frey task 005 ⪼ headcanons
How messy is their bedroom?
He’d rather call it clutter than mess. Books tend to pile up on his dresser, but they usually don’t get creased or stained. His bed doesn’t really get made, but he’ll tug his comforter up in the morning so it can pass for neat. Clothes go in a hamper or over a desk-chair, but never on the floor – well, occasionally on the floor – well, sometimes, but only if he’s really in a rush to fall asleep.
Point is, even if Quino’s not exactly living wrinkle-free, he’s not in his twenties anymore, either, and his apartment isn’t a dorm room. He knows where the line is. He just might toe it, every once in a while.
What are their sleeping habits? Do they have a nighttime routine?
A big fan of small mattresses, especially when sharing a bed (what’s the point of sleeping together if you don’t have to touch?), Quino doesn’t need a lot of space to spread out. He sleeps best on his front, one knee bent, one hand tucked half-under his pillow. Quino can function on as little as three hours of sleep, but only for a day; he averages around six, and becomes increasingly distracted and irritable with exhaustion.
Realistically, he knows he should have more of a nighttime routine – it’s just good sleep hygiene – but the only pattern he keeps is a beer or two and some laptop use before bed. More often than not, he’ll have a cigarette to “help him fall asleep,” but it probably just contributes to keeping him up.
If you opened their kitchen cabinets, what would you find?
Quino really enjoys cooking for himself, and his cabinets reflect that; he tries to stay stocked on staples like flour (corn and all-purpose), sugar, vegetable oil, and whatever sauces he has to get store-bought. His coffee is Equal Exchange, which he orders online – he considers it one of his only indulgences, though that’s certainly up for debate.
What do they buy on a routine trip to the grocery store?
He never runs out of apples or coffee creamer. Less routinely-bought, but still high on his list: chicken, pita chips, Excedrin extra-strength, Sierra Nevada pale ale.
Every two or three days, he buys a pack of Parliaments from his local convenience store.
How long will they flip through TV channels before giving up, or do they eventually settle on something?
Quino has a television, but he doesn’t have cable, so he only gets very basic network channels – good for baseball games and national addresses, bad for just about everything else. He does, however, maintain subscriptions to Netflix and HBO Go (alright, the HBO is his step-brother’s account), which makes it easy to waste a lot of time scrolling through TV shows before ultimately settling on something he’s already seen.
Do they ever burn scented candles? What’s their favorite scent?
Look, Quino says he doesn’t smoke in his apartment, but sometimes sitting by an open window is as close as he gets to going outside. To compensate for the slip-up, sometimes he’ll light a candle on the other side of his apartment, just in case the scent travels. He’s partial to Pine Needle; it has the downside of making his place smell like Christmas, but the scent’ll mask just about anything.
What’s their reaction when they see a dog on the street?
Dogs are alright, but they’re definitely not worth interrupting a stranger. Quino’s happy to pet animals that approach him. He won’t fuss over one that keeps to itself.
When’s the last time they saw a doctor, and what for?
A little over two years ago, Quino put off getting his flu vaccination a little too long. He’s not a frequent patient by any means – he hadn’t yet chosen a doctor in Frey – and it took running a high fever for him to make an appointment. He missed a full five days of class.
Do they save birthday cards?
No. He actively discourages people from buying them in the first place (not that there are a lot of people with Quino’s birthday on their calendar), and the only cards he keeps are the hand-written ones his mother sends him every year.
What is their morning routine?
On weekdays, Quino sets two alarms: one at 7:10 and one at 7:25. The goal is to check up on the news with the time between, but this usually just means falling back asleep with his phone in his hand. When he gets up, he starts a pot of coffee, takes a brisk shower, and decides whether or not to shave (on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when he has an early class, the answer is typically no).
What’s something in their home that they can never bring themselves to throw away? Why?
The fucking cat, for one. He inherited Gidget after a breakup, a consolation prize he didn’t want; though he’ll threaten her with the animal shelter when she wanders or wakes him up, Quino can’t imagine getting rid of her now. She’s an essential part of his apartment, a quiet soundboard for his frustrations, and an awfully good space-heater for his feet on winter nights.
Do they keep a journal or diary? If so, what do they write about and how often?
Quino’s really not one for introspection. It’s one of his biggest oversights: for all his intuition and judging, he’s severely limited when it comes to understanding himself. And since journals are all about self-documentation, he tends to steer clear.
Who are the last three calls to/from in their phone?
To: Sleepy Nicky’s (0m 24s), Isaac Tenison (voicemail), MasterCard Customer Support (27m 52s) From: Isaac Tenison (1m 15s), the Franklin Library (voicemail), Hillary for America (voicemail)
How frequently do they skip breakfast?
He doesn’t skip breakfast ever, technically – he’s a piece-of-fruit-in-the-morning guy, even if it means eating in his office or at the start of his first class. Still, that’s the extent of Quino’s weekday breakfast; he saves the real breakfast food for weekend mornings, when he has more time to cook and more space to eat.
When’s the last time they sent an email? Who was it to?
From: Joaquin Pacana <[email protected]> Date: Thurs, Mar 3, 2016 at 8:18 PM Subject: Re: Pol293 midterm question – office hours? To: Sarah Pilchman <[email protected]>
Sarah –
Are you on the sign-up sheet? I posted it on my door earlier this week. Tmrw is very busy. Let’s try for 3:30. No promises.
Joaquín Pacana Garrido Dept of Political Science College of Arts & Sciences Decary Hall 326
What items would you find on their nightstand?
He bought The Liberty Amendments over a year ago, and it has been sitting on his nightstand for nearly as long, collecting a thin layer of dust between attempted readings. The bookmark (a $1 bill) hasn't moved in weeks. He also keeps a set of portable iPhone speakers (doubling as a charger), a lighter, and a glass for water within reach.
When they shop for clothing, do they like to bring someone else with them? Do they try things on before buying them?
By now, Quino knows his sizes well enough to buy clothes without trying them first; he'll put a jacket on by a mirror, maybe, but he draws the line at having to go into a separate room. Similarly, unless he's shopping for a specific occasion, he'd rather not bring someone along with him. He doesn't need second opinions on clothes.
What songs do they turn the car radio up for? What songs do they skip?
His car was made before aux jacks came standard, so when he's not listening to CDs, Quino has to settle for radio. He defaults to Portland's alt-rock station, and switches when the music gets too heavy/hard for him -- punk is one thing, but he never learned to like anything industrial-sounding. When his second-choice classic rock stations get too Led Zepplin or AC/DC, he'll change those, too.
He has never turned off a song by the Clash, the Shins, or Natalie Merchant. Never.
Do they have a lucky number? Why or why not?
Nope. He is utterly unsuperstitous, and does not believe in luck -- nor does he believe in karma, horoscopes, auras, or fate. He's almost positive he doesn't believe in Heaven, either, but he hasn't quite been able to shake religion yet, so he just tries not to think about it.
Did they vote in the last presidential election? Will they vote in the next?
Quino has read a number of compelling arguments against voting independent in national races, but he's very concerned with the idea that his vote is his voice, which makes him uncomfortable voting for a candidate he disagrees strongly with, regardless of how the math works out. In 2012, he voted for Jill Stein, of the Green Party; he'll be voting for her again come November.
What was their first job, and would they ever do it again?
There were a number of odd-jobs he did as a child, but the first official job he got was at his step-father's restaurant, where he washed dishes. He liked being in the kitchen (no customer complaints, plenty of room to socialize), but he's easily bored of busy-work, and doesn't consider that salary to be a living wage. There's not a chance in hell he'd go back to it now.
What was the worst gift they’ve ever given a friend?
Where do we start? It's not that Quino doesn't know how to give considerate gifts; it's just that he can't resist the opportunity to make a point. He's bought books that prove his side of an argument, campaign bumper stickers for his favorite candidate, DVDs of TV shows he swears you'll like if you just get past the first half-season... If you and Quino disagree on something, chances are, he'll capitalize on it come the holidays.
Do they stick anything to their fridge? If so, what?
He has a magnet of UNE's academic calendar, and a couple stray magnetic poetry words he found in his things after he left Michelle's (with, smooth, fast, and ing). He doesn't hang papers on his fridge.
What are three things they currently have marked on their calendar?
For someone as inherently scattered as Quino, he keeps a fairly detailed calendar; due dates for assignments, due dates for grades, on-campus lectures to attend, school-wide holidays, and faculty meetings all have to be written down if he wants to remember any of them. His next three dates marked are: Maine Caucuses (March 5-6), POL461 papers due (March 9), and Spring Break (March 14-18).
What’s something that keeps them up at night?
For a while, he had trouble falling asleep if the room was totally silent. That's gotten better with time, and he no longer needs to rely on quiet music or white noise at night, but he'd still probably have a rough go of it if Gidget didn't sleep, purring and twitching, at the end of his bed.
A less literal answer: Quino is most anxious about his stagnancy, his own perceived unimportance, and the disparity between the community he identifies with and the community to which he belongs. He just doesn't dig deep enough to know it.