Which trait do you most dislike in yourself?

Nobody has ever accused me of being a superior communicator. If I could have conveyed to the American people the concerns I had, and my heartbeat, a little more clearly, maybe I would not be unemployed and retired. And I might not be this happy, either. I learned a lot from Ronald Reagan about communication. Never got to be in his league in terms of it, but he could say something and the American people might not agree with the issue, but they could empathize with him.

I interrupt too much.

No sense of humor.

I’m certainly not going to tell it here.

That I give way too quickly.

I’d rather name one for someone else. I’m egomaniacal.

Self-absorption.

Overall I’d have to say my earnestness.

If I had a trait that I truly deplored, I would work to erase or modify it…Probably, a lack of discipline. (Though people think that I write quickly, & don’t revise, quite the reverse is true.) To myself, I work very slowly & painstakingly, & am often frustrated by accomplishing so little. My friend Margaret Atwood has said that in the late afternoon she is likely to be overcome by a feeling of desperation that she has accomplished so little that day, & this is a feeling I share, often. It seems that I waste most of my time gazing out the window here at my (overgrown) garden; & when I am in Berkeley, where I spend about one-third of the year, I am forever gazing out the window toward the San Francisco Bay & a continually changing, always-beautiful sky.

The inability to laugh before 11 a.m.

My tendency to skip meals.

Laziness. After 30 years of being a disciplined athlete with an intensely tight schedule, I still can’t forgive myself for letting things slide.

The inclination to pretend I read a friend’s book when maybe I didn’t completely finish.

Short-term memory.

The only drink I really, really like is champagne.

Catastrophising.

When I’m self-involved or insensitive to others.

My phobias. I’m down to two, so I take that as a positive sign.

Minding not being liked.

At this time in my life, I quite like myself but, for a large portion of my life, I deplored being shy.