Confession: Sometimes I’m good at thinking on my feet, but sometimes when I get intimidated and shy, I say the dumbest things. The other day at an NPS workshop on how to run a poetry workshop (not exactly my specialty but something I find interesting), I was in a room full of poets and clammed up. One of the leaders of the group was calling on people, asking their name and what movie scene they would like to live in and who they’d like to be in that scene.
He must have picked up on my “please don’t call on me, please don’t call on me” vibes because he called on me even though my hand wasn’t raised.
“Uh…I’m Jess and, um…I don’t know. Sometimes I feel my life is enough of a movie…?”
“Huh. I’ve never heard of that!” he said. Huge laugh all around. I turned red and wanted to crawl under my seat and cry, despite being too old for that sort of thing. Maybe I should have just told the truth and said I fall asleep twenty minutes into basically any movie I attempt to watch? Movies just aren’t my thing. If he’d asked what song I’d like to curl up in and call home, that would have been much easier. Whatever, I moved on and ended up getting a lot out of the afternoon.
Working with patients and speaking in front of large groups is something I’ve never had any problem with—in fact, it’s something I love doing. However, when asked on the spot to share something super-random about myself (What movie scene do I want to live in? Oh dear…), especially if I’m in the company of people I consider experts in something I know little about, I draw a huge blank and blush like crazy. It’s one of those inconsistencies I’ll always be working on, I suppose.
For the record, if I had to choose a movie scene to live in, I’d want to be an amused onlooker in the movie Sleeper, in the scene where Woody Allen’s character Miles puts on a hydroback suit and hilarity ensures. Either that or the movie where he steals giant produce and runs off with it. Sleeper either way. 
For whatever reason, I’m not shy when I write. Sometimes I actually feel like I need to keep from over-sharing when I blog. However, after seeing this survey on Healthy Exposures and a few other blogs, I decided to take a little breather and fill it out.
What is your desktop wallpaper?
A view from the Minerva Medical Gardens in Salerno, Italy. 
What is your favorite drink?
Seltzer or sparkling wine (especially sparkling reds because they’re so weird and delicious). I like bubbles.
What was your favorite toy as a child?
I loooved Care Bears. That is so embarrassing but it’s true.
What food do you eat too much a lot of?
Somehow I manage to find a way to work oats into all kinds of things. I haven’t gone to the savory-oats dark side, though.
What kind of hairstyle to do you have?
Big, blonde. Long layers that need a trim. I always say I’ll start dyeing it red when I start to go gray, but we’ll see. The last time I dyed my hair was in middle school. It was so traumatic I’ve been afraid to ever since!
What was your favorite activity in gym class?
Walking around the track and talking with my friends. Our teachers totally gave up my senior year of high school.
What’s on the shirt you’re wearing right now?
Nothing. I’m wearing a dress.
What are the top 3 most-played songs in your iTunes library?
(supposedly)
- Last Call—Elliott Smith
- America—Simon & Garfunkel
- It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (live, 1966)—Bob Dylan
What is the picture nearest to you?
This poster from a new age bookstore in London hangs over my desk.
What do you do on a Sunday night?
Hang out with Chris and make a to-do list for the week ahead.
If you could use one condiment on your food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Cornbread from Angelica Kitchen with their miso-tahini sauce
Miso-tahini sauce, hands down.
What color are your sheets?
Cream-colored.
What pair of shoes do you wear most often?
Lately, my Birkenstocks.
What is your favorite game?
I love Scrabble and Words with Friends.
Ok, your turn—answer as few or as many of these questions as you like!