My dream job is to be a rock drummer and the alternate drummer for the Foo Fighters.

NASA asked me to create meals for the space shuttle. Thai chicken was the favorite. I flew in a fake space shuttle, but I have no desire to go into space after seeing the toilet.

I live in, literally, the same home when I was swiping my first bank card and wondering if I'd have to put back the Charmin. We still don't have a dishwasher. My mom has done all these gardens so now my house looks like the garden shack in the middle of Versailles.

I like feeling like an ox at the end of the day. I like working hard.

You should be waking up and being excited about what you're going to do today, and your friends and your family, and what you're going to achieve in life.

At a very young age, my beloved mother passed away from leukemia, forcing my father to become a single dad. Rather than coddle me, shelter me, or do things for me, he taught me to 'Make the Case' for everything in life - from my first job to a graduation trip I wanted.

If you have a friend or family member with breast cancer, try not to look at her with 'sad eyes.' Treat her like you always did; just show a little extra love.

In terms of the Eastern Europe stories, my family is originally from there; even as a kid, it was the Russian writers I loved most, and I've spent a substantial amount of time there myself, traveling and on research grants.