Question Monday

Yes, yes it is bad that you had to check to see if "while" was a verb kicker.

Today is Question Monday, so I'll be answering questions that people (mostly Abby) asked me.

"What is a “Muggle,” because that is definitely what I voted, but I have a feeling it means like… hobo? Okay, and also, tell me who the rest of them are, too, because I kind of want to know!"

I'm just going to get this over with. A muggle is a non-magical person; there are a few muggle characters in Harry Potter, but obviously, the central characters are wizards and witches. When Harry and his friends went to Hogwarts for their first year, the Sorting Hat placed them into one of four houses. (I'm in Slytherin.) By the way, the Sorting Hat can sing:

"You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart; 

You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil; 

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind; 

Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends."

 "What's your favorite color?"

Purple. I really appreciate most of the colors, though, with the exception of only a few (like ochre).

"If you looked into the Mirror of Erised, what do you suspect you'd see?"

It's hard to say what my heart's deepest, most desperate desire is. I wish I could say that it was something like a more just and accepting world, but I feel like the Mirror is a little bit more about our urgent personal dreams. Another problem with the Mirror is that for the most part, it's usually based on an idealistic future with a few exceptions of people seeing an idealistic present, and I like to be content with both happiness and tribulation in the world.

I haven't answered the question yet.

Honestly, I think what I most desire is less specific than money, a relationship, a huge family, or complete social acceptance -- whether or not those things are a part of my future doesn't matter to me as long as I can continue a life of learning from other people and of appreciating the awesome things in the world.

That's not the answer you wanted, is it? 

"Do you pronounce the 't' in 'often'?"

No, that's absurd! (I've been watching A Very Potter Musical -- can you tell?)

"TEN TIMES!?"

On our second (and final) day in the park, we stayed from opening until closing, with a small break from Harry Potter around lunchtime to see other parks. So the insane amount of time we spent there combined with our deft waiting-in-line skills allowed us to ride eight times that day.

Oh, would you look at that? I was going to answer Bryan's physics question, but I think I've run out of space in this post. Maybe I'll give it a whack in a few years or so. Meanwhile, anyone else is welcome to try it out.

And Max, you'll probably notice throughout the week that I'm generating a small stockpile of posts -- just three or four of them because I'll be at Ball State all of next week without Internet access.