The Alternative Friday Five

Brought to you by the explosion of flowers all over Boston on this sunny New England spring morning.

<b>From the <lj comm=altfriday5>:</b>

<b>1. Do you feel that colors affect your mood? If so, how?</b>

<b>2. Do you have a personal color palette, when it comes to clothing?</b>

<b>3. What are the prevalent colors in your home? Is this intentional or accidental?</b>

<b>4. What colors are prevalent in places you find restful, whether indoors or outside?</b>

<b>5. What is your most recent memory of noticing a color? What were the circumstances? Was it a pleasant or unpleasant experience?</b>

<b>From the <lj comm=altfriday5>:</b>

<b>1. Who were/are your three best teachers? Why, or what have they taught you?</b>

<b>2. What's the most useful thing you learned in the last week? month? year?</b>

<b>3. What's the best (however you define that) thing or skill you've ever taught anyone? Pick more than one, if you like.</b>

<b>4. How do you learn best? (By doing it yourself, by apprenticeship, visually, textually, etc.)</b>

<b>5. If you could magically teach (get through, convince, make it stick) everyone on the planet one skill, what would it be?</b>

I blanked on doing the altfriday5 on Friday...I'm sorry! So today we can perhaps pretend it's Friday, and in that spirit:

1. Spring is here in the northern hemisphere, and this past week we had Passover and Easter, and soon Beltane will come. Do you celebrate the spring in any formal way? If so, how?

2. If you celebrate, why? If not, why not?

3. How do you generally mark this particular change of the seasons?

4. How do you feel about spring? Happy? Randy? Miserably allergy-y? Indifferent?

5. What's your favorite way to celebrate in general, and what is your favorite time of year to celebrate?

From the <b>lj comm="altfriday5"</b>:

<b>1. What's your favorite kind of weather?</b>

<b>2. What do you most like to do when the weather outside is your favorite kind? What do you mostly end up doing?</b>

<b>3. What's your least favorite kind of weather?</b>

<b>4. What do you most like to do when the weather outside is your least favorite kind? What do you mostly end up doing?</b>

<b>5. Given the choice between a climate that's more or less the same year-round or one with varied weather depending on season, which would/do you choose? Why?</b>

Forgive my whimsical mood.

<b>1. What is this, some kind of joke?</b>

<b>2. Just who do you think you are, anyway?</b>

<b>3. What difference does it make?</b>

<b>4. Do you expect me to believe that?</b>

<b>5. What does it all mean?</b>

...which is why you're getting this on Monday.  Sorry, internet!  You can try pretending it's already Friday if you like.

<b>1. What is your earliest memory?</b>

<b>2. What is your earliest memory of being aware of your race?  How about gender?  Socio-economic status?  Religious identity?</b>

<b>3. What kinds of things do you remember easily?  What's hard for you to remember?</b>

<b>4. What do you think of as the first historical or political event you were aware of?</b>

<b>5. How connected do you feel like your childhood memories are to those of others of your generation?  Does that still influence you today?  If so, how?</b>

<b>1. If the <lj user="altfriday5"> gained dominion over space and time and gave you an extra 24 hours but mandated that you could only do fun things during it (ie, no catching up on laundry), what would you do?</b>

<b>2. What if we took over the financial system and managed to give you $100 you couldn't spend on bills?</b>

<b>3. You've won the <lj user="altfriday5"> dream vacation contest!  Where would you go?</b>

<b>4. We'll grant you one wish!  What is it? (If you say "more wishes," we'll hold it against you.)</b>

<b>5. Now we're prepared to give you one personal quality you'd like to have.  Nothing outrageous -- you can't fly, or breathe coffee -- but a trait you admire in others and wish you had more of yourself.  Name it!</b>

I'm sick right now with some kind of headachy flu thing that feels like an endless hangover, so forgive me these questions...

<b>From the <lj user=altfriday5>: </b>

<b>1. When was the last time you were sick enough to stay home from work/school or get help with your at-home duties? What were your symptoms? </b>

<b>2. When you're sick, do you like having people fuss over you, or would you rather be left alone?  Why?</b>

<b>3. Do you have health insurance, and if so, through what means?  What is your view on how health insurance should be handled in this country?</b>

<b>4. Do you ever call out sick, even when you're not really that sick?  Do you ever feel guilty calling out sick even when you are sick?</b>

<b>5. What's your favorite thing to do when you're sick, if you're not sleeping (or, you know, throwing up)?</b>

Remember to link back to your answers...

<b>1. Do you consider yourself religious?  Spiritual?  Neither?  Something else?  What do those words mean to you?</b>

<b>2. How would you describe your system of beliefs about the world?  Does a commonly used term (Muslim, humanist, Pagan, agnostic) fit comfortably for you or have you had to develop your own way of thinking about and describing this?</b>

<b>3. Were you raised in a family that participated in a religious tradition?  Either way, how do you feel about that? If you were raised in a particular tradition, what's your relationship to that tradition now?</b>

<b>4. What factors have influenced your decision to affiliate -- or not -- with an organized religious tradition?</b>

<b>5. Whether or not you consider yourself religious or spiritual, are there things you consider to be sacred?  What are they?</b>

Valentine's day is coming in the U.S. and several other countries. The altfriday5 neither endorses nor condemns this holiday, about which people seem to have strong feelings both ways. But beneath the chocolate and roses and anatomically-incorrect hearts, there's the theme of love.

<b>From the <lj comm=altfriday5>:</b>

<b>1. What inspires you to love a person? Be as specific or general as you like.</b>

<b>2. What inspires you to love an activity?</b>

<b>3. Of all of your loves, which one has lasted the longest? Can be for a place, person, thing, activity, the moon, whatever. Which one's the oldest ongoing, and why?</b>

<b>4. What makes you feel loved?</b>

<b>5. Do you have a favorite love poem? If so, what is it?</b>