The Goop Questionnaire

My love of random questionnaires and of the minutiae of our lives is well-documented. I do think that it’s in the tiny stuff that we can see glimpses of the entire, shimmering whole of life. I also think that random details are just plain fun.

I found the Goop questionnaire recently and thought I’d close out July with my answers to the (lightly edited) questions.

Go-to weeknight recipe?

Have been toying with a whole post about this, actually. We have some family favorites that include pulled chicken sandwiches, Asian stir-fry chicken with rice, maple candy pork chops, fish tacos.

First job?

Management consulting.

Next job?

I hope, writer.

Mentor?

My high school English teacher, Mr. Valhouli. A couple of people in executive search I won’t name. My first friend from my first job, A.A.G.

Hometown?

Cambridge, Massachusetts

What would you put on your neon sign?

Be here now. Same thing I’d put on my tattoo, if I had one.

Wouldn’t leave home without?

Something to read. Lip balm. A hair tie. My phone.

Essential beauty products?

Lip balm. Moisturizer. Mascara.

Wouldn’t fly without?

Something to read. Lip balm (are you sensing a theme?). A sweater.

Things you buy in bulk?

Perrier. Toilet paper. Frozen waffles.

Favorite book?

Ooh. This is hard. Novels: The English Patient, Light Years, Gilead. Poetry: anything by Mary Oliver, Wendell Berry, Adrienne Rich, Stanley Kunitz. Memoirs: Devotion, The Gift of an Ordinary Day

First celebrity crush?

Hmmm … an 80s rock star maybe. Peter Cetera?

Favorite movie?

Stealing Home. It’s sad that that’s all I can come up with, I recognize that. Movies are a real weakness in my cultural vocabulary. As is television.

People on speed dial?

My mother, my husband, my two or three BFFs with whom I speak on the phone.

Preferred form of exercise?

Running and yoga.

Drink of choice?

Coffee. Water. Occasionally, wine (red, white, or pink depending on the mood and occasion).

Proudest moment?

The births of my two children.

Perfect Sunday afternoon?

A walk around the neighborhood, dinner at the dining room table, and reading in bed with a child on each side of me.

I’d love if you wanted to do this questionnaire and share your answers! More generally, are you as fascinated as I by the random detail, by the mundane minutiae, by the ways light catches on the tiniest corners of a life and seems to, momentarily, illuminate it?

15 thoughts on “The Goop Questionnaire”

This was fun. I laughed out loud at Peter Cetera! What a name from the past. I loved him in that duet with Amy Grant. Also – I am a fellow lip balm lover. What’s your brand? I am addicted to Rimmel lip glosses. Don’t leave home without one!

Love those small details, because they remind you of what’s actually right there in front of you. Was answering my own reading through yours. Love it!

I love questionnaires too (and am happy that Maddy is now into them in her various children’s magazines). I LOVE this totally unexpected answer of yours: Peter Cetera. Didn’t see that one coming.

I’ll answer two.

First, celebrity crush: Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran (music) and Anthony Michael Hall (movies)

And since it’s hot out, my fave drinks: Coffee (AM), water (rest of the day), lime rickey (summer), and gin and tonic (for fun)

Hope you decide to write that dinner post–so in a rut over here!

I love Peter Cetera (and that PC/ Amy Grant song – Next Time I fall in love….)

Just answered your questionnaire on my blog

I am the same about lip balm. Really.

🙂

Thank you! I realized I should have also mentioned Rob Lowe, who I always thought was beautiful (and still is!). It was a happy surprise that I also loved his two books.

I was a Rob Lowe girl all the way (and should have mentioned him along with Peter) … loved those movies though with Anthony Michael Hall too! xox

I love them too!

I’m all about Kiehls lip balm.

Love, love these details about you and may have to answer these on my blog (with credit to you, of course). I imagine my daughter would appreciate some of my answers years from now.