Danny ChaiFrom Melissa’s Facebook.
MOUTHology
Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Believe it or not, I typically eat my salads nowadays without dressing. I just add some blue cheese bits for flavor.
Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. I’m not sure I have a particular favorite, just favorite items at particular places. Probably in general it’s In N’ Out. But I’m very partial to the Beef and Potato Burrito at Taco Bell, the Six-Dollar Jalapeno Burger at Carl’s Jr, various dollar menu items at McDonald’s. Love the fast food. More than I should.
Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. That I go to regularly, probably Sushi Tomi brings me the greatest joy. Splurge restaurant is Manresa, but we’ve only been twice and can only afford to go about once every 2 years.
Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. 16%. Or whatever it is if you divide the post-tax total by 6.
Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick off of?
A. Pizza. It’s a brilliant food, if you stop and think about it.
Q. What are your pizza toppings of choice?
A. Depends on the mood. On lower end pizzas, I get pepperoni and jalapeno. On New York style, I like plain cheese. Other times I like margherita. I pretty much like all types of pizza toppings, including anchovies. The only pizza I actively dislike is the triple mushroom one at Pizza Chicago. That’s a bit much.
Q. What do you like to put on your toast?
A. Butter and jam. Preferably grape.
Q. What is your favorite type of gum?
A. I almost never chew gum. So rarely I don’t think I can answer the question.
TECHnology
Q. Number of contacts in your cell phone?
A. 60ish. I almost never get calls though; other than Jieun I average around 1 every 2 weeks.
Q. Number of contacts in your email address book?
A. 244. That includes work.
Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. A picture of Abby and her cousins looking through the fence at the ocean by the Ferry Building in SF.
Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. One. I’m a big one TV guy. I think you learn life lessons by having to learn how to share time and compromise with the TV. Like how to be bitter because you didn’t get to watch your sporting event and had to watch some boring chick show. Having a Tivo bypasses this effect, but still.
BIOlogy
Q. Are you right-handed or left-handed?
A. Right-handed.
Q. Do you like your smile?
A. Yeah, but I have laughlines now. I’m old.
Q. What’s your best feature?
A. My eyelashes? Even though it’s kind of fem to have long lashes.
Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. Nope. And I have a few splinters / pencil lead fragments in my hand that I should have removed a long time ago.
Q. Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
A. Hearing. When a TV is turned on but not showing anything in a room, the high pitch drives me crazy, although other people don’t seem to care. There are lots of noises like that. And it’s nearly impossible for me to concentrate on something if music is playing.
Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. Few years ago I think.
Q. What is the heaviest item you lifted last?
A. Suitcase to Boston. Boring question.
Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. No, but I think I came close twice. Once at the Burger King on Blossom Hill when I choked on a piece of ice. James told me my face got really red and I probably would have passed out, but the ice melted in my throat. Second time was when I got kicked in the nuts playing soccer. Didn’t pass out, but I saw stars.
BULL[CRAP]ology
Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. Yes. It would very much effect how I lived my life. For the better.
Q. Is love for real?
A. Yes. It’s harder than they say though. Lot harder.
Q. If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
A. Stone. I’m dead serious. I semi-dislike my name because it’s a kid’s name. I go by D@niel at work, but it’s not really me either. It’s legal me. Official me. Not really me. Really me is a kid’s name. I’ve long been fascinated by the name Stone. Stone Chai. That’s a name.
Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. Probably gray or navy.
Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. Various bugs that I distinctly remember. I frequently look at my crap in the bowl after I’m done to make sure there’s nothing seriously amiss also, and I’ve at different times in my life seen random things there, bits of plastic wrapping and what have you.
Q. Have you ever saved someone’s life?
A. Nope.
Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. Not that I remember.
DAREology
Q. Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?
A. Sure, as long as it was for a good cause and I didn’t get arrested.
Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. No.
Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. No. I value playing music wayyy too much for that.
Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. That’s actually a good question. I’d probably honestly answer no. The power to express yourself is of great value, I think.
Q. Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000?
A. Again, I’d do it for a good cause. Why not.
Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
A. Probably not, with my residual heartburn issues.
Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. No.
Q. Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?
A. Absolutely.
DUMBology
Q: What is in your left pocket?
A: Keys, cell phone.
Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A: I didn’t get it. Lee says it’s one of those movies that are funnier to remember than actually see. Personally, I thought it was slow, both watching and in retrospect. Don’t get the hype at all.
Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A: Carpet.
Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A: I concur with Melissa. Who sits? In America, at least.
Q: Could you live with roommates?
A: I haven’t had my own room, much less my own place, since 1994. So yes.
Q: How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
A: One. From Old Navy. Less than $5. And they’ve lasted for 5 years so far. I’m very happy about that.
Q: Where were you born?
A: Columbus, OH
Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A: Years ago in Houston, a few of us went to go to a late night showing of Star Trek: Insurrection. We got stopped by the cops for no good reason, and I’m pretty sure it was a racist thing. I rarely attribute things to racism, and can only really say I’ve felt racism a couple times in my life at most, but there’s no other explanation of why he stopped us. We were not speeding. We were just a bunch of Asians in a car late at night. And that’s the last time I had a run-in with cops.
Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: I still don’t know, and I’m 31.
Q: Who is number 1 on your top 8?
A: Huh?
FAVORITology
Q: Number?
A: 18.
Q: Color?
A: Blue. Especially now with Abby’s Leapfrog tablet which sings “blue” in a particularly mellifluous way.
Q: Season?
A: Summer. Love the summer. Reminds me of youth.
CURRENTology
Q: Missing someone?
A: Not really. I’m not the missing type. I’m heartless like that.
Q: Mood?
A: Tired. A little guilty.
Q: Listening to?
A: Out of the Grey. Good times.
Q: Watching?
A: I’m in the midst of catching up with Veronica Mars, which I love, keeping up with Lost, which has gotten a little better lately, and Entourage, a very entertaining show. It disturbs me though that, and I think Dave has said this about Clueless before, but Entourage is a satire of the absurdity of Hollywood celebrity life. As such, it’s entertaining. It disturbs me that people see that as something to admire or aspire to. Just laugh at it and with it. That’s the point.
Q: Worrying about?
A: Bills, honestly. It will work out, but Jieun not working next year will make things a little harder.
RANDOMology
Q: First place you went this morning?
A: Carl’s Jr.
Q: What can you not wait to do?
A: See Abby walk.
Q: What’s the last movie you saw?
A: I watched Primal Fear again on the plane from Boston. On repeating viewing, the plot makes no sense at all. But it’s still entertaining. Ed Norton was great in it.
Q: Do you smile often?
A: I think so.
Q: Are you a friendly person?
A: Mostly. But I’m introverted and almost never need to be around people, so that caps my friendliness, I think.
Q: Now that the survey’s done what are you going to do?
A: Back to work.