Sweet Memes

Fall

1. What is your favorite thing about the fall season?

Football.

2. Do you have a favorite fall sport?

Oops! Yes, I do. Bet you can't guess what it is....

3. Are you mired in that back to school thing?

I'm not, but my kid is. I don't really envy him; he's in middle school, which always seems to suck for everyone.

4. Are you ready for fall?

Tonight feels like fall already. Yeah, I'm ready; I love autumn.

Marks

1. What kind of marks (grades) did you get in school?

I always got very good grades: A's and the occasional B (after we finished grade school where we only had O's and S's).

2. Do you have any birthmarks?

Yeah a couple of them. The only one most people know about is a little bump on my right earlobe.

3. What’s the story behind one of your scars?

I tend to fall on my right knee a lot. It has multiple scars and makes a very interesting noise when I climb stairs.

4. What do you usually use to mark your place in a book?

Whatever is at hand: comb, unused Kleenex, money, nail file...even bookmarks on those rare occasions when there is one in the vicinity.

5. What famous Mark do you most admire?

I have a bad history with this name both within and without my family.

I'll pick Mark Twain, especially his later stuff like this.

Booking Through Thursday

1. What is your favorite kind of reading? Novels? Biographies? Mathematical textbooks?
   

   Mysteries, some biographies, history.
   I'll read the cereal box, though, so this is harder to answer than you'd think.

2. What do you like best about your favorite kind of reading? What keeps you coming back to that kind of book? Following a gripping story? Watching characters develop? Being educated about things and places you didn't know about? Letting your mind relax into someplace completely different?

   What I like is a good story, told well. Humor helps, in novels especially. I also like footnotes and endnotes. A lot. In a kind of scary way.

Your Element Is Water

A bit of a contradiction, you can seem both lighthearted and serious. That's because you're good at going with the flow - but you also are deep. Highly intuitive, you tune in to people's emotions and moods easily. You are able to tap into deep emotional connections and connect with others. You prefer a smooth, harmonious life - but you can navigate your way around waves. You have a knack for getting people to get along and making life a little more peaceful.

OK. Is it bad that I'm water and can't swim? Or is that ok, cuz I don't NEED to swim if I'm water?

What are you superstitious about?

I don't think I actually am superstitious really, when I take the time to think things through. I was talking to a pregnant friend tonight who said she's reading a book all about death and I kinda got the willies for a second. Which is ridiculous...and we joked about it immediately.

What are three things that you would rather be doing right now?

Sleeping, taking a bath, and eating my way through a grocery store.

No, there's no stress in my life at all...

You Are Grape

You are bold and a true individual. You are very different and very okay with that. People know you as a straight shooter. You're very honest, even when the truth hurts. You are also very grounded and practical. No one is going to sneak anything by you. People enjoy your fresh approach to life. And it's this honesty that makes you a very innovative person.

OK, whatever. I guess that's fine and relatively near the truth. Practical, honest and true--just a boy scout in drag.

You're Nevada!
People are constantly mispronouncing your name, and this has provided you with a lot of frustration over the years. You prefer silver to gold, sagebrush to trees, and cards to sporting events. There is almost nothing you aren't willing to lay down a wager on, and others seek you out for advice on their own wagers. You don't take marriage terribly seriously, though you are one of its biggest proponents. Far too often these days, others are mistaking you for an industrial-strength garbage bag.
Take the State Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Started out with promise, I think, and then tanked in a huge way. So tempting to delete portions, in fact!

::Fluffy Bunny Rabbits::

Onesome: Fluffy-- is as fluffy does! It's almost lemon meringue season at that pie shop. Do you do fluffy pies? ...or is it fruit all the way for you? (Okay, Southerners: go ahead and expound on rhubarb...)

Lemon meringue always reminds me of Dad; he loved lemon meringue pie, kind
of obsessively. I like it too, along with key lime. Fluffy pies are fine, but I can probably live without anymore chocolate pies. I like banana cream and then the whole two-crust fruit pie thing...sigh.

EXCEPT rhubarb, which is just freakin' disgusting!

Twosome: Bunny-- slippers? Yes? No? Barefoot? Shoes? What do you schlep around the house in when it's cold outside?

I have several pair of heavy knit sox that work fine till winter really kicks in; then I move to fuzzy (non-bunny) slippers. Shoes are rarely worn in my house; my mom despaired of me and my sox as a child, but ... oh, well.

Threesome: Rabbits-- Have you ever had little furry pets? What varieties? Are there any in your future?

No bunnies; the allergist suggested that it would be a bad idea to get bunnies, since people like me with cat "issues" frequently develop bunny "issues" when we are exposed to rabbits. So we have a guinea pig, and I have some problems with him but not too bad. I wouldn't mind hamsters, except for the potential escape-followed-by-inability-to-locate thing that I've heard about so often.

I'd really love to have a dog again. But it would be foolish of me to do so in the extreme.

Activities

1. What's your favorite thing to do? Why?

Sleep. I'm going back to bed for an hour or so this morning...

2. What do you do when you're bored?

Sleep, read, Sudoku, clean, crosswords, play computer games, watch TV...more or less in that order.

3. What do you do when you're lonely?

Call someone to talk to, or (and) blog.

Bonus Question: What's your favorite genre of book to read? Why?

Mysteries for the puzzle, and the overall morality of the story arc: the good guys generally come out on top, and there is justice of some kind of the baddies. Unlike what happens so often in real life.

Preface (added some three hours after I posted this originally): Yesterday was an absolutely horrible workday. Generally, I don't mind meetings with colleagues; it brings some space to your life at work and you can work some issues out and leave and feel better about getting your job done with those issues dealt with. Yesterday's meeting was a meeting that gives meetings a bad name. I can't find a single good thing to say about it, except that it's over and I don't have to see most of those people again for a VERY LONG TIME! Oh, and I still have a paycheck coming in.

Contentious? check
Condescending? check
Neurotic? check
Adolescent? check
Passive-Aggressive? check (that was me, with heavy on passive or I would have had to use that "one phone call")
Life/Air/Brain-Suckingly Intense? check

So, this post is by way of I've Loved These Days by Billy Joel.

Thirteen Things I like about my job 1. It's not (quite) full-time. 2. Most of the people I work with on a daily basis are nice (even if some of them are nuckin' futs!). 3. I get to play with new books most every day. 4. I get to play with computers and coding every day. 5. While I'm never going to get rich working there, my pay is good. 6. I have a very, very good boss. 7. I'm allowed to make my own decisions about my (ahem) work-flow. 8. I get to say I'm "head of the department" without having to do too much supervision (though I see that changing soon...bummer). 9. My boss trusts me, listens to my opinions, takes what I have to say as worthwhile (unless I'm having one of my really "too silly for words" days), and rarely condescends to me. 10. No one I work with giggles like a 13-year-old. Well, not usually anyway. 11. Everyone on the staff really believes in the underlying purpose of the library and tries very hard to be helpful. Even to the asshats who enjoy making life difficult for us. 12. My job changes every day. Some days it's really boring, some days it's not, but it is rare for two days in a row to be exactly the same. 13. I can listen to headphones while I work, sanctioned by my boss. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

From The Loquacious Librarian, in a post which I recommend ya'll go read...

1. How old do you think you'll live to be?

With my family history, I anticipate making it to at least 85, hopefully without losing all of my faculties!

2. How do you measure the passing of time in your own life?

Normal people probably say birthdays or New Year's Day. I tend to look at late August/early September as the beginning of 'stuff.' It's when school starts, scheduling changes, the seasons change...

3. What would constitute "the perfectly lived day" for you?

Reading a good book, spending the day with a good friend, go to a good comedy show, plan your funeral (ok, true: I'm weird).

4. If you could pick one age or one year that you could live over and over, which one would you pick? Why?

Oh, it would so be a childhood year, wouldn't it? Like age 6: no decisions, time s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d out forever at that age, learning new stuff was incredibly easy, pain was fleeting...
Or maybe one of our days on Ydra...

5. If you knew you were going to die in a year, what would you do in your final days?

Plan my funeral, pick out and pay for a casket, call everyone I knew and tell them to do the Tim McGraw song for at least a few weeks (although feel free to take out the part about Fu Manchu), learn to ride a motorcycle, get my pilot's license, throw out a lot of crap I've saved over the years, and create a videotape and notebook full of stuff for Sparky to read as he grows up. That would be the hardest part of dying: leaving him behind.

I recently fell down, which you can read about here, and this brings about the following question along with the fact that the US Open is on right now....

Would you rather fall and skin your knee on carpet, pavement, or a clay tennis court?

I skinned my knee in March on a carpet, but it was a thin carpet over a concrete floor. If it was plywood underneath, however, that would TOTALLY be my choice! Otherwise, I'll go with clay.

But my real choice is to not fall at all, because it freakin' HURTS. ;-)

What do you do with a drunken sailor?

Well, here's the rest of the lyrics. But personally, I'm likely to not do ANYthing with a drunken sailor. Yish.

You Are 38% Impulsive

You're a pretty stable and serious person. You don't take things lightly. This doesn't mean you can't have fun - you just have fun responsibly. You definitely have a spontaneous side, but you only let loose when it's appropriate.

OK, this is a very bipolar answer for me. The italicized parts are pretty accurate; the un-italicized parts are almost completely WRONG!

Are you more...

01) A fan of Michael Keaton in Batman or a fan of Michael Keaton in Johnny Dangerously?

I actually liked him more in "Beetlejuice" and "Much Ado About Nothing" than either of these choices.

02) Gol-durn tootin' fer sure not to swear even when you could or god-damned well going to swear when appropriate, for fuck's sake?

Oh, shit, today is definitely goddamn swear my fuckin' ass off!

03) The bug or the windshield?

Again, today, definitely feeling the bug's pain.

04) Likely to shed a tear at a sad movie or likely to shed a tear at a sad song?

Yes. Cry. Frequently and whenever. Though I controlled myself today.

05) Boris Badinov or Rocky the Flying Squirrel?

Rocky totally rocks.

06) A blistering hot, cloudless day or a rainy, overcast, coolish day?

Hot. Fucking hot, especially if the humidity is low. As long as I have water.

07) Likely to go out for haute cuisine or likely to go out for diner food?

Diner food.

08) Always ready to expand your paradigm at a moment's notice or cozily mired in the way things are and you want them to STAY that way?

Today, I'd really like to mire, which is extraordinarily unusual. I normally embrace change.

09) Likely to eat a salad that you aren't sure what's all in it or likely to eat a grilled tofu substitute for a meat you like?

Salad. I can pick out the yucky stuff.

10) Saucy or bland?

Totally saucy.

National Geek Day

Star Wars or Star Trek?

Trek. TOS, TNG or Voyager. NOT the movies.

Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter?

HP

Internet Explorer or Firefox?

I like Firefox, but so many sites don't quite work, so I stick to IE.

iPod shuffle or iPod Nano?

Sparky's got a Shuffle. I want something bigger than that, with lots more memory. But I can wait till Christmas (or birthday)....hint, hint Beast....

Camera phone or mp3 phone?

I mostly just want the phone part to work, but I'd prefer mp3 over camera.

Dilbert or Jon from "Garfield"?

So totally neither!

And of course, the big question

Mac or PC?

I like Macs in theory, but I've never owned one. So I guess my default is PC.

Who let the dogs out? Who? Who?

Someone who couldn't stand having them inside anymore, I'm sure. :-)

Which blogbuddy do you wish you could meet in person?

There's a bunch: Lisa, Chris, Shelly....
[addendum: Jason! Must go to M!ami and see Jason!]

Would you rather:

...have your own food network tv show OR your own show on NBC?

Neither, though the way I cook, it would be entertaining listening to the pitch for a show on the Food Network!

...sit on 100 pounds of ice for an hour OR be lectured at about your illicit behavior by a priest and your parents?

I don't think I could do the hour on the ice. I know I could do the time being lectured, assuming it's the same length, and assuming at the end I could do what I normally do when authority figures boss me 'round: ignore them.

...be attacked by a swarm of mosquitos OR a gang of squirrels?

A gang of squirrels? Really, they're swarming in gangs now? With leather jackets and tattoos and "beat-ins" and all? Hee.
Mosquitos. Itching is better than rabies. Though...Lime disease...ok, no, squirrels.

...be a strict vegan OR hard-core atkins diet follower?

I couldn't do vegan. I'd probably want to kill myself on Atkins, but I'd definitely be healthier, so let's go that way.

Born to Be

1. If you were an actor, what role do you think you were born to play?

The easy, far-too-tempting-to-pass-up answer is Me. I think I'd do all right as Kate in "Taming of the Shrew."

2. If you had limitless technical knowledge, what one item would you invent right now? What already existing invention do you wish you could take credit for?

What would I invent? A cure for cancer so we could get on with figuring out all the other ways to die painfully and slowly.
I'd love to take credit for indoor plumbing.

3. Did you have the sort of parents who were of the opinion that you were born to be something (i.e., lawyer, doctor)? What did you think of their choice?

My parents, like Bill Cosby, just wanted me to grow up, stay out of jail, and keep quiet. They're happy that I'm a productive (relatively) member of society.

4.Do you possess any hidden talents? If so do you think you could make any money off of them?

Yes, I do. If I wanted to structure my life that way, I'm sure I could make buckets of money. But I'm lazy and partial to my non-felonious existence.

5.Are there any fairly simple or "mundane" skills you are completely lacking in? (e.g., drawing, whistling, cooking...)

I can't be bothered with drawing, unless it's architectural, and I lack talent with it anyway. I can whistle a tune, but I can't do that piercing attention-grabbing whistle. I can cook, but I don't really enjoy it. Other mundane stuff: I can balance a checkbook (not that anyone does this anymore...), I can throw a football and a baseball, I can change a tire if need be, I can drive a manual transmission, I can hang a picture/drywall/the bikes on the hooks in the garage, I can clean porcelain till it practically glows, I can remove a splinter or a tick from the skin, I can sew, I can iron.... My parents and my husband have trained me pretty well for most situations.

Oooh, I know: I can't ever figure out how to tape stuff from the TV using the VCR; we've had this VCR for almost 8 years, and I still just can't sort out the order of button-pushing necessary. This is the main reason I want TiVo!

And I can't darn a sock. But why the hell would I want to? hah

It's all Lisa's fault:

BLUE ...

Lovers of blue are wonderful sex partners. They are affectionate and sensitive to their partner's needs. They consider love making a fine art and their approach is elegant. Men who love blue are like concert pianists, delicately ravaging their partner like they would play a baby grand. Women in the blue category enjoy sex to the fullest. They are exciting partners but their passion may be compared to a tidal wave rather than firery aggression. Both women and men enjoy foreplay and the aftermath of lovemaking, as much as the sex act itself. In marriage a blue person is a wonderful mate -- never seeking outside interests. Blue: Soft, soothing, compassionate and caring, Blue is the color of deliberation and introspection, conservatism and duty. Patient, persevering, conscientious, sensitive and self-controlled, Blues like to be admired for their steady character and wisdom. They are faithful, but are often worriers with somewhat inflexible beliefs and can be too cautious, and suspicious of flamboyant behavior. Try My Other Tests: Too Easy The Body Part You Wash First Test The Favorite Lucky Charms Shape Test Too Hard The STAR WARS Lightsaber ID Test The LORD OF THE RINGS Sword ID Test Other Possible Results RED YELLOW PINK PURPLE BLACK GREEN ORANGE BROWN GRAY WHITE GALAHAD

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 58% on luminosity

Link: The Favorite Color Test written by stuckw1th1t on OkCupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I'm luminous, eh?

What a load of codswallop! ;-)

48% red, 40% yellow, 38% blue, 44% white

Here are your scores for the different colors! You can now blend them to create your specific color and along with that you can blend my analysis of each color to fit your personality! I recommend that you blend just the top 2 colors you got so your color doesn't turn out to be brown or anything! Or just take your top color and use that! Red: Of course the stereotypical color of passion. People who are red are normally romantics; well, according to this test anyway. If you are more passionate, you can define yourself as a darker red, more light hearted reds are brighter and more fun loving. Anyway, as a red, your goal in life is love, and this takes you up and down. You love being in love, but only with the right person, and you think love is what you are meant to do. A person with a red personality can be pretty touchy sometimes, and pretty sensitive too, so you have to be careful; you wear your heart on your sleeve and that can leave you pretty vulnerable sometimes. Yellow: A yellow person loves to have fun, and they are normally pretty fun to be around. Yellows are generally happy people and they love life, most of the time. Yellows are looking for fun in life above most things. Yellows get what needs to be done done so they can enjoy themselves the rest of the time. Sometimes you can be a little to energetic and crazy, but that's what makes you who you are! Yellow's are normally good people, but sometimes a little to detached and they don't show compassion very well sometimes. Sometimes they just aren't quite love-savy and they get lost, sometimes offending a lover or a friend. However, yellow's a great color for energy, excitement and fun! As long as you keep on being a good person and enjoying yourself, you'll be good to go! Blue: A person with a blue personality is normally relaxed and laid-back. You like to just hang out, as long as your around happy people, you are happy too. You don't like to overanalyze, you like to just keep things simple. Most people might describe you as a "cool kid" or "pretty chill" and that's the way you like it. Sometimes you can be a little boring, or you make things too simple, but overall you are doing a good job. You have a basic understanding of what you want in life, but you just like to take things as they come. Your best way to react to things is normally calm, cool, and collected, and rarely do you ever flip out. Like I said, sometimes you can get a little bored, or be boring but overall, if you scored high for blue, then this is who you can be! White: Okay, this is where things get a litle tricky. If you scored a high score for white, that means you are either religious and pure, or you just haven't quite developed your color yet. If you are the religious kind of white, that means you are quite the innocent person. You follow your religion and you are well discplined. You have pretty good manners and you know what you are here for. You believe that you have found the true meaning of your religion and that you are living by it, and that great! It is good that you are sure, but sometimes your innocence and discipline can get in the way. You are highly capable of loving another person and having friends, but rarely do you ever just cut loose and have fun, don't worry so much about the rules and enjoy your life! If you are the white that hasn't quite developed your color yet, then that means you are either constantly changing your views, or you just really don't care that much. You need to find something to believe in or something to hold on to, or else you'll miss what's going on in your life! Just keep looking and you'll find something!

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 50% on red You scored higher than 25% on yellow You scored higher than 87% on blue You scored higher than 87% on white

Link: The Color Test written by seanrr on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Great. I'm pink.
I will say that the description of blue sounds nothing like me, so at least that's right.

Fun. Silly. Not totally off-base, but I really don't want to be pink...





OK, finally! I'm blue! All theses pictures are hideous, though, which perhaps means I don't get along well with EVERYone....

10 Things You Think People Don't Like About You

1. My opinions and my willingness to air them out.
2. There are things about which I tend to be awfully judgmental. I think it's genetic, and I think I got the smallest share of all my siblings...however, a small slice of a large pizza is still pretty big!
3. The fact that I never write, never call. Hi, Mom!
4. My wait-till-the-last-minute style of handling life. Well, I know I don't like this about me.
5. My lame attempts at humor when I should just shut up.
6. I swear too much for some people.
7. My short temper (this applies mostly to Beast and Sparky, unfortunately; I rarely do a full-on freak at work or elsewhere).
8. The fact that I know a little tiny bit about a lot of different things. And the fact that if I don't know an answer, I frequently feel compelled to find the answer.
9. Taking things personally that weren't meant to be taken personally.
10. I can't remember what people look like if I'm not constantly reminded. I'll remember people's names forever (I still remember a lot of the patrons at the library where I worked in the late '80s), and ever some phone numbers if I've written them down a lot, but faces? I suck at face recognition, especially if you've cut or colored your hair, lost or put on a lot of weight, aged since I last saw you...basically had any life-changing event. I have walked past people I was good friends with, snubbing them completely. Reunions are loads of fun for me; it's all a new crowd as far as I'm concerned.
    HOWEVER, I have a better memory of faces if you screwed me over somehow. I"ll never forget what PsychoBoss looks like, for instance.

#46

1. Do you use the restroom in public places?

As opposed to, say, peeing on the floor? Of course, I use the restroom!

2. What is your favorite kinda porn... girl on girl, 3somes, guy/girl, guy/guy?

Well, gee, since the last time I actually sat and watched porn was a really long time ago...
OK, here's the deal: I work in a venue where the threat of people viewing porn online is constant. I've trained myself NOT to look too attentively at people's monitors as I walk past. I have a hunch that if I surfed into something pornographic either online or on the tube, I'd have the same reaction as I do when I'm at work....la la la I'mnotwatching la la la. Kind of kills the mood, eh?
But, for argument's sake, I'll say guy/girl.

3. Do you talk to your neighbors? Have they heard you? You heard them?

Do I talk to my neighbors? Most of them. I don't think I understand that question, though.
Have I heard them having sex? Uh, no. We're on half-acre lots here; listening in on them would take some serious planning. In our old house, we didn't hear much either (old people on one side of us, and the other side was...too long to explain). In our 'apartment life' we were on the top floor with elderly single women around us.
HOWEVER, yeah, my next-door neighbor senior year of college spent nearly every evening with her boyfriend, either fighting or fucking. Perhaps it was all the same, I dunno. It got old and tedious, frankly!
Heard us? In this house and the last one, our bedroom has been on the second floor. Again, listening in would need a great deal of planning (and in our current house, a ladder to climb onto the porch roof!). Maybe in the distant past...?

4. Ever maxed out your credit card? Bounced a check?

No, and I don't think so. Can't recall ever doing so.

5. 3 words to describe your so's "down there".

"SO" being Significant Other? Uhm, how about "mine, all mine"? :-)

Bonus: Have you ever had an affair?

Not so's you'd notice.... huh. Nope.

I've fallen way behind on these!

Company's coming to stay with you. Do you have a guest bedroom to put someone up in, or are they sleeping on your couch?

Somewhere, buried underneath all the crap currently in the room, there is not only a bed but a futon in our guest room. It's a disaster; if company really is on the way, I'll be needing a couple of hours to excavate (i.e. hide stuff somewhere else!).

Who's the most famous person you have ever spoken with?

Stephen Tobolowsky. He was in a movie that was filmed in the area and he returned for a visit (long, long, LONG story) and came to the library for a program. Nice guy.
I may have met some other famous people, but they weren't impressive to me at the time (i.e., I was too young and silly to be impressed). And, in any case, I would be unlikely to stand in line to meet "someone famous" in any case. I think that's just weird.

In high school, the kids voted you "Most Likely" to do what?

I never hit the radar screens enough for anything like this to happen, so I'll have to make stuff up here. Either "Most Likely to Disappear Without a Trace" or "Most Likely to Never Be Seen (or at least recognized) At a Reunion." And, like most of these, they'd've been wrong, for the most part.

If you could, would you be a taxi driver for a day? In what city?

I'm not sure I'd want to drive, but I'd love to be a silent, invisible passenger in a cab in Moscow. Or maybe Cairo. It would help to be fluent in the local language, though, so let's stick with...uhm...New York. I might have someone to report in the "someone famous" question above, then! :-)

What's the strangest thing that has happened to you lately?

I tend to attract strangeness so this is a little difficult. Uhm, let's see....having a very cute, very half-my-age-or-less waiter flirt with me at Applebee's yesterday in front of my husband and son was a little disconcerting.
It's either that or having all of the ATMs in the area that belong to my bank (i.e., that are free) nonfuctional today. All of them. Or at least all that I tried.

August 28

1. Do you do dishes by hand or do you use a dishwasher?

Mostly with the dishwasher, except pots and pans and other things that don't get clean without a proper scrubbing.

2. How many people have your cell phone number?

My whole (extended) family has it, but they rarely use it, except my two oldest nieces. Beast and Sparky use it regularly. I think Amy has it (?). It's on the rolodex at work. And the schools have it.

3. Do you shower in the morning or at night?

I shower in the morning. I take baths at night. But I rotate them, so I'm not showering and taking a bath within 9 hours of each other!

4. Do you ever have a song 'stuck' in your head?

All the time! Right now, because I'm reading a book called "Abide With Me" I have had "Abide with me/fast falls the eventide" on nonstop play. Sadly, that's the only part of the song I know the words to, so it's been driving me 'round the bend. I MUST FINISH THAT BOOK!

5. Do you pay your bills when they arrive, or do you wait until closer to the due date to pay them?

Beast pays them on his own schedule, which I do not follow. I suspect, however, that he waits till closer to the due date. I always used to backdate everything 10 days and pay it then.

6. Are you obsessive about anything in particular?

What? Who, me?
I'm obsessive about quite a lot of things, but I'll aim for normalcy and say "putting on my seat belt in the car."

7. What one thing would you say you have a zero tolerance for?

Lying. And patrons who accuse me of not working (at work); they need to be slapped. This will escalate to a punch if you mention your tax bill in the same context.

Maladies

Do you get sick often? What illness do you come down with the most frequently?

I do get sick relatively often, primarily because I treat my body as if it were 100% self-healing. It's not. I've reached the age of Garbage In-Garbage Out and I'm having to rethink a lot of aspects of the way I live, from nutrition to sleep to stress levels. Who thought I'd ever be told to watch my cholesterol? Well, since my dad had three or four heart attacks before the one the did him in...anyone who has three brain cells would have thought cholesterol might be a problem for me, duh!

When I was a kid, for about five years running I developed a nasty case of strep throat every winter, like clockwork. "January, cold. February, strep. March, sniffles." The rest of the year I was ok.

Today I have a sore throat, for no apparent reason. Sudafed did nothing, ignoring it for 6 hours hasn't helped. Hello, Bayer.

As far as repeat occurrences go, I'm voting for a tie between messed up throat/sinus and pissed off GI tract. If it's not one, it's the other.

Do you believe in "alternative" medicine? If so, what aspects of it appeal to you?

Background: well before I was born, my grandmother (Dad's mom) lost all of her hair, due to her unwillingness to go to a doctor--my guess is she couldn't afford a doctor--and her reliance on patent medicine. She continued to buy into the whole faith healing/you can heal yourself/doctors don't know anything well into her 70s, and this attitude contributed mightily to her removal to a nursing home in her early 80s, when I was about 7. I don't remember what one event precipitated it, but I do remember my parents arguing, LOUDLY, about it at the time.

More background: when we dismantled Mom's apartment last year, we found a God-only-knows-how-old jar of Balsam Peru. Mom used to put that on our cuts, rashes, achy areas...and possibly she dosed herself internally with it occasionally. It was her dad's. When I was young, it was doled out like gold, only in dire emergencies and when nothing else worked. It always resembled nothing so much as engine grease, though it smelled nicer.

More background: My sister nearly died because she was prescribed medication by a doctor who gave her anti-typhoid pills, the kind you get when nothing else works and you might die, for a head cold. The reason you only get those pills for typhoid when nothing else works is that it has some pretty horrendous side effects. A true Drug of Last Resort. Oh, and did I mention....no, I didn't: that particular medication wasn't legally on the market yet when she was given it.

Fast forward: I have been to a chiropracter. I won't go back (to him); it was a waste of money, and he was actively scamming my insurance company. I have a massage therapist who can fix anything. I refuse to use herbs; the three times I tried using them I got sicker than a dog and had to have medical intervention twice. I don't trust doctors as far as I can see them, and question each and every test and
prescription I'm given. I can't stand doctors who don't listen to me, and who assume they're God because of the time in medical school. Jerks.

However, I trust them more than I trust fly-by-night "cures" that have no scientific proof behind them. My brother-in-law was involved with clinical trials on asthma meds in the 90s. I know what drug companies have to do to get drugs out on the market, and while it's far from a perfect procedure, I'll take that over "Aunt Mabel's Best Cream (because she says so)" any day of the week.

The best thing I can do is pay attention to my body and know what works for me. When I start with a cold, I take 2000 mg of Vitamin C and go to bed. That works. When I have an allergic reaction, I go directly to the ER (fuck passing Go and collecting $200--my life's worth more than that!) for epinephrine. When I get a headache, I work through as much of it as I can tolerate, and then I hide from reality till the pain is gone. When I become a neurotic pile of slush in mid-January, I take anti-depressants until I stop crying every time I'm asked to behave like a normal human being.

If all that doesn't work for you, fine. Don't tell me what to do, and don't get all holier-than-thou because YOU can work through pain or don't need prescriptions or whatever...your day will come. I promise.

In return, I promise to try very hard not to tell to go, or not to go, to the doctor, to take this pill or no pill. But I will tell you if I think you're a slacker. Because I work with one, and she gives people with real medical problems a VERY BAD name.

Not that I have issues in this area or anything.

Whew.

Aren't you glad you asked??

Week Number Thirty-Two:

Which of your school teachers had the greatest positive influence on your character?

Hmmm...on my character, not my education? I can't think of too many, actually. I was fortunate enough to have parents who did a lot of what Sparky's school calls "Character Ed." So, all I can think of is Ms. Phillipe, who taught me to edit ruthlessly (not that you can tell online, but I can do it if necessary!). Oh, and of course, Dr. Gerardi, my high school band teacher, who taught me to play through pain/rain/stupidity/etc. and never accept "almost perfect." Mrs. Grubenhoff, my high school Spanish teacher, is the reason I enjoy languages, the reason I know anything useful about antiques, and the reason I trust myself.

Dr. Dukes (how odd to call him that, he's just "Jack") was instrumental in getting me interested in Russia, and in helping me survive the trip. Dr. Sherrick opened my eyes to the reality women face every day.

Think of your best friend: what is the first thing most people would notice about that person?

Jenny: her eyes and her openness.
Amy: her eyes and her intelligence.
Beast: NOT his eyes (hee hee)...his size and his helpfulness.

I'm VERY late with the August questions!

1. Books you liked with titles starting with D, E, and F.

I'll just be recalling the past three years for this, or the list could go on forever! :-)

D [2006 only--there are about 2 dozen more in '05 and '04]:

The Dragons of Archenfield, by Edward Marston
The Dead Sea Scrolls, by Michael Wise, Martin Abegg, Jr., & Edward Cook
Dance of the Assassins, by Hervé Jubert
Definitely Dead, by Charlaine Harris

E [had to go back to '04 for ANY!]:

Eventide, by Kent Haruf (one of my all-time favorite books)
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, by Lynne Truss
Eyewitness to Jesus: Amazing New Manuscript Evidence About the Origin of the Gospels, by Carsten Peter Thiede and Matthew D’Ancona
Escape from Slavery, by Francis Bok, with Edward Tivnan

F:

Fire Sale, by Sara Paretsky
The Fire Baby, by Jim Kelly
Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Fellowship of Fear, by Aaron J. Elkins
Fast Women, by Jennifer Crusie

2. Authors you like with first or last names starting with D, E, and F.

I'm going to use my list of favorites for this:

D: James Doss, John Dunning
E: Ruth Dudley Edwards, Aaron Elkins, Earl Emerson
F: David Feldman, Japser Fforde, Suzanne Frank, Frances Fyfield

3. Books on your To Read list starting with D, E, and F.

The full list is here. I'll browse and only list three for each...

D:

Dead Men Do Tell Tales, by William Maples
Do One Thing Different, by Bill O'Hanlon
Down Peacock's Feathers, by D.R. Davies

E:

Explorers and Artists in the Valley of the Kings, by Catherine Roehrig
Earth from Above, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Enduring Love, by Margot Livesey

F:

From Achilles' Heel to Zeus's Shield, by Dale Corey
Firestorm at Peshtigo, by Denise Gess
Fork it Over, by Alan Richman

Reality TV Show Quiz Your perfect Reality TV Show would be The No-So-Amazing Race Teams race around a Alabama completing challenges Find out your Reality TV Show at Quizopolis.com

Heh. This sounds about right to me, although...could we race around Tennessee or Kentucky instead?

from Testriffic via Sarcasmo

OK, but...

...yeah, 'tis true. I guess. Though the last line scares me a bit; I sound like Pony-Tail Man, who seems to have a little Tourette's, or maybe autism.

Next!

1. Recently, while standing in a checkout line I thought...how nice it is to have someone with me in line (at Sam's Club yesterday). Normally, I don't have anyone to talk to, nor do I normally stand in line: I do the self-check whenever possible.

2. The longest that I have been put on hold on the telephone was...about 45 minutes, as I recall, with AOL in the mid '90s. Whereupon I severed our business relationship.

3. I get very impatient when I have to...explain what I mean when it's crystal clear to me and I've already moved on to the next point in discussion.

4. When it comes to “time” I am guilty of...wasting a lot of it online.

5. I can patiently wait...if I must. But I really think "patiently wait" is an oxymoron for me.

Episode 52

Name seven stores no good shopping mall should be without.

1. Borders
2. Vicky's
3. Old Navy
4. Circuit City
5. Office Max
6. Home Depot
7. Ikea (OK, OK, I know this is outside the bounds of reality--but hey, it's my fantasy!)

Riffing on the theme, seven things none of these stores will have in them:

1. Insanely loud heart-thumping music, so loud you MUST SHOUT TO BE HEARD (I'm not picking on Best Buy here, by the way; this references a clothing store I was in last fall)
2. Staff who are either standing around gossiping about their classmates, or dancing to the music in #1--but certainly not doing any work
3. Greasy food, unless they have a world class ventilation system (ok, in other words, it shouldn't smell like Kmart)
4. Ignorant staff, i.e. they should know--and care--about their products, and be willing to find out from someone else if customers happen to find a hole in their knowledge. They should NOT be making shit up. (Now I'm picking on Best Buy!)
5. Pushy or rude or unfriendly staff (I do not want to be their friend, but I don't want to feel as if I'm invisible, either)
6. Items for sale without price tags (if it's for sale, please--I just want to know for how much)
7. Stupid people, on either side of the counter (which pretty much means there will be days I won't be allowed in either!)

That's more than I figured, based on the fact that I guessed on over a third of the questions

~Do It Again~

If you could go back and re-live one day in your life, what day would it be? (You wouldn't be able to change anything, just re-live that day.)

I'm struggling to choose one of my childhood days, just a regular summer day when I was about 8, or a day from Sparky's first couple of months. He was a very cute, very easy, very adorable (of course) baby.

What day in your life would you absolutely not what to re-live?

This one is easy: the day Sparky was born, from about noon till midnight. What a nightmare!

Week 186

1. Visit :: Chat
2. Cake :: birthday...
3. Period :: End-of-sentence
4. Triumphant :: Palm Sunday
5. Screen :: ...Saver
6. Neglect :: Ignore
7. Guitar :: Banjo
8. Loathe :: Abhor
9. Sugar :: Spice
10. Montage :: Photo...

Episode 124

1. Pluto has been demoted from planet to "dwarf planet." Are you willing to give up everything you've been taught all these years and begin referring to our solar system as having eight planets, or will you continue thinking about it having nine?

I don't see as I have a choice, really. Eight, nine, twelve...it's all good with me. I don't spend that much time thinking about astronomy (or astrology, either!). My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine...that's going to need some editing, though.

2. Where is the last store you visited? What was your last bill there?

We were at the local "grocery store" last night stocking up on snacks for the rampaging pair of 13-year-olds. It's in quotes because it's the size of a gas-station mini mart, but stocks slightly more food (but an equal amount of beer, and more liquor than a gas station usually carries). We bought potato chips, Gatorade and pretzels. I'm all about health at my house.

3. What new television show are you most looking forward to seeing this season?

I haven't heard of any that are real possibilities. I don't want to get too many more TV shows on my list. We might watch "Friday Night Lights," since the book on which it's based is about the area in which Beast played high school football.
I'm more excited about The Amazing Race, and I'm stoked (pun intended) about CSI's return and of course FOOTBALL SEASON! I was pumped about Survivo, and then they announced the ridiculous-sounding format they used this time....sigh.

4. Take the quiz: Which greek God are you? Save yourself some time and space by listing the name of the God, the description it gives you and the famous people you're like. (Don't worry about the graphical information and all the rest unless you just want to!)

Pan 66% Extroversion, 53% Intuition, 100% Emotiveness, 76% Perceptiveness

You are Pan. You're an extremely creative and fun-loving individual. You have a predisposition to acting and performing, and you enjoy it. You're very outgoing, and you are genuinely interested in other people. You probably have a pet parakeet, play an instrument, write poetry, tell jokes, love parties, have lots of friends, remember people, names and faces, paint, and have a righteous social conscious. You're very good natured, but can be naive and exploited by less good natured people. You're mischevious, but in a usually harmless way. Famous people like you: Franz Joseph Haydn, Dr. Suess, Bill Cosby, Sandra Bullock, Oscar Wilde Stay clear of: Atlas, Hermes, Icarus Seek out: Anyone else.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 86% on Extroversion You scored higher than 60% on Intuition You scored higher than 55% on Emotiveness You scored higher than 50% on Perceptiveness

Link: The Greek Mythology Personality Test written by Aleph_Nine on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

I'm Pan! I'm flippin' Pan. Rock! That's too cool! Totally wrong, of course, but cool.

5. Of the famous people it lists like you, which is the scariest?

Uhm, none of them are scary. We are the Kool Kids. Though I've heard that Dr. Seuss (watch that spelling!), when he was Ted, was a little cranky. huh

6. You decide to bring candy to keep on your desk. If you could only pick one kind of candy, which would it be?

Totally bringing in the Smarties.

...but from a different source than the usual Friday Five...

1. What is your earliest memory of school?

Kindergarten was a blast. We had a luau. We got to learn about Native Americans (OK, they were "Indians" then) and pick pseudo-Native names (I was bummed because all the colored feather names--Red Feather, etc.--were taken by the time they got to my end of the alphabet), I was allowed to read to the class occasionally. My teacher was Mrs. Morton, and the kindergarten was in its own separate building, with a completely separated playground.

The only really negative memory is of a lovely day in the spring of the year when we were having a treat and I got my tongue stuck to an Orange Creamsicle. I was completely freaked out by the pain and the blood (someone carried me into the bathroom and ran warm water over my tongue to get it loose), and to this day I can't eat Creamsicles or anything that has that same weird orangey-white color.

2. Who was a favorite teacher in your early education?

Well, it certainly wasn't Mrs. Ramadan! Let's see: first grade was Miss Campbell; she was nice, and young, but I thought Mrs. Potter was better-looking. Uhm, second grade we'll just skip completely. I don't remember third or fourth very well--who were my teachers?? Fifth grade was Mrs. Weitman; she was cool and fun. Sixth grade was Miss Groff/Mrs. Morley--she got married in the middle of her time at Maddox; she looked like Cher (a good thing in 1975!) and made learning fun.

The problem is that from first grade on, we all moved from room to room (and from teacher to teacher) for almost every subject, so I really had at least 5 teachers every year. Looking back is very confusing; I can't remember most of the teachers, but I know which hallways & classrooms went with which grades! How sad is that??!

3. What do you remember about school back then that is different from what you know about schools now?

Aside from the moving around thing??

The principal had a paddle with a hole in the business end--the better to hurt you with, my dear--hanging in his office. That was the rumor; I never really saw the inside of his office except on infrequent occasionas when his door was open as I passed on my way to lunch. Jerry Johnson was always on the chair outside the office. Always. He was a problem and rumor had it that the paddle had been used on him multiple times. Nowadays, not only would the paddling never happen, but the rumor of the threat of paddling could get you fired!

Other things that I see now that I didn't notice as a child are: I never thought the teachers ever argued with one another, or that they might be just as bitchy as the kids were among themselves; sometimes the grownups are wrong; the secretary runs the school, not the principal (I loved our secretary, she was so kind to, well, me at least...); and the idea that parents would ever be in school outside of programs and conferences, or to pick you up from the nurse's office. There were NEVER parents in the classrooms!

4. Did you have to memorize in school? If so, share a poem or song you learned.

We had to learn all the songs from "The Wizard of Oz" for a class play in 3rd? or 4th? grade. I still know them all. We also learned "You Are My Sunshine" (which is when I found out that Dad hated that song from his Army Air Corps days) and a pastiche of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the list of the U.S. Presidents which is how I still organize them:

First there was George Washington
And then John Adams served
Followed by Tom Jefferson then James Madison
James Monroe he led us then
John Quincy Adams next.
Andrew Jackson [blah blah blah]

USeful, but of questionable taste in most situations.

5. Did you ever get in trouble at school? Were there any embarrassing moments you can share?

I never was in trouble. I was a real goody-two-shoes, although it was totally more about of fear than it was about showing people up. It just didn't ever occur to me that getting in trouble was an option; I knew I'd pay in spades, both at school and at home.

The only really embarrassing moments were the Creamsicle debacle and my klutziness: tripping over a door stop and literally flying 5 feet before landing on my hands and knees on the concrete or running, during gym class, face-first into a brick wall and scraping my face and dinging my knee (again).... Frankly, just getting through each day was fraught with embarrassing possibilities.

Your Kissing Technique Is: Perfect

Your kissing technique is amazing - and you know it. You have the confidence to make the first move. And you always seem to know what kissing style is going to work best. Sometimes you're passionate, sometimes you're a tease. And you're always amazing!

I'm off to ask Beast if this result is accurate....

According to The Underwear Quiz I am currently wearing : Regular Panties Take the Underwear Quiz at JokesUnlimited.com

That could be me in that picture... a couple of lifetimes ago!

And yes, 'tis correct.

August 26

PB&J. What is your preference for the "J"?

If I have to use the "J", it'll definitely be jelly not jam, preferably not grape. However, I actually prefer PB&H, the "H" being honey. Mmmmm, especially if you make the sandwich and let it sit for about 5 minutes while the honey seeps into the bread....

I don't eat them much anymore, though, because they make my teeth hurt, and well, they're a teensy bit fattening!

Another yummy thing is to spreak peanut butter on a flour tortilla, drizzle honey over it and roll it like a flauta. Mmmmmm...mmmm.

Coffee or Tea?

Tea, if I have to choose.

Pepsi or Coke?

With sugar, it's gotta be Pepsi. But I really don't care, since I almost always drink diet so I don't get sick to my stomach.

All expense paid week in Hawaii or Carribbean cruise?

Either one! I'm assuming it's all-expense-paid either way?
But I'd really like to do a cruise, preferably a windjammer cruise, that is, on a smaller boat, not a freakin' city on the sea!

PDA (electronic) or DayTimer (pen and paper)?

I had a PDA for about two years and I've gone back to paper calendars. I just like the mechanics of writing better.

Pluto Gets The Boot: A friend of mine's daughter called her up and said (paraphrasing), "My whole education was a farce. If Pluto isn't a planet, what other lies have we been told?". What was your first thought when you heard the news?

"Guess we'll be replacing all the astronomy books at work." And what was I cataloging yesterday? A kids' astronomy book. I jokingly asked if we should return it to the vendor because it's out of date. [not likely!]

To answer the other question, however, about education being a farce, check out these two books by James Loewen: Lies My Teacher Told Me (Hello! Helen Keller was a commie?!) and Lies Across America (Hello! "Custer" Battlefield? He lost, remember?).

And remember when dinosaurs didn't have feathers??

From De who got it from Robin...

1. My grandpa once: tried to prove a homestead claim, but failed because, like most people, he didn't realize how hard it was. My aunt died, he had a pitchfork through his neck at one point, and my dad nearly was bitten by a rattler. The experience turned my grandmother very sour and sad, and that land still hasn't been proven, 80 years later.

2. Never in my life have I: driven a semi, a motorcycle or a plane. But I'd love to do all three sometime.

3. When I was younger, I: was almost pathologically skinny, primarily because I kept moving all the time, and I was a picky eater.

4.High school was: simultaneously fabulous and depressing. I wish I hadn't taken myself so seriously and just enjoyed the fun times.

5.When I'm nervous: I can't sit still.

6. The last time I really cried was: I can't remember. I got a little weepy when a friend told me that her cat died in her arms last week (she was sobbing). I don't remember crying because I tend to do it a lot.

7. If I were to get married right now: I'd be breaking the law. Besides, who needs two husbands!?

8. My hair is: shoulder length and naturally brown-and-gray. However, it looks brownish-red with ash highlights. It's also uncombed so far today and a little on the dirty side.

9. My feet are: probably one of my best features (although a little on the long side). I redid my pedicure yesterday and the polish is already chipping; rough day yesterday! Oh, and I'm wearing two toe rings.

10. When I was 5: summers lasted forever. Months were interminably long, life seemed endless.

11. Last Christmas: "I gave you my heart but the very next day, you gave it away. This year, to save me from tears, I'll give it to someone special (special)." I couldn't resist.

12. When I turn my head left: my shoulders hurt and I can see the guinea pig doing some housekeeping.

13. When I turn my head right: my shoulders hurt more and I can see that I need to make a trip to the kitchen with garbage and dishes.

14. My life is not complete without: sleep and words.

15. By this time next year: I will be having anxiety attacks about Sparky starting high school (and the new school should be at least halfway finished!).

16. I have a hard time understanding: concentration camps.

17. One time at a family gathering: ...I was going to say that my mom ended up crying at some point because people were arguing...but that happens nearly every time we get together....

We haven't, all of us, been together as a family since about 1991 when my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary. At my dad's funeral, my sister was missing because she was dying. At her funeral, another sister was missing because she'd just flown home to England from my dad's funeral. At both of my niece's weddings, my brother didn't bother to show up... though I think he might make an effort next summer for my oldest niece's wedding, which will mean there will be angst from her sister about why he didn't bother with her wedding....

I love my family...from a very great distance.

18. Take my advice: or don’t. [Thank you, De; I stole your answer because it's perfect!]

19. My ideal breakfast is: a "skillet" at Six Balls: shrimp, hollandaise sauce, hash browns, onions, and eggs. Or one of their others.

But I'm also pefectly happy with a bagel-and-cream-cheese.

20. If you visit my home town: you'll know why I left. If you visit the town where I work, you might recognize it from a movie. If you visit the town where I live now, you'll wonder if I'm a redneck.

21. My friends are: scattered all over the globe, and closer to me than my family.

22. If you spend the night at my house: you'd be awakened at 6 by Sparky shutting doors rather loudly.

23. I would stop my wedding if: someone fainted. Mind you, I'd still get hitched, just later.

24. The world could do without: humans.

25. I'd rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: support anyone in the current administration.

26. The most recent thing I've bought myself is: some clothes at Old Navy. And food.

27. And, by the way: I need to go wash my face and get my day started. It is, after all, it is 10:30.

28. The last time I was high: ...after I had surgery.

29. In the past I shouldn't have been: so intense and self-centered.

30. Once, at a bar/club: we weren't allowed in because we were wearing leather Harley jackets.

31. Last night, I: stayed up till after midnight for the second night in a row.

32. If I didn't have any obligations tomorrow: ...well, outside of doing a short talk at church, I don't HAVE any obligations tomorrow! :-)

33. A better name for me would be: hard to find, but easier to spell.

34. In the last 6 months: I have accepted the fact that I need anti-depressants to get through winter.

35. If I ever go back to school: it would have to be a school that I could commute to on the train. I've already scoped a couple of them out, but I'm nervous about actually doing it.

36: I bet you didn't know: that my brother was a cop...for about a week...till he got called to a SIG (i.e. suicide) who'd blown the back of his head off.

37. I am: what I yam.

38. I read: voraciously, everything.

39. Every birthday: I get older. Funny how that works. They seem to be coming closer together, too!

40. I regret: not dealing with my sister's family better after she died.

Which Bed Are You? Sofa Bed Just like the sofa bed you are alway there when needed and very practical Find out your Bed Type at Quizopolis.com

...and like sofa beds, I'll eventually destroy your back.

Just ask Beast and his destroyed back. Oh, wait, you can't ask him; he's just gone to...bed. I'm staying up first shift with the sleepover twins.

Your Passion is Gray

Your sexual attitude is best described as apathetic. Often joking that you're asexual, you can go months without getting any. For you, great sex does not make or break a relationship. If it happens, it's just the icing on the cake.

Hmmm.

And that's all I'll say.

Mostly because, well, I can't breathe I'm laughing so hard!

Your Learning Style: Innovative and Independent

You are determined and driven. Confident in your abilities, no field is too difficult for you. You Should Study: Astronomy Biology Chemistry Design Engineering Philosophy Physics Political Science feh

So, clearly, I'm supposed to be interested in science.

Too bad I'm not!

Aug. 25

1. What book or books were special to you in your childhood?

Probably shorter to list the books I could manage to get into: horse books (i.e. My Friend Flicka, National Velvet, etc.), Treasure Island, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Ursula LeGuin's books, C.S. Lewis' Perelandra books... that's all I can think of. Otherwise I read everything in sight: Tom Sawyer, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little Pilgrim's Progress, Caddie Woodlawn, Lewis Carroll, Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew/The Bobbsey Twins/et al., Treasure in the Covered Wagon, Ogden Nash, encyclopedias (not the science stuff), The Narnia books, poetry, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle...

2. What was particularly special or memorable about those books?

They took me away from my life, but to anyplace terminally frightening.

3. Have you re-read any of them as an adult?

Hell, yeah!

4. If so, were the books as good as you remembered them?

Some were. Some aren't. I reread Alice in Wonderland and the Laura books regularly. They change every time I read them. I reread Treasure in the Covered Wagon a few years ago and was appalled at the lighthanded racism and didactic tone. I stopped reading encyclopedias a long time ago!

5. What do you think about movies being made out of children's classics (like the Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of The Rings, etc.)?

I can only speak to Narnia, having not read the LotR books. So far, they've done all right by Narnia. It will be interesting to see how they handle some of the other books.

In another vein, I loved "Little House on the Prairie" when I was a kid, until they ran out of storyline and started making shit up. That was about a year after Michael Landon became insufferable in his "I'm always right" interpretation of Pa. I hasten to add that I always