: About Me

I often get "forwarded" questionnaire emails from my friends.  You know the ones:  they're like a dialogue, in digital text.  The idea is to fill them out, send them out to all, and ask others to read your version, then replace all your answers with ones of their own-which they're then supposed to send back to you.

I thought I'd put one to use here, and now.  I have no illusions about what I'll get back.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

I have my grandmother's unwieldy, 18th century name. And then, informally and by people other than my parents, Nancy Sinatra.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Yesterday morning, remembering a conversation with someone who is far away, and deeply missed.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?

I do! It's snaky and wild and very stylized. Everyone I know is grateful that I type.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?

Why, a lovely little dollarcoin-sized serving of well-aged Kobe beef, grilled medium rare. At a very good restaurant. In a splendid city. Not Toronto.

5. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?

I'm an opinionated, histrionic, snarky, and restless old doddering Madame Fussbudget, particularly when I can't lose an argument. I would probably drive me crazy, just with the shoe lunacies alone.

But I'd certainly call me up for coffee.

6. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?

How do you define "a lot"?

7. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?

Yes.

8. WOULD YOU BUNGEE?

I just might.

9. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?

I like real, organic rolled oatmeal with coconut oil, cinnamon, a little bit of real maple syrup or honey brought back from Cuba, and organic cream.

10. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?

I think I don't yet know my own power. But I will.

11. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

Homemade Toasted Marshmallow ice cream, from Greg's Ice Cream on Bloor Street in Toronto, or dark chocolate and pear "Bella Elena" from Il Gelatiere on Mount Pleasant in Toronto

12. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

First thing: The presence-or absence-of wit.

Next thing: Shoes.

One thing inevitably dictates the other.

13. RED OR PINK?

Pulsating, furious, velvety, anthurium-lily red.

14. WHAT ARE THE LEAST FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF?

I too often pick the wrong time to hold my tongue.

And my hair is unreasonable.

15. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

My mother.

16. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?

No pants to day! Black cashmere sweater dress, black suede boots.

17. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?

Coffee. Which reminds me...I should eat breakfast.

18. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Jeff Buckley, Dinah Washington, and Nina Simone compilations

19. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

Copper.

20. WHAT IS (ARE) YOUR FAVORITE SMELL(S)?

"Bois Noir" by Chanel;

"Nocturnes" de Carven;

"Nu" and "Rive Gauche" by Yves Saint Laurent.

"Femme" de Rochas.

Woodsmoke on a day with grey-green skies, dry red leaves, and a chill in the air.

Freshly-mown green grass on a half cloudy day in late summer.

21. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?

A tall, dark, Celt.

22. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

You betcha.

23. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?

Anything where Anthony Burdain cooks/travels/stands around and breathes, or says stuff.

Tennis is good, too.

24. HAIR COLOR?

Red.

25. EYE COLOR?

Green.

26. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?

No.

I have a pair of glasses I bought in the 1980's with frames so geometric and out of the ordinary they actually caught the attention of one of those slightly dangerous looking, tall, dark and handsome young men. He was intrigued enough to find out exactly what kind of woman would wear such things to work.

Contacts just can't do that for you.

27. FAVORITE FOOD?

Suicide rolls.

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

There's only one movie I'd really call scary: Kubrick's The Shining. But I prefer any other kind of film, even the occasional happy ending.

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?

The latest remake of The Women. It makes me wonder why Hollywood can't make a film about women unless the entire effort is one big advertisement for THE status bag, THE status makeup, THE status perfume, THE status shoe, and THE status department store...and why women can't see the whole world for the sexism still being shoved down our throats. On the surface, it seems ironic and fluffy, but it sets us back to the darkest beginnings of Judeo-Christian misogyny. It's a great example of woman-hating in it's clearest cinematic complexity: these are women who hate women in exactly the way they've been instructed to hate women. They are catty about each other's shoes and nail polish colours, covetous about "status" they can buy, groveling in front of men who dictate their limitations, and generally divided into the worlds of "us" and "them", good wives and bad adulteresses. Of course, the good wives are wealthy, so we're all supposed to want to be them.

That being said, the scene in which the surgically altered (and addled) Meg Ryan chomps through a stick of butter (that she ritualistically dips first into powdered cocoa and then into a bowl of white sugar between bites) all while ranting about her unfaithful husband should remind us all what a talented comedienne she is. What a sin it is that she'll never be allowed to work in film again unless she submits to that knife to remain employable-and now that's she's doing just that, this is what's considered to be a "decent" script "for a woman her age", a "suitable" offering to her audience.

I sure hope this is as bad as it gets.

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?

No shirt today. Black sweater dress.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER?

Summer. Easier.

33. HUGS OR KISSES?

Both. Each. Every. More.

34. FAVORITE DESSERT?

Zabaglione with fresh berries, fresh cream, and good Marsala.

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?

Spectacle, by Bruce Mau

The Origin of Species, by Nino Ricci

Case Analysis and Prescribing Techniques, by Dr. Robin Murphy.  I need to study more.

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?

Leather. And my mouse. And some patient files I need to find folders for...and a bill I need to pay today.

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?

David Letterman. He's my secret and enduring crush and I've watched him since he was on a short lived Mary Tyler Moore show many, many years ago. We are growing old together.

38. FAVORITE SOUND?

Waves, in a pool of water.

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?

Tom Waits.

40. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?

Europe. But that's cause we're only talking about physical distance.

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?

Several!

I know bullshit when I see it.

I can name a tune within 2 seconds of hearing it start.

I can cook really complicated, ingredient and technique-heavy dishes (but I can't bake without the fire department being made aware of my activities).

My singing in the shower and in the car is unparalleled.

Restaurant selection. I'm good at picking great ones. So far.

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

St. Joseph's Hospital, just across the street from Sunnyside Beach and High Park in the west end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

43. FOR WHAT THINGS ARE YOU MOST GRATEFUL?

The Internet, working computers,"smartphones" with QWERTY keyboards and superfast WiFi connections, and the ability to make a damn good argument.

The English language.  Especially after learning the Italian one.

Flowers

Time (healing all the wounds, wounding all the heels)

Aside from all of this, I'm a middle-agling with degrees in English literature, the Humanities, and Adult Education, as well as professional qualifications and experience in Homeopathic Medicine. I'm a Canadian woman who was born in and grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; a first generation Italo-Canadian and one of two children.

I currently live with my husband, a Graphic Designer and Musician, on a vineyard in the Niagara region of Southern Ontario.

My passion is ...

BIG! It includes love for music, good food, great conversation, travel, art, film, dance, history, words, language, warm summer evenings and plenty of good ideas.

I know too much about ...

Made-for-TV Forensic pathology, Nascar racing, Paris Hilton, Brangelina's procreation habits

My parents always told me ...

"No", usually.

My childhood ambition ...

Never to ask permission again.

My favorite memory ...

a car load of hyacinths, tulips, and narcissus blooms, 4am, stolen from High Park

Why I write ...

Need.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Reading: anything I can get my hands on; Watching: DVD television dramas, like Mad Men, and Dexter; Listening to: Blondie, Leonard Cohen's "I'm Your Man", crazy Euro-beat compilations put together by a friend who's a DJ

My first job ...

I had two: working for my aunt in her clothing store when I was 14 (she broke her leg picking cherries in a tree); and working with my cousin Paola answering phones and "doing the books" in our fathers' business.

My best moment ...

I have a lot of good moments. All involve people I love intensely. I'm going to leave it at that.

My inspiration ...

All of my patients, even the ones who've been nasty to me.

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