the continuing spirit of friendship, I tag Mina (Shining Lotus), Hariklia (What-She-Said), and Jason (no vacancy), the designer who quickly rolled out a new Staffeta Dell'Amicizia badge this morning when I cried out for help. If you want to see the original, you can follow it back to Evil Pixie.