Wonderland Burlesque's Quite An Impression Quiz

Wonderland Burlesque's

Quite An Impression Quiz

Making an impression? First impressions? Thing we'd like to impress upon others?

Yes, today's quiz is all about leaving your mark or the mark left by others. 

Ten quick questions, easy to answer... followed by a series of pics of men who make quite the impression. What they have to offer? Impressive, indeed. Easy on they eye, if you know what I mean.

So, get to it.

Impress me, today... by participating in this quiz! 

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1/ What is your most impressive trait?

My big picture view, or rather my ability to see the big picture.

It spills over into compassion all the time. I tend to see most sides to an issue, or work to understand where someone is coming from. 

For example, I have a sister who has judged me very harshly in the past and it hurt. Not that what she was thinking wasn't the truth. But she's also the kindest person I've ever met, so... I see her point of view. 

My older sister is a walking nightmare, but I get what's going on with her, too. Disappointment is difficult to accept and deal with. We get it in our heads that life should be this way or that and when those expectations aren't realized it can do some serious damage. And everyone self-medicates in their own way. Some are very obvious about it, while others find subtler means of doing so. So, I understand her pain and her inability to cope. And I understand her need to punish and lash out. 

I get people. There are very few who remain mysteries to me. I think that's why I'm always asking questions of those who pique my interest. 

2/ If you had the world's attention for one minute, what would you like to impress upon them?

That the truth always wins out, so it's best to get honest with yourself and the world. And the only way to learn the truth is to educate yourself and in order to be educated/enlightened you have to be open to hearing and accepting things that run contrary to some of your personal beliefs. 

And your personal beliefs? They are NOT truths. They are not facts. And the only thing that matters in this world is the objective... as in not influenced by or based on a personal point of view, but based on the analysis of an object or subject via observation only.

Let's take death, for example. The other day, I was walking along a path and came upon the lifeless body of a tiny mole. 

It was dead. 

Not gone to heaven. No frolicking with his relatives in some made up afterlife. 

Poor thing was crossing the path and, bam... he's dead. 

That's the nature of death, folks. You live until, bam... you're dead. And once you're dead - you don't care about anything that comes after, for, you, my friend, are indeed dead. You have no feelings. No opinions. You're dead. 

You're not reunited with your dog or a loved one who went before you. No harps. No rewards. 

You're dead. 

So... my advice is, make the most of the now. Be kind. Learn all you can. Observe. Absorb. Stop trying to control others and, for gawd's sake, learn to cope... learn not to be afraid of things like, say... death.

Trust me, life will go on without you. We seem to have continued on without so many people for as long as recorded time... I doubt very much your absence is going to alter that.

So, live!

You don't have to be superior to others. You don't have to amass more of anything than anyone else. You are not your things. You are not your hair. You are not your body. You are not your car. That's not what life should ever be about. 

It should be about creating warmth and love and happiness - the kind money can't buy. So simplify. Don't complicate. 

Because who knows? Next time you're crossing a path? Well, that mole? 

That could be you.

3/ Tell us about a time you made a great first impression.

I somehow got a scholarship to attend a two-year junior college with a very strong theatre department. The theatre was beautiful. I never quite understood how it came about, but I did comprehend the fact that my family had no money to send me to college, and Pell Grants alone weren't going to cut it. I also was terrified of putting extra financial pressure on my family, as my mother was having a very difficult time of it at the time. So, that's where I ended up going, even though it was not my first choice. 

It seems the head of the department had heard about me and started attending the shows I was appearing in. He saw something in me that he thought would be good for the department. 

My arrival upset the applecart, for sure. I got the lead in the fall mainstage show and was told by several other students that the role had been meant for another actor, one in his second year with the program. He also, ironically, happened to be my roommate; we shared an off campus apartment. 

Anyway... I must have made an impression on someone who mattered. 

Sadly, by the end of my second year in the program, I was so unhappy and depressed, the wheels on the bus were slowly coming off. I finished the year and then decided to take a break from higher education. 

4/ Tell us about a time you made a bad impression.

This is so funny, in hindsight. At the time, I was mortified.

I was working as a graphics specialist for a medical testing company in L.A. It was supposedly my big break in the business world. I was working with the head of marketing, who was taking a mom and pop company and putting them in the big leagues. He was ambitious and rude. 

We took a meeting with a consulting firm who handled image and I arrived ten minutes early. The firm had sent their best and brightest - a flank of people who looked like something out of central casting. Dressed to the nines, and button downed. I tried to make small talk and... hit a wall of ice. 

Needless to say, once the head of marketing arrived - two minutes late... they never paid any attention to me or included me in the conversation. It was the beginning of my being pushed aside. 

Apparently, I was not meant for such greatness.

5/ When you were young, were you easily impressed? About what in particular?

Yes. Very impressionable. Especially when it came to boys and girls in their teens. 

Everything they said was a pearl of wisdom. Everything they did was so cool. Everything they wore, I wanted to wear. Because I'd read Don't Ask Alice, I thought they all knew things I couldn't learn elsewhere, so I paid attention and asked lots of questions. Some hated me, some tolerated me and a few adopted me. 

6/ Are you an impressive public speaker? What type of event?

I used to be. And, on occasion, for work, I can still pull something decent off... but I'm so nervous. 

A role is different - you rehearse, it's not you. Or, if you're a director of a show, the cast is used to you talking to them, there's already a rapport. 

You do a public presentation, it's you. And you have to take your audience into consideration. In my case, because of what I do for a living, when I present at a town hall, I'm typically telling people they're doing something wrong or something is changing - and people don't take that news well. Early on, at the company I am still with, I had to do such a presentation. It didn't go well. I was fine until one particular woman, who had a reputation for being confrontational (as well as making calls to the FDA to report things she wasn't happy about, triggering all sorts of problems,) began peppering me with questions and demanding to know why policies had changed. 

Let's just say, it didn't go well for me. My boss - who was her boss's boss, had to step in and still the waters... for they were boiling!

Still, I know how to put together a presentation. It's a show. And I am a showman. 

That said, the most embarrassing thing I've ever done is do a presentation on how to be a public speaker. While my presentation was well-documented and the PPT looked great - I bombed big time, filling gaps with lots of 'ummm's', which is a big no-no. It was mostly due to the fact that I had to keep turning around to look at the PPT slide in order to know what I was talking about.

Talk about feeling like a total ass.  

7/ Name an aging talent with whom you're impressed with how they are handling their advanced career.

Madonna.

No, just kidding.

JLo.

Ha!

I thought Jane Fonda had it together, but as she begins to look more and more like Dolly Parton and Reba McIntire, I have to say, she's a no, too.

And Cher? Oh, I adore... but honey, stop with the putty and the plaster. We'd love you no matter.

So, it's Jessica Lange or Michelle Pfeiffer for me. 

Their aging gracefully and still allowing their amazing talent to do all the heavy lifting. Still getting roles. Still top of their game.  

8/ Name a new, up and coming talent you're rather impressed with.

Lil Nas X.

What a fucking talent. What a visionary. I cannot wait to see what he does next. 

He's so unbelievably talented. 

His music? 

I have to work a bit to appreciate it... and I like that about it. He challenges us - visually, socially, and sonically. 

9/ Who did you meet in person or see in concert that left you less than impressed?

Idols are on a pedestal for good reason.

Meeting celebs in person is never a good idea. Because you fell in love with the image they project and the music or movies they create, you come to the table with a fixed idea of who they are. You also have an agenda - you want to make an impression, you want them to like you. 

JuJu Bee, Janis Ian and Frenchie Davis are three of my faves. Gracious. Kind. Loving people. 

Matt Alber and Kristine W are not. I still love their stuff. I would still see either in concert. But when their game face is not in place? Oh, dear. 

They are the reason I suggest, never meet your idols. 

That kind of disappoint lingers forever.

10/ Have you ever left a physical impression upon a place? Your hands in the cement of a sidewalk? Carved your name on a rock or tree? Left graffiti on the men's room walls?

First off, I adore graffiti on men's room walls. I actively seek it out. It's like cave drawings, but in a language I understand. 

That said...

No. 

I tend to leave places in better shape or as I found them. 

My idea of perfection is that, after I leave, no one will ever know I was there.

That's kind of how I see life. If I play my cards right... when I shuffle off this mortal coil?

No one will ever know I was here.

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And that's all for today.

Your turn. Leave your answers in the comments section. Love to hear what you're thinking these days.

Until next time...

Thank you for reading... and participating!

Impressive Instant - Madonna

That Don't Impress Me Much - Shania Twain