Sunday, January 10, 2016

Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
Why Do You Want To Know That Meme, part three

50. What do you spend most of your money on?
I'm fairly certain that the biggest single chunk is housing, followed closely by food. I used to be really careful about shopping grocery store sales, and buying generic and waiting for things to go on sale. I sure as hell don't do that anymore, though mostly out of laziness. I do coupon shop with online coupons at the store I intend to shop on a given day, but we are rather brand-loyal on some things (like pop, which is a staple in this house).
51. Would you rather visit the past or the future?
Future! OK, yes, it would be lovely to see my parents pre-wrinkles and white hair. It would be weird to see my grandparents when they were young. But I really do want to know what happens to all these babies in my family in about 40 years!
52. Favorite clothing store?
I don't enjoy clothes shopping anymore. When I was a young, skinny thing, I really did, but now that nothing really fits right...it's depressing. So, I get my clothes in passing when I notice something I like, or when I need something specific, at Kohl's, F&F, Target, WallyWorld...wherever.
53. What is the best advice you can give to those who are feeling down?
Get some sunlight. Eat some veggies and fruit. Sing a silly song. Take a nap. Be gentle with yourself. Cry when necessary. See a doctor if you can't pull it together. Dance like no one is watching. Plan a vacation. Play with a happy child. Pray. Meditate. Do something kind for someone else. Do some writing or drawing or puzzles of some kind. Read a book. Whatever has made your soul sing in the past, try that again. Breathe, just for five minutes. Then another five.
54. How often do you think about your future? Does it scare you?
No. I worry about some stuff in the immediate future, but not about the Big Picture Future. I know I can't force things to be different, so I work on controlling my reaction when things go to hell. For instance, in the past couple of months, two kids I know have been dealing with some terrifying health issues (one had an aneurysm leading to a stroke at age 14, the other is a newborn with (pre-)cancerous tissue and organs that aren't working right as a result). I can't fix either of those issues. I can only do practical things to help support the families and pray (a.k.a. rage at God) like a crazy person, and keep my own footing stable. I suck at that last part especially.
55. What angers you the most?
Sick kids ranks right up there. It's totally NOT OK when kids have horrible medical problems. It's really NOTTTTT.
Also, intentional stupidity and meanness make me pretty unhappy.
56. When was the last time you got majorly angry?
December 23, when I told my idiot brother-in-law that if he EVER touched me again after I asked him to stop, I was going to punch him in the face. Been wanting to say that for about 45 years, so don't feel at all guilty. It will be interesting to see how things go the next time we're in the same room together. [and no, nothing seriously creepy--he was touching my arm last month--has been going on for 45 years, but he just doesn't respect boundaries at all]
57. When was the last time you got really sad?
I try not to go there. I seem to carry "sad" with me; it's always in stock at the der Katzenhaus. If I let myself think about stuff going on, I'd be prostrate in a rubber room. I'm sad about Ben's death. I'm sad that Beast is still having some (minor) recovery issues, I'm sad for Sparky's girlfriend's medical issues, I'm sad about the two kids I mentioned above, I'm sad about the homeless folks in the library all the time now, I'm sad for all the people whose lives are miserable through no direct cause of their own, I'm sad for people who make craptastic choices that ruin their lives....see why I don't dwell. I had a big wave of it threaten to overwhelm me yesterday while reading an email about this sick baby. It's really no fair at all for this family to have to go through this shit; they've already dealt with a ton of health stuff. No fair no fair no fair. ...and now I'm crying. Great.
58. Are you good at lying?
Ironic that I was driving home just about an hour ago thinking how much I miss playing poker because it's really a game of sanctioned lying--and I'm very good at that part. ;-)
59. What foreign language would you like to learn?
Hebrew. Or ancient Greek.
60. How many languages can you speak and what are they?
I got English down, most days. Some Spanish--I understand better than I speak. Pig Latin? Ubbi-Dubbi? Dewey? MARC?
61. How often do you go to parties? If you don’t, what do you do instead?
I loathe parties. I'll go, I'll even end up having a decent time usually, but they exhaust me.
62. What books do you plan to read this year?
My GoodReads goal is set at 100 again. I snuck past that last year, so it's doable. In 2014, somehow I read 126, and in 1996 I hit 173, but that includes what I was reading to Sparky, and it's probably way the hell higher than that for most of his early years. We got 15-20 books at the library every couple of weeks, and figure another 60 (at least) books of my own, that's a LOT of books under my eyeballs, usually more than once through.
63. Do you have breakfast every morning?
I do.
64. Tell us a secret.
It's only a secret because at this point I haven't needed to tell anyone, but I'm done with teaching Sunday School after this year. I started doing this when I was 13ish, so nearly 40 years ago. It hasn't been 40 years straight, but easily 25 years over time. I like kids a ton--duh!--but I'm tired. I'd like to get back to "grown-up" Sunday School, too.
65. How many concerts have you been to?
Honestly? I was in band for 7 years of my educational career. My siblings were involved in music, my parents had Symphony season tickets when I was a kid, we were subscribers to a piano series for a couple of years awhile back....I've probably been to hundreds of concerts over my lifetime. If we're just talking rock music, then less than 15; I'd say less than 10, but that might be a lie.
66. Last hug?
Beast, this morning when he got up.
67. Who knows you better than anyone else?
Beast.
68. Baths or showers?
I love a good soak in the tub, especially a very hot soak on a cold day, when I can drain and refill with more hot water a few times. But showers for everyday.
69. Do you think you’re ambitious?
I am not, nor have I ever been, anything approaching ambitious. I like to work hard, but it's not out of ambition. Just hate being bored.
70. What song is stuck in your head?
None right now, and I'm fighting like hell to get past this question before something jumps in!!!
71. Countries you’ve visited?
Mexico, England, Scotland, Switzerland, USSR, Mongolia, China, Poland, Italy, Canada, Greece, Germany. I think that's all, in chronological order.
72. What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty, wit, and silliness.
73. What helps you to sleep better?
Earplugs. And my CPAP.
74. What is the most money you have ever held in your hand?
Several thousand dollars. This buying and selling of houses causes checks of ridiculous amounts to be flipped back and forth quite regularly. In actual cash-money-bills: maybe $500? I don't know. Back in the old days when you couldn't use credit cards overseas, I had lots of money in traveler's checks for some of those trips overseas.
75. What makes you nervous?
"Do have some time we can talk later?" strikes the very fear of God into my soul. No, no, let's just get this over with NOW!!

2 sweet-talkers :

Cat. said...

I realize I answered the reading question wrong--I don't really have a plan for reading, but here's my "next" shelf on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9225099-cat?shelf=next&sort=position

Kwizgiver said...

I like that we know some of the same languages. :-) Yay for Zoom!

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