Interrogation Station is here to answer questions from YOU. To give it a go, just submit a question through my Formspring page. You can ask anything you like, it doesn’t have to be about style or art. All I request is that you check out my FAQ and previously asked questions beforehand. I can’t guarantee that I’ll get to every single question, but I will certainly try. You can see previous installments of I.S. here.
This I.S. is all about me. I get a megaton of personal questions on Formspring, but generally want this feature to be helpful rather than indulgent, so they get left behind. Also, some of the questions are creepy. I won’t be answering those. Anyway, it doesn’t feel fair to say “ask me anything” and then ignore such a large percentage of questions. Today in the mood, so feel free to skip this one if you’re not.
Where would you prefer to be at any moment?
Enroute to a grand adventure.
Are you a breakfast eater?
Absolutely.
How tall are you?
5’4.
Have you ever gone rock climbing?
I have! I’ve even climbed two glaciers back in Russia.
How much coffee do you drink every day?
I don’t drink much coffee anymore, actually, certainly not every day. When I do, no more than two cups.
Are you ticklish?
Not usually.
Will you marry me?
Nooop.
What is the correct pronunciation of your name?
Zoh-eh-tee-kah.
I hope this doesn’t sound silly, like maybe I should already know the answer, but is Zoetica your birthname?
It is not.
What is your favorite candy?
I’m actually not all that fond of candy, but I love super-fancy dark chocolate, Japanese lychee-flavored gummies, and Turkish Delights.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
Laziness, in all its manifestations.
How many languages do you speak?
Russian – fluent, English – fluent, French – lower-intermediate. I also understand Spanish fairly well.
Do you identify as bisexual?
Well, I guess so? Maybe? If you want? Honestly, I have never felt a need to identify as anything, be it sex or gender. I’ve always found women to be beautiful, and my first sexual experience was with a woman. That said, I’ve “seriously” dated maybe five women in my entire life, slept with a few more, and have been involved with way more men than that. I’m married to a man. I suppose if I was forced to pick a word, it would be “Pansexual“.
What was the reason for your move from Russia to the United States?
I didn’t have a reason, I had parents. It wasn’t my decision, but it’s a decision I’m grateful for every day. As much as I love and achingly miss Russia, I honestly don’t think I could have done half of what I’ve been able to do in the US. I love my life here. That said, I still have my Russian citizenship along with an American one, and Ales and I talk about moving in a couple of years at least once a week. I like having options.
What is your family background like? What did they do?
My mother teaches French and Russian here. In Russia, she was an interpreter, and worked with everything from book translation to diplomats. She also wrote a few children’s books. My father writes for a Russian-language paper here along with running a consulting business. In Russia he was a writer, a journalist, a Karate instructor, a security officer, a partner in a clothing company, and a strawberry-breeder, among other things. My grandmother on my mother’s side worked as a forensic pathologist. She’s 87 now, but up until just a few years ago, she spent most of her free time hiking in large groups and traveling. My grandfather on my father’s side was a physicist. He wrote textbooks and had an office I slept in during visits, that was covered in built-in bookshelves, wall to wall, with green ivy covering the entire ceiling. He gave me my first fancy German markers to draw with. He traveled a lot. It’s safe to say that I come from a long line of curious intellectuals.
“I did spend a night in a youth correctional facility, somewhere in the bowels of the deep South, when I was around fifteen.” you said, can we hear some details, please?
Saving that story for the memoirs. The short version: I ran away from home when I was 14. I was eventually caught and held until my family could retrieve me.
Do you like Type O Negative? I’m sad Peter Steele died.
I’m sad too, but probably for the wrong reasons. When I was about 16, I was carnally fascinated with Steele, yet turned down an invitation to go backstage at a Denver concert. Now I’ll never get to hit that. He wasn’t afraid be funny and stupid and to poke fun where it so sorely needed to be poked. I think we would have gotten along.
You always look really comfortable with your own skin. Is there anything you don’t like that much about your physical appearance?
That’s a thought process I don’t engage in. There are many ways in which I could be less like me, but I that’s just it. Then it wouldn’t be me, and I like me. In case, y’know, you couldn’t tell.
I know you met Ales in Paris, but, how exactly?
Ah, I’m so glad you asked! Initially, Ales and I met on Whitechapel – a message board belonging to brilliant writer and Notorious Love Swami, Warren Ellis. I saw his picture, and felt a distant sense of recognition. At the time, Ales lived in the Czech Republic, and I lived here in LA. I think at the moment of initial contact, we were both somewhat involved with people, so it was all strictly platonic. We maintained contact entirely though Twitter direct messages, i.e. 140 characters or less. After half a year, or maybe a little bit more, I found myself going to Paris, and Ales met me there. In person, that recognition was undeniable. I had rented an apartment for four days, and things were most certainly no longer platonic. That was that.
Out of curiosity, do Ales and you plan on procreating? I think you two would be doing the world a great favor by creating art/genius hybrids.
Thanks, but nooo. Neither of us has any interest in the childbearing process, and we both have way too much we want to do in this lifetime. We’re happy to have time to devote to work, each other, our friends, and our dog.
Always,
