FanFic Ask Me Anything ~*~ Version 3.0 Daily Questions (See list on pg 164 or 1)

I don't have insomnia issues per se, but I do have a perpetual inability to fall asleep quickly. It usually takes me an hour or so to fall asleep, sometimes more - even when I'm really exhausted, it might only take me half an hour. It's been that way as long as I can remember, so it's not a specific issue or something I try to get rid of. I think my parents took me to a bunch of sleep doctors when I was younger to no avail, but eventually they realized that I was getting enough sleep, even if I slept odd hours for a little kid, so they stopped worrying about it.

Not married, and I don't have any plans.

I don't really have any nicknames - sometimes my family will call me a shortened version of my first name, but not often, and then I have a friend who gave me a nickname that's a pun based off my last name, but nobody actually uses that. I have a middle name, which is my mom's maiden name - I like it well enough, but not more than my first name.

 

1. Insomnia issues: do you have these and if so, what brings them on, and how do you get rid of it, or does it have to go away on its own?
Oh yes I do, and last night was a classic example. (Didn't go to sleep until after 0130 (that was the last time I looked at the time, anyway) and had to get up at 0515).
I think for me it mostly has to do with work. When left to my own devices and can sleep and wake as I please, I'll usually go to sleep around 1 or 2 am and get up around 9 or 10am, but for work I have to get up at 5am, and then every 6 to 8 weeks (at least right now) I have to switch to being a night shifter for a few weeks which messes me up.
(I still have issues when I don't have to work/on vacation, but I don't care as much then.)

I've never really done anything to get rid of it, probably should look into that.


2. For those married or about to be, or hoping to be: your wanna or actually was - first song as a couple at the reception?
I think this is a song that should mean something to both of you as a couple, I can think of a few songs that mean something to my boyfriend and I, they just probably wouldn't be very appropriate for a first dance.
Other than that, I've never really thought about first dance.

3. Did or do you have a nickname? Do you have a middle name that you like better or worse than your first?
I seem to be one of those people who everyone wants to knickname, which is perfectly fine with me.
My mom and I share a first name so when I was very little, my family started calling me Pooh, which has pretty much been my name (with exception of work and when I was in school) ever since. Though no one in Boston calls me that.
The mav in mavjade is because Mav (pronounced as in Maverick) is what people called me all though junior high and high school. Now a lot of people at work call me Mave.

 

I don't have any sort of specific "sleep disorder" but it is quite common to have sleep issues with my disability, just from the lack of muscle control and the inability to relax my muscles some times. I've had sleep issues since I was a baby. Nothing really brings them on and I can't really do much to help. Sometimes if I can tell I'm going to have a bad night, I take a natural sleep aid. Or if I have nothing planned for the next morning, I just get up, try to be productive until I pretty much fall over.

Not married and I don't think it's in the cards for me ANYTIME in the near future, but my first song would probably be something along the lines of The Proclaimers' I'm Gonna Be (500 miles) or Scissor Sister's I Cant Decide.

I have many horrible nicknames associated with my horrific first name. I HATE MY FIRST NAME AND THE MANY NICKNAMES, so, I go by my middle name, Briann - people often call me Bri or Briannakin. Back in high school band I was known as either Briannakin or Vader. I have a second middle name, though I rarely even put it on documents. It's kinda blah. I've thought about legally changing my first name to my middle name, but it's just too much work. So I'm just that weird person who has to think about my name at the doctor's office and the airport. When people find out my first name, the look at me funny.

 

Like skygawker, it takes me a long time to fall asleep, but left to my own devices I rarely have trouble getting enough sleep. The bigger issue is that the hours my body wants to sleep are approximately 6 AM to 3 PM, which wreaks havoc with the rest of my life. I suspect that I have delayed sleep phase disorder, but even with insurance, I can't afford the doctor's visits that would be needed to find out for sure.

I plan to stay single for my entire life, so I will instead provide a few quotes explaining why:

• "Marriage is like a public toilet: those outside are desperate to get in, and those inside are desperate to come out." —Unknown
• "If variety is the spice of life, marriage is the big can of leftover Spam." —Johnny Carson
• "Marriage is a three-ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering." —Unknown
• "Marriage is not a word; it is a sentence." —Unknown
• "The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret." —Henny Youngman

I hated nicknames, even diminutives, as a kid. My name was Jonathan, and woe be the person who called me John or especially Johnny. As I grew, though, I eventually mellowed a bit in that regard. I still prefer Jonathan, but I no longer take offense to John (and I'll even give my name as John when the cashier at Taco Bell asks for a name for the order, because that's faster to type). I never had any other nicknames except the typical derogatory stuff from the school bullies, like Shorty.

I do have a middle name, but no one ever uses it, and sometimes I struggle to remember what it is. My last name saw some use in high school, as many students had a habit of calling everyone, classmates and faculty alike, by last names alone, and now a few of my friends that I met through another forum do that as well. My 10-year high school class reunion is later this year, so if I go to that, I may hear my last name quite a bit there.

 

1. Have you ever been in a hot air balloon, and/or is that something you think you'd enjoy?

2. Do you do handcraft things: cross-stitch, embroidery, sewing, knitting, crochet? If so, how'd you learn?

3. For only children: do you wish you had siblings, and for those with, do you like where you're at in the family or do you wish you were older/younger, etc.?

 

I am behind...

1. I have neatnik tendencies but I am lazy and don't have enough space for all my stuff so it is mostly messy.

2. Can't tell if I have any.

3. underwear, pants and shirt.

1. I eat sushi but I don't think the version served here really count as raw.

2. Not that I know of.

3. Hardwood floor with a nice carpet on.

 

1. Yes, Mr. Baiard actually proposed to me in a hot air balloon (there is a yearly balloon festival in the town where we live.). Note to anyone who wants to propose in a balloon: do NOT wait until you're landing to pop the question. This will result in you and your intended not being braced for the impact of landing (no brakes on a balloon!) and getting epic bruises on your hips/backside . Other than the landing, I have to say it was a very cool experience floating up there and I would love to do it again some day.

2. I used to do cross stitch. I learned from my mom, who is a wizard with anything involving a needle (sewing, quilting, smocking, embroidery).

3. I have one older sister. Probably makes me a stereotypical youngest child to say I never seriously wanted any more siblings

 

1. I have never been in a hot air balloon. I was going to do it when visiting my parents years ago, but that week a couple people died when something went wrong with the balloon...so I decided against doing it.

2. When I was a kid my mother taught me to crochet, but I never really got into it. I do paint and do tile mosaics. For that I am self taught.

3. I have two brothers and two sisters. Although I am the second to youngest my older siblings are between 10-14 years older than me. So when I was very young they were off to college or married. In a way I was the oldest child at the home most of the time. I was fine with my position within the family. All of us get along fine, although I think my older siblings probably are closer to each other than with me and my little brother. After all, we didn't grow up together.

 

1. I need to work and post my fanfics...
2. See abow
3. What show from your childhood would you like to see "re-made" now?
The Pirates of Dark Water

1. I still have some my old plushies and my favorite is a rancorn
2. not really
3.Can not think of any right now.

1. Cobra; TailSpin; Gummi Bears; Darkwing Duck... actually most of Disney's animated shows from when I was a kid; Batman TAS; and probobly some more that I can not remember think of right now.
2. Not that I can think of right now.
3. I don't drive.

 

Argh, got some catching-up to do!

1. I do get insomnia from time to time, but there isn't a specific pattern to it and it rarely happens for several nights in a row.

2. On 30 September 1985, when I first met Mr Chyntuckopoulos, we all had lunch in the kitchen together, and then, while my mother and his stepmother talked about very serious things (meaning about him and his future), we went to my room and I made him listen to Simple Minds "Don't you (forget about me)" and dance. We haven't planned details of our wedding yet but I suspect that this song will be involved.

3. Nope. No nicknames, no pet names, no middle names. Middle names are virtually non-existent in Greece, whereas diminutives are quite common, but my name doesn't really lend itself to one.

1. I'm not big on flying in general, but a hot air balloon is definitely something I'd like to try because I loved Jules Verne's novel Five Weeks in a Balloon.

2. Yes I do! Here's what I made for my niece's birth. I learned cross-stitch and embroidery from my grandmother, who thought that a "girl for a house" should make her own dowry .

Spoiler

3. I'm an only child and the bitter (selfish) truth is that I quite enjoyed being the pampered little princess. I wasn't really the only kid in the house though -- what with the tribal logic of Greek families where everyone is a little bit your cousin and the arrival of Mr Chyntuckopoulos in our household when we were both 12, I kind of feel that I had all the advantages of growing up an only child without any of the downsides

 

I went in one when I was too young to remember it. I'd like to go again.

I crochet. I learned the basics from my mom and then went from there.

Eh. I was the middle child, so it sucked. Nowadays, it doesn't suck as much, so I don't really care.

 

No, but give me the date, time, and location, and I'll be there with my camera. I have no fear of heights and would LOVE to go up in a balloon.

I tried learning cross-stitch in my early teens, but found that I lacked the patience for it. That said, I do want to eventually make my own costume from scratch before the next Star Wars Celebration (after Anaheim, that is; I don't have the budget to get out there this April), mainly because my current handmade costume that I got off of eBay about five years ago is not at all screen-accurate, is itchy and uncomfortable, and doesn't fit right.

I am an only child, and I've never really given any thought about whether I would like to have siblings. So the answer is, "I don't know."

 

Gamiel, YES YES YES to Pirates of Dark Water. I loved that stuff!

Chyntuck, I did not realise how your love came to be. Now I must say that I'm noisy and curious. This has got to be the most unique story ever.

...

This is a great series of questions, while I wasn't too crazy about yesterday's. So, thank you.

1. Nope and...not sure. Can I have a parachute or something?

2. Tried, failed. Might try again someday. I have ideas on upcycling projects.

3. As an only child of people in their early 40s, I was apparently a "blessing. Mom's three-year "ban" on conceiving another due to how complicated the birth was expired in April 1986, then dad went fishing when some very special rain fell and...that pretty much sealed the whole deal.

I am not sure how I would feel being one of the siblings, but given the overall weirdness of this home and this family, I'd say no, thanks.

 

No. I don't really know if I'd enjoy it. I have no fear of heights, I LOVED the London Eye, I've just never had any desire to do anything like that.

My grandmother tried to teach me how to knit and crochet. It was a massive fail. But I do know how to sew. I took lessons from a teacher back in elementary school and I did it as an elective when I started high school. I used to sew all my pajamas. I even made a hoodie once, and a quilt, and I sewed a Jedi-master robe AND a Princess Leia costume. One of these days, when I get to go to a Celebration (that ISN'T IN STUPID APRIL) I'll either finish my Jedi costume or make a Hobbie flightsuit. I also recently learned how to arm-knit from youtube. It's super easy and fun, but you need a stupid about of really bulky yarn to do it.

I'm the 2nd oldest of 4. I have an older sister and 2 younger brothers who are twins, making me kinda the de facto "middle child". However, my younger brothers are only half-brothers, so I was my father's youngest. I was always so very glad I was never the youngest in my "regular home life" - we still call the younger twin "Baby Jojo" even though he's only the baby by an entire 60 seconds. There were times that I wished I were the oldest or the only child, my older sister could be really mean and was often the "forgotten, quiet middle child" (heck, if last Christmas was any example, I still am). But now-a-days I'm fine with being the middle child. I probably slipped under the radar so much and I still do.

 

1. No I haven't and I'm not sure I would enjoy it. I probably would once I got over my initial jitters and assuming I could see out of the basket.

2. Yes, all of those things I have done or do. I learned embroidery as a child along with cross-stitch from my mother. Sewing was done through Home Ec. in junior high because my mother insisted that I learn. I'm under 5 feet tall, so I shorten petite clothing. It has come in handy as I have made both of my daughters dresses at one point or another. I learned to crochet when I was pregnant with my first child because I wanted to make a hat I saw in a Martha Stewart Home magazine. I got a book and just figured it out. My mother-in-law taught me to knit about the same time because I wanted to learn how to make sweaters in particular, and I generally like the look and feel of knitted sweaters over crochet. So my first knitting project was a sweater for my oldest daughter when she was about 2.

3. I'm the oldest. I have a younger sister. I'm quite happy being the older sister.

 

Great diversity of answers!!

---

1. Most interesting historic time and why?

2. What was /is your favorite part of the OT?

3. What part of now legends EU are you glad they got rid of, and also wish they'd kept?

 

April 1986. Everything that has changed in the world comes from one second in time. And yes, I have a problem. A huge problem that won't go away in 100 000+ years.

The second half of ROTJ, no doubt. Because Ewoks!

I don't see the reason why the pre-ROTJ stuff wouldn't be canon, so I hope they re-canonize that eventually. Most of what was kept is kinda silly; and some of the stuff that will inevitably be overwritten by the ST seems pretty cool, especially the YV war and the strong female characters every-freaking-where. I am still catching up on things; but it seems that stuff gets a bit ridiculous after, say, 45-ish ABY. So many governments, wars in such a short time is unrealistic; and, at this point, the concept of that second empire ruled by a guy whose name reminds me of German food is...too much.

Edit: Wow, do I have an unpopular opinion on those YV creeps. Let's get it straight: I do not think the amount of destruction they did is realistic, but their organic engineering, ideology, insanity and the concept behind their terraformin and the World Brain fascinate me greatly.

 

1. Don't know

2. Butter, salt and pepper

3. Yes

1. 1. Yes and It is possible that it has something to do with me working night but it is probobly more than that.

3. I have three names, beside my last name, and it is actually my middle name that people calls me.

 

1. Now because the world has never been so connected to each other. I have a device in my purse that can communicate with computers across the world and access much of the world's vast knowledge. Of course I use it to look at cat videos, but that is beside the point.

2. My favorite part of the OT is ESB and the growing romance between Han and Leia.

3. I am happy that the Vong and Darth Jacen are no longer canon. I am sad that all my favorite SW EU characters from beyond no longer exist. I will miss Mara Jade, Jagged Fel, Jaina Solo and so many more wonderful characters.

 

I have a fondness for both medieval and Victorian/Edwardian eras, but that's mainly for the fantasy aspect of it. I can put Steampunk in both.

Cantina scene.

Bye-bye Vong! You were never loved and extremely pointless. Good riddance to that Thursday's big galactic threat of the week.

I still hope that Zuckuss's backstory is canon.

 

Don't really have much time ATM to gush about the WHY'S but I'll start from the beginning

1 - Ancient Egypt / Biblical history - it's really a blend of the fundamentals of the beginnings of our society, but there's also this aspect of mythos to it so you can never quite be sure what is fact vs fiction
2 - medieval history - because, well, VIKINGS!
3 - Soviet history - because no one does famines quite like Stalin - it's also an example of how idealisms like a communist utopia are great in theory, but can never work in reality.

No Jarjar.

Seriously though, it's a Hero's story, perfectly told. My favorite scene is at the end with Luke holding his dying father. It shows a character progression from a naive, somewhat cocky farmkid, to a Jedi Master. I can really just relate to that scene. I remember watching it with my father as he said all the lines, then watching it after he died and being able to relate to Luke in that moment of all those lost opportunities of really getting to know his father, not as a monster, but as a human. That moment of grief, but also of light, knowing that the end was just a bit better than the majority of his life and of hope to carry on his legacy.

Plus Vader will always be one of the most iconic movie villains. But he wasn't really the villain, was he?

Like Ewok Poet, I am still not quite sure why they got rid of the pre-OT EU. As a fanfic writer, I never really divulge into that era, but I love KOTOR, the Darth Bane books and I was REALLY HOPING we would eventually get a bad-pants Darth Zannah and Darth Cognus book, just two really awesome Sith ladies going at it. Plus, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but not even the Clone Wars cartoon is canon any more. Like WHAT? I was never a huge fan of the cartoon, but doing away with it never made complete sense to me. But, of course, I'm also mostly sad that they did away with some of our favorite characters: Mara Jade, Jaina Solo, Ben Skywalker, Talon Karrde. I know they won't pop up again in this new canon. I'm sad they wont, but hey, at least we have fanfic!

As for what I'm glad for, I'm glad for the end of "how can we top the weirdness factor in the next book?" I mean, it was just getting too bizzare at the end with FOTJ. I'm glad that I never have to read the rest of the Vong War books (I was going to get to them eventually, but now I don't see much point). I'm also kinda glad that us EU fans get to experience the new disney canon movies the same as the rest of the population.

 

1. The first half of the 20th century (from the beginning of WWI to the end of WWII). I really feel that the modern fundamentals of the world Europeans live in nowadays were established during that period and I wish we spent more time learning about it than brushing all the inconvenient truths under the carpet.

2. I'm with Trak on this one: the cantina scene -- and its RotJ counterpart, the introduction to Jabba's palace. Because the little details of Star Wars are what make it Star Wars.

3. There isn't so much I like in the EU so I don't really mind that Disney chose to discard all of it and start from a blank slate for the sequels -- it's not like that's going to prevent me from reading the existing stuff I like. My favourite EU characters get plenty of airtime in fanfic, and I find that there's much better stuff in fanfic anyway

 

Oh, when I was a kid, I was big into Ancient Egypt. It still interests me, but not quite as much as when i was in sixth grade and would frequently check out huge tomes from the college library to read. A two-inch-thick hardbound book about the Book of the Dead ended up on my elementary reading list one semester.