On a Lighter Note

THE 99 THINGS MEME (or as many as I feel like before I peter out, which will probably be only half) Stolen from Pop Culture Librarian (some answers will remain the same, 'cause I am lazy like that). How many of these have you done?

1. Started your own blog. Duh.

2. Slept under the stars. Yes, many camping trips, many times

3. Played in a band. Oddly, after my brother's wedding 7 years ago we went out to a bar for the after party and the band invited 3 of us on stage to play an instrument. So yes, I played the trumpet very badly with a band.

4. Visited Hawaii. I was 5 and went with my mom and grandparents. I remember little crabs running in and out of holes as the waves rolled in and out.

5. Watched a meteor shower. Many as a young'un. Mostly with my little red aunt.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity. I have, usually to KEXP.

7. Been to Disneyland/world. Yes! Once as a teen and once with my son last year. The first time was ok, the second time was a blast!

8. Climbed a mountain. Yes, a little one that didn't require much effort.

9. Held a praying mantis. Yes. When I used to wrangle carts for the grocery in Wenatchee. One year a bunch of them flew in, and for some reason liked to land on the carts. I removed one so it wouldn't get squished and it sat on my shoulder for several hours.

10. Sang a solo. Yes, not well. Choir from 7-10th grade.

11. Bungee jumped. Nope

12. Visited Paris. No, never been to France. There are quite a few similar questions below, so I am going to not bother answering them.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea. I watched a storm that was over the sea while I was safe in my grandma's house.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.Yeps.

15. Adopted a child. Nope

16. Had food poisoning. More than likely.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty. Never been to the East Coast

18. Grown your own vegetables. Yes, currently as you all know.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France. See above

20. Slept on an overnight train. Yes, on a trip to Chicago when I was a child.

21. Had a pillow fight. Duh.

22. Hitch hiked. I would say no, but there were a couple of times when we ended up stranded where we had to hitch a ride. I was always with a parent though, when I was a child. One was a disasterous canoe trip, once our van hood flipped up and broke the windshield on I-5 when we were on our way skiing, and another time our van broke down (different van) on the highway and we got a ride to a gas station.

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill. Mental health days are necessary from time to time to keep you healthy. Not often though.

24. Built a snow fort. Yes, both as a child with my sister and brother, and with my son when he was little.

25. Held a lamb. Don't think I have held one.

26. Gone skinny dipping. Yes.

27. Run a marathon. Nope, closest I have gotten is a sprint triathlon.

28. Ridden a gondola in Venice. See above (I know, it isn't France, but I don't care)

29. Seen a total eclipse. A couple.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset. Duh.

31. Hit a home run. Both kinds.

32. Been on a cruise. Only one of those ones around the Sound.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person. I don't think so. Maybe when I was younger with my Dad. But that might have been somewhere else.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors. Nope

35. Seen an Amish community. Nope

36. Taught yourself a new language. Any languages I've learned have been taught to me. I can't imagine learning a language by myself.

37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied. Getting pretty close. I was feeling better before this furlough. Talk to me in a month.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person. Nope.

39. Gone rock climbing.Nope. Nope

40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person. Nope

41. Sung Karaoke.Yes--best times have been in the private karaoke rooms at Seattle's Best Karaoke or the similar place in the ID.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt. Yes, when I was married and drove to Oklahoma after the wedding, we stopped in Yellowstone and saw the geyser.

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant. No, but I have given a meal to a stranger on the street (person asking for money)

44. Visited Africa.Nope. And meme writer, it bugs me when people just say Africa like it's one monolithic place instead of a continent with a jillion different countries. In case you were wanting my feedback. (agreeing with PCL here)

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. Yes, I don't remember when though. Probably a trip to Ocean Shores. Definitely down at Richmond Beach.

46. Been transported in an ambulance. No, thank goodness. I did have to take The Boy to the emergency room when crazy aunt let him take the rap for missing medication. That was fun.

47. Had your portrait painted. Nope

48. Gone deep sea fishing. No deeper than the Sound. Probably not deep enough.

49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person. Nope.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Oh my god, no, ok?

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling. Nope

52. Kissed in the rain. Yes, and in the snow and in the sunshine...I could go on and on

53. Played in the mud. Ok, now the meme is just getting stupid.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater.Yes, lots of times. The first one I ever went to was Carrie (my parents were a little sadistic, my sister saw Aliens when she was 4 or something).

55. Been in a movie. Probably not.

56. Started a business. No, unless you count the freelance wordprocessing etc. that I did after I graduated from undergrad. That was pretty sporatic. I also did some house sitting. Neither was premeditated though. It usually just fell into my lap when I needed some money.

57. Taken a martial arts class. Nope unless you count play fighting with my cousin who was a black belt in tai kwon do.

58. Sold Girl Scout cookies. I buy them occasionally. Walk alongs I think--the carmelly ones.

59. Gone whale watching. Not on purpose, but I have seen whales in the water just like, on accident.

60. Gotten flowers for no reason. I have bought them myself for no reason other than I wanted them.

61. Gone sky diving. Nope, be looking for the suicide note if I ever do.

62. Toured the Everglades. Nope

63. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London. Nope

64. Broken a bone. Nope, just my front tooth.

65. Been on a speeding motorcycle. Yes. Boyfriend 10 years older when I was 16-18. Also, last steady before Dr. T, but he didn't speed. Never driven one myself.

66. Published a book. Had a poem published in a scam contest. Trying to get my money--it worked.

67. Bought a brand new car. Not myself, but my ex-husband did when we were married.

68. Had your picture in the newspaper. Yes, for sports stuff and playing with a goat at the fair when I was a kid.

69. Visited the White House. Nope, see above

70. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. Nope, well, fish.

71. Met someone famous.Yes, Paula Abdule when she was in Oklahoma for bulemia rehab--she came into the coffee shop I worked at. One of my co-workers husbands found out she was coming in and freaked her out by waiting for her to come in, then pouncing. He was weird.

72. Joined a book club. Yes, but they never lasted long

73. Lost a loved one. Yes.

74. Had a baby. Yup, but just The Boy. I think that is all I have in me.

Surprised I made it as far as PCLibrarian. But there you go.

Happy New Year!

It has been longer than I meant to let go by without a post--I just put up those family pics I promised. Many of my friends are doing a survey for the new year, but I get a little exhausted after about the 10th question and there are close to 40 on the one going around now. I think I will just pick and choose a couple then move on to other things.


1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?

I trusted someone completely. That might sound trite, but it is true. Dr. T and I seem to have a certain connection that allows me to let go of any reservations I might have, any fears that usually crop up when I date someone for more than a month. It is an exciting place to be. Quite lovely as well.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? (see, jumping around, but still in the first 10)

Yes! My good friend Miranda* had a beautiful baby girl and my brother and his wife adopted a baby girl. I suppose adopting is not "giving birth" but this little one will never feel the sting of that difference. She is a gorgeous little one and obviously dotted on by her parents (and her aunties, uncles, cousin and grandparents as well). We are so happy to have her in our family :)

22. Did you fall in love in 2008? (and now I am a liar, because I jumped to 22 from 3--but the other ones were too convoluted to answer)

Still in love :)

24. What was your favorite TV program?

Currently I am between favorites, but in the past I have loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Veronica Mars, Weeds, Wonderfalls--so the colorful and weird, I guess.

26. What was the best book you read?

I can't answer this one truly but I can tell you that the author that I discovered this year was Kelly Link. And yes, I know I am a bit behind on this. I keep trying to find more stuff to read by her, but come up short (short story that is). I randomly picked up her newest collection of short stories Pretty Monsters: Stories at the ALA conference last summer and fell instantly and deeply in love.

16. What will always remind you of 2008? (Yes, now I am out of order...and it was supposed to be what "song" but oh well)

Obama winning the election and The Boy texting me then calling me right after to celebrate. That is one good kid we made.


Ok, done with that for now. Maybe I will make up some more questions of my own later.

The snow is already gone here in Seattle. All that is left are piles of sand and holes in the pavement. Mayor Nickels is having to defend himself over his handling of keeping the roads clear, and all I can say is that he did the best he knew. Maybe he did not know best in this situation, but I don't have many complaints against him and I can let this go as a learning experience. I laughed at the news the other night when they interviewed a guy who complained that Dravus wasn't open to drive on. I actually saw a girl flip her car in the rain on that hill once. You can't tell me you expect to be able to drive on it in freezing conditions?!? Fool.

The disabling aspect of the snow had me thinking back to other times when the snow was deep and school was canceled. I would say this happens here in varying degrees every 5-7 years. I remember sledding on a snow day when I was in 7th grade with my friend Jill. There was a big hill right next to her house and we would take our sleds out and just about kill ourselves on the hairpin turn half way down. One kid slid right into a car that was parked there, but he was ok. The car...seems like there was a dent. I also remember building a rather large snow fort with my son in either 2000 or 2001 out in front of our apartment building. It was a great place to hide when having a snowball fight.

More recent events in Srcsmgrl-land: went to Leavenworth with my dad family** and had a fairly good time despite being a bit sick. I had to miss work when I got back due to the sickies so I wouldn't pass it on to the work peeps. Went back to work on Wednesday, got all my reports done and helped a lady that had her purse stolen. After work, Dr. T and I went to see the Presidents at the Paramount. As a New Year's Eve party, it was lacking--only one bar and a beer garden, lines out the door for any kind of refreshment. We went to the Six Arms to bide our time and got back in time to see Monotonix who were quite interesting--think performance art meets rock and roll + short shorts, long unkempt hair and foreign accents. They were quite entertaining and actually pretty good musically. The Presidents were fun,but I think that somebody integral to the event fell asleep somewhere because they almost forgot to put up the clock to midnight--only got it up with 2 minutes to go--then they forgot to loose the balloons, despite the outcries from the crowd. We left at about 12:20 to meet Sister U and her beau for a nightcap, then headed home. I think I was out the latest I had been in the entire year before. Good way to start a new year.

*Miranda is my red headed friend that resembles Miranda from Sex in the City
**Dad family as opposed to Mom family--I have 7 brothers and sisters, 3 on my mom's side and 4 on my dad's. You could say that he won the race, if there was one to win.