Learn more about Susan from her Proust Questionnaire answers below!

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Just the little things in life.  The colours and fragrance of autumn.  Coming in from the cold.  Ice cream.  Holding hands.  Thunder.  Little birds chirping.  Showering after a hot day.  Finishing a project.  A quiet snowfall.  Perfume.  A good laugh. 

What is your greatest fear?
Well, this may not be my greatest fear, but I do wonder how I’d ever survive in a post-apocalyptic world without electricity or running water.  Shows like The Walking Dead and Doomsday Preppers get me thinking.  I couldn’t kill anything, I need a decent mattress, mosquitoes love me, I'm always cold, and my nose runs constantly.  I also like everything to be pretty tidy and sterile, so I'm probably not the best hunter/gatherer/cave-dweller.  But there’s longevity in my genes so, with my luck, I’d outlast everyone!  I think living off the grid is an interesting concept, just really not something I'd particularly enjoy.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
I’m quite intolerant of intolerance - of privileged people judging and persecuting 'others' based on perceived 'difference'.  I feel we should be curious about and celebrate one another's uniquenesses, working hard to achieve equity, fairness, and safety for all. 

Which living person do you most admire?
We’re all fighting some kind of battle, so I admire anyone who demonstrates everyday kindness.  Despite physical, emotional, social and economic hardship, decency truly abounds.  I marvel at the selfless, easy goodness in others.  If I have to choose one person off the top of my head, though, it would be Thich Nhat Hahn for all he does in the name of peace.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Purses.  I know – shallow – but I like pretty things, especially when they carry a lot.  I prefer a good tote, for that reason.  Maybe it’s my fear of doing badly during a zombie apocalypse, but I like to have necessities on hand.  People are always surprised at the heavyness of my bag, but I like to be prepared.  I have the usual (phone; cash; credit cards), but then I have the unusual (a supply of lotions, potions and meds that could reanimate Frankenstein's creature; keys to almost every place I’ve ever been or will be; a lucky penny I found on an island; enough makeup to alter my appearance entirely; an enormous supply of tissue for my ever-runny nose; a light sweater, if it gets cold; water, if it gets dry; an umbrella, if it's wet; sunglasses, contacts, and all that).  I’m a worrier.  I come prepared.  I need a nice purse for that.