50 (or so) Questions - Jo

You've probably seen this type of questionaire over the internet or in your spam box all the time (at least I do since my sister constantly sends me things like this - thanx Wen!).

Anyway, in an effort to know Jo a bit more, I twisted her arm to do this (which was surprisingly difficult for someone who likes to talk...) but she does have a point - something like this DOES seem like a blasted interview or something....or worse - homework!

Well, at least it is a little glimpse into the life of Jo, and she is not here now anyway, so I can change some of the answers....hehe..

50 (or so) Questions:

1. FIRST NAME? Jo (actually, her Chinese name is Chi Xing Rong, which has no relation to her name)

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes, in the novel 'Little Women' I loved the second sister, whose name was "Qiao." (Translation hard at work here....She read the book in Chinese a long time ago and they translated the name "Josephine" to "Qiao." So when she told the teacher that was the name she wanted, he said ok and wrote "Joe," since they were not aware that it was a man's name. She has written "Joe" for many years, but I gently suggested that she nick off the "e" to make it more fitting. I mean "Jeff and Joe's Blog" sounds like it should have meat or truck or something....Anyway, she agreed and now we are Jeff and Jo!)

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Last month watching a movie (we were watching The Best of Youth - a great Italian epic 6 hour movie - Hell - I admit - I cried too a bit....Really good...)

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes, very much (she does write Chinese really well.....kinda like me....haha)

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Beef (Jo is the only woman who loves almost anything I do - and eats a lot as well...amazing! I love her!)

6. KIDS? No, but I have 3 children that I support each month through World Vision. (Jo also does a lot of volunteer work and charity and works with World Vision - check the link - as for our own kids.....well....)

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Of course - what a strange question! (Even after translating it, it was still weird....)

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yes (geez - that's it? "Yes?" She has written a journal for almost 23 years now and still writes!)

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yes (or she should have said "No, who me?" but hey, this is not my damn test...)

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes (this was a pain to translate, since I have never needed to use this word - basically I just pointed to my neck and asked her if she hasd two little things removed from inside - her look and eyebrow cock were enough to let the subject lie....I admit I coaxed her into saying "yes"....)

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?No way! (literally, but that deeply saddens me, since I was a Bungee Jump instructor for 2 years! We'll see, if we ever go to New Zealand.....)

12. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Coco Puffs (cool....)

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No (course wearing mostly sandles helps in this regard...)

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Yes (she smiled when she said this, but it is true - for someone who can do 300 sit ups AT ONE TIME you can call yourself strong and get away with it....)

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Taro (if you don't know what flavor that is, then go look it up - it is good though - trust me! And she tells me that she absolutely hates Strawberry and Mint ice cream! - anything with Strawberry or Mint flavor she will usually not touch (or give to me to finish....)

16. SHOE SIZE? size 5 (she has really tiny feet, compared to my curmudgeons.....)

17. RED OR PINK? Red! (hates pink)

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOU? Talks too much (actually I like this since I can tease her more when she makes a mistake - haha)

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My adopted father (for the first 10 years of her life she spent time with a family friend who 'adopted' her even though her real father had not passed away yet. This is a common custom in older Taiwanese family life; when the family has too many children or some other factor. Anyway, the adopted father treated her very well and taught her many things, and when he passed away when she was about 10, she was extremely saddened by this. Afterwards, she had to go back to live with her 'real' father and mother and other sisters and brothers, but - as you can guess - it was not the same, or normal.....)

20. ISN'T JEFF GREAT? Totally! (Ok, I changed the question....you were not paying attention anyway - this Damn test is TOO LONG!......)

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Brown shorts and no shoes (we dont wear shoes inside our apartment)

22. LAST THING YOU ATE? Chocolate cake (we had A LOT of food left over from our party and this was one of them...)

23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Jeff's stupid music (GEEZ! well, her music is not that great either!)

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Red (how sweet, me too!)

25. FAVORITE SMELL? Coffee (she makes some great fresh brewed coffee....and is a MASTER OF COFFEE MAKING - she is standing right here....I have to be careful now.....Anyway, she makes great coffee and I am never going to Starbucks again...)

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Chen Qi (her good friend)

27. WHAT'S THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Eyes (lame-o answer, I know....)

28. YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Who? (she thinks she is being funny...)

29. FAVORITE DRINK? Coffee (see above)

30. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SPORT? Swimming (to do) Gymnastics (to watch)

31. HAIR COLOR? Brown (she also has some cool blond and red highlights)

32. EYE COLOR? Brown

33. WEAR CONTACTS? No

34. FAVORITE FOOD? Pasta and French Bread (I am telling you, this woman can EAT!)

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy Endings

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The Lady in the Water (which was quite good - go see it!)

37. T COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Grey (her sleeping / lounging shirt)

38. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter

39. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs (good thing I am twice her size...)

40. FAVORITE DESSERT? Cheese cake (hell yeah....)

41. ISN'T JEFF SUPER SEXY? HELL YES...

42. WILL JEFF MAKE A GREAT HUSBAND? See above....

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Alchemist (this is one of my favorites and I suggested she read it so she is in English - Damn, I have to get my butt in gear and read the Chinese version.)

44. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? "Fritz Jou" ( I have no idea either....and it is damn boring....)

45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing (What she means is that we don't have cable and don't like to watch tv...)

46. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Piano (when I first asked her, she said "because I love you" and I said that is not a sound, per se.....course, I suppose it is.....and then she added, the sound of me making her dinner, but I then tried my hand at retranslating.....)

47. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES OR JEFF? JEFF (yeah, yeah...)

48. THE FURTHEST YOU BEEN FROM HOME? England (she stayed in England last year to study English and it was a great time - she ALWAYS talks about it.....in that DAMN accent she learned....haha....OW! She hit me...in that particularly British fashion......)

49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Numbers (yes, her number skill is terribly accurate and she is almost a Rainman, without too much of the bobbing around....OW!......ok, she is great at math and actually taught it to junior high schoolers.....damn that has to be rough....)

50. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? May 25th 19XX, in Taipei (she is 3....OW!.....26...Please remember - 26!)

Ok, I am done....Hope you know her a bit more now....!