1. What is your favorite word?
Nobody has a favorite word. That’s ridiculous.
2. Where did you grow up?
Waynesboro, VA, the proud birthplace of Spandex. Yes, really. No, there isn’t that much to do.
3. What’s the best meal you’ve ever had?
There used to be a restaurant in Staunton called Staunton Grocery that did an appetizer of fried squash blossoms stuffed with farmer’s cheese. Somehow they had a source for blossoms that were on their way to bearing fruit, so the flowers had tiny, tender baby squashes inside. I still think about those squash blossoms.
4. What’s your favorite hobby to avoid the stress of law school?
I play a lot of Insurgency, which is an indie FPS game from a few years back. It’s like Counter-Strike but harder, and the sound design is really good. I’ve put around 1,200 hours into it over the last two years, which means that I’m in the top twenty players worldwide in the mode I play.
5. If you had to pick one song to play non-stop in the background of your life, what would it be?
“4:33” by John Cage.
6. What’s something you wish you’d known about law school before coming to UVa Law?
Literally WTF a “tort” was. I showed up on the first day with no idea of what I was about to learn. It was probably the only time in my life I’ve ever started completely from zero in school. It ended up being my favorite class!
7. What did you have for breakfast this morning?
A bowl of Raisin Bran with soymilk and two cups of coffee (half-caf, cream, no sugar). Raisin Bran is my go-to. Peanut butter toast is another good option if you want something more filling than Raisin Bran. The best peanut butter is the Crazy Richard’s brand, which has only one ingredient—peanuts. Really, what else do you need? It’s peanut butter.
8. What’s your most interesting two-truths-and-a-lie? (And what’s the lie?)
I’ve never eaten bacon
I’ve resuscitated two people with CPR.
I’ve visited every continent.
The last is a lie. I’m missing 3 continents.
9. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
In an old house in a little town in the South Holland province of the Netherlands. You can get anywhere by bicycle, the scenery is gorgeous, the people are friendly, the food is delicious, and there are a lot of museums and things to see.
10. What’s your least favorite sound?
The horrible sound of squeakily crunching Styrofoam. It’s literally physically painful to me.
11. Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC?
Throbbing Gristle. “Maggot Death—Live at Rat Club” is a banger.
12. What is the best concert you have ever been to?
Wilco at the Pavilion (twice). And once in college, Kendrick Lamar did an essentially free concert at William and Mary. I couldn’t convince any of my friends to go—they had no idea who he was.
13. Would you like to be famous? In what way?
I’d like to be well-known, but not “people take selfies with me” famous. I figure if people are saying “Ranzini” in the same tone as “Chemerinsky,” I’m doing more than OK.
gpr7qx@virginia.edu