Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)

A to Z 

Taken from Ned the Duck 

A - Annoyance: Intentionally stupid people being obnoxious on purpose.

B - Bestest Friend[s]: Laura, Gail, Beast ... but honestly it boils down to "no one from work ever again"

C - Car: Ford Edge. I'm going to have to start looking for a replacement in the next couple of years. Wheeeee

D - Day or night: I always like more light, but I'm also perfectly comfortable in darkness..

E- Easiest person to talk to? People I trust. However misguided that would be.

F - Favorite Month: September.

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: I'm not fussy! I love gummy stuff, especially gummies with CBD!

H - Hair Color: Brown at the lowest four inches of hair, white for most of the rest.

I - Ice Cream: Peppermint.

J - Jewelry: I wear my wedding set and that's about all except for whatever earrings I stick in every morning.

K - Kindergarten: ? I went ? I found it really weird.

L - Longest Car Ride: Straight through from my house to Houston, unload the UHaul, turn around, drive straight back home. We had about 6 hours' sleep between arrival and unloading. 2200 miles round trip.

M - Most missed person:  The one I'd most like to talk to: Dad. The one I'd like to understand: Beast.

N - Number of Siblings: There were 5 of us originally. Now there are 3. I lost two sisters before I was 50.

O - One regret: Not staying in my lane more effectively.

P- Part of your appearance you like least? I'm too fat. I need to lose at least 50 lbs. Am I working on it? Nope.

Q- Quote: It is not your job to complete the task of perfecting the world, but neither are you free to desist from it. [Mishnah]

R - Reality TV Show: I used to love Survivor and The Amazing Race. I should check Netflix to see if those are available to (re)watch.

S - Shoe: Bob's. And my collection of short boots.

T - Time you woke up: I seem to be preset for 7 a.m. regardless. Unless, of course I need to be awake then, in which case I sleep till 9.

U - Unpredictable? I don't think so. BUT I don't handle stress or change well at all.

V - Vegetable you hate: Brussels sprouts.

W- Worst Habits: Popping off without thinking. 

X - X-Rays: I've had a lot of scans. More than I've had X-rays, weirdly. Even a couple of bone scans. Welcome to old age. My thyroid area is FAMOUS in all the medical literature! So is my former reproductive system!

Y - Year you were born: I was born 10 days before JFK was shot.

Z - Zoom: I did a zoom meeting today for church. I think I have another one schedule this week--maybe?--for work. And Beast just called via a different app, so there's also that. And GoToMeeting, which I use as well.

Thursday 13

(Link in meme-roll)
Things Starting with L
(continuing a series started in 2010 with A)

1. Lagging. I constantly feel tired. I'm lagging all over the place, both in the sense of being behind and in the sense of being slow.
2. Leftovers. I just threw away half a casserole from 10 days ago. I'm so irritated that despite both of us being around, neither of us finished it. Plus, it left a trail of icky smell in the house when I carried it outside. Yuck.
3. Loose ends. I'm not sure what I ought to be doing instead of this, but I know that it involves cleaning. Floors, kitchen, cobwebs in corners, something....
4. Land. This time of year, this part of the world is beautiful. The fields are mostly harvested now, the trees are approaching the full color spectrum, and the weather.
5. Light. On the other hand, I'm not loving the increasingly short days. It's just getting darker and darker....sigh. I'm not ready for winter, this year.
6. "Lovely." The British version of "That's nice." I still am catching myself saying that when people tell me something that I'm not really interested in knowing.
7. Legal issues. Continued worrying, on Beast's part mostly, about why our state followed through on something from another state that is in the process of being thrown out of court in the original venue.
8. Library. Well really, I pretty much have to mention this. Perhaps now is a good time to confess that I seem to have misplaced the latest Harry Potter book somewhere just as I got to the last 50 pages. I'm sure(is) that it is somewhere in the house, though that's not narrowing it down much.
9. Love . Another one that has to be on the list. I feel so fortunate to have the people around me that I do. They didn't "just happen" to be there, and I'm unwilling to take credit for thinking ahead to create such an awesome support system. Also, I really really love Sparky. He's such a great guy.
10. Luggage. So, if I never put away suitcases, does that mean vacation never technically ends? OK, seriously, I need to just bite the bullet and put away all the crap including The Bag of Liquids and all the brochures that I picked up.
11. Lean on me. Beast had another 30-minute trip up the stairs to bed an hour or so ago. His back is SO bad again. Very discouraging. He can't feel his hands, and he can't feel his feet, so climbing stairs is tricky. Plus he's got "shooting" pains in his extremities, and nearly constant, 24-hour spinal pain. I'm living with an invalid who just refuses to admit the truth.
12. Lyrics. Bob Dylan needs to come down off his high horse and just accept the damn award. He makes me so tired, honestly.
13. Laughter. Truly is the best medicine. I really don't think I could make it through a day without finding something to laugh at. There is so much absurdity in the world. Like Bob Dylan blowing off the Nobel committee. lol

Friday 5

(Link in meme-roll)

It’s the fourth Friday in June, which means it’s time for our annual Scattergories Five! My favorite Five of the year! (Yes; we’ve done them on the third Friday in June the past few years, but the fourth works better for me).

We first did them in 2009, and revisited them in 2012, in 2013, in 2014, and last year [these are links to my answers, not the original questions]. If you never did those, and if these five questions seem not to be enough, feel free to add those questions to this week’s.

This week’s 5 is inspired by the party game Scattergories, in which players have to think of items, all beginning with the same letter, in several categories. For example, if the die is rolled and shows the letter T, players might have to name a soft drink, a farm animal, a river, and a U.S. President, all beginning with T. Valid answers might be Tab, turkey, Tennessee, and Tyler.

First, go to this nifty online random-letter generator. Set the “number of random letter sequences to generate” to 1. Set the “length of each random letter sequence” to 1. Leave the “letters to choose from” how it is and click the button. You’ll get a rather non-dramatic one letter. Use that letter to begin all your answers to the 5 questions below. If you’d like to avoid difficult letters, feel free to change the “letters to choose from” list. I’ll only judge you a little bit. 🙂

Alternately, if you find that boring, you could set the “length of each random letter sequence” to 5, thereby giving you five letters, a different one for each question.

What random letter was generated by the online random-letter generator (this doesn’t really count as one of your five questions)?
I've done this a couple of different ways in the past. In 2009 I just picked one letter. in 2014, I got a series of five letters and answered each question with all five letters. Last year I was back to one letter. I haven't looked at the questions yet. My original one-letter "assignment" this year is "O." The 5-letter sequence I got was "ftran." I'm going with the 5-letters. YAY!!

1. What brand or model of car, whose name begins with the letter, would you like to get?

   F - Ferarri (duh!)
   T - Toyota [I've never had a bad one]
   R - Rolls Royce
   A - Alfa Romeo [yes! please!]
   N - Nissan something-or-other

2. What summer activity, whose name begins with the letter, are you looking forward to?

   F - Frisbee (if I can find someone to play with!)
   T - Travel (except I think it'll be almost fall for me)
   R - Relaxing
   A - Archery is all I can come up with
   N - Noodle ball

3. What’s an item in your desk whose name begins with the letter?

   F - Folders
   T - Tape
   R - Rubber bands
   A - Almonds [yes, a ton of them]
   N - Notebooks

4. What’s something, whose name begins with the letter, that you find frightening?

   F - Flooding
   T - Trump (of course)
   R - Reptiles (some of them; some I like)
   A - Aging
   N - Nuclear war

5. If you had to get a tattoo on your upper arm, what’s something whose name begins with the letter that you could live with?

   F - Freckle
   T - my son's name starts with a T, so ... that
   R - Rabbit
   A - I could see getting an Anarchy symbol--with a slash through it
   N - Going back to the same well: someone's Name

Thursday 13

(Link in meme-roll)
Things Starting with K
(continuing a series started in 2010 with A)

1. Keys. I have a horrible habit of locking keys in cars, forgetting them in the house when I'm leaving, or otherwise mismanaging locking things. Fortunately, I now have a car with a code on the door, and I can get in my house without a key if necessary.
2. Knickknacks. It is so hard to get rid of tsotchkes that have been picked up from memorable places, or given to me from special people. On the other hand, if I keep gifts around for a couple of years, that's usually sufficient time that I can unload the stuff I don't really like. I've finally trained myself to only buy practical things. And S&Ps, which are inherently impractical for me anymore.
3. Kazoo. One of my favorite words to say. It's just silly and noisy and fun. Also, who can't play one?
4. Knee. I have a stellar bruise on my leg around the knee from falling on top of Beast when he fell the other night. His laptop then fell on top of me. It was a super-fabulous way to spend 1:45 a.m.
5. Knitting. I should get back to this. I haven't knitted for a decade. I need to find some help, but someday I'll finish that damned afghan!
6. Kvetching. There are few ways to waste time more completely and uselessly than complaining. And yet we do spend an awful lot of time doing it.
7. Khakis. Are they even still a thing?
8. Kitchen. My kitchen needs a complete deep-cleaning, the kind where you bring in the shovels to clear things. And then I can wipe down the counter and mop the floor and feel like one area of my house (and life) is totally under control.
9. Kangaroo. Most awesome animal on earth. A friend was in Australia last fall. He went out for his morning jog and discovered he was being shadowed by a large kangaroo: thump ... thump ... thump. A bit weird, and hilarious.
10. Keyboard. My new laptop has the extended keyboard with the number keys to the right. It's taking me some time to get used to, because the delete and other keys are set up differently from traditional keyboards. But I love the numberpad!!
11. Kudzu. At my workplace, books are kudzu. They're just bloody EVERYWHERE!
12. Kabob. Sounds yummy. We don't have anyplace nearby that serves proper kabob. Another reason I need to go back to England (or, apparently, Germany, according to Sparky).
13. Kick. I'm having a weird nostalgic turn lately about playing kickball. I hated it when I was a kid, but for some reason I'm craving the concept of kicking something as far as possible.

expand

(Found here)

A

• Are you available? Nope. In no way at all, unless you're a friend.
• What is your age? Just after my next birthday I'll have achieved 19,000 days of life.
• What annoys you? Intentional stupidity or obtuseness. Selfishness. Screeching. Whining. Badly-tuned instruments.

B

• Do you know anyone named Billy? I have precisely one Bill in my Facebook friends list and there's no fucking way I'd ever call him Billy, even as a joke. Sparky went to school with a kid who went by Billy when they were in elementary school. Otherwise...no, I can't think of anyone named Billy.
• When is your birthday? It is less than three weeks away. Have you started shopping for me??
• Who is your best friend? Beast, Amy, Jenny...

C

• What's your favorite candy? Yes. ... I mean, this time of year, I'm not going to be fussy! I've been ODing on Milk Duds this week. But for long-term reliability, it's always Smarties. American version, not British.
• Crush? LL Cool J. He's really the only reason to watch NCIS:LA. The plots are invariably ridiculous. And of course Mark Harmon. Yes, the NCIS plots are also developing some serious issues, but he is just perfect every week.
• When was the last time you cried? Today. I sat down and turned on the TV and found it was tuned to a movie channel on which was showing "The Fault In Our Stars." I've read the book, so I recognized it immediately. And then one of the actors was familiar from Outlander...aaaand I was hooked and had to watch to the end, weeping all the way. I'm not giving away anything here to say that you'll need a box of Kleenex to get through it. The movie OR the book. But so good!

D

• Do you daydream? Not as such. I've tried to, for years decades, really. Nope, no daydreaming.
• What's your favorite kind of dog? I prefer mutts. Pound puppies.
• What day of the week is it? There's a college football game on and it's October, so it must be Saturday.

E

• How do you like your eggs? In an omelet, or over easy with several slices of buttered wheat toast.
• Have you ever been in the emergency room? All too often, for all too many hours of my life. Both as a patient and (way more often) with other people, specifically Beast in most cases.
• Name of best ex? My memory doesn't go back that far, but if they were "best" he couldn't've been that great, right, since he is an EX.

F

• Do you use fly swatters? I never see the point of them. Magazines and other stuff works just as well, Besides, I'm not sure we even have any anymore. And I rarely kill flies anyway.
• Have you ever used a foghorn? Hmmm. I'm...not sure. I don't think so. I don't even think my brother has ever let me honk the big horn on any of his firetrucks!
• Is there a fan in your room? There are two (ceiling and small personal-sized) in this room. All of the bedrooms have one. The office does too, because it's right over the furnace AND on the south side of the house, so it gets quite warm in there.

G

• Do you chew gum? Yes. Every day.
• Do you like gummy candies? I love sourpatch kids. They're Beast's go-to stocking-stuffer every Christmas.
• Do you like gory movies? I do not. At all. Which is weird since gory books don't bother me that much.

H

• How are you? Meh. Tired. Sweaty. But the laundry is FINALLY done, a full 10 hours after starting it. There was a 4-hour interruption while Beast went and bought and then installed (with some assistance from me in place of his injured/painful left shoulder) a new injector pump so I didn't flood the basement while trying to wash clothes.
• What's your height? 1.71 m or so.
• What color is your hair? Brown and, increasingly, gray.

I

• Have you ever ice skated? I've tried. Hated it. Don't like roller-skating either. I do not enjoy dropping my 1.71 m on the ground at speed. It sucks enough when I'm just using my own motion/power.
• What's your favorite kind of ice cream? In general, vanilla with toppings. I really look forward to the occasional birthday cake or peppermint treat though.

J

• Have you ever heard a really hilarious joke? Previous person's answer: "why is this even a question?" My answer: No.
• Do you wear jewelry? I've always got my wedding & engagement rings on. Often at least one more ring. Usually earrings. Sometimes a necklace.

K

• Do you think kangaroos are cute? I do. But then again I've never pissed one off. I'm pretty sure even a small one could easily kick my ass.
• Do you think you are a kind person? I've been told I am. It's hard to believe, I suppose, if you only know me from the blog.

L

• Love at first sight? I believe it's real to people who experience it. My sister Ellen absolutely did. Good friends insist it happens. Me? Not likely.
• Lions or tigers? Bears. ... Actually, no, bears scare the living shit out of me, specifically grizzlies, but even black ones. So, lions. At great distance preferably.
• Do you like black licorice? Not very much. I discovered that the black jelly beans weren't all that horrible in this years Easter batch.
• Ever been in love? Yup.

M

• Favorite movie as a kid? I loved "Paint Your Wagon" because the end made me absolutely laugh myself into hysteria when I saw it at the theater. [Yes, I'm so old, my favorite movie from childhood isn't a kids' movie.]
• Ever shopped at Moosejaw? Which is here. And I'd never heard of it, but I may have to look around at their stuff; some of their jackets look wonderfully warm.
• Favorite store at the mall? Bath & Body Works. Or VS. There aren't many stores I actually shop in anymore. And the last time I was in a mall I was in the children's playground with my great-nephew, E, and in JCPenney's while his mom, Katherine, made an exchange. E and I looked at all the pretty men's ties. He liked the purple ones.

N

• Do you have a nickname? Do you think my actual, given, name is Cat.? Hah. One of the letters in that is in my real first name.
• What's your favorite number? If I think about it, 3. If I'm just popping out a 'random' number, it's usually 16.
• Do you prefer night or day? Depends on the activity in which I'm engaged. I'm having more difficulty with night-time driving as the years pass, for instance. Generally, I'm a sun-lover, but the night sky can be lovely.

O

• What's your one wish? I want to live and die well.
• Are you an only child? Not...exactly. My nearest sibling is 10 years older than me, though so I really had my parents to myself for about half my childhood.
• Do you like the color orange? It's not my favorite, but I certainly own an awful lot of it, since it's one of the main colors for my college alma mater (and Sparky's more recently). I work with someone who A-D-O-R-E-S it.

P

• What are you most paranoid about? Less and less. Besides, I'm not sure I'd call any of my own fears "paranoia," would I? I guess the worst think I can imagine would be The Wrong Person finding out about my blogs.
• Piercings? One in each earlobe.
• Do you know anyone named Penelope? I used to work with someone named Penny, and I had a friend when I was a wee tot whose name was Penny. I don't think I know any Penelopes currently--and by the way, I still pronounce that "PEN-uh-lope" when I see it.

Q

• Are you quick to judge people? Sometimes. Not usually, though.
• Do you like Quaker Oats? I like them in cookies.
• Quilts? I love them. I do not have the patience to make them, but my grandmothers did, and I've inherited a couple of those.

R

• Do you think you're always right? Of course, the 'correct' answer here is "NO! Of course not!" But when it comes right down to it, I think we all think we're mostly right, or we'd be frozen in permanent indecision.
• Do you watch reality TV? Not the kind where there's competition. We watch Deadliest Catch and American Pickers and Pawn Stars and shows like that fairly regularly.
• Reason to cry? Amateurs need reasons; I can cry anytime, anywhere, for no reason at all. Come to think of it, that might just be my superpower.

S

• Do you prefer sun or rain? Sun. I don't mind an occasional brief rainstorm, but I really loathe endless stretches of cloudy drippiness. Yuck.
• Do you like snow? In theory, yes. It is lovely. It's also, often, inconvenient and HEAVY.
• What's your favorite season? Autumn.

T

• What time is it? 9 p.m. straight up.
• What time did you wake up? It was after 9 this morning.
• Any tattoos? Nope.

U

• Can you ride a unicycle? No I can't. My niece, Rosellen, can...though perhaps not right now seeing as she's pregnant with twins.
• Umbrellas? I rarely use them, preferring the scamper to the car/building cursing at the weather instead.

V

• What's the worst vegetable? I'm still not a fan of Brussels sprouts.
• Did you ever watch Veggie Tales? I've watched about 3 episodes, or parts of about that many. I find them abhorrent in the extreme.

W/X

• Do you like water rides? I used to love them. Now they're kind of a pain.
• Have you ever had an x-ray? "Have I ever been to the dentist?" Yes.
• Ever used a Xerox machine? Yes. An actual Xerox. Back in the day. Now, I mostly use printers, or Uncle Ricoh at work.

Y

• What year were you born in? Either the last year of the Baby Boomers or the first year of the next crew. Depends on who you ask.
• Do you yell when you're angry? Unfortunately, yes, my voice does get a little louder when I get upset.

Z

• What's your zodiac sign? I'm all Scorp, all the time.
• When was the last time you went to the zoo? It's probably been about 8 years.

...our habits make us

(Reminded of this by Amy)
Type each letter of the alphabet into the address bar, one at a time. Select the top URL and copy it next to the letter. If you regularly clear your cache/history, you can skip this whole thing.

I'm doing two, since I literally NEVER clear my cache AND I use my google account at the Reference Desk, so there are some random ringers here.

A - amazon.com & http://www.apartments.com [Sparky was hunting, and so was I, for him]
B - blogger.com & bitly.com
C - cnn.com & compass.btol.com [from whom we order some of our library materials]
D - dunkindonuts.com & http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20140711-in-dying-act-minister-hoped-to-inspire-social-justice.ece [ok, well, that's a weird combination....]
E - ebsco.com & [work email ] which doesn't actually start with E so...yeah.... [both are work-related]
F - facebook.com & f.riday5.com [yay social media!]
G - gmail.com & goodreads.com
H - houzz.com & hellofresh.com [neither of which do I frequent]
I - inoreader.com & imdb.com [I love Inoreader! And IMDb comes in very handy regularly for work]
J - jet.com & jcpenney.com [again, I don't actually use either of these]
K - kelley.littlethings.com [no second option] [WTF?]
L - www.loc.gov & logmein.com [both work-related]
M - http://www.meijer.com & [library ebook download site]
N - [local library consortium catalog] & nfl.com [yeah, ok, I use these A LOT!]
O - oclc.org/worldcat/newgrow.htm [no second option] [work work work]
P - panera.com & packers.com [again, I do use these a lot]
Q - [clickbait site] [no second option] [I don't mind free advertising on most of these, but not THIS site]
R - random.org & reddit.com [yes, that is random actually]
S - sweetmemes.blogspot.com & Google search: shropshire [lolol]
T - twitter.com & translate.google.com [hah]
U - http://uppercanadagenealogy.com & www.urbandictionary.com [ok THAT is really really random!]
V - [Vicki's Place] [no second option]
W - weather.com & www.wikipedia.org [yay]
X - [nada]
Y - youtube.com [no second option]
Z - zillow.com & zappos.com [more sites I almost never use]

And a bonus:

0 - [nada]
1 - [nada]
2 - Google search: 21 day fix [what??]
3 - 303 area code [Why would I look this up, I wonder, since it's the area code in which I grew up]
4 - [nada]
5 - [nada]
6 - my college roommate's childhood address [don't ask]
7 - the address of a former bar near said friend's home [don't ask]
8 - 8 tracks [and this was before today's 8-Track question!]
9 - 9/11 [sad face]

Another from Amy

(Swiped from Amy)

What's your favourite biscuit to dunk?

I don't really dunk--I don't drink a lot of milk--and I don't like the crumbs falling off into the milk. Loss of perfectly good cookie!

Which would you rather have if you had to, a broken leg or a broken arm?

Arm. Left arm. I don't have time to figure out crutches.

Do you read a daily newspaper?

Nope. Not for years. I read the local headlines in my local paper in InoReader so I know generally what the latest gossip is.

Do you watch the news on TV?

I catch it on Today in the morning before I go to work. Sorta.

Have you ever had anything published?

Nope.

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Sure. I haven't really experienced it, I don't think, but "like at first sight" yes.

How many remote controls do you have in your house?

Oh jeez. Uh, three in this room. Probably at least that many downstairs. One upstairs in our room for my clock--which is totally silly.

Have you ever been in a hot tub or sauna?

Yes. Multiple times, on multiple vacations. We used to vacation with people who wouldn't even consider it a vacation without a hot tub on site.

Have you ever had chicken pox?

Yes, when I was 6, and a very bad case it was too. They hit in the middle of winter during a multi-day power outage.

Do you own a lava lamp?

No I do not. My brother had one when I was little. It was fascinating, but I don't have time for fascination for that sort of thing.

What is your one major weakness?

My mouth. I need to STFU more often. That seems to be my lesson for 2015.

What's been the best decision you've made in your life so far?

Having a kid. I didn't used to want one, and the whole labor thing was absolutely AWFUL--as bad as advertised on Little House on the Prairie--but I'm glad, so very very glad, to have Sparky in my life.

What's been the worst decision you've made in your life so far?

Staying at my first full-time job for as long as I did. On the other hand, had I bailed, I wouldn't be where I am now so...

What words do you always struggle to spell type correctly?

Anything with a 'q' in it. And "vacuum." And because I type them often, "video," "recording," "juvenile," "literature," and "fiction."

On a scale of 1-10, how happy would you say you are?

Right this second: 6. Generally, though I'm at 7 or 8.

On a scale of 1-10, how smart would you say you are?

Book-smart: 10. Actually, practically: 7.

On a scale of 1-10, how funny would you say you are?

I think I'm a 10. Apparently, I'm more often closer to 3.

On a scale of 1-10, how devious would you say you are?

Usually, 4, but there are stretches that are full of 10.

On a scale of 1-10, how awesome would you say you are?

Most of the time I think I'm a 7. But I have dark moments of 1-ness.

On a scale of 1-10, how devilish would you say you are?

Oh, really, that's probably a 2 or 3. At most.

On a scale of 1-10, how nice/caring would you say you are?

10. Except when I'm a stone bitch.

On a scale of 1-10, how bitchy would you say you are?

In quantity, probably 2. In intensity, probably closer to 12.

On a scale of 1-10, how polite would you say you are?

9. I'm Midwestern, yo.

On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are?

6 and falling.

If you could be any famous person who would you be and why?

I wouldn't want to be famous, so this isn't the easiest question. I'd like to be famous for doing something really boring but awesomely useful.

What's your favourite animal beginning with the letter A?

Albatross. "Bloody albatross!!" lol

What's your favourite item of clothing beginning with the letter B?

I'm rather partial to bras.

Just noticed that this is post #7205. Over 11 years, that works out to 655 posts each year. Yikes!!

Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
The Dirty Dozen Meme

1. This weather is really...

...springlike, unfortunately: cold, rain, sun, wind, gray sky, awesome sunrise/sunset....that's just the last 18 hours or so!

2. You think you've seen it all, you should see me...

...alphabetize!

3. I'm sure you would still love me even if...

...I stole all your Easter candy. You would, right?

4. I think I have finally realized...

...that I need to get a solid grip on my temper. Sorry, Dad; I know that means you might've been a bad teacher in this area.

5. Since the last time we linked up...

...I've done a metric shit-ton of cataloging.

6. I get super embarrassed...

...when people compliment me.

7. I really thought by now...

...I'd have life figured out.

8. If I thought no one would read it, I would write about...

...my family and how they annoy me. Oh. Wait. I have. And pretty much no one HAS read it.

9. I knew I was in the wrong place...

...as soon as I turned the corner and found myself in a business district instead of a residential area.

10. I am so not above...

...stealing candy from children! On Easter! (and Halloween)

11. Let's pretend...

...I'm not 100% selfish.

12. Just you wait...

...'Enry 'Iggins, just you wait! You'll be sorry, but your tears'll be too late! You'll be broke, but I'll 'ave money. Will I 'elp you? Don't be funny! Just you wait 'Enry 'Iggins, just you wait.

Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
Alphabetty 2

A) What does the last text you sent say? And to whom?

"Did you see my fb post abt u?" To my son. Yes, I know, I know. I found his Legos and posted a photo of one 'creation' that was in the box from at least 8 years ago:

I love that he seems to be looking at this from behind the laptop screen....

B) What does the last text you received say? And from whom?

That would be the reply from Sparky, the spectacularly unthrilled "Yeah."
Actually, no, the latest one was from Beast: "I'm in the sanctuary fyi" from this morning.

C) What time do you wake up most mornings?

Usually I'm done with deep sleep by 7 if I make it that long. Yesterday I woke up at 9, got up about 10 (after an hour of Nook gaming) and rousted Beast at 11:30.

D) Are you afraid of walking alone at night?

Not in my neighborhood, though the number of teen drivers is a bit worrisome. lol If I were walking through some neighborhoods in big cities, well then yes I would be afraid.

E) What do you do to relax at the end of a stressful day?

This. Often with the TV on.

F) Where did your last kiss take place and with whom?

Beast, at church, when we connected up between services.

G) Do/did you get into trouble a lot at school?

Nope. Almost never.

H) Do you enjoy your job? If unemployed, are you content being so?

I do enjoy it. It is never dull, which might surprise people who don't hang out in libraries often enough.

I) Do you often pick up on double entendres and innuendos?

Oh yeah! I also dish them out regularly. For instance, just now one of the football commentators told us that the Detroit Lions like to "rotate their packages regularly." And....snigger.

J) Have you ever been offered drugs but declined?

Hmm. I've been offered booze and declined. I don't remember about drugs.

K) Have you ever met someone who has completely altered your way of thinking?

Yes, lots of people. I thank God that I'm still able to allow this to happen. Probably the one person who has altered my thought process the most, however, is Sparky. The split second between pregnancy and being responsible for another person is life-changing in every way. Or, well, I think it really ought to be.

L) Have you ever been offered drugs and accepted?

Again, yes with alcohol. Not drugs. Well, not illegal drugs. Doctors give me drugs semi-regularly, which I take like a good girl. (usually)

M) Tell us something weird that turns you on.

The smell of smoke, like campfire, in clothes and hair. It's doubly odd since I'm not a camper and campfires themselves aren't much of a turn-on.

N) When did someone last admit romantic or sexual feelings for you? Was the feeling mutual?

Well, Beast and I are married and we say "I love you" to each other fairly often....

O) What is something you have given a lot of thought to lately?

Detachment. Shutting my mouth. Trying to stop taking responsibility for every-damn-thing in the world.

P) When did you last swallow your beliefs to avoid an argument or confrontation?

I didn't swallow them, but I'm slowly learning that every disagreement doesn't need to be discussed. If it's important to me, I state my case but I don't always debate it afterwards. See previous answer.

Q) Do you usually initiate hugs?

I often initiate them, yes. But just as often someone else is hugging me.

R) Are you a very affectionate person?

Uhm, yes. I think that's fair to say.

S) Can you roll your own cigarettes?

No, but since I don't smoke, this hasn't been much of a problem in my life.

T) What are you looking forward to?

The current raging, stabbing, pounding headache going away. Longer term, we're planning a trip I've been wanting to do for some 30 years, and I'm hoping Beast & I can make time to discuss dates, timing, and activities on the game plan today.

U) Do you have any tattoos. Do you want any/more?

Nope and nope. I'm getting that older-person crapey skin--which I don't mind, but I can't see it as very tattooable.

V) Are you mentally strong?

Yup. Solid.

W) Are you physically strong?

Nope. Think of me as human Flubber.

X) Do you think you’re a good person?

I do my best at being the best I can be. (circular much?) Let's put it this way: I try, sometimes successfully, not to add more pain to the world.

Y) Name one thing you wish you could change about your life right now.

I'd really like to get this recovery thing over with. And I'd like to weigh what I did in 1985. Only one of those two is ever very likely to occur.

Z) What do you usually eat for breakfast?

It's usually a bagel with a variety of different things depending on the day.

Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
Alphabetty

A. What are your favorite smells?

Vanilla, Italian cooking, "clean," and newly-printed books. Definitely NOT all at once.

B. Can you go a whole day without caffeine?

I can but I will be a) miserable and b) asleep.

C. Who knows more about you than anyone else?

Beast. He's lived with me longer than anyone else, that's for sure! I'm sure there are family members (sister, brother, nieces) who think they know stuff, but they don't.

D. What song did you last listen to?

We sang "Seek Ye First" at church at the end of worship. Pick your favorite version here. I've been singing this song in church since I was in middle school, and invariably it makes me tear up.

E. Do you have a crush on anybody?

Nope. I'm watching Law & Order right now, and Vincent D'Onofrio is very intriguing, but he's not really crushable for me.

F. Do you like The Beatles?

I like a lot of their music, and most of their members. Paul gives me the willies a bit.

G. If you could choose one color to wear for a whole year, what color would you choose?

Blue. Of course.

H. Do you cook often?

Not as often as I should.

I. What was the last film you watched? Did you like it?

We went and saw Dawn of the Planet of the Apes a few weeks ago. It was pretty good, MUCH better than I expected it to be.

J. Can you sew?

About like I can cook. I can, but it's not my most favorite thing.

K. What is your favorite fruit?

Fresh-off-the-tree peaches. I also like apples, preferably fresh, but they age ok if treated ok. Peaches...do not.

L. Are you health conscious?

Hah!

M. What is your middle initial?

It's in the last half of the alphabet and without it I am lacking in compassion for others.

N. Do you curse a lot?

I fookin' well do, though I'm trying to cool it a little.

O. When was the last time you had a beer?

January 1985, because that was the only thing left on the train to drink. I strongly doubt it was Tsing-tao, but it was a Chinese beer, probably the only reason I could get it down. Yuck.

P. Are you pro sports fan?

Am I pro-fan? Or pro-sports? Or...what? I'm a fan of sports, but not insane about it. Some fans are stupid, though, and I'm not pro-stupid.

Q. Is there a certain food you often crave for no reason?

"For no reason" other than addiction: sugar.

R. What was the last book you purchased?

It was probably Sparky's fall textbooks, purchased online last month. Unless you want to count the 'free' books that came with my new Nook....

S. Where was your last vacation?

Tennessee (primarily) in March.

T. Do you share your fries?

Sure. I'm not a big fry-lover.

U. Did you ever play [S]even [M]inutes in [H]eaven?

Uhm, no.... Even Colorado in the 70s was over that.

V. Girls, when was the last time you went out without a bra? Guys, when was the last time you went shirtless in public?

Yesterday--after working outside for awhile in high humidity, bras are really unpleasant. But I only do this at home.

W. What's the longest you've gone "unplugged"?

Recently and completely? Probably only about a day.

X. Have you ever broken a bone? If so, how did it happen?
\

I'm pretty sure I've broken a couple of fingers, but never had them set. Otherwise, nothing. Yet.

Y. How do you like your eggs?

Over easy, with wheat toast.

Z. What was your last argument about and who with?

It was probably Beast and about the usual stuff.

Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
Me A to Z

A If you were an ANIMAL, what would you be?

I'd love to be some sort of canine. The universe being what it is, I'd probably end up as a potato bug, or a louse.

B BOOKS: What's on your reading list?

I've got Styx & Stone (Ziskin) sitting here ready to start once I finish Barbara Ehrenreich's latest. At work, Xom-B (Robinson) and the audiobook for Everything for a Dog (Martin) are waiting to check out. I have 11 other items on reserve there. And according to GoodReads, there are 20 books on my "Next" list, most of which have been there for months. Sigh...

C COMPULSIVE about anything?

Yeah a few things. I always lock my car door when I get out of it--even though I can do it from my key fob. Unfortunately, it's such a habit I regularly lock my keys in the car in the garage. I also try to put away my main work "tools"--mechanical pencil, eraser, small post-its, and book weight--before I go home every day. I do Unconscious Mutterings first thing after turning on the computer on Sunday mornings, followed immediately by PostSecret. Lots of other things that I do that, when I miss doing them, screw up my days completely.

D DREAMS - Do you ... dream in color? remember your dreams? keep a dream journal?

I dream in color, I remember some dreams, and my blog is my very occasional dream journal, among other purposes.

E EATING - what's your usual snack?

I vary widely, from granola to fruit to almonds to bread products to cookies.

F A few of your FAVORITE things:

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.... OK, I like kittens and roses just fine, but favorite things? Hmm.... Diet Dr. Pepper. Bagels. Dogs. Quiet. Laughter with good friends. Dumb jokes. (Q: Where does George Washington keep his armies? A: In his sleevies) Not having to wear shoes. Napping in sunshine.

G GIGGLES! What (or who) makes you laugh? Do you have a good sense of humor?

Oops, looks like I jumped ahead. I laugh very hard at absurdity, which is convenient because there is a shit-ton of it around.

H major HOT Button:

Meanness for the sake of being mean.

I I am ______________ ...

...very sweaty right now, from rinsing out and putting a cooler in the car and helping Beast load a wagon in the car as well. Seriously? It's not even hot out, just freakin' humid as hell.

WHERE THE HELL IS J? J is an AWESOME letter! Booo!

K Also KNOWN As... Aliases? Screen names? A non [sic] de plume perhaps?

Well, Cat. certainly qualifies.

L I LOVE ...

...babies. Until they start making noise and stinking.

M How do you feel about MEETING people? Do it all the time? Rarely? Parties or 1-on-1?

I work at a reference desk in a library: I meet people every day. Most are just fine, nice, normal people. A few are scary as hell. The rest are just annoying.

N What's the story of your NAME? were you named after anyone? Do you go by a nickname? Any aliases?

My sisters named me because they felt my parents did such a lousy job with their names. They chose a name they like that belonged to a friend of one of theirs. No clue, really. The only rule for names in my house was they they couldn't be (easily) shortened into nicknames. So no Thomases (Tom, Tommy), no Susans (Sue, Suzy), etc. I wish they would have gone with my Dad's died-to-young sister and named me Rowena. Oh well.

O OBSERVANT - What's around you right now? What do you see?

Birthday gift, wrapped. Beast. Breakfast plate. Clipboard with crossword, pencil, and eraser. Book. Blankets. Three cans--one in use, two empty--of DDP. Three laptops (Beast is trying to fix Sparky's). TV with racecars on it.

P Who are the special PEOPLE in your life?

Beast, Sparky, my friends and family. Even when some family members annoy the shit out of me....

Q Any little QUIRKs about yourself:

No, no quirks; I'm perfectly rational. The rest of you are nucking futs.

R What do you like to do for RECREATION?

This. Read. Do crosswords. Sleep. Avoid my responsibilities (I'm very good at it). Alphabetize things.

S Do You SING in the shower? In the car? For your friends?

I sing along with the radio in the car sometimes (on the rare occasions when I'm listening to music). I never sing, or even talk, in the shower, and I try not to subject my friends to my singing except when I can't contain myself.

T What's at the top of your TO DO list?:

On my 'official' list is "Call Grant" (neighbor kid, about weeding) and "Go over credit cards with [Beast]." But otherwise, I need to clean the guinea pig cage when we get back from this thing today and also remake our bed with newly clean sheets.

U Any UNUSUAL experiences:

Loads. Daily ones. Working with the public is always unusual. I had a kid ask me last week why "fun size" candy is called that. He was mostly kidding, but his point was that "fun size" should be the HUGE bars, not the one-bite ones!

V VEGAS, Vienna, Venice, Vladivostok... How far have you traveled? What's your favorite city?

I was in Beijing about 29.5 years ago. My favorite city is Denver. And London.

W WINTER, Spring, Summer, Fall... What's your favorite season? What makes it special?

I love fall: less humidity, pretty colors, slightly cooler temps (not an issue this summer though), and crisp air. I don't like allergies that time of year, but the rest is lovely.

X EXes - Things you don't do anymore (but did, once (would you, again?))

I don't argue with drunks and/or fools anymore. I don't run (well, I can't, really). I don't feel guilty about nearly as much stuff as I used to. If I were 10 again, I might take up running, but otherwise I'm not interested in doing any of those things.

Y Any secret/deep YEARNINGS?

I really, REALLY wish I could learn to read ancient Greek. I'd love to see the Dead Sea Scrolls. And I'd love a personal guided tour of the Valley of the Kings in Egypt. Mostly, I wish I could talk to my dad and sisters again.

Z ZERO to ZENITH - Where are you in your life? Still growing? On an upward (or downward) curve? Just skating along?

I've pretty much adjusted to being on the slow downward slide at this point, but I'm focusing on "slow" and enjoying what I can. Work isn't lighting me up the way it used to, either. Not a particularly "happy" period of life right now, all the way around.

All About Me (from the archives)

(originally posted 6/29/04)

A - Act your age?

It's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that I'm 50.

B - Born on what day of the week?

I was born late on a Tuesday night, on a very busy day at the hospital. I went to school with two other girls who shared my birthdate and -place.

C - Chore you hate?

Not a fan of floors. Or planning meals.

D - Dad's name?

He was named after his grandfather, primarily because his dad was the only son, and Dad was the first (and only) son. My brother named his son after Dad, but with a different middle name. The year my nephew was born, his name was the seventh most popular boys' name. In the year my dad was born, his name was the third most popular boys' name--and weirdly enough, my mom's name was third girls' name, though she was born a couple of years later. Dad's grandfather was born in 1856, which is before the site about names starts. But last year, that name was in the top 15. So clearly, it's not a bad/ugly name. ;-)

E - Essential makeup item?

Chapstick.

F - Favorite actor?

I really like Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Emma Watson and Emma Stone are interesting. Angelina Jolie is fascinating. Men...? Shrug. Pretty is good.

G - Gold or silver?

Silver. Or white gold. I really like southwestern jewelry.

H - Hometown?

I grew up in the burbs of Denver. Both my parents are native Coloradoans. I failed--we ALL failed--to carry on that tradition.

I - Instruments you play?

I took piano lessons for a couple of years in childhood. I played flute for about seven years from 7th grade into college. Nowadays, I just play the radio.

J - Job title?

Officially, it's Head of Technical Services/General Reference. Some days I feel like we all should just call the job Dogsbody.

K - Kids?

I adore kids. They are (overall) pretty awesome, though I don't love large groups of them. My son is now 21 years old and somehow has turned out to be just a really interesing, fun person. He's getting his grown-up feet under him and it's fun to watch.

L - Living arrangements?

I live in a house on about 1/3 acre lot in a relatively new "house farm" in the upper midwestern U.S. with my husband and two guinea pigs.

M - Mom's name?

As noted above, it was a top-five name the years around her birth (in her year, it had moved up to #2), which has to be why she got the name as it is definitely not a family name. Her middle name is #28, but on that one she's named after her aunt. By 2013, her first name had dropped into the 800s, and her middle name was ranked between 160 and 170. She hated both of her names. I actually like them, especially her middle name.

N - Need...

...nothing. I really don't need anything material, just reminders to keep focus on the things I need to work on.

O - Overnight hospital stays?

I've only been admitted overnight as a patient twice, for a total of about 7 days: childbirth and surgery. I have, however, spent an awful lot of time in hospitals, especially ERs, in the past 6 or so years, which I could gladly go without for a LONG time going forward.

P - Phobia?

I've recently acknowledged that I fear silence (as in no conversation) and being out of control (big time!). Working on them. I don't think they're phobias, but I work hard to avoid those things.

Q - Quote you like?

I have almost 1600 saved on GoodReads, and others saved in a Word doc. One random one on my Facebook page is "It is not your job to complete the task of perfecting the world, but neither are you free to desist from it." It's from the Mishnah, but it sounds Presby. Speaking of which....

R - Religious affiliation?

I'm a 50-year Presbyterian. I'm quite proud of my denomination this month, too.

S - Siblings?

I really hate this question.... There were five kids in the family for about 30 years. My second-oldest sister died when I was 31. The middle child in the family died when I was 45. So there are three of us left: oldest and two youngest, the ones born a decade apart from each other, so the 50-year-old, the 60-year-old and the 70-year-old. Weird.

T - Time you wake up?

Midnight. And two. And five. And seven...I usually get up 7-7:30.

U - Unique talent?

If there's ever an alphabetization component to the Olympics, I'm in.

V - Vegetable you refuse to eat?

I can't stand fresh, raw tomatoes. And I don't like cukes. Bell peppers aren't on my favorites list either.

W - Worst habit?

Nail-biting. Probably closely followed by talking too much. However, I was asked this week if I was ok so I'm taking that as having started to ramp down the chit-chat. And I have decent-length fingernails on all but one finger right now.

X - X-rays you've had?

I don't think I've had any X-rays except of my teeth. I've had multiple ultrasounds, and couple of bone scans, though. And I've had my thyroid zapped after it was found to be overworking. It's possible my parathyroid may go the same route.

Y - Yummy food you make?

Mac 'n cheese. And baked goods.

Z - Zodiac Sign?

I'm a Scorpio. Or at least I was till they rearranged things with the new, 13th sign. Now, apparently, I'm a Libra, which is just fucked-UP!

Friday 5

(Link in meme-roll)
Gatterstories
This week’s 5 is inspired by the party game Scattergories, in which players have to think of items, all beginning with the same letter, in several categories. For example, if the die is rolled and shows the letter T, players might have to name a soft drink, a farm animal, a river, and a U.S. President, all beginning with T. Valid answers might be Tab, turkey, Tennessee, and Tyler.

First, go to this nifty online random-letter generator. Set the “number of random letter sequences to generate” to 1. Set the “length of each random letter sequence” to 1. Leave the “letters to choose from” how it is and click the button. You’ll get a rather non-dramatic one letter. Use that letter to begin all your answers to the 5 questions below. Alternately, if you find that boring, you could set the “length of each random letter sequence” to 5, thereby giving you five letters, a different one for each question.

What random letter was generated by the online random-letter generator (this doesn’t really count as one of your five questions)?I'm going with jlfeu for each question (because I'm insane--I haven't looked at the questions yet, either)

1. What article of clothing, whose name begins with the letter, have you never worn?

E -- Evening gown
F -- Fascinator
J -- Jackboots
L -- Lederhosen
U -- Union suit

2. What book, whose title begins with the letter, are you looking forward to reading?

E -- Eye of the Red Tsar (Eastland)
F -- Falling Off the Map : Some Lonely Places of The World (Iyer)
J -- Jewish Literacy : The Most Important Things to Know about the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History (Telushkin)
L -- Library : An Unquiet History (Battles)
U -- Uglies (Westerfeld)

3. What mode of transportation, whose name begins with the letter, seems like it would be fun?

E -- Eighteen-wheeler
F -- Fire engine
J -- Jetpack
L -- Landau (ok, yes, I'm stretching here, but really, FINDING a landau in which to ride would be a trick)
U -- Unicycle

4. What form of exercise, whose name begins with the letter, have you recently engaged in?

I'm changing this to "would I consider engaging in," since otherwise this would be completely blank)
E -- Elliptical machine
F -- Fast walking
J -- Jumping jacks
L -- Lunges
U -- Upper back stretches

5. What fictional character, whose name begins with the letter, would be good company on a long trip?

E -- Elphaba Thropp
F -- Fagin
J -- Jane Eyre
L -- Linus Van Pelt
U -- Uhuru (as in Lt.)

ABCs and 123s of the internet

I haven't done this in a long time. The idea is to type each letter of the alphabet and each number, one at a time, into the address bar of your browser. Take the top URL and type it next to the appropriate letter in the list. This works best if you haven't cleared your cache/history in awhile. So here's mine from today. Can you tell I'm doing laundry, i.e. killing time? I'm eliminating the most obvious hits for each letter (Amazon, Facebook, etc.). These results, especially the second set, do seem to be somewhat tied to my location, so a lot has been edited.

A - http://apps.facebook.com -- which I haven't used in eons!
B - http://www.biblegateway.com -- no comments on this one; I use it a lot
C - http://consumerreports.org/hospitalratings -- a little cheat there since the first hit was a little too close to my personal life; on the other hand, I have no idea why I was looking at this, or even when!
D - http://davidellisdickerson.net -- what?? OK that's weird; I haven't visited that site in weeks, but ok
E - http://ew.com -- yay, I'm back on their subscriber list! But I don't visit the site that often normally
F - http://http://www.flightstats.com -- I'll be using this again this week while Beast is traveling
G - http://goodreads.com -- yuppers
H - http://happyplace.someecards.com/ -- hmmm, this was a little tricky to find; I had to search https://h instead of just h
I - http://inoreader.com -- my RSS feed reader
J - http://www.jpetrie.net/ -- specifically this post ... because I'm a word nerd.
K - http://kwizgiver.com -- :D
L - http://languagehat.com -- one of the blogs I've been reading the longest
M - http://mail.[myworkplace].info/zimbra/?client=advanced -- my work email
N - http://www.netflix.com -- which I only use at work
O - http://overdrive.com -- library ebooks downloading
P - http://peapod.com -- why, yes, I am a customer there
Q - http://quoteyard.com -- sad but true
R - http://random.org -- ditto above
S - http://snopes.com -- (once I got rid of my own blogs)
T - http://translate.google.com -- I do use this a lot for quick checks on things I'm not sure I'm following in Spanish
U - http://urbandictionary.com -- don't go there that often, but often enough, I guess
V - http://vsp.com -- insurance...I really REALLY need to call them!!
W - http://wikipedia.org -- and I'm not the least bit ashamed
X - NO HITS
Y - http://youtube.com -- really, I do watch too many videos, but not nearly as many as Sparky!
Z - http://www.zillow.com -- odd, really odd but probably the only Z available
0 - NO HITS
1 - http://10.0.0.1:8000 -- this is the IP address for the Holiday Inn in Marion, Ohio; we were there on vacation in March
2 - NO HITS
3 - http://3.bp.blogspot.com -- from a photo I either posted on my blog, or found on someone else's blog; can't remember
4 - http://www.4shared.com -- no clue
5 - http://53.myprewards.com -- don't use these
6 - NO HITS
7 - NO HITS
8 - NO HITS
9 - NO HITS

The corollary to this meme is just Google-searching each letter, or rather typing in each letter to see what the first hit is in the auto-complete. Here I'll do the actual first hit, and then the last of the choices on that list. And I'm eliminating anything identifying where I live, so sports teams and restaurant hits aren't included. ;-)

A - (zero actual searches starting with A); Amazon and Auto Trader
B - Bat (search*); Best Buy and Buzzfeed
C - Calling Peru (search*); Craigslist and Chase Online
D - Daniel Tammet savant (search*); Dictionary and Discover
E - Element 11 (search*); eBay and Edline
F - Fringe bangs (search*); Facebook and Frozen
G - Gewurztraminer (search); Google and Gamestop
H - Harry Potter series (search*); Hotmail and How I Met Your Mother
I - Iran Contra (search); Instagram and iTunes
J - JLS (search); Jimmy Johns and Jordan Belfort (who?)
K - Kirchenlexikon westheimer (search*); Kohl's and Kay Jewelers
L - Labrinth express yourself (search); Linkedin and League of Legends
M - Movies [my zipcode] (search); Mapquest and Minecraft
N - Norway Kristiansand (search*); Netflix and Nike
O - OCLC holdings symbols (search*); Old Navy and Overstock
P - Presbyterian youth triennium (search); Pinterest and Powerball
Q - Queen cakes (search); Quizlet and Qwop (huh?)
R - RSS feed http://libraryreads.org/ (search); Redbox and Rate My Professor [where I just spent 20 minutes checking my son's profs)
S - Spaghetti sauce [recipe] (search); Southwest and Starbucks
T - Travis Obendorf (search); Target and Tumblr
U - USPS tracking (search); United Airlines and Ukraine
V - Voxer (search); Ventra and Viooz (no clue about EITHER of these)
W - Webmd symptom checker (search); Walmart and Weather [Big City Near Us]
X - (no searches); Xfinity and Xoom
Y - (no searches); Youtube and Yahoo Sports
Z - Zimbra (search*); Zillow and Zipcar
0 - (no searches); 0-60 Times and 00 Flour
1 - 11.5/17 (search); 12 Years a Slave and 1800Flowers
2 - 2789/25 (search); 2014 Calendar and 22 Jump Street
3 - 3000/12 (search*); 300 Rise of an Empire and 3 Days to Kill
4 - 433 e washington st [nearby town] (search); 4Chan and 49ers
5 - 55/3 (search); 53 and 5 Guys
6 - 6/17 (search); 6PM and 6 Weeks Pregnant
7 - (no searches); 7-Zip and 7th Heaven Band
8 - 8/3 (search); 8Tracks and 80s Songs
9 - 9781608862801 adventure time kaboom (search*); 9Gag and 90s Toys

_______
* designates searches done for work-related purposes

Patrick's Place

(Link in meme-roll)
Saturday Six

1. Q is for QINTAR: Have you ever owned a piece of foreign currency, and if so, what country did it come from?

The first time I remember having foreign currency of my own was at the Denver airport when my sister had just returned from Sierra Leone in about 1970. For some reason, she had been routed through Prague--remember, this was when it was still "behind the Iron Curtain"--and had changed money there. She had some left over, so she gave me one of the larger coins.

...which I left on the sink in the bathroom at the airport. Dumb me!

Since then, I've traveled to a couple of dozen countries and brought money back from all of them. I was in Europe pre- and post-Euro usage, so I have both kinds of currency. I also have some odd stuff that others have given me for whatever reason over the years.

The weirdest currency I've ever dealt with was the "foreign visitor" scrip we were given in China in 1985--it was about the same weight and feel as kids pretend money. Think tin coins. It wasn't really accepted in traditional Chinese stores because it was hard to exchange for real money if your shop wasn't on the government-sponsored tourist list.

2. Q is for QUADRAGENARIAN: Are you or did you look forward to being 40? Why or why not?

Forty sounds wonderful to me right now, having just flipped over to 50 last fall. Actually, looking back, my early 40s weren't bad. The last few years sucked, though.

3. Q is for QUENCH: What drink do you most often turn to when you’re thirsty?

Diet Dr. Pepper. Or water.

4. Q is for QUICK: What is something you think you can generally do faster than most people?

Truthfully? Most things. I like getting to the end of a chore, or project. I type fast, I clean fast, I read fast, I even talk fast these days.

5. Q is for QUILL: Which bird do you think has the most beautiful feather colors?

I think feathers are pretty amazing to examine in place. Mallards are pretty, and cardinals are lovely in a completely different way. I like pigeons and crows, too. Parrots, of course, finches too. It would be easier to list birds I don't find attractive; sea gulls top that list.

6. Q is for QWERTY: At what age did you first learn to type effectively?

I took typing in high school. Before that, I had no need to type, because I grew up pre-computers.

Patrick's Place

(Link in meme-roll)
Saturday Six

1. I is for IAMATOLOGY: Which home remedy do you have the most success with?

Vitamin C. If I pound it immediately upon feeling slightly sick, I am guaranteed to kick it completely or knock it back substantially.

2. I is for IATOPHOBIA: Which type of doctor or medical expert do you fear visiting the most?

I'm not a huge fan of the eye doctor or the OB/GYN, but I don't really fear any of my doctors.

3. I is for ICON: Of the software icons on your computer, which one do you find yourself clicking on the most?

On my desktop it's definitely Chrome. Nothing else even comes close.

4. I is for INSTRUMENT: Which musical instrument would you be willing to ban from the world?

I'm not a big fan of the soprano sax, but I wouldn't ever try to ban music, even if I don't understand it.

5. I is for INVENTOR: What product do you like enough that you'd like to shake the hand of its inventor?

Book weights.

6. I is for INVISIBLE: If you had the chance to become completely invisible for a week, where's the first place you'd go?

Hmm...not sure. I'd probably hang out at work on a day when I was supposed to be there and see what people say about me not appearing (so to speak). Actually, though, I don't think I have much of a stake in finding this stuff out, so maybe I'd just go sit in random courtrooms and listen to cases, or visit a jail, or take some classes.

Patrick's Place

(Link in meme-roll)
Saturday Six

1. E is for EMAIL: When is the last time your personal email inbox was completely empty?

It's never empty; I have thousands of emails. Now, if you mean when was the last time I was caught up on my email, I can truthfully say, "Sometime within the past 2 weeks."

2. E is for EAR: Do you consider your hearing to be better than average, average or worse than average?

It's getting worse as I age. However, there are certain things I can still hear quietly or from a distance that are surprising: my name (or things that sound like my name), Beast's and Sparky's voices, and sirens. My dad was deaf, and this is a concern for me as well as I age.

3. E is for EARLY: Are you generally early to appointments, late or right on time?

I used to be OCD-like early. Now I'm usually pretty close to on-time.

4. E is for EDUCATION: Which grade of school (or year of college) did you find most difficult and why?

First grade sucked: I was bored and moved from my classroom to study with the 2nd-graders for part of the day. Actually I did that all the way through school, which made the beginning of sixth grade scary as hell since I barely knew the kids my age (and the kids I'd hung with were all in junior high). Freshman year of college wasn't easy at all: I was terribly homesick first semester, and I overserved myself from the liquor supply too often second semester. There was much emesis. Academically, I never had a rough year; a few rough classes, but my grades never suffered.

5. E is for EGG: How do you normally eat your eggs?

Over-medium or scrambled soft.

6. E is for ESSAY: What was the topic of the longest blog post you’ve written?

I haven't the foggiest idea; I don't keep a word count. It's probably either the list of family members or the list of coworkers, but both have been updated several times in the past ten years, so I don't know if that counts.

Bzoink!

A-Z random questions. Created by shelbylovestyler and taken 15 times on Bzoink
A
Do you like APPLES?:	Yes, I do.
What was the last ALCOHOLIC beverage you drank?:	I had a couple of vodka tonics last Sunday night.
Do you know all the words to the song AMAZING Grace?:	Yes, I know four verses.
Do you like ART?:	I like representational art.
Do you watch AMERICAN Dad?:	Nope.
Do you like in AMERICA?:	I LIVE in the U.S. and generally I'm ok with it.
B
Whens the last time you had BROWNIES?:	Someone brought some into work a week or so ago.
Do you own a BACKPACK?:	Actually, I don't, not a real one.
Have you ever met anyone named BOB?:	Of course. Who hasn't?
What is the closest item that is the color BROWN?:	The couch I'm sitting on is brown.
Does your house have a BACK porch?:	Yes.
C
What color is the CARPET in your bedroom?:	We don't have carpet in our bedroom.
Are you on a COMPUTER?:	By definition, yes.
What kind of CAR do you drive?:	Ford Edge.
What color are your CURTAINS in the living room?:	No curtains in the living room.
Do you have a CELLPHONE CASE on your phone?:	Yes. But it's NOT an Otter. It's called Body Glove.
Whens the last time you've used index CARDS?:	I actually used one today as scratch paper at work.
D
Do you have a pet DOG?:	Nope. Snuffle.
What is the last thing you had to DRINK?:	I've got some water sitting here....
Is it DARK outside?:	Yes.
What DAY is it?:	Thursday.
Are you afraid of DEATH?:	Not really.
Have you ever seen the movie DUE DATE?:	Nope. Don't think I even remember hearing about it!
E
Is the number ELEVEN your lucky number?:	No. Not that I believe in lucky numbers anyway.
Do you have any friends named ETHAN?:	Nope.
Do you think math is EASY?:	Math, yes.
How do you like your EGGS?:	Over easy.
F
Do you like going FISHING?:	Yaaawwwnnnnn....no.
Who is your best FRIEND?:	There are several: Amy, Jenny....
Who was your FIRST grade teacher?:	Miss Campbell.
Have you ever been to FLORIDA?:	Yes.
How about FRANCE?:	Ugh, no.
G
Are you a GIRL?:	I've got the XX think going, yes.
Do you like the color GREEN?:	It's ok, not my favorite.
What is your favorite color GRAPE?:	White.
Do you believe in GOD?:	Yes.
What is your GRANDMOTHER'S name?:	Both my grandmothers' names started with E. One has made a resurgence in recent years, the other one is just plain ugly.
What about your GRANDFATHER'S name?:	One shared a name with a Muppet, the other had a name very similar to a 20th century dictator.
H
Have your ever ridden on a HORSE?:	Yes.
Are you HAPPY?:	I'm ok right now.
Do you believe there is a HELL?:	Not as a place outside of earth.
How about HEAVEN?:	Yes.
Is it HOT outside?:	Not.
Do you like HALLOWEEN?:	It's ok.
What is your favorite HOLIDAY?:	Thanksgiving.
Which HAND do you write with?:	I'm a righty.
How big is the HOUSE you live in?:	Right around 2000 sq. ft., not counting the basement.
I
What's your favorite flavor ICE cream?:	Peppermint.
Have you ever owned an IGUANA?:	Nope.
Have you ever met anyone name ISABELLE?:	Yes. I think...? Though not spelled that way.
J
Are you good at telling JOKES?:	Sometimes.
Whens the last time you've done JUMPING JACKS?:	Wow, eons.
Do you know anyone named JORDAN?:	I used to.
K
Have you ever seen a KANGAROO?:	Only at the zoo.
Have you flown a KITE?:	I've tried, but I never got the knack.
Do you have any KIDS?:	One.
Would you consider yourself KIND?:	I do my best to be.
Are you in the KITCHEN?:	Nope.
Who was your first KISS with?:	Ron M.
L
Are you in LOVE with anyone?:	Not "in love."
Have you ever been LOST?:	Often, both literally and figuratively.
Is the LIGHT on in the room you're in?:	Yes.
Is there a LAMP near you?:	Yes.
Have you ever used the word LAME?:	Yes.
Do you like LASAGNA?:	I *adore* lasagna.
M
What is your MOM'S name?:	She shared her name with two American literary characters.
What MONTH is it?:	October.
Do you work on MONDAYS?:	Yes.
Whats your favorite genre of MOVIES?:	Comedies.
Did MICHAEL MYERS scare you as a child?:	Nope. Never saw those movies.
N
Have you ever broken your NOSE?:	Nope.
Were you born before the year NINETEEN NINETY NINE?:	WAYYYY before!
O
Do you like green or black OLIVES?:	Neither, please!
Do you know anyone named OSCAR?:	I don't think I've ever met anyone with that name.
Do you sleep with your bedroom door OPEN?:	Yup, usually, barring visitors in the house or lack of heat in the house.
P
If you had a super POWER, what would it be?:	Invisibility.
Do you like the color PINK?:	Not at all.
What about PURPLE?:	Some shades are fine.
Do you carve PUMPKINS on Halloween?:	Beast does.
Don't you hate getting PINCHED?:	It's definitely NOT my favorite thing.
Do you have any PIERCINGS?:	Just in my earlobes.
Q
Whats the last thing you QUIT?:	Enabling. Well, to be fair, I'm still trying.
Are you a QUIET person?:	At times.
Have you ever made a QUILT?:	No.
R
How long does it take you to get READY?:	For what??
Can you write with your RIGHT hand?:	Yes.
Do you think aliens are REAL?:	I don't believe in outer space aliens being on Earth.
Whats the closest thing to you that is RED?:	The roses Beast left in a bowl next to the couch tonight.
Do you like RAP music?:	Some is ok.
How about ROCK music?:	Ditto, but I generally like it more than rap.
S
Have you ever watched SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS?:	Yes, though not for a decade or so.
What SEASON is it?:	Autumn.
Do you know any girls named SHELBY?:	I do!!
Do you SMOKE?:	Nope.
What's your favorite flavor SMOOTHIE?:	I loathe smoothies.
Have you ever held or touched a SNAKE?:	Yes.
Have you ever had SEX?:	I have.
When is the last time you SWEPT?:	Tuesday?
T
Are you TALL?:	Taller than the average woman, but shorter than the average man.
Would you say you are TRUSTWORTHY?:	In some things.
Do you own any TOMS shoes?:	Nope.
What TIME is it?:	21:35
Do you like TACO BELL?:	They make the best nachos, no contest.
How many TATTOOS do you have?:	Zero.
Are you TIRED?:	Not enough to go to bed.
U
What color is your UMBRELLA?:	I have a black one in the car, and a tan one...somewhere.
Do you have a UNIBROW?:	No.
What color UNDERWEAR do you have on?:	Dark blue with white stars and moons on it.
Have you ever been to UTAH?:	Yes.
V
Can you play VIOLIN?:	No.
Who last came to VISIT you?:	Reg, my brother-in-law, visited a couple of weeks ago. Lisa and Cindy D. were here for a few hours the night Beast went into the hospital.
Where did you last go on VACATION?:	Last Sunday night, I guess.
Have you ever drove a VAN?:	"Have I ever drove...? Ugh. And yes.
W
Have you ever seen a real live WHALE?:	Yes.
What's the closest WHITE object to you?:	Probably the plate my dinner was on.
Do you like WINTER?:	Not really.
How's the WEATHER outside?:	Chilly.
How many WINDOWS are in the current room you are in?:	5.
Do you like WEDNESDAYS?:	I like them better when they're spelled right.
Do you believe WISHING WELLS WORK?:	Not particularly.
X
Have you ever played an XYLOPHONE?:	Yes.
Do you like the movie XXX?:	Never saw it.
Do you like the letter X?:	It's a letter. I like it ok.
Y
Name something YELLOW?:	Lemons.
Are you YOUNG?:	Not anymore.
Don't you wish the fountain of YOUTH was real?:	Ugh, perish the thought.
What YEAR is it?:	Really?? 2013.
Do you YIELD when a sign says to?:	Of course.
Have you ever visited New YORK?:	Nope.
Z
Do you own any ZEBRA pattern things?:	Yeah.
Is Z your favorite letter?:	No. Not even close.
Have you been to the ZOO this year?:	No, but I guess we'll be there in a couple of weeks for a fundraiser.
Have you ever been on that ZOOSK website from TV commericals?:	Nope.
Have you ever seen the movie ZOO Keeper?:	Nope.
Do the pants your wearing have a ZIPPER?:	Nope.
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