A Five Senses January This or That Challenge
A This or That that thoroughly challenged all five of my senses
I haven’t done many writing challenges lately but I can hardly resist doing a This or That challenge. Thanks to Karen Schwartz for creating this challenge. These challenges are so fun and it allows me to let people get to know me better. The challenges also make me find things out about myself that I didn’t think of before. At the end and a bit throughout the questionnaire, I will analyze my answers and provide a summary of the implications of my answers.
1. You’re at a motel overnight. Would you rather listen to your neighbors having sex all night or to airplanes landing and taking off? I’ll be honest. One of these answers sounds too good to pass up and the other one sounds completely awful. I’m going to listen to my neighbors having sex all night. If there was a way to see them too, I’d find it, but I digress. I get it. This one makes me sound like a total pervert and a creep but I honestly don’t know many people who’d actively choose trying to sleep near an airport so I’m not completely depraved. Okay, maybe a little.
2. You’re on vacation. Would you rather enjoy a wine and cheese tasting or indulge in dessert? Both of these choices sound irresistible. I don’t drink much but the pairing of wine and cheese is a very pleasing one. I think I’d still go with dessert despite being a diabetic. I’d probably have some of the less sugary treats and more of the fruit-based desserts. This one was close but I think dessert is too hard to pass up.
3. Would you rather have a hot stone massage for relaxation or acupuncture to heal your pain? I’ve never had either one of these. I just can’t even picture myself subjecting myself to acupuncture though. My mom had to go to an acupuncturist for pain so I know it’s something that could potentially help me. I’m still a bit scared of having things poked into me. I have this irrational fear that someone is just going to barge into the room during the session and stomp on me or something. I would rather have hot stones on my back. I think that might be much more bearable for me.
4. Would you rather watch a naked exotic dancer or sketch a nude model in an art class? Okay, so both of these sound very exciting to me. I’ll be honest. I love looking at naked people. I think the first question clued you in on that. I’m going to go with the nude model in art class though. It’s the least sexual of the two options and the one option that will get me in the least amount of trouble with my partner. I have no business being in a strip club as I’m in a faithful and loving relationship. At least with the art class, I can stare at the nudity longer and engage in it by drawing and focusing on the model.
5. Would you rather skin some trout you caught fishing or change multiple “poop-filled” diapers? Both of these sound disgusting. I don’t know that I’d choose either one of these for myself but in the spirit of the challenge, I’m going to go with the one I’ve done before. I have many young nieces and I had to change their “poop-filled” diapers more than a few times. Even though it’s disgusting, you get over the stink and the gross factor of it after a while. I just can’t even touch a raw fish, much less gut and skin it after catching it. I’ll leave that to people who can do that better anyway.
6. You’re stuck in a room with a single noise for half an hour. Which noise do you choose? Nails on a chalkboard or a car alarm? A big yikes to my senses right now with this question. I don’t want to endure either one for half an hour in a room that I’m stuck in. I think that my anxiety level would be high with both of these but if I have to choose, I’m going with the car alarm. I can’t stand the sound of nails on a chalkboard for even a second. My teeth feel that sound even thinking about it.
7. Talking about the food, which do you prefer? Are you a greasy spoon junkie or a fine dining enthusiast? I’m a greasy spoon junkie all the way. Find me a diner with delicious food and I’m there. I love watching Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.” Fine dining is too dressed up for me and I find people who only eat there because of Michelin Star ratings to be pretentious. I love food and I know what food should taste like but focusing too much on gourmet and fine dining is a bit excessive.
8. You’re visiting a new country. Would you rather drive through the countryside or spend a day at a renowned museum? I would love to travel to a different country. I’ve never been outside of the United States and Canada. I know that is surprising to some of you considering that I own a travel publication on Medium. I would love to travel the world if I had the means and opportunity. Thinking about this in a hypothetical sense, I would likely enjoy going to the countryside more than spending a day in a museum. It would be nice to see a nice museum but it would be too crowded. I’d prefer a more laid-back setting and in the countryside, the people are less likely to speak English so I don’t have to worry about communicating with too many other people unless I know their language.
9. Which smells better? A loaf of freshly baked bread smothered in garlic butter or sizzling BBQ ribs? This question is another challenging one to answer. I love both of these smells so much. I think that the one that comes to mind first when I think about my favorite smells, I default to the bakery. A loaf of freshly baked bread, especially with garlic butter, is going to have to be my choice. It was very close as I’d tear into a delicious rack of sizzling BBQ ribs at a cookout.
10. Would you rather hold a boa constrictor or pet a tarantula? I’ve written about my fear of snakes and spiders in a previous story. This is the toughest question to answer out of all of these. I had so much trouble with this one that it prompted a long conversation with my partner. We said that since he’s done both, he preferred holding the snake. Snakes aren’t super aggressive when they’re not provoked. Spiders can be a bit more unpredictable. If I have to choose, I can live with having a boa constrictor on me, even wrapped around my neck like on those nature shows but not for very long.
Short Summary
What did I learn about myself in this challenge? Well, I didn’t learn many new things. My readers may have learned that I might be a bit depraved sometimes with my willingness and eagerness to do the sexual stuff with no problem. I like food which isn’t a surprise as well.
I prefer the laid-back, less crowded environments in general. And there are some things that just really get to me, like loud noises and creepy animals.
This was a fun challenge to take part in. How would you have personally answered these questions? What did you think of my responses? I’d love to hear from you in the comments or you could do this challenge yourself.