The Question Game!

I’m dealing with some work stuff lately, so I’m a little disappointed that I ran out of material for my God series. I’ve written a few paragraphs about what’s going on with professional Katie, but it would read better if there was some conclusion. The problem is that I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet, so I’m holding that post for a few days.

Therefore, I find myself wanting to post something, but not knowing what to say.

Luckily, a similar situation presented itself a few days ago. I was talking to someone, and we seemed content to share some time together, but we were both tired. While I have no problem being quiet with someone, it can be a little awkward unless you’re really close. So I tried to start a conversation about my problem at work, but realized I didn’t want to talk about it after all.

Then I thought of the question game! Now, some people don’t care for the question game, but I have a longstanding love for it. It’s light without being mindless, has the potential to reveal some interesting little facts about someone, and you can play with someone you’ve just met as well as with a friend you’ve known forever. With the right person, it’s perfection – funny, thoughtful and easy.

Initiating the question game can be hard, and there are moments where you might falter in finding something to ask when it’s your turn. The cool thing is, it should be really random, and once you start to play, you tend to think of all sorts of things to ask. Just in case you want some suggestions, I’m going to list some of the questions from my last game (about half of which aren’t mine – I’ll italicize those so I don’t take credit for them). This also allows me to relive what turned out to be an absolutely delightful couple of hours.

I lead off with my absolute favorite question, then went from there.

Which do you like better:
Penguins or otters?
Too fast or too slow?
Perfume: floral or spicy?
Mountains or beach?
Canada or Mexico?
Eat in or take out?
Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter?
Paperback or hardcover?
Amazon or Barnes&Noble?
Yellow light - speed up or stop?
400 mile trip - drive or fly?

Taco or Cheeseburger?
Offense or defense?
Peanut or cashew?
At weddings, dancer or wallflower?

Too hot or too cold?
Sheets: Flannel or silk?
Sweatshirt or light jacket?
Silver or gold?
Too little or too much?
Too easy or too hard?

Too light or too dark?
Foreign or domestic?
On the rocks or straight up?
Bio or chem?

Art or music?
Poetry or prose?
Africa or Asia?
Russia or Brazil?

[my grad school city] or [my current location]?
Clinton or Bush?
Quayle or Gore?
Hillary or Saddam?

Radio or CD?
Worse: headache or upset stomach?
South Dakota or West Virginia?
Washington - DC or state?
Love or lust?

Classical or Jazz?
Penthouse apartment or hundred acre estate?
Atlantic or Pacific?
Right now: cookies or chips?
Short hair or long?

Sit or stand?
Sleep: back, side or tummy?
Worse: snake or locust?
Navy or Marines?
Head or heart?
Skill or desire? (and I was thinking sports, not sex, though you could go either way, I guess)

Recliner or couch?
Sushi or Tempura?
Fiction or non?
Baseball or basketball?
Rain or snow?

Pepsi or Coke?
Chicago or Atlanta?
Bears or Packers?
USC or Texas?
Camp or stay at a hotel?
Concert/sporting event: sit close or farther away?

Hire movers or round up a posse and rent a truck?
Eggs or cereal?
Air conditioner or open windows?
Blogging or research?
Dr. Katie or Dr. Kathryn?
Australia or New Zealand?

Mulgrew or WaiterRant?
Internet Explorer or Firefox?
Photograph or painting?
Someone's late for a personal meeting – how long do you wait?

Colgate or Crest?
Pajamas, or any old thing to sleep in?
Water or Gatorade?
Boston or Seattle?
Thrash metal or gangsta rap?

Which would rather have for your niece: love or success?
For yourself?
Oprah or Ellen? (Just answer - it's getting late and this exchange is too fantastic to allow sleepiness to set in)
Cut flowers or potted plant?
Gum: cinnamon or mint?
Ice cream: in a cone or cup?

The joy in this game is that conversation can, and should, spring up at any point. You can elaborate on particularly good answers, smile over things you have in common, and argue over those you don’t. I’ve never had so perfect a partner than I kept the game going this long, which is probably part of the reason I wanted to record its existence. It was absolutely lovely, and I would play the question game at any time with any of you. Except that I’ve already given away some of my favorite questions, so I’ll need time to think of new ones.

So... Do you drink coffee black or with cream and sugar?