Saturday--oh boy.

Time for the 8:

1. are you good at drawing or painting?

I've never really tried painting. I can draw good lines, but suck at representational figures. See below, #7.

2. have you ever, or do you currently, write poetry?

I have. I like structured poetry, but it's very time-consuming and I don't have time. I don't make time. So, no, not a current thing for me.

3. have you ever, or do you currently, write short stories?

I have in the past. I haven't written anything coherent in a long time. Someday maybe I will again.

4. what musical instrument(s) do you - or did you - play?

I took piano lessons for 3 or 4 years when I was a kid. I played flute from 6th grade through sophomore year of college. Haven't really done much with either since then.

5. creativity is apparent in many ways ... decorating, drawing/painting, voice, sculpture, screen/playwriting, etc. do you consider yourself a creative person? why or why not?

I have flashes of creativity, but overall, no. I like rules too much, and creativity tends to not follow rules very well. You can't sit down and say, "OK, now I'm going to write 5 poems" the way you can say, "OK, now I'm going to sit down and pay 10 bills."

6. if you could be bestowed one creative and talented gift, what would it be, and why?

I'd like to be able to dance. Or force myself to sit and write SOMEthing every day. Something beyond blogstuff, that is!

7. my uncle, grandmother, and daughter are artists and can paint/draw fabulously. i'm the opposite - my stick figures are uneven! who received the artisitic talent in your family?

My dad was an architect. That's where I got the line-drawing skills, which I've never really developed.
I can sing, and read music and enjoy it. Don't like performing in public, however.
I can construct coherent thoughts with words, but I'm lazy.
I scrapbook, which is supposed to be artistic, but mostly I'm just slapping the pictures in of late.

The most Artistic people in my family are my niece-the-librarian, who performs in lots of stage plays and choirs and sings as much as she can. My "English" nieces are good too; they've actually had art classes!

8. i have a few artist friends who are quite happy with their ramen soup noodles, low credit scores, and crappy apartments while they wait for their "big break." do you think it is more important to follow your dream and live meagerly, OR do you think it is more important to live comfortably and plan for your future while you follow your dream on the side?

I'm far too practical to live for the dream in this case. I don't like the thought of going hungry, or being poor (having been marginally poor for awhile as a child, I see no romance in it). So middle class.

I'm now going to artistically clean the kitchen and put sh*t away that's been laying around far too long. If I'm lucky, I'll have time to work on the family memorabilia.