What are you looking at?: Stripped

OK, since I received quite a few questions from Wednesday's meme, I'm going to break this up a bit. I'll answer Becky's, Painting Chef's, and Anonymous's inquiries today and the rest sometime over the weekend. That is, if I can find the path to my computer among all the boxes that will surely be cluttering my--er, I mean, Luke's and my--fabulous space.

And now, we delve into the depths of Frema's psyche.

From Becky:

1. If spinach dip were no more, how would you take to filling the void in your life and diet? That is to say, is there anything on the menu of Frema's Favorites that is comparable to the revered spinach dip?

Big fat YES to that one. I adore bacon sandwiches--not to be confused with a BLT, because I don't like lettuce and I prefer the tomatoes on the side. On the side is a very big thing for me. But I'm never good at actually cooking the bacon; my smoke detector usually goes off at least once each time I make it, so I'd probably just stock up on ice cream. Favorite flavors include Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey, strawberry, and cookies and cream.

And this is why my gut hangs over the belt of my pants.

2. What if you had one of those beds that sits directly on the floor? Where do you think the Devil would hide if he was driven out of his former home underneath your bed?

Silly Becky, he would have no choice but to burrow his way through my wall. When I was younger, I used to have a recurring dream in which I was sitting in a high chair (or is it height chair?) and the Devil came bursting through the wall and pulled me down into hell, chair and all. I drew from this experience to write a short story for my an undergraduate writing class and again as a grad student. (Since we're being honest here, I actually just took the undergrad version and made a few changes to it for my grad fiction class, so that "Cecily's" nighmares were really a way to deal with the sexual abuse she suffered from at the hands of her father. Had to make it fresh, you know?)

3. Every potential writer has a fantasty about what kind of writer he or she one day hopes to be. What kind of writer do you one day hope to be?

Throughout my life, I have defined my writing dream in a number of different ways. When I was nine, I wanted to be a writer with an audience. In the height of my authorhood, my third-grade teacher would set aside about twenty minutes after lunch two times a week and let me read my latest masterpieces to the class. Classics included Jane and the Lion, Playing at the Park, and A Collection of Fairy Stories (which really turned out to be just one story, so I had to mark up my pretty cover to reflect the singular). As I hit my teens, I pictured myself traveling the world, autographing copies of my books outside the local Jewel, and giving book readings of Love, Betrayal, and a Baby (BOTH parts!) in my old neighborhood, and people from my past would come to see me and marvel at how my words stirred their very souls.

Then I went to college, and it all went to pot.

Not really, but I did learn that my fiction days are over. I'm not good at making up plots, fleshing out characters, or even just giving the story a damn point. Did you not just read that I turned devilish nightmares into symbolism for sexual abuse?

It was in graduate school that I realized non-fiction was my niche. Still wrestling with that three-week bulimia stint from seventh grade? Write about it. Sad about the kind of relationships you once found yourself in? Write about it. Depressed because even a normally built woman shouldn't have a pouch? You get the idea. The source of material and the opportunities for growth are endless. And I still enjoy having an audience, because I'm vain like that.

So, to answer your question, the writer I hope to be is a writer who never fails to see the humor in her everyday experiences, and one who is always willing to share them with others.

From Painting Chef:

1. What three movies will you watch over and over and never get tired of them?

What a great question! But only three? I'll do my best.

When Harry Met Sally. My all-time favorite movie and one of the most quotable films out there. In fact, I've already quoted it once in this entry. Bonus points to those who can find it.

High Fidelity. I love that this movie deals with real-life issues that have nothing to do with sleeping in Seattle or getting mail or any of that other typical romantic comedy stuff. I love watching Rob go back to the women of his past and see why those relationships failed, and him consequently seeing why he is in danger of losing the woman he's with now. This movie speaks very honestly about the problems and power of love. And also the TRUE significance behind making tapes.

The Wedding Singer. I love that this movie deals with PG issues that have everything to do with sleeping in Seattle and getting mail and all of that other typical romantic comedy stuff. Also very quotable.

Honorable Mentions: Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery; While You Were Sleeping; Chasing Amy

2. Was there a teacher from your childhood who had a lasting impression on the person you became?

Mrs. Erber was the third-grade teacher mentioned in my response to Becky's third question; she really did let me read my dorky stories out loud after lunch. In fourth grade, Ms. Socha would place my stories on the reading table in the back, so that students could choose my story to read during recess. She also humored me when I wrote stories and turned them in for a grade, even though they weren't required for any actual assignment. (Of course, she gave me As.) In high school, my sophomore honors English teacher kept a plastic sword at her side during the reading of Beowolf, and when we read it out loud, she would raise the sword and sang his name each time it appeared.

I had great teachers who fostered my creative side and deepened my love for literature and overall just let me be me. I was very lucky.

3. What's the worst you've ever screwed someone over?

I don't think there's one definitive act I've done to another person that makes me recoil in horror. However, in the beginning of every relationship I've ever had, there is a horrible track record of me pretty much abandoning my family and friends to bask in the glow of infatuation. Kind of typical I guess, but not acceptable. I blame it all on my first boyfriend, the one who would go for weeks at a time without calling me. From then on, I was always secretly afraid that if I wasn't at the beck and call of the guy I was with, he would leave. And I wasn't comfortable enough in my own skin to deal with being alone.

From Anonymous (Auntie Betty, is this you?):

1. Would you ever consider changing your religion if you had the chance?

This is something I have given a great deal of thought to, as I am Catholic and Luke is Methodist; in the end, though, the answer is no. Not because I think the Catholic Church is The Right Church, or even because I am fully practicing Catholic, but because for better or worse, the Catholic experience is part of my identity. Also, I think that if I switched churches, I'd just be entering another situation where I held faith in some of the teachings and questioned the others. Religion is a man-made institution, and as such, there will never be a perfect one. Therefore, I'd rather explore the good, bad, and the ugly of Catholicism while loving God and doing my best to follow The Golden Rule instead of worrying about what spiritual label I should wear.

2. If there were no more Red Apple Jelly Bellys, which will be your second choice?

Oooh, another soul-searcher. How lame would it be for me to say Green Apple?

3. Which comes first in your life, true love or money?

Well, the love of my life is currently unemployed, so obviously, money.

* For those of you who made it this far, mad props. More to come soon.