Because I'm getting really sad when I get online and see everyone's at BlogHer and I'm not
I'll unload this meme on you that I horked from Badger:
1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? Not my person, but once in the fall/winter of 1984 I was hanging out in a parking lot late at night talking to Rusty Bates and some local cops came and started harassing us and searched our vehicles. They found some roaches in the ashtray of Rusty's truck but nothing in my car. Then they told us to go home.
2. What color are your eyes? Brown
3. When was the last time you went sledding? When I was a kid in Virginia - probably around 1975.
4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? I definitely sleep better alone.
5. Do you believe in ghosts? I think it's presumptuous for us to think there's not spirits as well as extraterrestrials sharing our space in the world.
6. Do you consider yourself creative? I do.
7. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie? That's a tough one. I think Jolie is the more attractive of the two, but I think Jenn is more likeable. I don't think either of them are all that talented, really.
8. Who was your first crush? Andy Crisp, 2nd Grade, Nottingham Elementary School
9. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? Nope, I spilled it all to my AA sponsor.
10. Have you ever been ice skating? Yes but I suck at it.
11. How often do you remember your dreams? Nearly always.
12. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? On vacation last week when My Kid made fun of the hotel security guards like a Discovery Channel show, outlining their mating habits.
13. Can you name 4 songs by The Beatles? Of course.
14. What's the one thing always on your mind? Wow. That's a tough one. This week, probably sleep.
15. What talent do you wish you had? I wish I played the guitar.
16. Do you know anyone in jail? I've heard my senior class "Most Humorous" is serving time for trying to kill her husband with a hammer.
17. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? I don't think so.
18. Have you ever been punched in the face? God, no.
19. Do you own any stuffed animals? An entire set of The Muppets.
20. Do you have a major crush on someone? Josh Lucas
21. Do you miss someone right now? I regularly miss my dad, who's passed away
22. What are you listening to right now? "Grease 2" on ABC Family
23. Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry? I don't think so. Maybe Princess Di.
24. What color underwear are you wearing? pale pink
25. Where do you work? At my old job
26. What ended your last relationship? my drinking
27. What food do you crave right now? none really
28. What was the last TV show you watched? The Office
29. What is the last thing you ate? A double cheeseburger from McDonald's. I know, gross.
30. Are you on any medication? Oh yeah.
31. What side of the bed do you sleep on? The right side (if you're facing the head of the bed.)
32. What color shirt are you wearing? White
33. What is your favorite frozen treat? Mint chocolate chip ice cream w/ hot fudge sauce.
34. How many tattoos/piercing do you have? Just one hole in each ear.
35. Can you imagine yourself ever getting married? I could see us having a big ceremonial renewing of our vows, since our wedding was a pretty low-key affair.
36. Have you ever done something to instigate trouble? Oh probably.
37. Do you like your nose? Not especially
38. What color is your bedroom? butter yellow
39. Where do you live? Memphis
40. Are you an aggressive driver? Not as much as I used to be
41. What color is your car? Silver-blue
42. What do you smell like right now? I have no idea. Hopefully nothing gross.
43. What is your favorite color? I kind of like sage green.
44. What character from a movie/TV most reminds you of yourself? Siddalee Walker from "The Ya-Ya Sisterhood"
45. Do you enjoy giving hugs? I do, actually - to people I know.
46. Do you own a digital camera? Yes. Well, my husband does.
47. What books, if any, have made you cry? Can't think of any off-hand. "Marley and Me" by John Grogan
48. Are you a jealous person? Not as bad as I used to be when I was younger.
49. 69? Ugh. No thanks.
50. What shoes are you wearing right now? None
51. What is your major weakness? Baked goods - brownies, pie, cookies, chocolate cake!
52. Do you suffer motion sickness? If I read in the car.
53. What's the best pizza? Alternative from Memphis Pizza Cafe is the only pizza I like.
54. Longest relationship? 15 years with Big Daddy and going strong.
55. Are you afraid of thunderstorms? I was as a kid, but I kind of like them now.
56. What do you want to be when you grow up? 5-foot-10
57. Have you ever given or been given an engagement ring? Actually no. Big Daddy gave me a family ring with diamonds when we got married. A couple years ago he gave me a "set" to wear with it but we were already married so I don't think it qualifies as an "engagement" ring.
58. What was the last gift someone gave you? My Kid gave me a bottle of Benefit "Maybe Baby" cologne for Xmas which I LOVE
59. Who would you call first if you won the lottery? my accountant
60. Can you cook? ehh, so-so
61. What is your favorite jelly/jam? grape jelly and strawberry jam
62. Can you swim? Not like laps, but I can move myself around the deep end of a pool
63. What is your first memory? Singing a solo in church. I'm guessing I was around 4?
64. What item would you like to have buried with you? I prefer to be cremated
65. What are three things you're dying to have right now that would make everything just about perfect? A massage, a pain killer, a night's sleep on one of those new fluffy Marriot hotel beds.
Apparently that's a genetic thing and has nothing to do with my jaw being too small or anything. It doesn't usually cause a problem unless the tooth needs a root canal or to be pulled (you can see how that might be painful). When they did the root canal on this tooth some five years ago, they could only go down through the straight part (see where the filling stops?). Now, apparently, the little foot on the end of the root there is infected. I've been to the dentist (she gave me antibiotics and pain killers. Yea, painkillers) and referred me to an endodontist for a consult. Chances are he's going to send me on to an oral surgeon. The preferred treatment is to cut in from the side of the gum, clip off the end of that root and seal it up. Supposedly it's easier than a root canal. We'll see.
We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg is the story of a women who contracted polio while she was pregnant and delivered her baby daughter in an iron lung. Her husband left her, and she raised the child on her own - the first two or three years in the lung in the hospital, and later at home, able to move only her head. Berg wrote the story because a women wrote to her and suggested she write this book about her mother. Berg agreed to do it, but only if it could be completely fiction. The result is a story set in Tupelo, Mississippi in the 1960s that deals with accepting people for who they are and not judging them on outward appearances. I liked this book. It was easy to read and taught a good life lesson without being preachy.
Veronica by Mary Gaitskill came very highly recommended. It was on a lot of "best of" lists and I'd actually had it on my list of "To Read" for a while. This was the only book that I couldn't finish and that is a real dilemma for me. When I'm not enjoying a book at all, I never know whether to quit or keep going. If I don't like it early on, I feel like I owe it to at least give it a chance, and keep reading. Eventually I'm half-way through and even if I still don't like it, I'm like, "Well, I'm half-way through now...." But this one I finally just put down. It's the story of a women who had been a model in Europe, fell from grace, contracted Hepatitis, and met an older, slightly crazier woman named Veronica in NYC, who died from AIDS. The story wasn't really about Veronica, though, it was about the infected former-model. I think eventually, further toward the end, we would have learned more about how Veronica influenced the other girl's life, or something. Reviews praise the writing as "poetic" but I thought it was flowery and weird and hard to follow. I found myself skipping over whole paragraphs, which is why I eventually decided, "What's the point?"
Neighbors by Thomas Berger is a satire about living in the suburbs. It's supposedly hilarious but I guess I don't really get satire, because I just thought it was weird. Every time I found it to be completely ridiculous and totally unbelievable, I just reminded myself that it was a satire but that still didn't make it funny to me. I found out after I'd read it that it was the basis for the movie by the same name starring John Belushi and Dan Akroyd, so maybe if you've seen that you get an understanding of the book.
Three Junes by Julia Glass is a charming book about a Scottish family over three eventful summers. It takes place in Greece, Scotland, and NYC and is told in three sections. In the first section, Paul, a recent widower, travels to Greece where he deals with loneliness and reminisces about meeting and marrying his wife. The second section is focused on Fenno, Paul's oldest son, who is gay and has left his homeland to live a quite life in Greenwich Village. He is dealing with the loss of the father, memories of his departed mother, relating to his younger twin brothers, and his own inability to form true relationships in his life. The final section is about a young girl in New York, whose husband died in a freak accident. Now pregnant, she goes to stay with a friend in the Hamptons to contemplate telling the father, where she encounters Fenno and his brother. A warm, easy read.
Oh the Glory of it All by Sean Wilsey is the memoir of a boy born to San Francisco socialites. And first of all, can we all just agree that this is the BEST TITLE EVER for a book!! His mother, Pat Montondan, was a manic-depressive "society butterfly turned globe-trotting peace promoter" who once tried to include Sean in a suicide pact. His father was a millionaire businessman looking to climb up the social ladder, so left his mother early in Sean's life, and married her best friend, Dede, who became the ultimate evil stepmother to Sean. Sometimes it was hard to read how unfairly he was treated at his father's house - his bedroom was in the unheated attic, while his step-brothers had luxurious suites; he was only allowed to snack while standing over the kitchen sink; he was forced to sit on the opposite side of the dining table from the rest of the family; the cooks were instructed to cook whatever the step-brothers ordered for breakfast, but Sean was allowed only cold cereal. His father, who was such an imposing character in Sean's life, was completely unwilling to stand up to Dede when Sean complained, saying, "Well those are her boys, I can't control her rules for them." It's no wonder Sean turned into a complete juvenile delinquent. This was by far my favorite book of the group. All 479 pages of it.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a book that I read - or was supposed to have read - my junior year of high school. I seem to remember only occasionally doing the assigned reading back then; this time I read it in one afternoon. I love the story, and I love the characters, flawed though they may be. When I read it now, I hear Mia Farrow's voice saying, "Mr. Gatsby, you always look cool as an ad-VER-tis-ment."
