GO BLUE . . .

This is the lamest post ever, I think, if only because I'm lifting my idea not even from another original-idea-ed blogger, but from an American Express print advertisement. I have sunken to new lows, but I am too exhausted to even try to plumb the depths of my brain for the things that come from me. So thanks, Blue, for the uninspired inspiration, and for the added opportunity to answer simple questionnaire questions with lengthy, multi-part answers because I'm unable to winnow down my answers to just one ... or two ... or however many I'm supposed to winnow my answers down to.

My name: MC Estoppel

My childhood ambition: at age 7, to be an astronaut; at age 12, to be a physician; at age 15, to be a United Nations ambassador; at age 18, to be a journalist; at age 21, to be in full-time college ministry; at age 26, to be a federal prosecutor; at age 30, to write a book and bring justice and freedom to all. Oh, I'm sorry, am I supposed to have grown up by now?

My fondest memory: every good thing; I am physically and psychically unable to cling to the bad things, thank God. Honourable special mentions go to Schapiro 12, Legal Follies, adventures with Cheezer, romps in the city and camp, and all things involving Omma, Appa and Cheech (especially the U-Haul snot-flicking moment, and any evening many glasses of red wine were consumed).

My soundtrack: everything on Herb, and lately, especially, Shane and Shane, David Crowder, Franz Ferdinand, David Gray, Jason Mraz, the Rent Broadway soundtrack, Fiona Apple and Beethoven's piano concertos.

My retreat: Block Island ... or anywhere He is.

My wildest dream: professionally: opening a New York City branch office of International Justice Mission, to which hundreds and thousands of professional from the tri-state region can be brought to be trained to perform Christian justice and legal rescue work around the globe, and from which these professionals can be sent out to restore His kingdom and those He created so that they can live in peace and liberty and in the fullness of all they were created to live; personally: finding, marrying and loving The One, with whom I will have many babies, live in a small and cozy home, cook up a storm of meals every day, laugh my brains out, stay up late every night talking and discovering more and more about each other, and for whom I will always be thankful.

My proudest moment: and also my most humbling ... the times I heard or was told, over the past few years, that younger girls at NHF want to be like me when they grew up.

My biggest challenge: living What and How and Who I believe.

My alarm clock: is masochistically set to the morning news.

My perfect day: an early morning, a hearty workout, a hot shower, a sludgy cup of coffee, a quiet time, a companionable lunch and productive session of work and reading, a satisfying dinner, a good film, a bad hand of 5-card-draw, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, a snowy night.

My first job: mother's helper for my high school Russian teacher.

My indulgence: The Container Store, Whole Foods Market, cooking and baking, a deep tissue massage, standing still for way too long in the hot shower, all things Apple, staying up with those I love even if I'm sleepy beyond measure, coffee from Papua New Guinea, J.Crew jeans, burning up ever-so-precious gas driving around and around and around craning my neck upwards to look at the wide blue sky.

My last purchase: boring: groceries; not boring: "things I need" from The Container Store.

My favorite movie: there are so many for so many different reasons -- "Pride & Prejudice" (the BBC version, natch), "The Usual Suspects," "Schindler's List," "Moulin Rouge," "House of Flying Daggers," "Bring It On," "The Godfather," "Roman Holiday," "Swingers," "Strictly Ballroom," "Elizabeth" ... but "The Sound of Music" has its very own special nook in my heart, it really does.

My inspiration: the Lord.

My life: is too joyful, too upsetting, too dramatic, too full, too blessed, too meaningful, too insignificant, too full of potential still, for me to totally comprehend.

My card: let me redeem points to head to Los Angeles for a much-needed getaway and reunion for a fraction of what it's supposed to cost!

***

I really do apologize for being so lame and list-y lately. I blog for myself, largely to express the things that take too long for me to write long-hand, and believe me, there's plenty that I write long-hand, even more than I blog, if you can believe it. But still, I know there are a tiny number of you out there who actually read this to READ this, and to know me, and to love me, and I'm sorry that all I'm giving you lately are lists and regurgitations.

It's just that ... it's just that I am thoughtful lately, and I don't know how to express these thoughts, except on paper, and those words you will never ever see. Sorry, but that's the plain truth.

It is my greatest hope, and my assurance, actually, that my time in L.A. will be fruitful. That it will loose something in me that I have bound up for a few days, weeks now. That being with my sister and her family, that basking in sunlight and being wrapped in warmth, that being with those who have loved me for over a decade will be healing for all that ails me, and that being attacked by two rambunctious and preternaturally precocious little girls will provide me plenty of laughter and revelation and peace and yes, fodder for blogging. Heck, I should be able to cull a good story or two out of the airplane flight alone!

So stay tuned, my trusty friends. L.A. beckons; I can't wait. And neither can you?