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!

Break Time (from the archives)

Originally posted 5/30/04

Link: from Bzoink
Title: For the Book Lovers

What's the last book you read?:	The last one I finished was The Revenge of Anguished English.
How was it?:	Parts were very amusing. Parts irritated me (editing is a lost art).
What's your current favorite book?:	Most recent favorites are The Book Thief and The Interestings.
Who's your current favorite author?:	Lee Child
What's the first book you ever obsessed over?:	Alien (the novel from the movie)*
Who's your favorite poet?:	Emily Dickinson* and Ogden Nash
Your favorite short story author?:	George Saunders' book The Tenth of December was delightful, but I still like Poe.*
What's your favorite genre?:	Mystery*
What's your least favorite genre?:	I'm not a fan of spy stories. For some reason that kind of mystery doesn't do it for me. And romance novels.
What's your "comfort book"?:	A good mystery, even a predictable one.
Who are your five favorite authors?:	Sue Grafton, Sara Paretsky, Kathleen Norris, Kent Haruf, Anne LaMott (all*)
Do you ever skip to the end to find out what happens?:	Nope. Where's the fun in that? I have been known to skip chapters.
What's the worst book you ever read?:	I'm struggling to name just one. There have been many, but I tend not to finish bad books these days.
The funniest book?:	Almost anything by Bill Bryson makes me laugh.
The saddest book?:	The Book of Ruth, by Jane Hamilton* is damned sad. So is Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton. Lots of others.
Has a book ever made you cry?:	About half of what I've read has made me cry.
What's the book you love to reccomend to people?:	Mostly I find myself recommending YA books these days. If you haven't read the Hunger Games trilogy yet, or Roderick Gordon's books about the Styx, or...yeah.
What's the first section you go to when you walk into a bookstore?:	Religion, games, mysteries. Magazines.
Do you buy books, or get them at the library or from friends?:	95% library, 5% purchased*
What's the most you've ever paid for a book?:	I've been buying college textbooks for a few years. I think the most expensive so far was over $500. smh
Was it worth it?:	If we're basing worth on grades, then no.
Will you buy a book in hardcover or wait for it to come out in paperback?:	I mostly read library books, so mostly hardcovers. If I'm buying, it's usually a paperback.
What's a book you bought on a whim, then regretted later?:	Most hardcover novels. I mean, once you've read a novel, mostly there's no impetus to reread it.
How did you get turned onto your favorite book?:	My sister Ellen recommended it.*
Do you/did you enjoy the short stories in English class textbooks?:	I adore short stories.
What book have you read the most times?:	Probably a tie between "The Little House" series and Alice in Wonderland.
Do you ever finish a book and immediately start to read it over?:	No, though I do occasionally go back to check on things I missed, or didn't understand.
How do you feel about turning books into movies?:	Mostly it's a bad idea, with some exceptions.*
What's the best book-to-movie?:	The English Patient*
What's the worst book-to-movie?:	Most of the rest of them (almost all of Stephen King's!)*
Have you ever gotten in trouble from reading when you aren't supposed to?:	Yeah. ahem...*
Have you ever made a new friend from noticing the book they're reading?:	I don't think so. That seems creepy to me.
Do you prefer books that take place in another world or time period?:	I don't prefer them; I like them, if they are well-written.*
If you could live in any book's "world", which would you choose?:	Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books.*
Who's your favorite fictional hero?:	Reacher (Lee Child)
Who's your favorite fictional heroine?:	Amelia Peabody (Elizabeth Peters)*
Who's your favorite fictional villain?:	If a villain is really well-drawn, it really ought to be hard to like them, I think. Dexter comes to mind, however.
Is there a book character that reminds you of yourself?:	Many, but parts of Amelia Peabody's personality is awfully similar to mine.*
What book character do you hate?:	Captain Ahab (Melville) and The Old Man (Hemingway)*
Have you ever, for any reason, dressed up as a character in a book?:	Not intentionally.
Have you ever written fanfiction or done fanart?:	No.*
Do you have a website dedicated to any of your favorite books?:	I have a book blog, and I use GoodReads religiously.
Are you into any big-hype books, like Harry Potter of Lord of the Rings?:	I've read all the HP books, but I only made it through one Twilight book (yuck). Adult books, I tend not to like the Big Name ones, with exceptions.
What book you have with you/next to you right now?:	Brené Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection is on the couch next to me.

For the Book Lovers brought to you by BZOINK!

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*Unchanged since last time.