On one of those omnipresent "get to know your friends via a long list of questions" email forwards I recieved recently, one of the questions was this open-ended statement: "My job is..." The friend who sent it to me answered with an Ellen Degeneres quote "if standing up for what i believe in makes me an activist, then i'm an activist."

My career aspirations have always been subject to extreme variability- the 3 or 4 years during elementary school in which I wanted to be a lawyer were probably the steadiest time of my life in that regard. Since then, I've not had a clear idea for longer than several months at a time. Honestly, it's never really bothered me; I don't think my self-concept is very strongly tied to my vocation, in fact, it's always had everything to do with what I do outside my 'job'.

I'm coming to some conclusions, though, about what I want, and what I need, to do with my life. I am happiest and most productive when I believe in what I'm doing and can throw my whole self into it. My main motivation in doing anything has always been sheer passion, and I'm starting to realize that planning for a career in anything I'm less then absolutely enraptured with is not the best idea.

What I am passionate about is issues of justice and equality- and I can do damned good work when it is for one of my causes. I can be persuasive, articulate, selfless, efficient, and put aside my personal inhibitions, just as long as I care deeply about whatever I am working towards. I work harder and longer for ideals than I ever will for money. And it's about time I realize that and put it to use...

And now, for your reading pleasure, my answers to those irritating email forward surveys:

Full name: Kristin Bethany T______

Nickname(s): Chloe, Kristi B. (don't dare call me this; it's reserved for my mom ONLY), Bunny, Special K

DOB: 8/13/80

Hometown: Waukesha, WI (known among it's escapees as "the 'sha")

School: Macalester College

Best Friend(s): Good god, is this survey ever juvenile.

Pets and their names: Cats: Miranda, Charlie, Madge, and Naomi. Dog: Connor. And my little brother, David.

Jobs: Resident Assistant, Macalester College

Best advice: "Don't ride your bike in Snelling Ave." --Dad's last words of wisdom upon bringing me to college

Words and phrases you over use: "wacky". I definitely overdo that one.

Dream car: A Subaru Outback. Don't ask me why, it's inexplicable to me, too.

What's your definition of LOVE? I leave this one to operational definitions.

Things you look for in a guy/girl: Intelligence, as weird a sense of humor as I, a willingness to try new things, independence

Future goals: I think I just covered that somewhere up there at the top- basically, act on my beliefs and be happy.

Favorite colors: Black, Grey, Dark Blue (how terribly cheery of me)

Favorite food: Mashed potatoes, italian-herbed baked tofu.

Least Favorite: Meat, dairy, and egg products. Lucky thing I don't eat them, no?

Funniest person: hmmm... perhaps Patrick.

Favorite subject: filling out silly questionnaires, though I have yet to fit that into my class schedule.

Least Favorite: Well, out of all the subjects in the world, I'd least like to study "The art of sanitation and garbage collection", but in terms of classes I'm currently taking? Probably statistics.

Favorite sport(s): Loafing, wandering around

Favorite toy(s): The bendy stretchy stress toy that Liz gave me is kind of fun, and I'm also rather fond of my bean-bag-ish (NOT a beanie baby!) stuffed dinosaur.

Favorite cartoon characters: Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs.

Favorite Movie(s): Much Ado About Nothing, Till the End of the World

Favorite animals: cats, cats, cats, and more cats.

Favorite number(s): 3, 8, 13

Favorite holiday: Christmas, for entirely secular reasons.

Favorite thing to wear: Old and thin "I bowled to save the dome" t-shirt, steel-toed Docs

Best thing to do on weekends: watch Saturday morning cartoons, sleep, drink coffee, get the Sunday NY Times (I'm such a snob)

Favorite Actor: Cary Grant

Favorite Actress: Ally Sheedy

Favorite vacationing spot: Madeleine Island (Lake Superior) and Europe

Cold or warm weather: cold, most assuredly

Favorite Sound: the little computerized bell that tells me I have email

Favorite Smell: coffee, without a doubt

Favorite type of soup: black bean chili

Favorite place to shop: health food stores/co-ops

Favorite TV show(s): X-files, Xena, Sabrina the Teenage Witch

Prefer Blondes or Brunettes: Red hair, if you want to know the truth. This stems from an eternal jealousy of my two copper-headed siblings and all the attention lavished on them by old ladies

Favorite restaurant: Mud Pie Restaurant in Minneapolis- the city's best vegetarian food, and really damned good organic coffee.

Height: 5' 7"

Eye color: greeny- blue, and change according to mood and attire

Hair Color: light brown

Favorite Drink: coffee

Drinks with or without ice cubes: without, if it's coffee or juice. with, if anything else

Favorite ice cream: no ice cream for me, but Ben & Jerry's Devil's Food Sorbet is amazing and, more importantly, vegan!

Favorite Cereal: grape-nuts with a little sugar

Something that means a lot to you: independence

Pet Peeves: I know I have some, but they're too arbitrary to put here

Have you ever gone skinny-dipping? not yet..

Have you ever been in love? I haven't been so fortunate

Have you ever been arrested? Nope

Who was the last person you talked to? Aaron

In the car, AC or windows down: generally, the AC

What's the worst and best feeling in the world: worst- having no control over things. best- being blissfully happy, of course.

In 10 years what do you see yourself doing: living in a loft with a cat, doing whatever makes me happy and allows me to subsist

First thought of the morning: "Who's the crazy fuck who set my alarm for this early? Oh, it was me."

How many rings before you answer: barely one

Future Son and Future Daughter's names: I'm not going to have kids, but my cats will be Phoebe and Alix.

Thunderstorms, cool or scary: very, very cool

What's you Zodiac sign: Leo (you couldn't tell by my obsession with independence?)

Mud or Jello wrestling: Vegan jello

Do you believe in love at first sight: 'Fraid not.

Do you like to watch talk shows: Never.

If you could be any animal what would it be: A cat

When did you last sing to yourself? just now

Say one thing about the person who sent this to you: Peter is probably my oldest friend: We went to school together from elementary school on, "went out" in sixth grade (I'm sure you remember what that means), and both ended up at colleges in St. Paul, less than two miles apart. We very nearly ended up at the same college, actually.

Well, that's quite enough of that. My goodness, that survey was inordinately long.

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