Thursday, July 29, 2004

This isn't really a meme...

...but I'm putting it here anyway.
Link: Jobs I've had from here, who stole it from here.

Jobs I've had:

Age 12-15 : Babysitter.
Commentary: Does every female my age start her CV this way? Thank God some boys are starting to do this as well!

Actually, I worked for my dad, for free before this, both in his shop and when he worked for Mountain Center (can't link, it no longer exists, long family-drama story involved here which I hope to NEVER GO INTO online). I used a torch, sorted nails, cleaned construction sites and folded brochures, among other eventful duties.

Age 16-17: Shelver (i.e. Page) at my local public library.
Commentary: It looked NOTHING like this when I worked there. I got the job because one of my sisters and my brother worked there before me and Mrs. Koestner liked them. She fired me. For being honest: I couldn't get all my shelf-reading done and I stopped lying about it after about a year. Oh well. At least she was nice about it and let my record show that I 'quit because of family health issues.' My dad had just had his second heart attack and first heart surgery. This set the stage in long career of waiting to get nailed for honesty, but continuing to be honest. Must be Protestant masochism....

Age13-18: Unpaid helper in the church nursery and preschool rooms.
Commentary: This was my way of getting out of going to Youth Group and/or church. I dealt with several classes of toddlers that I eventually got to see confirmed. Very cool. I like this job; because it was unpaid??

Age 17: Unpaid member of the puppet ministry team at my church
Commentary: I loved this. Wish I could get back to it. Too corny for now though.

Age 18-22: (at college) Language Lab Work-Study job
Commentary: I was so good at this that I was supervisor my senior year. heh. Consisted of putting tapes in machines when language students came in to practice their accents. Mostly I either did homework or slept. I loved organizining the schedules though. And it tied in nicely with my 'job' on the campus radio station where I had my own show(s) every week and eventually became station manager. And attempted to catalog the entire LP collection which probably consisted of over 5,000 albums. Obviously never finished.

Age 19-21: (summers) Christian Education Intern at my church
Commentary: Ministers swear! At least the CE one did. And he was great, in spite of having his marriage falling to pieces around him over the course of my time there.

I got to run the summer Sunday school program, and sort out VBS both summers. Loved the former, hated the latter. Probably wasn't all that great at either. Also evolved into general office work by the end of the second summer: running bulletins on the mimeograph machine (anyone remember those?) and typing.

Age 19-21: (summers) Temp worker for Adia
Commentary: Fascinating. Got paid more to sit at a desk and take up space but not actually do anything than to work in the kitchen at an Italian 'boutique' food shop making clam sauce from scratch. Learned to use some very complicated phone systems. Realized that corporate life was SO not me. Had to convince every place I went that I really could alphabetize properly. Occasionally worked it so that I was assigned to do boring work with friends (poring over lists of companies looking for specific data in their records, etc.).

Age 22: (summer) Campus grunt
Commentary: That wasn't my title, but that's what we did. We set up the dorms for groups to use them over the summer and inspected them after said groups left. We painted. We moved chairs (Two by two. Up and down stairs. Constantly; really that's what I remember doing mostly). We lived in a house together, the 7 of us. We had drama. We had a cool boss. We watched a lot of MTV (Sting's We'll Be Together, and Paul Young's Every Time You Go Away, and the LiveAid concert...).

Age 23-24: Work-Study job at my graduate school's Library Archives and Special Collections
Commentary: My introduction to Weird Librarians. Really. Nice guys. But REALLY REALLY weird. Cataloged the Henry Reiss papers, or at least tried to make sense of the original list of the collection. Discovered 1950s Playboy and the Marquis de Sade and really bad local poetry.

Age 24: (Christmas season) Swiss Colony
Commentary: My one real foray into retail was "Would you like to try a sample?" of cheese at Christmas at a cheese store. My boss was awful in every way. Awful-er by leaps and bounds than the weird librarians. He was the worst manager ever. I only worked there 6 weeks. It was awful. The longest 6-week job ever. Guess what everyone in my family got for Christmas that year...

Age 24: Intern at a small suburban library
Commentary: As a Children's intern. Decided this definitely wasn't for me. Really, I wanted to be a YA Librarian. Still do, but I'm too old now, I think.

This job eventually led to a paid position as an office/circ supervisor on Sundays. I covered and otherwise processed books and kept the circ desk staff coordinated.

Age 24-30: My first "real" job; not saying where since I'm going to slam the hell out of it
Commentary: Six years, summed up in this sentence: "I'll be damned if I leave before she [i.e. psycho-suicidal neurotic anorexic boss from hell who stole money from the library and blamed it on the employees] does! She'll have to fire me." I won from that standpoint. But really I lost 6 years. I learned enough to know that I never want to be a boss, and that sometimes people lie. Every time they open their mouths. And that you can't trust friends you make at work. Oh, and library boards are fuckin' clueless.

This library was a multi-community service area in an area with money. The people in these communities (well, three of them anyway) squeezed their money so tight it literally screamed whenever we looked at it. I was in the building again last summer for the first time in 5 years or so; it's a wreck: paint chipping (hasn't been painted since 1984), carpet ragged (ditto), dark lighting (in the underground area), wallboard so badly banged up that on corners it's just gone. Sad.

Glad I'm outta there.

Oh, and yes, this woman is still a director, at another library. Unbelievable. The board didn't realize she'd committed financial crimes till 3 years after I left and never pressed charges.

Age 29-current: (in perpetuity) Mom
Commentary: Depending on the day, either the best job or the worst. I'm not always good at it: no patience. But I sure appreciate a lot of the benefits. 'nuf said. If you aren't a parent, this is boring. If you are, you know it already.

Age 31-32: Newpaper carrier for the county paper
Commentary: Weird job. I actually liked most of it, except for getting up in the winter at 4 a.m. Once I was up I was fine, but getting up sucked. Walked around before dawn is actually wonderful. And when I got back home I managed to do a guided reading of the entire Bible that year before anyone else was up. I did not like the wages or the fact that the newspaper is less than organized in its delivery to the carriers.

Age 32-current: Reference Librarian and now Cataloger
Commentary: Started working 3 nights a week and one weekend day, plus every 6th Sunday, about 18 hours a week. Now work about 32. Great job. Great boss. Basically good people. More comfortable now than at any other time of my life (but that's not necessarily my job's responsibility now, is it?).

Volunteer positions: Sunday School teacher (1987, 1998-2004), VBS teacher and coordinator at different times (1995-2002), lots of other church volunteer stuff to the point of burnout (1995-2004), Habitat for Humanity (1994-1995), Parent-Teacher Organization (2003-2004), school volunteer (1998-2002). Other stuff I can't remember.

Back in the Meme swing

Link: The Thursday Threesome
Title:  ::Knit One, Purl Too::

Onesome- Knit one: Do you have a crafty hobby? Knitting, stitching, scrapbooking or model building, whatever it is, tell us about it! Or is there a crafty hobby you'd like to take up if had the time and/or money to do so?
    Yes, I scrapbook.  Used to be religious about it:  a monthly date to spend six straight hours.  Now I haven't really touched it for about 10 months.  On the other hand, with the number of pictures we took in England, I'd better get back on that pony quick! 
    I know how to knit, but can't get myself to finish any project.  Always feel like I'll get around to it and never do.  What a waste.  [I also know that the saying this meme is based on is "Knit one, purl two."]
    Both my grandmothers and one of my great-grandmothers quilted.  We have a large collection of quilts in the family.  I'd love to do that, but I know that I am quite disorganized and need an outside source to account to if I start something like this.  Someday, soon, I hope to find someone to make me responsible for creating a (small) quilt.
Twosome- Purl: Or rather, pearl. What's your birthstone? And while you're at it, what's your sign? *g*
    I feel like I'm being picked up in a bar! :-)
    Topaz.  Scorpio. [November, if that's too complicated]
Threesome- Too: Too much? Have you had enough of the political coverage already? ...or are you waiting for things to really gear up in the Fall?
    Nope, but probably soon.  Been outta the country, listening to other people's political weirdness.  Try this on for size:  "If you're a small business, you'd be a lunatic to hire a woman of child bearing age," says Mr Godfrey Bloom, a British Member of the European Parliament.  Yeah.  OK, dude.  Come say that in America.  To me.  Cuz you'll get an earful about "child-bearing age" not necessarily meaning "able to have children."  Etc.

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Yeah, so it's Tuesday....oh well...!

Link: Monday Madness via Jenica
Title:Let's try some 'true or false' questions this week! Feel free to elaborate as you wish!

1. I like my job.
Yes. Although today I'm feeling relatively panicked and freaked out about getting it buttoned up for vacation.

2. I find time to 'smell the flowers' so to speak.
Yes. Lately I have not had much time to do anything but organized and directed flower-smelling. August will mean--I hope!--some free time to really relax and take a break. At home anyway.

3. I have no problem thinking of things to write about in my blog.
First question: which blog? I only have five now. So the answer is probably Yes. [sarcasm is my middle name]

4. 'Organization' is my middle name!
Yes. I have a lot of middle names. I like things tidy, and I find it difficult to function when my life is disorganized. Which is why this spring/summer has been so emotionally wacked. But definition is in order: "organization" is different from "cleaning," which as far as I can tell is really a four-letter word!

5. If 'Plan A' doesn't work, there's always a 'Plan B.'
Yes, with reservations. It takes me awhile to roll with Plan B if I've really invested in Plan A. However, I suspect that from the outside it looks like I'm very flexible. What happens is that I flex and then I SPROOOINGGGGG back later in another direction and flip out.

6. I adjust easily to new surroundings.
Yes. I actually like to do this. I don't always enjoy the process of getting to new surroundings, but I'm OK once I've arrived.

7. I'd rather work 'behind the scenes' than 'in the spotlight.'
Yes. Hands down.

8. I'm happy where I am, at this point in my life.
Yes. What's to complain about? My life is good.

9. I can wake up in the morning without an alarm clock.
Yes. I have a very loud internal alarm which tends to go off about 3 hours ahead of schedule with the Early Alert. Then as the 'real' wake-up time approaches, it gets progressively harder to ignore it. Which isn't to say that I don't use an alarm clock. I don't always set my internal alarm. I suspect it is set for tomorrow morning, though!

10. I can function pretty well on less than 8 hours of sleep.
Yes. Every day. I got about 8.5 hours Saturday night. Otherwise I average between 5 and 6. Which is why I drink Dr. Pepper first thing in the morning!

Sunday, July 11, 2004

Sunday noonish (and here I am at work)

Link: The First Four
What are the first four things you think of when I say:

Fahrenheit
    1. ...451
    2. ...9/11"
    3. Summer weather
    4. Where is the 'H' in this word!? [I never spell it right the first time.]

Thursday, July 8, 2004

It's Thursday??

Link: Thursday Threesome
Title:::Not so much easy as addicted...::

Onesome: Not so much-- --to do now that school is out for the students? ...or maybe a little too much to do for those student's parental units? What are you up to this July? Back for Summer Sessions? ...off to the beach? ...headed out on a weekend adventure? Surely you must be doing something!
    Let's see: last weekend we had company for three nights, two separate pairs of people on two overlapping nights. This week Sparky has a swim meet (tonight) and another on Saturday (at 6 a.m. Now really, people!). After that there is a housewarming to attend.

    Sunday through Wednesday we MUST ORGANIZE ourselves and pack for our 2 weeks in England. Wednesday afternoon we leave for two weeks. Will be back on July 28 and functional by the 30th. After which we get to coast a little before thinking about school. Which starts on August 30th.

    Swim will be over, baseball will be over, vacations will be over (sniff) and my office cubicle will be arriving.
Twosome: easy as-- Pie? Sure, how about your favorite pie? ...and hey, homemade versus store bought! Would you rather have Mom's Apple Pie or head on over to Marie C's for a slice of heaven there?
    I love pie. I make a mean apple pie, usually about twice every fall, using about 7 cups of freshly peeling and cut up apples (right from the orchard). The only pie that I would consider killing people for is fruit pie: blueberry, apple, cherry. Forget those silly confections that call themselves pie--French silk, chocolate, etc.--FAKERS. But ok, I'll have a slice...
Threesome: addicted-- Okay, what is it you are addicted to, that element of your life you simply cannot do without. Reading? The Net? Little porcelain dolls? Oh, yeah: Money? Nah, make it something you'd spend your spare change on...
    So easy: Books. With games coming in second. I guess indirectly I spend money on baths as well...

Tarot

Link: Courtesy Amy and Annie
Laughing my head off...
    The Hierophant Card
    You are the the Hierophant card. The Hierophant,
    called The Pope in some decks, is the preserver
    of cultural traditions. After entering The
    Emperor's society, The Hierophant teaches us
    its wisdom. The Hierophant learns and teaches
    our cultural traditions. The discoveries our
    ancestors have made influence the present.
    Without forces such as The Hierophant who are
    able to interpret and communicate traditional
    lore, each generation would have to begin to
    learn anew. As a force that is concentrated on
    our past and our culture, The Hierophant can
    sometimes be stubborn and set in his ways. This
    is a negative trait he shares with his zodiac
    sign, Taurus. But like Taurus he is productive.
    His traditional lore can provide a source of
    inspiration for the creatively inclined, and
    his knowledge provides an excellent foundation
    for those who come into their own in the
    business world. Image from: Morgan E.
    Cauthers-Knox.
    http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/loth/m/o/morganc/morganc.html


    Which Tarot Card Are You?
    brought to you by Quizilla
* called The Pope in some decks {hmmm}
* preserver of cultural traditions {check}
* teaches us [society's] wisdom {hmmm}
* [w]ithout...The Hierophant..., each generation would have to begin to learn anew {check}
* can sometimes be stubborn and set in [her] ways {check}
* [her] zodiac sign, Taurus {dead wrong}
* productive {check. I think.}
* a source of inspiration for the creatively inclined {hmmm}
* an excellent foundation for those who come into their own in the business world {hmmm}

Wednesday, July 7, 2004

Hump Day

Title: Today is Chocolate Day ..., commemorating the introduction of chocolate in Europe in the year 1550!

This weeks hump will be a dozen of " I say ____, you think ____"....

01. bust Beethoven (can you tell I took piano lessons?)
02. cream tea
03. kisses hugs
04. elbow sex (second was plumbing, so I'm obviously quite confused)
05. shopping grocery
06. snap -On Tools
07. brush hair
08. serve tennis
09. under -over (something to do with the playground swings...reaching way back into my childhood)
10. bubble -wrap
11. race horse
12. banana second


For extra fun, hump away with this: The Guess-A-Hump!!

...but this week let's give it a new twist!

Think of an item ... But this week let's not make it just any item, but an item you can find in your kitchen!

...don't tell us what the item is. Now, describe that item in a brief paragraph (the size, the color, etc) but don't give it away. Okay, now you're ready to hump it up! Replace the name of the item with the word "hump".
    I have three humps in my kitchen. The one I use the least is silver-gray but doesn't work very well. The second one is white and wider than normal. I only use that hump for unusual jobs and when I need to hump but can't find the main one. My favorite hump is white and silver-gray. The handle is slightly larger than the first one but not as wide as the second hump I described.

    The nice thing about this hump is that it is fully reversible, handy when you have a lefty using the kitchen! I haven't really used my humps lately because of the diet we are all on. Oh, well, we'll be sure to use it later in the year, around November and December. My British relatives used to stock up on humps when they came and visited us here (especially in the 80s) because they couldn't get good humps at home. That's changed, I think. They can buy a decent hump there now.

{EDITED 7/8/04}


    ANSWER: Potato peeler

Friday, July 2, 2004

The Longest Freakin' Meme Ever

Blame this on Amy. I’m stealing several of her concepts too; marked with a *. Unlike Amy, I’m unable to skip fixing the screwed up grammar...at least that which I noticed!

1) Starting time:
5:03 p.m.
2) Full name:
*My full legal name has 21 letters and no hyphens. My first name has four letters.
3) Nicknames:
Don‘t really have any. Except maybe "Mom" and "that bitch, who does she think she is."
4) School:
Undergrad--CC. Graduate--State school nearby CC.
5) Email:
*I have 4 email addresses, one of which is readily accessible from this blog.
6) Eyes:
Hazel
7) Height:
5’8” and shrinking (last time they measured me I was 5’7½”
8) Siblings:
Currently, 3 older (2 sisters, 1 brother) ranging from 50 to 60 years old

HAVE YOU:
9) Ever been kissed:

Yes. Got a nice juicy one from my kid today ... ;-)
10) Ever cheated, or been cheated on:
Not that I’m aware of
11) Ever missed school because it was raining:
Because of RAIN?? Nope.
12) Ever faked sick:
Yes I missed two or three days of school in a row in grade school and my mom ‘had a talk’ with me about it. I never did it again. She didn’t even yell. See the power of calm?
13) Kept a secret from everyone:
Yes. Who hasn’t? Even I’m not that chattery. My mom still doesn't know I went to Italy--and slept in the same room--with a guy. Or maybe she does and just doesn't care...
14) Had an imaginary friend:
No. I had imaginary families, classrooms, dorms, workplaces, spaceships.... My whole life was imaginary for many, many years.
15) Wanted to hook up with a friend:
Oh yeah. W@rren G@al. Every female wanted to hook up with him!
16) Cried during a flick:
I cry in most movies. I’m a big sap.
17) Who is your "star crush":
I’ve given up on these. There used to be several but that was 20 years ago. I don’t have time or energy anymore for being in love with imaginary people. But I do think there are several attractive actors out there...
*Actually, I think I’m in love with Jamie in Diana Gabaldon’s books!
18) Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend:
Since The Beast reads this once in awhile, I’ll have to say no! ;-)

FAVORITE...
19) Drink:

*Alcoholic--vodka tonic or Cuba libre; Non-Alcoholic--diet Dr. Pepper
20) Food:
Anything sweet, especially sweets with no chocolate. I really like Smarties (the American kind, not the British variety). Wonder Bread is also a vice, just squished up into a ball....
21) Restaurant:
The Mill (which, conveniently enough is about 5 minutes from home)--looks like a bar, but the food is to die for. Also like P@ul##’s, our local ’za spot.
Chains: Applebees’ has a special place in my heart. We ate there on the way to the hospital when I was induced. My last meal before Momhood. The Beast proposed at Chi-Chi’s so I guess I have to mention it, but it has really tanked (or my tastebuds have improved?) in the last 20 years. I also love The Olive Garden. Who does salads and breadsticks better for cheap?? That is, outside of Italy.
22) Shampoo:
Clairol Herbal Essence. Yes, those awful ads. But it’s the only one I can find that doesn’t mess with my skin. (It sucks being sensitive, poor me. Hah)
23) Color:
Blue, although I’m finally beginning to appreciate some greens
24) Summer/Winter:
Of these two, SUMMER. I. Hate. Winter.

25) Online/Offline:
I don’t understand this question. I love the computer, have used online services now for over 12 years. But I also fight a real battle with it eating up my life. It’s very addictive, in a serious way, for me.
27) Like anyone:
Hmm, I think you’ve lost me on this one too. I like lots of people, I tolerate more, and I loathe a large percentage of humankind. Are we talking "like" like (like in high school)? [y’know I just had to write that: three "likes" in a row] I "like" my husband, most days.
28) Who have you known the longest out of your friends:
The friend that I still keep in contact with whom I’ve known the longest is Laura (she’ll always be Laurie Lee). I met her in 1970 at Mrs. B’s house. She was the catty-corner neighbor. Who do I know the most about? Probably Jenny. Those are my soul-pals; in my head, they are so alike they are almost one person. But yet, not. Hard to explain.
29) Who's the shyest:
Sherri (now married, new name). She was my roommate freshman year and never left the room except for classes and meals. Oops, no, she did go to one schl@g (er, dance) with me, at Halloween. I think she’s still shy, but I don’t really know any shy people now. Hmm, well, I don’t have any shy friends; I actually think I know plenty of shy people.
31) Who do you go to for advice:
The Beast. And the Big Guy. If I need advice about The Beast, I skip to The Big Guy and then bring in reinforcements (i.e. friends) as necessary. My family is so full of advice--usually unsolicited--that I never need to ask; I get it regardless.
32) Who do you get along with:
Which day? heh Usually, I’m pretty easy to get along with, but not when I‘m trying to work and people are talking. I don’t know; I have my cranky days. The Beast and the boy would probably say I’m a bitch about every 5th day, and I can attribute that to lack of sleep most of the time.

IN THE LAST 2 WEEKS HAVE YOU?
33) Cried:

Probably. I ‘leak’ a lot, but I don’t remember any specific recent incidents
34) Been mean:
Yep. Not as bad to my kid though. Mostly at work.
36) Been sarcastic:
Well, YEAH! ;-)
37) Been yelled at:
Raised voice yelling? No. Snipy, bitchiness? Yes.
38) Talked to someone you have a crush on:
Don’t have any current crushes. So, no.
39) Kissed someone:
Hmm, yeah, quite a lot.
40) Hugged someone:
Ditto
42) Wished upon a star:
Yuck.
43) Laughed until you've cried:
Hmmm, yes, I think I have. Playing poker got a little weird last weekend. The Beast was doing “World Poker Tour” play-by-play which morphed into “SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!“ etc. Because it was Sunday night.
I think you had to be there.
44) Played Truth or Dare:
I haven’t played this in about 20 years. Yuck. Real life is too much of a dare to play around with it for 'fun.'
45) Watched a sunrise/sunset:
Yes. Almost nightly.
46) Gone to the beach at night:
No, because there’s no beach we’re allowed to be on, even though we live in the Village of ________ Lake. It’s a private lake. Which we pay to keep clean. Yeah, ok.
49) Been lonely:
Yes
50) Been happy:
Yes
51) Talked to someone online:
Well, I’ve emailed and I’ve blogged. I don’t IM because of #26. Anyway, so, yes.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN......
52) God/Devil:

Yes. Implicitly
53) Love:
Yeah, but not that gooshy-Hollywood-Disney fairy tale crapola.
54) The Closet Monster:
No. Had to have this explained to me. My bogeymen tend to be real: murderers, rapists, religious extremists...
56) Heaven/hell:
Well, this is an interesting question. I do believe in both, but not necessarily as places. No fluttering wings or red dudes with pokey sticks! I’ve been working on this conceptually for about a decade. I really do think that Jesus’ Kingdom of Heaven was about people on earth creating God’s Kingdom. Not about a place to get to as a reward, but as a place to get to because of freakin’ hard work and intentionality. It’s like that feeling one gets when EVERYTHING is perfect; it usually lasts, oh, about 25 seconds. That’s the Kingdom of Heaven. The rest of the time, when things are in the dumper and life is sucking and you’re living in a bubble that no one else can see? That’s Hell. So is that place of utter discouragement with self. See why I fear religious extremists? I’m creating dogma without a license!
57) Superstitions:
No, not really. Although I joke about it a lot.

58) Half empty or half full:
Depends on the day. I used to be a Pollyanna all the time. I’m kind of headed the other way as I age.
59) Who named you?
My sisters staged a revolt because they had such sucky names (e.g. Wilma). My understanding is that I was named after a friend of one of my sisters.
60) Favorite quote:
Too lazy and tired to look one up, so I’ll use the one I put on my book blog last night:
    "Books cannot always please, however good;
    Minds are not ever craving for their food." -- George Crabbe (1754-1832)
61)When was the last time you showered?
Yesterday [Thursday] morning. Today was Firecracker 500 day: me sitting in the sun watching the boy do 50 50-meters at the pool, followed by Sam’s Club and lazing around. Bath tonight.
62) What is the last thing you said online?
Hmm, well, THIS.
63) What is right next to you?
I hate this question. There is a shitload of crap all over the place on my desk here at home. I do not lie. There must be 10 things within 8 inches of my fingers. So: The Beast’s notebook, a spiral notebook and pen, the mouse, the boy’s homework (which needs to be corrected), a piece of notepaper re rental housing in G@len@.... paagh
64) What is your computer desk made of?
MDF with fake-wood plastic covering.
65) What was the last thing that you did?
Presumably before this? OK, I made notes on G@len@ rentals. This is my reward.
66) Where do you want to go on your honeymoon?
I’d like to have one someday, but then again, we’ve been so many cool places that it really doesn’t matter that much.
67) Where do you want your wedding?
Too late.


FUCKING PYROS ARE BLOWING UP GARBAGE CANS DOWN THE ROAD!!

SORRY--I JUST JUMPED ABOUT 3 FEET. THE BOY EVEN NOTICED THE BANG.
68) Where do you live?
In a fucking loud neighborhood....sigh.
OK, I live in a new subdivision in a sage green bungalow-style house on about 2/3 of an acre of former farmland. Our house looks at a rusty nasty water-tower, about 100 feet high. I love my house. Really. The neighbors...? Well, one set I especially hate...
69) How's the weather?
*Lovely. 79°F, Fair, Feels Like 80°F, Humidity: 61%. The weekend looks like crap but today's beautiful.
70) What did you do last night?
Went to a swim meet for 5 hours.
71) What are you doing tonight?
Taking a bath, figuring out sleeping arrangements for the weekend. We’re going out for supper and to replace the boy’s blind (Home Depot cut it too short, dopes). Low impact. I work tomorrow.
72) How do YOU eat an Oreo?
I‘ve been eating the new blonde Oreos. They are much better than the chocolate ones, IMHO. (see #26) I eat them the same way I eat every cookie (no taking apart, as I’ve grown out of that stage).
73) All time favorite TV show:
All time?? Well, then I guess Gilligan’s Island. Or Bewitched.
74) Dream vehicle:
Where I live now, I’ve got it: a compact pickup, manual tranny. If I lived in the mountains: Jeep CJ7
75) What do you want to be when you grow up?
That will be....when exactly? I’m already there and I’m pretty content. I’d like to travel more. Otherwise life is really pretty good.
76) Favorite music:
*I like a variety. In the car today we were listening to Classic Queen. Meat Loaf at work this week, along with Taj Mahal and Bette Midler. Billy Joel. Show tunes. Classical. Sousa marches
77) Favorite band:
*See above. I still like almost everything the Beatles did. The Beach Boys make me happy. Or depressed, depending on my mood. Otherwise, I need to hear the song before I commit.
78) Favorite food:
*Haven't we done this already? Yes ...
Anything carb loaded works for me; I’m getting hungry. How about Devon cream teas....yum
80) Favorite days of the week:
Mondays (sorry, Mr. Geldof)
81) Favorite animal:
For cuddling, nothing beats a dog. Too bad I’m allergic to them.
82) Brand of clothing:
Whatever’s cheapest when I need it.
83) If you could change your name, what would it be:
*I wanted to do this when I was a kid. Tina was the name for awhile. Jo was a long-lived one. Now, I like my name, although perhaps I’d drop The Beast’s last name. My full name is very unwieldy.
84) Do you sleep with a stuffed animal:
Not anymore
85) The stupidest thing you have ever done?
Far, far, far too many possibilities here. To pick one: getting in a garbage-tossing match on the 4th of July at the lakefront in Wisconsin with another group of people. It never occurred to me they could be drunk when I stood up and threw it all back at them (the second time) and told them to “Stop it!!” in my best librarian voice. Everyone in my group (especially the boys) was horrified and ultimately quite impressed. The other folks stopped throwing garbage, by the way.
86) First son's name:
He’s named after his dad and my dad.
88) First daughter's name:
Not. Gonna. Happen. (but I like Josephine)

90) First crush?
Jim Phillips, 5th grade. He was in 6th. I wore a cute little dress constantly to impress him. We sat next to each other and goofed off while Mrs. M read some weird 50s sci fi book out loud to us.
91) On the phone or in person?
Huh? I’d prefer to talk face-to-face, but for those of my family and friends in different area codes, the phone is a godsend.
93) If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?
Keep. My. Mouth. Shut..
94) Where were you born?
A hospital just barely in Denver CO
95) What kind of pets do you have?
My son has two guinea pigs
96) Who sent this to you?
No one; I stole it from Amy.
97) What do you think about this person?
I think she’s a wonderfully thoughtful writer who cracks me up on a regular basis. She’s too smart for her job. And she’s very good at her job. And she's interesting, in a very good way.
98) Your favorite songs?
I like all the songs from “My Fair Lady.”
99) Anything you want to say to everyone?
* Obviously--that's why I have a blog
OH! And vote!
100) Do you want your friends to do this survey? * Sure. Because I’m sure they have all the time in the world, too!
101) Time finished:
6:10 Straight through. No edits. I’m saving it as a draft and ‘fixing’ it tomorrow (or later).

SHOOT
ME
;-)

Thursday, July 1, 2004

Thursday Threesome

Title: ::Yankee Doodle Dandee::

Onesome: Yankee - Hey, this is the 4th of July weekend here in the States; do you have any plans? Fireworks? Watching the Boston Pops? Hiding under the bed with the dog?

We have relatives coming in bigtime…as is apparently our wont this summer. It will be good to see them all, but we haven’t made any plans beyond their arrivals. We’ll probably just eat brats and burgers, and those who want to will have a beer or two. We’ll see the fireworks somewhere, I’m sure. We have pyros in our neighborhood who’ve been setting off test charges all week.

We used to have a dog who just hated the 4th. Luckily, she went deaf about 4 years before she died, so the last few years were relatively peaceful for her. And my son has reached the age where he doesn’t freak out at loud noises either. My now-29-year-old nephew actually tried to crawl into the concrete at a baseball game we went to on July 4th when he was about 7. He’d be mortified to know I was telling everyone that…!

Twosome: Doodle - Is there any paper safe from you, or are you a doodler? If you are, when are you most likely to doodle and what do you draw?

Not a doodler, at least not much. I mostly doodle geometric shapes and spiderwebs. And only when I’m bored to annoyance. Otherwise, I’m taking notes. So if there are no notes to take, I’m doodling. And wondering why the heck I’m there if I’m not learning anything!

Threesome: Dandee - Or dandy. It's one of my favorite words. How about you, do you have any favorite words that you like to use, just because you like the way they sound or just because you can?

Yeah, there are a few. I’ll make a list of the ones that come to mind today:
    jazz
    oil
    ya’ll
    agape
    pizza
    gyro (the food)
    moo
    melk (it’s a ‘sconsin thing)
    M’waukee
    fuck (sometimes it’s just appropriate)
    hot
    krizzledizzle (fancy-decorated, like with rhinestones and other crap)
    nuclear & realtor (because I say them right!)
    antediluvian
    lumber
    statistics (this is the test word for drunkenness among my friends and family)

    [my son would add “no” to this list!]
That's today. Tomorrow they would likely be somewhat different.
 
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