Switch Witch Questionnaire

 

Censored the first section for posting on the blog. My Witch should have it. It has not changed.

 

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Basic Info

 

Birthday: August 9

Pets: None

Children: None

Religious orientation: ???? None? Roman Catholic? I have no idea most days.

Favorite Holiday: Thanksgiving -- all the good food and none of the stress of gift-giving to people I don’t know/like, and no religious component about which to feel conflicted.

Occupation/Major in school: I was a lawyer. Now I am a fundraiser/grant writer for a private arts camp/boarding high school.

Living arrangement (by yourself, with roommates, etc): With my husband, the infamous J.

Livejournal/Blog/Website: http://kakiphony.livejournal.com/ (It’s mostly friends-locked, but I friend all bpal people.) I’m also kakiphony on twitter.

Organizations/Causes/Activities (Things you belong to or causes you believe in): The arts, public libraries, land conservation, solar energy and community theatre.

 

BPAL

Favorite BPAL oils: Vixen, Hetairae, Tintagel, O, Sudha Segara, Samhainophobia, the Lion, Anne Bonnie, Spanked, TKO, Safari and Lucifer

Favorite notes: Patchouli, orange blossom, ginger, honey, non-cherry pipe tobacco, leather, deep woods, rich and spicy vanillas

Favorite non-BPAL perfumes: Hippie Chic by DSL. I used to like Devilish by Arcana, but lately it seems cloying.

Least favorite notes: Most florals (I tend to like fruit blossoms, but no other florals) and all aquatic notes. I loathe cherry. All musk except red turns old man on me.

Least favorite non-BPAL perfumes: ??? I have no idea. I don’t really wear perfume except bpal and DSL.

 

If Beth made a custom blend for you, what would the notes be, and what would you want the label art to look like?:

The base would be bpal’s amazing patchouli and a little leather or a deep wood (cedar?). Over the top it would have something for sweetness and femininity (bourbon vanilla? honey? a sweet fruit blossom floral? all of those?) with a little spice to make it interesting (ginger? cinnamon? saffron?) It would be kin to Vixen (but more refined and less obviously sexy) and Hetairae (but a little kickier from spice).

 

I’ve often described my favorite bpals as if they are pieces of jewelry: Vixen is a big pendant made of carnelian or garnet or ruby that rests in my cleavage and Hetairae is a classic pearl necklace. My signature scent would be a delicate and feminine yet warm and fiery statement necklace. Something like this: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/41295233 or this: http://www.etsy.com/transaction/57593232

The art would be a portrait of me -- but looking gorgeous!

 

Clothing & Jewelry

Hair type: Long, fine, relatively thin and very, VERY straight. I wear it up a lot, but need really small scale hair accessories because there is so little of it. I often have two small braids in the front that I then pull back with the rest of the loose hair in clips with the clasp like on this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/81299408/hair-barrette?ref=cat3_gallery_10

Skin Type: Sensitive/combination

Allergies (specifically B&B related): None

Other things to avoid: None. I’m easy. Really.

Tub, shower or both? Both.

Favorite bath & beauty products: For baths, my husband and I go through a lot of bar soap and really love nicely scented ones. Favorites include Villainess, Prairieland Herbs and Faerie Made. I’ve wanted to try Paintbox for a while. Really, most of the handmade soap places from etsy and local farmer’s markets appeal to me. I also like scrubs (Villainess is my traditional favorite, but I’m game to try anything) and bath oils/bubble baths. I’m not a big lotion person because I‘m generally too short on time in the morning to use it!

Clothing Style/Fave garments: I’m a fairly conservative dresser with occasional moments of flair. In the non-summer months I tend to wear a lot of silk and knit scarves and dress up my business-casual with fun jewelry. I wear a lot of merino wool turtlenecks, long sleeved t’s, plain skirts and jeans. I’d LIVE in a black turtleneck sweater if I could. I love, love, good tights!

Favorite clothing colors/colors to wear: My wardrobe mainly consists of black, with red, plum, green, turquoise and bright blue as accents.

Type(s) of jewelry worn: I wear lots of necklaces and earrings -- very few bracelets because they never come small enough for my wrists and the only rings I wear are my wedding and engagement rings.

Ring/wrist/collar size: My ring fingers are a small 5, but those are taken. For other fingers I would guess a ., Wrist: 6.5 inches with the tape flush, Neck: 13 inches with the tape flush. My favorite necklaces tend to be between 16 (the ones I wear with open neck shirts) and 18-20 (the ones I wear with turtlenecks only).

Jewelry - gold or silver? Either or! I also like bronze.

Do you have any allergies to metal?: Nope.

Favorite gemstones: I go in two directions: Very cool and/or very fiery. I love green and blue stones (jade, emerald, peridot, turquoise, etc) but also warm fiery ones (carnelian, garnet, ruby, citrine, etc). I also like pearls. I also like the occasional amethyst. Really, I’m not picky.

Sock/Shoe Size: I wear a US 6.5 or 7 shoe. My feet are rather narrow, so socks with lots of stretch are good.

 

Lifestyle

Style/home decoration style: None? I’m not a decorator. I hate to dust and most decorations seem to require it. Our house has art on the walls, but no knick-knacks. The only holiday decorating I do is a Christmas tree.

Favorite decorating colors: Red for accents and pale/cool tones (grey, blue, etc) for the walls.

Things you collect: I am trying very hard to stop collecting books. Truthfully, I’m not a “collector” of things. I acquire things I love (see: books, scarves, jewelry), but don’t set out to collect any of it. The closest I come is micro-brewery/bar t-shirts. I tend to buy one whenever I visit a new place.

Favorite music: I have eclectic tastes: Americana, alt-country, folk, folk-rock, 80s pop and punk, 90s grunge, etc.

Least favorite music: Nashville country

Vegetarian/Vegan?: (Please be as specific as possible to reduce confusion!) Nope. I am omnivorous.

Other food restrictions: None.

Favorite flavors: I don’t play favorites. But some things I particularly love include: olives, tahini (and hummus with lots of tahini), smoked fish, avocados, dried fruit, beets, ginger, dark chocolate, cashews, almonds, raspberry, mango, cheese and dill.

Favorite foods/drinks: I love oolong and black teas. I’m also a huge beer and wine nut. See above for some favorite foods. Really, there’s not much I don’t like except sweet pickles!

Favorite authors/genres: I read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy and “literary” fiction. I also like memoir, especially food/travel memoir.

Least favorite authors/genres: I don’t read a lot of fact heavy non-fiction, but really I’ll read anything.

Books/authors you'd like to read, but haven't yet: I’ll attach links to wishlists at the end. There are too many books I want to read to list them all out.

How do you feel about receiving gently used books as gifts? I LOVE it. Love with a big fat hug and smooch love. I also love kindle books or .pdf files.

Favorite stores (including clothing stores): Brick and mortar stores I love visiting include Trader Joe’s, TJ Maxx (I’m a bargain shopper, when I shop), book stores, independent tea/coffee stores, massive liquor stores and tiny artist’s boutiques. The truth is, I’m not much of a shopper except online.

Favorite online stores (including B&B stores): I love: Etsy(!), Villainess, Garnet Hill, Sock Dreams, Territory Ahead, ModCloth (I never buy, but I drool), Soap Box, Elementals, Lush, Fantasy Bath, Sierra Trading Post, Powell’s and Amazon. And many more that my brain is running away from right now lest I do something bad like go and shop!

Magazines you subscribe to: None

Magazines you like, but don't subscribe to: Vanity Fair, Cook’s Illustrated. I also love Apex and really need to buy a kindle subscription at some point, although I’m sad Cat V. is no longer editing.

Favorite movies: The Linguini Incident, Grosse Pointe Blank, The Big Chill

Favorite TV show(s): Intelligence, Buffy, Twin Peaks, Deadwood, Arrested Development, Jonathan Creek, the first few seasons of Monarch of the Glen

Hobbies/crafts done: None. I am the anti-crafter who has hands made entirely of thumbs. But I SO admire others’ crafting skills. I would kill to be able to knit or make jewelry.

 

Wishlists

BPAL Wish List (including SW/SF Help): Bpal list: http://www.bpal.org/topic/127-wishlist/page__st__250__p__314638#entry314638

Switch Witch help: http://www.bpal.org/topic/11202-what-products-are-you-dying-to-try/page__st__75__p__355821#entry355821

 

Other website Wish lists (amazon.com, etc):

Amazon (this has not been updated since I got the kindle): http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&type=wishlist&id=24QL8Q5NB9IBS (If this fails it uses my main e-mail, above)

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/people/kakiphony/favorites

(This has lots of sold stuff and crazy expensive stuff on it. This is so I remember stores/items for eventual custom orders. You know, when I win the lottery!)

 

Random Questions:

- On a scale of 1-5, how organized are you?

Depends. Sometimes I am a 5 (wherein 5 is the highest) with notes and files and systems. Sometimes I am a 1, with piles and lost items and procrastination. I go to extremes.

 

- Where, outside of the U.S. would you love to visit? (if you're international, this can be anywhere)

Everywhere. No really, everywhere. I’d like to go back to England and go to Ireland; Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Switzerland, Russia, China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Costa Rica, all over the Caribbean... The problem (besides not having the vacation time or money!) is that I HATE to fly!

 

- Do people tell you that you act older, younger, or your age?

Act older, look younger.

 

- What animal do you feel like the most?

On a daily basis I don't really feel like an animal at all -- I'm a human and quite pleased to be one. That said, I have had recurring dreams in which I am a fox. During the dreams I do fox-like things such as catch fish out of streams and play with other foxes.

 

- Your favorite feature about yourself: My favorite feature one day tends to be the same thing I hate the most the next. Examples: One day I love my hair for being super shiny and soft. The next I bemoan it as stick straight and full of split ends. Or my eyebrows: I love that they are thick and define my face. The next day I think they are too bushy and hard to tame. In general, the things I always like most about my are intangibles: My brain; my laugh; my ability to love.

 

- Do you live in a neighborhood or in the middle of nowhere? Neighborhood -- Old Town to be exact in a house built in 1899.

 

- If you were a tree, what would you be and why? I'd like to say a silver birch or an aspen because I think they're gorgeous -- I love the pale, slender trunk and the whispering leaves. I'd also quite like to be a cedar, fragrant with crazy twisted, low branches perfect for sitting on or climbing. But in reality I'm probably more like a mulberry -- a scrub tree that grows anywhere and litters the whole with loads of messy fruit that really isn't very good to eat.

 

-Have you ever thought, "oh, I'm going to get myself one of those one of these days" but then never do? List 1 under $10 and 1 over $10.

Under $10: I have no idea if these are under or over $10, but they must be somewhat close... A cheap onion chopper and an insulated to-go style cup for iced tea/coffee (the kind with the re-useable straw)

Over $10: A case for business cards.

 

- Has a stranger ever told you that you did something really well? What was it?

I’ve had little old ladies tell me, unprompted, that I am a great reader at church and a good actress. I think they just like the fact that they can hear/understand me.

 

- Do you like garage sales (boot sales)?

Yes, but in small doses. After about an hour I’m tired of smelling mothballs and my hands feel grimey.

 

- I like to slather my food in …: Rooster Sauce!

 

- State fairs or carnivals?

Is there a difference? I guess for sheer size, state fairs. I like the exhibits and some food (I don’t like cotton candy or fried dough), but HATE roller coasters.

 

Notes (Here's where you can add additional information you'd like your Switch Witch to know!): I think that covers it, but if you have questions, just ask!