Patrick's Place

Saturday Six

1. B is for BANK: How many different banks do you do business with, or do you have all of your money in one single bank?

We have one bank. I have a credit union account. And we have an investment firm where most of our money is.

2. B is for BATH: When was the last time you took a nice, long, relaxing bath without having to be rushed?

Last weekend. I may do this again tonight.

3. B is for BEAR: What's your favorite kind of bear and why?

Teddy.

4. B is for BICKER: Who was the last person you got into a disagreement with, and have you apologized or reconciled the situation?

Face to face disagreement yes. I am, however, way past slightly annoyed with a coworker who has absolutely no idea how much I want to smack her. I've been told to be nice at work, so I don't dare start down that road.

5. B is for BOOK: Which book did you spend the most time reading in 2013?

The latest Elizabeth George book took me forever to read.

6. B is for BROKEN: What item did you break most recently inside the home?

Hmm. I don't think I've broken anything recently. Sparky dumped half a container of fresh ramen on his lap and the couch the other night which caused a lot of major cleanup activity. Otherwise...no breakage. Yet.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

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1. Do you believe in miracles?

I do. Absolutely. I've seen them.

2. What's a recent fad you admit to trying?

I tweeted semi-regularly for about a year. But I don't really have the patience or time to keep up with it.

3. Peppermint--are you a fan? If so, what's your favorite food or beverage containing peppermint?

I love peppermint! I go through a ton of peppermint gum, and I like Ghirardelli's peppermint bark too.

4. Break the ice, on thin ice, as cold as ice (emotionally, not literally)...which phrase have you run into most recently? Explain.

I watch entirely too much American Pickers: "break the ice" is way in the lead here. By the way, can someone explain to me when and why we started saying "cold as hell"? Because, yeah....

5. Have you ever broken or spilled something in someone else's home? Still friends?

Yeah, and boy ain't that a bitch? This has never been the cause of a broken friendship, however.

6. 'Tis the week before Christmas...are you feeling more like Buddy the Elf or the Grinch before his heart grew?

Grinch. Well, not exactly, but I'm not really into the whole Xmas thing at this point.

7. Share a favorite quote relating to Christmas.

"There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child." (Erma Bombeck)

8. Insert your own random thought here.

We're going to get the tree up and decorated tonight and/or tomorrow. I'm not excited about it, but Sparky's here to help so that will help. I have made inroads on the purchasing of "stuff" as well, so maybe Christmas morning won't be a complete bust. However, I'm trying really hard to be living in the right now, not in the anxiety about Christmas stuff.

Friday Five

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Broken

1. What's the story behind your most recent broken dish?

   I can't remember the last dish I broke. Maybe the largest of my 50's era nested glass bowls? I had two, so it was mostly just frustrating when I dropped it while I was washing it.

2. What's the story behind your most recent broken promise?

   I'm sure it involved something to do with promising to stay out of other people's issues. I know it was yesterday.

3. When did you last cause a room of people to break out into laughter?

   I got Beast going last night with something or other, and he was "the whole room." I usually get most of the Sunday School kids giggling at some point every week.

4. What's something you should probably put the brakes on?

   See #2. Also, vacuuming up food.

5. When were you last out of doors at the break of dawn?

   Wednesday morning on my way to Bible Study.

Friday 5

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Inventions

1. If they could invent a remote control for something in your house that doesn’t have one, what would you wish it to be?

Laundry. Start-to-finish, sort-to-fold.

2. What could your car really use that they just hasn't invented yet?

Well, other than wings...I can't think of anything. Like a hovercraft thing, to pass the slowpokes.

3. Who among your friends could probably be a great inventor if he or she had enough funding to do it?

My nephew James already does this. He's always been the type to build things out of other things.

4. What invention seems to do its job in a less-satisfying manner than the old-fashioned way?

Virtually anything that was made in the last 40 years and includes plastic parts doesn't work as well as stuff made in the 40s and 50s (or before) with non-plastic parts. Toasters, sewing machines, tools, pens, you-name-it.

5. Lately, vending machines have gone beyond drinks and snacks: you can rent DVDs from them or even purchase iPods from them. What's something your life could be improved by if it were available in vending machines?

Healthy food. More vending machines, available EVERYwhere, and low cost.

Curious as a Cat

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1) Would you want to be able to see what happened at your own funeral?

It would be interesting to see who showed up, and whether Beast was able to find a good bagpiper.

2) Do you ride public transportation? If you've done so in different cities, which one stood out to you?

I do not use it here because it's pretty much not available between work and home for me. There is a bus that runs from near our house to near my workplace, but I'd have to arrive at work at 7 and leave at 3 and I'm pretty sure that's not workable.
I do love riding the bus, and we occasionally take the commuter train into the Big City, which I also enjoy. This area has really excellent public transpo. I love London--the tube is my favorite part of visiting there in some ways--and I've ridden public transpo in DC, Moscow, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, and the perimeter of Frankfurt. And trains from Zurich to Rome and all around England.

3) What's the last thing you broke? How did it happen?

The last thing I can remember is a fingernail last week. It's been a pretty successful run lately. (Now, you know I'll break something major this afternoon...)

4) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.Public Domain Photo

Well, of course it reminds me of Beast when he hasn't shaved in a day or two, but this is NOT a photo of him! Actually, I have to be honest, this is way too well-groomed and short to be Beast's facial hair. It does worry me that someone took this picture, presumably of himself, and published it on the web; it's not an overly-impressive crop of hair. <--snobby me

Curious as a Cat

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1) Have you ever broken something intentionally?

Yes. It's very therapeutic, but only if/when used on an occasional basis.

2) Do you ever read poetry?

I do, but not as much as I should. Maybe that should be my New Year's resolution for 2010: read a poetry book a month, at least.

3) Have you ever played hooky from school or work? Have you ever been caught playing hooky?

Don't remember ever buggering off from school, but I've definitely played hooky from work (I call those days Mental Health Days), and I usually stay home so getting caught is sort of a non-issue. I have gotten caught playing hooky from church when people who were there have found me checking out at the grocery store as they walk in. Oops. ;-)

4) Show and Tell. What comes to mind first when you see this picture? Or, tell a story if it reminds you of one.
Public Domain Photo

My first reaction is that it reminds me of a wedding I was at a couple of years ago. Secondly, these two look really happy. And then my mom genes kick in and I start freaking about about falling and how they're going to get down, and so forth. I always wanted a climbing tree when I was growing up, but we didn't have the right kind in our neighborhood or yard. Pines, firs and a small crabapple tree don't really work, and the neighbors' big trees were too big for little me to get to the first big limb. Poor me. ;-)

Saturday 9

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Settling the Score

1. Do you feel that you have "a score to settle" with anyone?

I would love to really believe that I don't. I can't think of one, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised that I have unfinished bidness out there somewhere. After all, if I were done, I'd be dead.

2. Do you own anything that you think is unbreakable?

No, unless you count all the plastic in my life. That's more 'nondestructible' rather than unbreakable, though. Most things in life are not permanent, and nothing of mine is excluded from that.

Maybe my faith? I dunno, even that's a little shaky at times.

3. Tell us about a crazy thing you did in high school.

I wasn't that crazy in high school. The real mayhem started in college! However, I did once drive VERY recklessly specifically to scare someone trapped in the car with me.

4. Name the one talent of yours that you think is the best.

I am pretty good at seeing many sides to an argument. Whether or not I agree with any of them is different, but I can sense motivation pretty clearly. Some (ahem) might call me cynical as a result of this 'skill.'

5. Who wins American Idol? (if you don’t watch, tell us about a reality show that you do follow.)

I have watched about 30 minutes of AI, not all in the same show. It was execrable. (sorry) I have no clue who's going to win Survivor (also execrable, so I can relate, you AI addicts) or TAR. That's not really the point for me, anyway. I like the journey to the end.

6. What is your favorite movie in black & white?

I could be all snooty and say Battleship Potemkin but it's actually Psycho. I don't like b&w movies as a rule.

7. What is one thing advertised too much on TV?

Aids to male performance. OMG. At least we've gotten rid of the douche ads, but...jeez. People. If it doesn't work, buy a replacement!!

8. What is your current favorite TV drama?

Still CSI.

9. What is your current favorite TV comedy?

They still make those? I haven't been able to sit through any (by choice) since "Home Improvement" Season 2 or 3.

Friday 5

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Hacked!


1. When did someone last break something of yours?

Beast broke the console thingy in my truck this week. Can't trust that man with anything! :-)

2. When did you last play hackysack, if ever?

I've tried a couple of times, but I suck. It's been at least a year since my last (failed) attempt.

3. What was your most dramatic haircut like?

In 1995, I had my shoulder-length hair cut VERY short--like 2" long. It just seemed the thing to do. The actual style wasn't all that dramatic, but cutting it all off was! It occurs to me that my mid-back-length hair to shoulder-length cut in 9th grade was pretty stark too.

4. Hacking is basically breaking through the security that protects a computer or a website. What’s the closest you’ve come to doing something similar in real life?

Uh...not. Nothing. I don't even download legal songs off the net. Busting things is not my idea of a party.

5. In the world of stand-up comedy, a hack is a comic who steals jokes from other comics. Have you ever known a hack in your own field?

Oh, yeah. Who hasn't? On the other hand, I'm pretty willing to share, since cataloging is pretty mutual. Librarianing in general is mutual. "Hey, you stole my reference answer!" Yeah, not so much, eh?