Writing prompt | Ten Quick Questions

Ten Quick Answers To Questions Challenge

An overdose of information about me, now, don‘t you think?

I just published my response to BJ’s X-mas This or That Challenge (thank you Brett Jenae Tomlin) when I saw L Burton’s post in my Medium Daily Digest, answering Linda Ng’s ten quick answer questions challenge.

I came across this fun challenge after reading The Sturg’s post some time back; he tagged me — and Adrienne’s post, then Linda Ng’s. And I thought, why have I not jumped in yet? I am pretty sure I created a draft, but . . . alas, I cannot find it now because there are so many. *Guilty*

Remedying this right away, here are my answers.

1. Favourite drink?

I would instantly say coffee, but since there’s a question dedicated to that, let me go with life’s next elixir — water. We just cannot survive without it!

Did you know thirst is a sign of dehydration? I was shocked when I found out. It is tough to remember to drink enough water in winter — the no.1 reason being — yes, you guessed it — no.1. It is cold enough without having to make multiple bathroom breaks. If I sound disgusting — then well, it is an important thing! Still, small price to pay for dehydration, so say YES to water. Drink it. Good news? Other liquids count too! Yay!

2. Favourite color?

I am colorblind. Yes, literally one in a million 😉. So I go by what looks pleasing to me, depending on what it is. I have noticed that I tend to sway towards shades of orange and red, and of course, I love black. I also like blue, green, white, aquamarine, all shades of pink, yellow, mauve . . . — see? I have learned my colors!

Funny story — when my son was in school, I’d drop and pick him up on my scooter. And almost always wore a black t-shirt and blue jeans. I suspect the other parents assumed I had only one set of clothes. Truth is, I have at least twenty black t-shirts — maybe more. If I had to pick a favorite outfit, it would probably be a black t-shirt and blue jeans. Heh!

3. If you won the lottery, what are the top 3 things you would do first?

I wrote an entire post about this: You can buy happiness with money — so I’ll simply repeat that

i/ I would improve the lives of underprivileged children and the destitute elderly.

ii/ I am fortunate that I was able to earn my way to a decent life, have food to eat and a roof over my head, besides a loving family. I’d do my best to ensure that those who don’t have these things had it too.

iii/ I’d donate to all those wonderful individuals who run welfare homes and are struggling for funds.

4. Favourite cuisine?

**Yum!** PriyaBooks, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

I love Andhra food and of course, South Indian “meals”. But I enjoy all kinds of vegetarian food and like to experiment. After all, one must try everything in life at least once, no? Food is no exception. It is great that we live in a world with diverse cuisines. Also, I enjoy cooking and am game to try any new recipe . . . and eat it, of course!

5. Would you give up social media or your cell phone 📱 forever?

I would NOT give up my cell phone forever. Social media, yes. My phone keeps me connected to my loved ones, most especially my son 🥰 and of course, my friends.

I also enjoy the convenience of making payments via phone apps, and using the internet for information. I don’t have social media apps on my phone — I use the web version of everything on my laptop. Sneaky eh? But yes, I do use WhatsApp extensively and if that is considered social media — then NOPE, not giving up WhatsApp.

6. One thing you’re really good at?

Adapting. I am good at adjusting to situations and I am quick to see the silver lining in every situation. Optimism is in my genes.

7. Cats or dogs? 🐱🐶

Both, I guess. I used to lean more toward dogs as most of my friends have them as pets, but I do enjoy watching cats. All pets are fascinating and wonderful.

8. Coffee drinker? ☕️

Vidya Sury at a lovely cafe in Imphal, Manipur where Hotel California was playing. Bliss. Coffee was great! ©

Enough said? I love coffee.

As a South Indian (yep, title-case) my day begins with freshly brewed filter coffee (freshly ground weekly). I use a simple 100-year-old steel coffee filter that has two chambers. The top chamber, which fits onto the bottom chamber has a perforated base. The rich dark aromatic coffee powder (ground just so to a specific “filter coffee” consistency) is spooned into the top chamber — loosely, not pressed down. Then boiling water is added to it, lovingly, little by little, allowing the air pockets in the coffee powder to embrace the moisture and settle down.

In the meantime, the milk is heating on the stove. When the coffee decoction has filtered through to the lower chamber, I pour the milk into a 350 ml steel tumbler and add the coffee decoction to it. NOT the other way around. Big difference. Then we stir slowly, watching the color change to the perfect tint. Some add sugar. I don’t.

**Foaming filter coffee** Charles Haynes, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

We sit down and enjoy it, sip by tiny sip. When we wait for the last drop to fall on our tongues, and let it slide in, down the throat, we know all is well with the world and it is a lovely new day. Even if the newspaper is full of sh*tty headlines.

Practically an orgasmic experience/ritual, I tell you. Every. Single. Day.

9. What languages can you speak?

English, Tamil (mother tongue), Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, and a little Gujarati; I learned French and Spanish in school and college but am sadly out of touch — but am sure a little practice will get me right on track. I can read and understand but have difficulty in speaking now. I used to enjoy the easy banter with BichoDoMato but he has taken a break from being my tutor. Sigh.

10. Can you use chopsticks?🥢

I wish I could say yes. But no, I can’t. I once went hungry because… wait, let me start at the beginning. It was a 5-day sales conference. We went out to dinner. Our boss insisted that we must all use chopsticks to eat our food. Well, none of us knew how. He tried to teach us. I was hungry and impatient and well — since he said no dinner for those who didn’t use the chopsticks, guess what happened?

Don’t feel sad for me yet — many of us went out later to have a fun meal with street food. Totally worth missing dinner. Ha!

Someone gifted me two sets of chopsticks. They are used for back scratching at home. *Sheepish*

Thank you for reading ❤

Calling my gang to participate in this fun challenge 🙌🏽

Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles ❤ Did you smile today?

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Please read:

Linda Ng’s post — she’s the author of the ten questions challenge

Can You Do 10 Quick Answer Questions?

Sometimes people can learn a lot from what you choose! 😉

hellolinda.medium.com

L Burton’s post

Know Me (A Little) Better

In 10 questions and answers

lburtonwrites.medium.com

The Sturg’s post

10 Quick Questions and Answers

Response to Linda Ng’s fun prompt

medium.com

Adrienne Beaumont’s post

Here’s My Ten Quick Answers

A fun challenge to learn a little

andiebee-17203.medium.com

Summarize