Oh, Shakira, Shakira...

Shakira CK has begun Wednesday Wickedness, taking quotes from a celebrity and making them into a set of ten questions, which you can read here. Always willing to take a shortcut to a blog post, here are my answers.


1. "I never want to change so much that people can't recognize me."
Do you believe people can truly change?

Yes. You almost have to, don't you? You'd never trust anyone if you didn't.
Being a weak, lily-livered Christian, I think Jesus tells us that you have to
believe that people can change and improve, despite abundant evidence to the contrary.

2. "People haven't always been there for me but music always has."
Do you have people in your life you could always count on?

My wife. My son, someday, once he grows up.
My mother and my brothers.

3. "I’m intimidated by the fear of being average."
Do you think there is anything wrong
with being average?

As the old joke goes, one half of the graduating class of
Harvard Medical School is below average.

There better not be anything wrong with being average-
if I have learned anything, it is that the world is
run by the average people.

4. "Never believe anyone who says
you don't deserve what you want."
Do you believe you deserve everything you want?

Absolutely not. I don't even deserve everything I have.

5. " I have to believe in fairy tales and I have to believe in love."
Do you believe in fairy tale love?

No. I believe in love, as Elton John once said. I don't believe that
fairy tale love, in the real world, with real people, is possible.

6. " I wouldn't want to date a pushover
who would let me make all the plans and have all the control."
Do you believe in sharing the control in your relationships?

My wife says I have to answer this question "yes".

7. "Sometimes [finding new friends] is the best thing about dating.
I've met so many friends through guys that I've dated.
And now, the guys are gone but the girls are still around."
Did you ever make a close friend
from someone that you've dated?

Yes. It's not easy, though.

8. "But there are a lot of rumors out there
that you just have to ignore."
Has anyone ever spread
something malicious about you?

I don't think anyone cares enough about me to make up gossip about
me. The things I've actually done are bad enough.

9. "I set goals that are just a little bit out of reach,
but not totally out of reach."
How do you go about setting your goals?

Every day, after lunch, I set a goal of dinner.

10. " I remember seeing girls crying in the bathroom
every Monday about what they did at a party that weekend.
I never wanted to be that girl."
Have you ever done something at a party
that you've ever regretted?

No, I never got invited to those sorts of parties.