Sunday Stealing

(Link in meme-roll)
The Beach Boys' Meme

1. SURFER GIRL : “I have watched you on the shore, standing by the ocean drawer roar, do you love me do you surfer girl.” Were you ever interested in someone (other than a celebrity) who did not return your interest?

Isn't that really pretty much what early adolescence is all about? I had multiple crushes then and in high school--and into college!--on entirely unsuitable guys. It's very girlishly romantic...and pretty pathetic from my perspective now.

2. BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL : “So be true to your school now, just like you would for your girl or guy…” Looking back, how do you feel about your high school days?

I had a blast in high school, when I wasn't having the most miserable time of my life. Academically, I was scaling to the heights. Musically, I was at my peak. Socially, I was getting things figured out. Romantically, I was excluding possibilities maniacally. It was a good time. And it was absolutely awful.

3. FUN FUN FUN : “…and she’ll have fun fun fun till her daddy takes the T-Bird away…” What was the worst punishment you received as a teenager?

I never did much to get in trouble. The worst punishment I remember was lying in bed the night I got in an accident in my mom's car--insert long story--and realizing that my only chance of perhaps not getting destroyed by my parents was confessing before they found the damage in the morning. So I went and stood in their doorway and woke Mom up by saying, "There's something I need to tell you and Dad." "Right now!?" "....yes." So Dad got his hearing aid back on and they came down and heard me out. I had to pay for the replacement body parts that Dad found at the dump and he did all the work (it was pretty much cosmetic, thank God). And I don't remember any yelling or further punishment. Lesson learned: confession is better than discovery.

4. I GET AROUND : “Round round get around, I get around.” Where did you go on your last long trip?

We were in the Southern Caribbean and Puerto Rico in April. In September we're going to a wedding in England. I sound like a freaking jet-setter, but last year's big trip was only about 500 miles from here, and blew up rather spectacularly when Beast ended up in the hospital.

5. HELP ME RHONDA : “You gotta help me Rhonda, help me get her off of my mind.” What do you do to cheer up after a personal tragedy such as a lost job, power outage or broken relationship?

Power outage?? Really? We lose power almost weekly every summer. This is not a tragedy. Plus we have a generator now so if things get dire, we just fire it up like the rest of the neighbors.

For real tragedies, my usual mode is without planning, my diet changes. First I stop eating, then I eat everything that isn't nailed down. And I cry, on and on and endlessly. There's usually a layer of anger (and fear) in there too. And my sleep patterns get all fubar.

6. CALIFORNIA GIRLS : “I wish they all could be California girls. The west coast has the sunshine and the girls there get so tan, I dig a French bikini on Hawaiian island dolls, by a palm tree in the sand.” Where are the best boys found?

The Midwest. And Italy. :)

7. SLOOP JOHN B : “I wanna go home, please let me go home, ya ya. Well this is the worst trip, I’ve ever been on…” What is the worst trip you’ve ever been on?

Our vacations in the past 12 months have not gone to plan in some pretty bad ways. I'm hoping that string of badness breaks on our trip to England. Because if not, I may be done traveling with Beast.

So, either ending up in the ER waiting room for 7 hours and Beast in the hospital for a couple of nights, or arriving in a new-to-me place and not being able to find Beast either in person or by phone/text/IM for almost 3 hours after my plane touched down. Take your pick.

8. WOULDN’T IT BE NICE : “I guess the more we talk about it, it makes it harder just to live without it, but let’s talk about it…” What is your biggest wish?

I hate to sound like a beauty pageant contestant but ... World Peace. Or at least World Sanity.

9. IN MY ROOM : “There’s a place where I can go and tell my secrets to. In my room. In my room.” What is your favorite thing about your own personal room or space in your home/office?

Sleep. Noodle around on the computer. Read. OK, of the three? Sleep.

10. GOD ONLY KNOWS : “You never need to doubt it, I’ll make you so sure about it. God only knows what I feel about you.” When was the last time you told a significant other or close relative that you loved them?

I tell Beast every day. I tell Sparky--especially the last 10 days or so--every time I talk to him (or IM/PM/text). I try to get it out of my mouth with extended family too, but we aren't particularly mushy, so it seems to always sort of shock them when I do say it.

11. GOOD VIBRATIONS : “My baby has good vibrations, she’s giving me excitations…” When do you get good vibrations?

Actually, lately, I've been getting weird nerve things going on in my arms and legs almost daily. Sort of that tingly, tickly, excited/nervous sensation that runs down arms/legs? No clue why. It comes out of nowhere. I'm beginning to wonder if my nervous system is breaking.

In the broader sense, I had a good time at work on Friday. No details, just fun events and silly behavior and everyone meshing together with no bitching.

12. KOKOMO : “We’ll go to Kokomo. We’ll get there fast and then we’ll take it slow. That’s where I wanna go…” What is your favorite warm weather destination?

The mountains. Honestly, I'm not fussed anymore about which mountains, seeing as there are NONE around here, but I crave mountains in the summer: they're cooler, breezier, and nearer the sun.

13. DO IT AGAIN : “Let’s get back together and do it again…” If you could go back in time and gather up your school friends, what would you do again?

Since this can't possibly really happen for several reasons, let's just make it crazy: midday meal at Mr. Gatti's (closed decades ago) and then a field show that we win, then goofing in the hallways with no fear of getting teachers pissed off. In college, it would involve a schlag. :-)

Saturday 9

(Link in meme-roll)
The Times of Your Life (1976)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is all about memories. How far back can you remember? What's your earliest memory?

I can remember bits and pieces back to age 3 or so. I have a very very vivid memory of a dream I had before I turned 5. I know it was then because we got new living room furniture when I was just about 5 and the dream took place amid OLD living room furniture. I remembered the dream after I had it but couldn't figure it out until a few years later looking at old photos and recognizing the furniture from my dream!

2) The first line is "Good morning, yesterday." What do you remember about yesterday morning?

Fridays I need to be at work by 8, so I'm up an hour earlier than usual and I'd had two short nights in a row. I'm still tired. Otherwise, it was a normal morning for all intents and purposes.

3) This song was originally a 60-second jingle, featured in a commercial for Kodak film. Do you ever use film? Or are all your pictures digital?

Never use it anymore. Still have lots and lots of non-digital photos though.

4) Who took the most recent photo of you?

I have no idea. Probably Beast, unless it was at work.

5) This week's featured artist, Paul Anka, was born in Canada and enjoyed appearing in a made-for-TV Perry Mason movie with fellow Canadian, Raymond Burr. Do you enjoy courtroom dramas?

I like Law & Order in various incarnations, yes.

6) At 15, Anka won a supermarket contest by collecting the most Campbell soup can wrappers. The prize was a trip to New York. Do you enter contests and sweepstakes? Play the lottery?

I do not. I consider it a giant waste of my time. Note that I said "my" time. What others do with their time doesn't have to make sense to me.

7) This year Paul Anka performed throughout Florida (Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Clearwater and Fort Myers). The Sunshine State is a popular vacation destination. Do you have a favorite spot in Florida?

I do not. I've been there once--when Sparky was three, to Orlando, guess why--and was not enthralled. Laura Ingalls Wilder was not a fan, however, and that's good enough for me. I'm not a waterbug, so the ocean doesn't hold a lot of attraction to me.

8) In 1976, the year this song was on the charts, an earthquake hit China. Have you ever experienced an earthquake?

Yes I have. I grew up in Colorado, and there are occasional temblors there, though nothing very major at all. There've been a few here where I live now, but again, nothing worth getting worked up about. It's a a very strange feeling: either you don't feel anything but may notice things moving around the room, or you feel/hear some weird noises and bumping, like a car wreck outside.

9) Random question: Do you know CPR?

I just got recertified last summer. Never had to use it. Hope I never do. I pretty much get certified as insurance so I don't need it. They do a quick re-education on AEDs now with CPR classes, and I am much more likely to use that, to be honest.

Friday 5

(Link in meme-roll)
Shppng

1. Roughly how many plastic shopping bags do you think are in your house right now, and which store is represented most by them?

Probably close to 100. I need to take some to work next week to use on rainy days.

2. Roughly how many gift cards do you possess, and about how much are they worth in sum?

Hmm, probably 4-5, totaling maybe $150? I don't know actually.

3. What’s an aisle at your favorite grocery store or drugstore that you pretty much never walk down?

I try to stay out of the laundry aisle. All that (aCHOO!) perfume. Yuck!

4. When you shop for groceries, are you most likely to grab a shopping cart or a shopping basket? How often do you grab neither?

Cart. I don't go to the store very often unless I'm restocking everydamnthing. Once in a great while, I'll grab a basket when I stop at the little store for lunch and random emergency stuff.

5. What was the last thing you purchased just in case?

NexCare Skin Crack Care. God forbid I should run out of that; I use it nightly on the places I've chewed on cuticles.

The Queen's Meme

(Link in meme-roll)
The Perfect Totient* Meme
In honor of our blog post number #111! The Perfect Totient Meme aka the You-make-me-feel-like-a-natural-number meme. I will demonstrate my spectacular mathematical mind. Be amazed.

1. (1) Name one thing you can't live without.

Air. And there's a LOT of it blowing around out there tonight.

2. (1+1=2) Name 2 things you'd rather not do this week.

Say goodbye again to Sparky, and have any further interactions at all with my boss. Neither of these is fated to go my way, however.

3. (1+1+1=3) Tell me 3 reasons you need a vacation.

Beast's back, work, and winter weather.

4. (11) It is the 11th hour of your life and you have one hour left on Earth. What do you do?

If it's the 11th hour of my life, that means each hour is actually worth about four years, so I've got some time to get things tidied up. Right?

5. (1x1x1=1) Name one thing you'd rather do alone than in a crowd.

Just about anything at all is better alone than in a crowd, imo.

6. (111) One hundred (and) eleven is the natural number following 110 and preceding 112 AND a perfect totient number. A perfect totient number is an integer that is equal to the sum of its iterated totients. What makes the totients so iterated?

I don't have a fucking clue what this question is talking about. Actually, that's not fair: I understand everything up to "...iterated totients."

7. (NINE 11) What is your emergency?

Having called 911 twice for Beast and the cops (non-emergency) from work once in the past two weeks, I'm kind of hoping I don't have to talk to any people in uniforms with vehicles that use flashing lights in a VERY long time.

________
* So I learned a new word here: totient. Not that I have a bloody clue what it actually means, but at least I know it's not a typo.

Follow Friday Four

(Link in meme-roll)

1. Holding my tongue is not my strongest virtue.

2. Any meal I don't have to plan is my favorite meal of the day.

3. The internet is my crack.

4. Whenever an emergency happens, I always try to stay calm.

Six Word Saturday

(Link in meme-roll)

Power is back; freezer is empty.

That's the big news: we lost power for two full days and most everything in the freezer started to defrost so I'm throwing a lot of it out. :-( I really feel for people who are still electricity-free, going into day 5. The upside for us is that we now have a generator, so we can plug in next time and have access to everything but A/C. Even the heat will work, since it's gas with an electric fan. And we'll be able to shower and flush toilets--being on a well has its drawbacks for sure.

W.T.F.

(Link in meme-roll)
Whatcha wearin this Wednesday?

1) I keep hearing about some cell phone game called "Angry Birds." I've never played it, but I do know what it's like to deal with angry birds in my office's parking garage. Those things will viciously dive at your head. What do you think makes birds so angry?

I'd bet on people. They piss me off regularly, and I'm not even a bird!

2) You've been asked to house-sit for someone (a friend, coworker, family member, whomever else it may be). Do you go snooping throughout the house or do you totally respect their privacy?

I've learned my lesson the hard way: no snooping.

3) You turn on the news on your television and see the home you grew up in (or spent a large chuck [sic] of your childhood in) going down in flames. Are you sad that the house is on fire or happy that the house will no longer be standing?

Holy shit--my DAD built that house! Shit shit shit--I'd be a wreck. But don't things go "up in flames" not down?

4) Do you eat Oreos by taking them apart and licking out the cream first or do you bite right in? Do you dunk them in milk?

Generally I twist 'em apart. No milk.

5) Have you ever had to call 911 (or whatever emergency system your town has if you don't have 911)? If so, what for?

Yup. I called the rescue squad when Beast blew out his back. And I've called twice in the past 6 months: once when I wrecked my truck, and once when we happened upon a dangerous situation on our way to church in February or March in a blizzard.

6) You and your significant other are out on a date at a fancy restaurant. The waitress brings your bill, and it's $75, but you notice that the waitress forgot to add the $16 dessert that you ordered to the bill. Do you go ahead and just pay the $75 or be honest and say that she forgot to add in the dessert?

I'm unlikely to notice, to be honest. I just pay what's on the check. I know, I know: bad me.

7) Are you a "fix-it-yourself" or a "call-somebody-to-fix-it" type of person?

I call Beast. Otherwise, it sort of depends: some things I can fix myself, some I can't...and a LOT I simply won't.

8) HeroBuilders.com, a company that produces many political themed dolls has released now-ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner dolls -- one has anatomically correct genitals while the other has the freakish no-genitals look. Both are dressed in a gym shirt and shorts with a label that reads "Tweet This." If a company made a doll in your likeness, would you want it to be anatomically correct or not?

I'd rather eat nails than have a doll 'in my likeness' regardless of the genitalia it was built with.

9) If you found an unmarked suitcase full of cash in the middle of the street, what would you do?

I'd probably call the police and turn it in. It's in the middle of the street: what are the odds that no one saw me steal it, eh?

10) It's the middle of the night and you start getting text messages from an unknown number. The first says, "Hey sexy. Im thinkin about you. Whatcha wearin?" When you don't respond, several texts follow. Do you 1) shut off your phone, 2) text back saying they have the wrong number, or 3) play along for a bit and screw with the person?

Shut off the phone. I'm trying to sleep here. If people I actually know want to reach me, they'll call the house!

Friday Five

(Link in meme-roll)

1. Do you have pets? If so, name them all and describe them!

Sparky has a guinea pig named Ruka.

2. A dangerous situation is happening and you spot an animal trapped, probably too afraid to get to safety. It could be a raging flood or crumbling cliffs and the animal could be a dog or cat - or perhaps your own family pet. Would you make an attempt to save them?

I would be way more likely to help a human in that situation than an animal. Look, I love animals, but if things are dire I am going to definitely be doing the self- and loved-one-protection thing first.

3. Even if you would or would not make an attempt, let's say you somehow get to the poor animal but circumstances change and you can't get back to safety. Maybe in the raging flood, you walked on something that finally broke free. Maybe the steps you used upon the crumbling cliffs had given way. Help has finally arrived in the form of a helicopter but they say they will only take you to safety and you must leave the animal behind. Would you or would you not?

See previous answer.

4. There have been situations where people have tried to rescue dogs and cats but got stuck themselves. Do you think the rescue officials have the right to sue people who decided to help but ended up getting stuck themselves?

How much more dangerous have I made it? Honestly, sometimes it's just better to keep your mouth shut about how you ended up where you did unless asked specifically.

5. The questions were to make you think about the value of an animal's life. Did it help you rethink a few things or did it just help you hash out what you already feel?

Nope. I know precisely where my line is, thanks. My brother's a firefighter, and I am the weirdo who walks into a hotel room and checks the map on the door for the nearest exit. Besides, we live in Tornado Alley, so I'm pretty clear on what to grab in emergencies. Ruka ain't really on the list, unless I'm just hanging in the basement during a siren.

Curious as a Cat

1) What one thing makes your husband/wife/lover/best friend feel the guiltiest?

Making me cry. Unfortunately, I was raised to cry at the drop of a hat, so there is guilt galore 'round Cat 'n Beast's house. [And no: I do NOT do the crying thing on purpose!!]

2) What makes you laugh?

Babies. Kids in general. Stupid jokes ("bangity bangity") ("hare today, goon tomorrow"), and puns. Kind-hearted cleverness.

3) Who is the least spiritual person you know?

My first answer was going to be Amy, but that's wrong, from virtually any standpoint. Uh, jeez, I seem to be surrounded by spiritualists, er, spiritual people! Maybe my brother...?

4) What is the biggest surprise you've ever had?

Waking up after exploratory surgery without reproductive organs (and an appendix) was a bit...uh, unexpected, and so were the earnest discussions about chemotherapy with a gynecologist I had met only 24 hours previously.

5) 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

OK, fair cop: This dog looks a great deal like Shady, the dog we had for 14 years, and who was possibly the most amiable, loving, bighearted dog ever. The ears on this dog are different: Shady had German Shepherd ears. But the expression on that face: "THROW the BALL! THROW it NOW! aRUUh?" I just want to kiss that nose. Sux to be allergic.... which I found out about a year after we got Shady. Worst, most useless advice from a doctor ever: "I'm not going to bother treating you (for eye problems) if you insist on keeping a dog that you know you are allergic to. Get rid of it!" Fuckhead asshat dipshit. Instead of getting rid of the dog, I ditched the doc.

I hope Shady and I end up in the same heaven.

Ten on Tuesday

(Link at left)
10 Things You'd Save in a Fire

1. Myself
2. My husband
3. My son
4. The guinea pig
5. My grandmother's Bible
6. Any scrapbooks I could manage to grab (since most are in the basement, though, this ain't happening...but they're good if it's a tornado not a fire....hee)
7. My wallet
8. The camera
9. Shoes
10. A coat (in winter)

But I hasten to add that after the first 4 or so, I'm not going to any great measure to collect these things. If they are on the way out the door, fine; otherwise, that's what insurance is for. I really just wanted to stop after #5. Nothing I own is worth dying for.

Tuesday Twosome

(Link at left)
What Would You Do?

1. You witness a nonfatal car wreck, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on?

Especially if I actually witnessed it, I'd probably stop. I think it's illegal not to stop if you witness it. In any case, I'd call 911 even if I missed the actual accident.

2. You witness a robbery, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on?

Of COURSE I'd call 911. Not sure I'd stop and get involved, but I'd hang around nearby till the cops get there.

3. You see a child who appears to be lost or hurt, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on?

Stop, help, call 911, hang around till the situation is resolved, especially if we're talking about someone under 10 or 11.

4. You hear a person yelling for help, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on?

A lot is dependent on time, location, etc. I'd probably do a little investigation before calling 911 to be sure it's not a bunch of kids goofing off.

5. You see a fire in your neighborhood, do you help (stop and/or call 911) or continue on?

Stop, help (not by running into the house, though), and call 911. I'd ask the homeowners to come over to my house if it was a nearby neighbor and try to keep them as comfortable as possible.