Kate tagged me a while back, but it took me a while to notice because I almost always read her blog in Bloglines and don’t get comments until much later. Oops.

3 names I go by: Sam, Papa, Whereisthatdamnsamanyway.

3 Screenames I’ve had: afongen, marqaha, buch0061

3 Physical Things I like about myself: tall, blue eyes that get really vivid with the right color shirt, and the fact that I’m just a few feet from Kiara.

3 Parts of my heritage: Norwegian, Scottish, Ukranian.

3 Things I’m wearing right now: A Macromedia t-shirt. I’m not sure why I got it, but it arrived in the mail one day. My favorite comfy many-pocketed green shorts, which I wear pretty much every day. Sandals.

3 favorite bands/musical artist: I don’t have favorites but lately have been listening to Tom Waits, kd lang, and Carrie Newcomer.

3 Favorite songs: “Les feuilles mortes,” “What a Wonderful World,” “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen).

3 Things I want in a relationship: laughter, scintillating dinner conversation, quiet time. Except I’m kidding about the dinner conversation, as I’m not that much of a conversationalist. But it does point to what’s closer to the truth: shared interests and intellectual/emotional stimulation.

3 Physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to me: I got burned on this question years ago when an answer was falsely attributed to me, so ever since I have refused to answer it. Today is no exception.

3 Favorite Hobbies: reading, playing with the kid, long walks.

3 Things I want to do badly right now: eat a monster cookie from Gingko, sleep, read.

3 Things that scare me: bees, failure, something horrible happening to my family.

3 of my everyday essentials: family hugs, lots of water, and quiet time. Strangely, caffeine did not make the list, which I’m sure makes it a little sad.

3 careers you have considered or are considering: teacher (French, ESL), coffee baron, novelist. Wow, haven’t considered the novelist idea since junior high, by which time I was coming to the conclusion that I was doomed to be an English teacher. I have thus far escaped that fate.

3 Places you want to go on vacation: Quebec, England, New Orleans.

3 Kids names you like: Owen, Maura, Tess (short for the not-so-secret name for our next child if it’s a girl). Had Owen been a girl born on December 12, we would have named her Maura after one of Kiara’s students (born December 12). He was not.

3 Things you want to do before you die: raise my kids to be better people than I am. Hm, I can’t think of much else. If we have three kids does that count as three answers?

3 Ways I’m stereotypically a girl: I am on the verge of being a neat freak If you’ve ever seen my house, you might disagree, but I did say on the verge :). When sports are on TV I am likely to be found in the kitchen instead of watching. I get all bleary-eyed at emotional scenes in movies and TV, like the end of the 2nd season Roswell Christmas episode.

3 Ways I’m stereotypically a boy: I carry lots of things in my pockets, I’m emotionally unavailable, I have little to no color sense.

3 celebrity crushes: This was the hardest question, cuz I really don’t think like this and always feel like I’m making answers up instead of answering honestly — except that the honest answer is that I’d have to make something up. Lessee… Michelle Pfeiffer. Uma Thurman in Gattaca. Antonio Banderas, but only in one specific movie and for the life of me I cannot figure out which one, so I suspect that I am not being entirely forthright.