Do you feel you're better than other people?

"Most of 'em, damn straight."

"Hell yes. I believe in equal rights but not equal ability, equal brains, or equal beauty. Though I don't believe I'm better than everyone, I do believe I'm better than most. (I do go to a community college where the dregs of humanity come out in droves so I'm constantly being exposed to the lowest common denominator)."

"Not in the literal sense, but there are certain people--in my classes, at work, on the street--who must just ooze some chemicals that cause my hatred. For one reason or another, I enjoy venting my frustration by secretly picking apart their appearance and what I imagine their personalities to be like."

"Oh my yes, I'm a big ol' snob. The liberal ex-graduate student in me cringes just to write it, but I gotta be honest."

"I wouldn't say better at all, just more attuned to people's feelings and reactions. That's what bother's me most about people--no awareness of others. Also, I do feel that a lot of people in general settle for whatever they think they've gotten dealt, and I would rather not stagnate but instead live it all to its fullest."

"No, and people who do really piss me off. I make it a point of knocking them off their high horse."

"HAHAHAHAHA!!! I've got the biggest inferiority complex in the world! I tend to think that most people are stupid, but I certainly don't think I'm BETTER. Well, maybe I AM better at expressing how insecure I really am."

"Fuck yes. Have you seen other people?"

Pashminas--do you own one?  Do you wear it?  Do you even know what we're talking about?

"What the fuck is that?"

"I don't have one, but I think I know what it is. It's the expensive cashmerey scarf thing, isn't it? I'm too busy trying to find a warm hat that my toddler won't rip off of his head and fling into the gutter to be shopping for pashminas."

"I recently found out what a pashmina is. I don't have one and I've not going to purchase one. I am apprehensive of people wearing them here (in New England). I imagine the same people who wear pashminas during the east coast winters are people who wear open-toed shoes in 40 degree weather (for whom I and a growing number of girlfriends have a particular dislike)."

"I had to ask a friend what the hell they were. My mom's been wearing those for a hundred years. Certainly not all cashmere, but she's a shawl wearing fool. So what, suddenly they're hip? When did wearing a rap become trendy? The concept of "in fashion" is dumb."

"Pashmina?!?! I think that was the name of my neighbor's Siamese cat...or, no. It was Pasha. Whatever, man. YOU MUST THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN PEOPLE SO YOU THROW IN THESE OBSCURE WORDS AND LAUGH YOUR ASSES OFF AT ALL OF US WHO DON'T KNOW...heh heh heh."

"No, I don't own one, I think they're pretty though (when not made from an endangered goat in the Himalayas or whatever. Cashmere is luxurious and expensive enough for me, thank you very much). I would wear one if a hundred million other freaks who don't even really know what it is or the history behind it is didn't wear them."

"Pashwhatas?"

"Yeah, my eating habits are for shit. The vitamins gotta be helping. And just the act of taking them has a fabulous placebo effect."

"Only sometimes, so I'm not sure if they work or not."

"I took them before, during, and after pregnancy and I have a perfect little kid to show for it. Now I seem to have lost the discipline."

"Nope, I don't take 'em. I don't know if they work or not. I sometimes take them at night if I'm loaded and I fear a hangover in the morning. Although, at that point there's really not much you can do to prevent it."

"I take them and I am not sure if they work, but I eat whatever I want and don't follow the FDA guidelines so a vitamin makes me feel like I am dotting the i's and crossing the t's."

"Yes, definitely they work!!! I have so much more energy. I'm able to get through the day without crashing! They've also helped with PMS symptoms."

"Yep--take vitamins. Don't know if they really help, but I figure I'll just pee 'em right out if they don't get absorbed and used up the way they're 'sposed to."

"The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. The great thing about not knowing shit about the individual battles of the Civil War is that I didn't have a clue how the book would end."

"Les Miserables--I'd never read it or seen the play. I figured it was one I should have under my belt. It was really good, very moving, and well written, but I still don't understand what the hell the French Revolution was about."

"Have to admit, the last things I've read have been those Harry Potter extravaganzas."

"The Devil's Teardrop by Jeffrey Deaver. He also wrote The Bone Collector. Fabulous, I highly recommend it. "

"The G. Gordon Liddy Biography. A very interesting man."

"A book of poetry by Carl Sandburg. He's quite good, but I think he has a non-sexual crush on Lincoln."

"I'm currently listening to the book on tape (unabridged, of course) of On Gold Mountain by Lisa See. It's a rather fascinating nonfiction read about several generations of See's Chinese-American family in Los Angeles. The last book (not on tape) that I read was Wake Up, I'm Fat, by Camryn Manheim. She's fabulous."

"Aside from text books on the art and history of India, I read a great book by Truman Capote. It was his first one, I don't remember the name. I long to read, but with school I don't have time."