Shari Finnell – Proust Questionnaire

Shari Finnell, Director of Search Media/Editor in Chief at Slingshot SEO, is daily discovering the joys of
working in the constantly evolving world of search engine optimization. The former print journalist was
an editor for the Indianapolis Star and Indianapolis Woman magazine before making the move to digital
media. Read her blogs or follow her on Twitter.

1. What is your most marked characteristic? A strange sneeze that always turns heads.

2. What is the quality you most like in a man? I always say I like a man with character, specifically someone who is trustworthy.

3. What is the quality you most like in a woman? Actually, I don’t see why it should be any different than that of a man. Trustworthiness is a big one.

4. What do you most value in your friends? Acceptance. I can vent, complain or act goofy or irrational … whatever … without fearing I will be judged or criticized.

5. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself? I can be a bit self-critical … like obsessing over how well I’m fulfilling my motherly duties by baking chocolate chip cookies.

6. What is your idea of perfect happiness? Spending my evenings in an art studio, surrounded by paint brushes, acrylics and dozens of blank canvases … just waiting for the expressions of my imagination to spill out.

7. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Maybe not the lowest but … plenty of time on my hands and no books in sight.

8. Who are your favorite writers? The writers who have recently amazed me include Junot Diaz (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao); Zadie Smith (White Teeth) and Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Shadow of the Wind). Let’s throw Carl Hiaasen in the mix too … just for always making me laugh.

9. What is your current state of mind? Mellow. Lately, I’ve been realizing the importance of prioritizing relationships with family and friends.

10. What is your motto? “Only a life lived for others is worth living.” Courtesy of Albert Einstein.

11. What is your greatest fear? Driving on a narrow road while making my way up a mountain makes me hyperventilate.

12. What is your greatest extravagance? A one-hour massage is my ultimate yet most cost-effective escape.

13. On what occasion do you lie? Wow. That’s a good one. I always tell my kids how much I hate lying. I guess I would never tell my hosts that I hate the dish they just served.

14. What do you dislike most about your appearance? I’m not in love with my love handles.

15. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Well … you know … I guess it would be “you know.” I just signed up for Toastmasters to deal with that problem.