Rules of the Meme:

1. Leave me a casual comment of no particular significance,like a lyric to your current favorite song, or your favorite kind of sandwich, maybe your favorite game. Any remark, meaningless or not.

5. When others respond with a desultory comment, you will ask them five questions.

My answers to the questions I received from EternalNomad7 beneath the fold.

1) What do you value most in your life?
I see you started with the easy ones!

What I value most in my life are the people that I love, who have enriched my life just for being there, no matter how briefly I may have known them.

2) What do you hope to accomplish?
Several things, I suppose.  As a writer, I want to create stories that get people to think about themselves, how they relate to other people, and how they relate to the world around them.  As a professional, I just want to do my job and do it exceptionally well.  And as a person, I want to make the world just a little bit better; a little cleaner, maybe, a little calmer, and maybe a few people a little bit happier.

3) Who or what do you admire most?
I admire people who are gifted storytellers, who can create worlds that reflect our own but are utterly engaging and imaginative.  Jim Henson is one of my heroes, for example.  I also really admire people who have a strong sense of integrity and loyalty, and who pursue their passions.  Among the people that I know closely (and who aren’t related to me), I’d have to say that Evilpheemy is the person I admire the most.  And, finally, there are people who face life with a smile and determination; my maternal grandfather is one of the people I admire most as well.

4) Is there anything that you’ve done in your life that you’re deeply proud of? Anything that you regret on doing and wish you could change when given the chance?
This is actually a very difficult question for me to answer.  Sure, I can think of a dozen things I regret off the top of my head, and that I would change; mostly, I regret that I’ve been so deeply afraid of moving beyond my comfort zone all my life.  But it’s very hard for me to come up with accomplishments of which I’m deeply proud; there are a number of things I’ve accomplished, personally and professionally, of which I really ought to be proud, but it’s difficult for me to do so.  This is something I’m working on.

5) If you were to give a person who’s first stepping out into the world a word of advice, what would it be?
Don’t be afraid to take risks, to push at boundaries, and to move beyond your comfort zone.  I think it’s sound advice, but I’d be afraid of sounding hypocritical for giving it.