Averil Dean's Blog, page 22

Dice

What’s the biggest chance you ever took? Did it work out? Do tell!

I have taken many big chances and my score card sucks. Most of my fuck-ups are related to money, which is probably why I fear and despise it as much as I do, and distrust any hint of optimism when it comes to promises of financial security. What money giveth, the absence of money taketh away.

This train of thought is depressing the hell out of me.

Let’s talk creative chances. We take those constantly, don’t we? Every small decisi...

Sprinkles

What’s your biggest junk food weakness? Tell us all about it in its sugary, salty, glory.

I’m not that big into junk food, actually. I do like a bowl of popcorn on movie night and a handful of chips with my sammie, and if there’s a Reese’s cup in my presence I could be persuaded to eat it, but I can’t say I’m really prowling the candy aisle or stealth-shopping the McDonald’s drive-thru. I’m vegetarian, for one thing. It’s a serious drag at the fast-food counter.

The only thing that really send...

Cross

Tell us all about the person you were when you were sixteen. If you haven’t yet hit sixteen yet, tell us about the person you want to be at sixteen.

Watercolor

Tell us all about your best confidence outfit. Don’t leave out the shoes or the perfect accessories.

We’ve got to figure out where we’re going in this outfit first, don’t we? Do we need confidence for a job interview, a TV appearance, a book reading, a date? If I could choose (and I will, because the only other ‘person’ here to help is Izzy, who’s fast asleep with her nose tucked into the crook of my knee), I would suggest we’re all meeting for the first time at a party. Summertime twinkle lig...

Drip

Tell us your funniest relationship disaster story.

I knew my first marriage was over when my husband raced to the ER because his nose dripped and he was convinced his brain fluids were leaking.

This is a high bar, friends.

Monster

Have you ever become obsessed with something? Tell us about something that captivates your attention like nothing else.

I am only ever obsessed, unless I’m completely disinterested. I’m in or out. Hot or cold. Balls to the wall or yawning at the sideline. I don’t know how to pace myself or how to handle more than one obsession at a time. Someone asked me recently whether I am still a photographer. I used to be so into it, what happened? All I could think to reply was no. I’m writing now. There...

Algorithm

Have you dreamt of becoming famous? What would your claim to fame be? Comedy? Acting? Writing? Race car driving? Go!

I’ve been sitting here trying to answer this honestly, but I keep coming back to the fact that I’m not entirely sure what we mean by fame anymore. Everyone is a little bit famous, right? The kids with their likes, the unsigned stars on YouTube, all us writers with our books and blogs and essays and interviews. It isn’t hard to talk yourself into the illusion of fame. The numbers...

Boards

After a long day at work or school, what are your favorite ways to wind down and decompress?

It’s usually after 7pm by the time I get home from work, and I’ve only got a couple of good hours left in me. Just enough time for dinner, a book…and Pinterest.

Don’t laugh. It’s a silly hobby, I guess, but I have always loved photography and Pinterest is a great place to collect it. You can have a board for every mood, or for every color, or for recipes, quotes, or dreamy destinations—whatever butters...

The Man

Tell us about a time when you fought authority and took a stand against “the man.” Did you win?

“The man,” huh? I’m not sure what that means in 2014 America. The man is just us, collectively, asserting a framework of societal mores to which an individual can attach, support, or restrain herself according to her disposition. I suppose there are pockets of resistance over specific issues, but to me it seems that authority has become this amorphous mass that seeps in everywhere and can only be o...

House of Cards

Do you find it easy to make new friends? Tell us how you’ve mastered the art of befriending a new person.

Um, no. Anything that involves 3D, real-time social interaction is difficult for me. I have better luck with men than women. A guy is usually looking for an audience rather than an interaction (present company excepted, of course), so a couple of questions will get him rolling. I’ve got a little Scarlett in me that way. I let men imagine they’re teaching me or changing my mind, it’s good...