Survey, Schmurvey

While I catch my breath from my recent New York trip (I was out and about in the city in the middle of the heatwave last week!), I'd like to put a lighthearted post.

In my work as a journalist/editor, I have interviewed a number of people who've offered very interesting responses to what I originally thought to be rather mundane questions. (Yeah, even I get brain farts.) When I was designing my first website (now down because I let the domain expire. Boo) I didn't put a list of my favorites in the requisite "About Me" page. You know what I mean--the stuff that you add in your Facebook or MySpace profile. Instead, I answered questions magazine editors ask celebrities, as if they were being directed to me.

Mariel Chua, a colleague of mine now based in NYC, posted one such spin, and if she may indulge me, I'd answer the same questions. The original recipient of the questions was Narciso Rodriguez, and his responses are italicized.

Other than yourself, who is your favorite designer? [I'm not a designer, and I don't really like Narciso Rodriguez's style. So I'm just gonna answer the question minus the disclaimer]
Cristóbal Balenciaga
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana

If you could come back as a model, who would you be?
Violeta Sánchez
Mr. Tyson Ballou. My favorite male model.

What's your favorite color?
Blue
I'd like to think it's green. But I don't really know. I don't quite like blue, tell you the truth.

What are you most vain about?
My weight
My weight.

What are you most shy about?
Too shy to say.
My thighs. Hahaha!

If you could have somebody else's body, whose would it be?
Evandro Soldati's.
Tyson Ballou's.

Who are you fantasy dinner party guests?
Louis Armstrong, Coco Chanel, Lee Miller, James Franco, Anaïs Nin, Romy Schneider, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Alain Delon, Abraham Lincoln, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, George Sand, and Amy Winehouse.
I honestly, honestly do not know who to invite.

Where is your favorite place to have a drink?
Angel's Share, East Village, NYC.
At home: It's cheap, and no one has to drive.

What's your underwear of choice?
Zimmerli.
Boxer-style briefs. I just started liking 'em.

What's the last book you read?
Absurdistan by Gary Shteyngart.
Buddha Mind, Buddha Body: Walking Toward Enlightenment by Thich Nhat Hanh. I'm not yet done, though.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, three dogs, named Lucky, John, and Clifford
No.

What do you eat for breakfast?
Coffee, protein shake, egg whites.
A heaping bowl of Post Selects Banana Nut Crunch, with 2% Reduced-Fat milk

At age seven, you wanted to be:
A monk.
A painter. But not the painter that we know Da Vinci, Picasso, Giotto, and Michelangelo. I meant real house painter. As in with the wide brush and denim overalls.

What is one thing you find easiest to forgive?
A mistake.
An honest mistake. - I agree.

What is one thing you find impossible to forgive?
Dishonesty.
I have no idea.

Do you have any supertitions?
Many.
None. I don't believe in them.

What's your biggest self-indulgence?
Ice cream.
Chocolates.

Favorite place to shop?
Ted Muehling Store on Howard Street, NYC.
I love a lot of places. I go to H&M for great deals on trendy things; Zara for well-made and awesome-fitting shirts and suit separates; Old Navy for basics (my latest triumph: $0.97 for a thermal); Macy's for random things; Target for supplies; BJ's or Costco for magazines I'm not subscribed to (30% off!); Borders for books and hard-to-find magazines (only because I'm a Borders Rewards member, otherwise Barnes and Borders are both fine); and Cherry Hill mall because they have an awesome selection of stores.

Whose wallet would you like to steal?
No one's.
Steve Jobs's

Whose diary would you most like to read?
George W. Bush's.
Katie Holmes. Just so I know that Tom Cruise really is from the planet Zorg.

If you were an inventor, what would you invent?
A time machine.
A brainwave magnifying machine. You can either be a telekinetic or a telepath, depending on how the machine's wired.

Who is your favorite furniture designer?
Poul Kjaerholm.
*shrug*

What's your favorite car?
1967 Porsche 911.
A car that's 35 mpg on the highway.

What was your childhood nickname?
"Cisito," diminutive of "Ciso" (my father), diminutive of "Narciso" (my grandfather).
Patchoy, because I was skinny. (Patpating Tsinoy, get it?)

When and where are you happiest?
The holidays at my home in Brazil.
Christmas time.

Who is your best friend?
Annick.
Don't have one. I used to think everyone should have one, but I now I know better. Why make the distinction between friends and "best" friends? I have a lot of good friends that I love to hang out with and talk about anything and everything, but it's not like I love them any more than my other friends. Once I consider you my friend, you have my loyalty.

What is your worst enemy?
Cigarettes.
Self-doubt.

What piece of art would you most like to own?
Gerhard Richter's 439.
Madonna of the Rocks. Only because I like how it's composed. And because it's the only other painting I recall seeing in the Da Vinci Code flick that isn't the Mona Lisa.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Bahia, Brazil.
Palawan or Boracay. I haven't been around much, so this will definitely--or at least, might--change.

Who is your favorite fictional character?
Cartman on South Park.
Ryu of Street Fighter fame.

What is your most treasured possession?
A handwritten letter from a late friend.
My fashion portfolio because it's a collection of my 4 years in the publishing industry. All the blood, sweat, and tears I put into becoming a fashion editor is there. I know, I know, babaw, but that portfolio is--and will--be my ticket to cracking the publishing business here.

Your favorite band/musician/song?
Radiohead.
Song: City of Blinding Lights by U2, for now.

If you weren't a designer [editor] what yould you be?
An architect.
Web designer or developer. It's not too far from the trifecta of career paths I have: technology, magazines, and fashion.

What current trend would you like to see disappear?
Grotesque accessories.
Skinny anything. Thank god skinny jeans are already passé.

What's your biggest fashion regret?
A mullet.
Dressing to fit in, and not to express my personality. Remember the time when elephant pants were the in thing? Yeah, I had to beg my mother to buy me one in the name of conformity. Heh.

Favorite trend of all time?
Jeans.
Jeans-and-blazer combo.

Worst trend of all time?
Logomania.
Shoulder pads on jackets. Yeah, even men's clothing had them. Not a pretty sight.

Always:
Be cool.
Live each day as if it's your last.

Never:
Not cool.
Nag. You'll drive me crazy. I get it, you don't have to say it over and over.