I'm a Star!

(or at least the recipient of one.)

Monica's Pop Quiz

(Note that this is a pop quiz that I got from Monica's blog, not a quiz regarding Monica's pop. I just wanted to clarify that.) Even mom has this done, so I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon.

When was the last time you went to the bathroom outside?
I think mid-September. I was hiking around on the Billy Goat Trail when nature called.

Which family member do you most resemble?
I dunno. Anyone else want to answer this one?
I saw a picture of my great-(maternal)-grandmother, and it really seemed to look like me aged about 60 years. As a child, I was told that I look like my father. Blake and I look like each other, and Blake definitely looks like our father.

When was the last time you tripped and fell?
Last night! :( I was walking down the (carpeted) stairs wearing socks, carrying some boxes - a big one to take out to the curb to throw away, and a small one with my new salt lamp inside. Somehow I slipped on the step and slid down the bottom two or three. Both boxes fell out of my hands, and I landed pretty hard on my hip/side. It hurt. My right upper arm scraped the railing pretty good, and I'm quite sure I will have developed a gorgeous bruise by this evening. Maybe I will post it! I can't be worse than Monica's dead pigeon!

What are you listening to right now?
Soul 2 Squeeze by the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the radio.

Which would you rather do: rake the leaves, or mow the lawn?
It depends.
What kind of lawn mower do I have?
How big is the yard?
When was the last time each was done?
Do I also have to bag the leaves/grass clippings, or only rake/mow?
What's the weather condition outside?

What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer?
The program that allows me to access our work server from home.

When was the last time you swam in a pool?
Tomorrow.

Have you ever been in a school play?
Yes. Many.

How many kids do you want?
0, 2 or 3.

Which type of music you dislike most?
Twangy country or angry rap. Or uber-soprano screeching a la Celine Dion/Mariah Carey.

Are you registered to vote?
Yes. But I will admit that I do not regularly exercise my privilege.

Do you have cable?
Only for broadband internet. Not for TV.

Have you ever prank called anybody?
Yes. But not since we called 911 at the Kramers' house and got S in trouble.

What's your favorite comic strip?
Calvin and Hobbes.

Bath or shower?
Bath to relax. Shower to get clean.

Best movie you've seen in the past two weeks?
I think The Recruit is the only movie I've seen in the last two weeks.

Best pizza topping?
Cheeeeeese. Or ham and pineapple.

Peanuts or popcorn?
Popcorn.

Ever order anything from an infomercial?
Actually, yes - the Time-Life Classic Country Great Story Songs CDs in the dark days before the world wide web. It was a gift.

Sprite or 7-Up?
Whatever's cold. I prefer 7-Up though. I find it drier and less sweet.

Ever had to wear a uniform to work/school?
Yes and yes.

Ever thrown up in public?
Yup.

Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love?
Do I get to keep the true love for ever and ever? If so, then that. If not, I'll take the money.

Do you believe in love at first sight?
I think it depends on what your definition of "love" is.

What do you think about most?
My life. What I want and how to get it. And my family and very close friends.

RANDOM QUESTIONS:
(Because the previous ones were somehow structured?)

Name something purple within 5 feet of you:
Fluorescent hi-lighter.

What is the sexiest item of clothing you own?
My skin. Sexy is as sexy does.

Is your hair long enough to chew on?
Yes. For now. I've really been toying with the idea of cutting it quite short.

What's your least favorite color?
Yellow.

Did you have a good weekend?
Yes I did. A very good weekend.

How is today going for you?
OK. Its work. My friend Kiran may stop by for lunch, if she is able to finish some reading for class before I get too hungry to wait any longer.

Do you have any plans for tonight?
Clean my room :)
Perhaps tackle the pile of papers threatening to topple off my desk-top.
Pack my stuff for swimming tomorrow :)
Watch "24" with Blake, who is trying to get someone else hooked on it.

Have you ever photographed something that was dead?
Not that I recall. But I'll keep you posted if anything comes to mind.

Name your most recent purchase:
Grande skim mocha this morning.

Friday Five

I haven't forgotten Monica's pop quiz. Its in the works. But meanwhile...

1. Would you rather have a fun job that doesn't pay well or a boring job that does?
As long as there are other circumstances at the boring job that make it bearable, I'd take the money. I don't have an expectation that work will be fun, I do it to pay the bills.
2. Would you sacrifice your morals for a job?
No. I love what a friend of mine said about a job that she quit: "I would live in a box on the street before I went back to work at that place." And I thoroughly believed that she meant it.
3. Would you ever take a job that requires you to be in costume?
Y'mean like scrubs, or a lifeguard suit and whistle, or "business attire"?
4. What is your fantasy job?
World traveller. Muse extraordinaire. Observer of life. Follower of the heart.
5. Would you like fries with that?
Sometimes.

what other people said

Drained

I am so worn out!
This week has been absolutely hellacious at work. I finished up a big project today, so I'm hoping that things will calm down at least a little. I'm still going to have full, long days until we get a couple reports out in mid-May, but hopefully I'll have respite from the long days I've been pulling. I came in for ten hours on Sunday, had a regular day Monday, and then pulled back-to-back twelve hour days Tuesday and yesterday. I also got set up to be able to access our work server from my home computer, which means - joy of all joys - the fun doesn't have to end when I leave my office building. I can work on my data spreadsheets well after the moon rises. Yip!
I have a headache and am absolutely drained of intelligent thought. Last night, there were three of us who stuck around trying to get this thing out, and by the time we left, none of us were speaking in grammatically sound sentences.
Bleghpphjjdt!

In better news, though, I'm looking forward to a good weekend.
I'm leaving work early tomorrow to meet with Johns Hopkins School of Public Health admissions people. And if I'm lucky, Marianne will be in the Baltimore area, and will be able to play with me! On Sunday, I'm going to a party for Becca. And on Tuesday, I'm swimming with the Fairfax Masters team again. All I gotta do is make it through the rest of today and tomorrow morning.

Keep on truckin', keep on truckin'...
I think I can, I think I can ...

Be Prepared

Men take pride in a basic, bodily emission, which, because this is a family [column], I will refer to by its technical name, "making a tooter." This is a popular thing to do whenever males gather together. As a youth I was a Boy Scout, and while I know that scouting is a fine activity that has taught countless young men important leadership and character-building skills, the major activity in my particular troop was slicing the Muenster. We'd go on a camping trip, and for dinner we'd consume huge quantities of Campbell's brand Pork 'n' Mainly Beans, and by nightfall the hills were alive with the sound of tooting. Eventually the entire area would be blanketed by a giant mushroom cloud of Boy Scout gas that caused flocks of migrating geese to reverse course ("Turn back! We're spending the winter in Canada!").
-Dave Barry

I Guess I Should

I was going to post something about this shortly after the turn of the year. I had it all written out, but I couldn't make it sound quite right. So I just deleted it.

Sometime during that first week in January, I was working at the computer. I was feeling somber and mellow, and had an appropriate mix of songs cycling through Napster. A song came on that I'd heard many times before, but the lyrics really struck me on that day.


A Long December
-Counting Crows

A long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leavin'
Now the days go by so fast

And it's one more day up in the canyons
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think that I could be forgiven... I wish you would

The smell of hospitals in winter
And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters, but no pearls
All at once you look across a crowded room
To see the way that light attaches to a girl

And it's one more day up in the canyons
And it's one more night in Hollywood
If you think you might come to California... I think you should

Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after two a.m.
And talked a little while about the year
I guess the winter makes you laugh a little slower,
Makes you talk a little lower about the things you could not show her

And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass

And it's one more day up in the canyon
And it's one more night in Hollywood
It's been so long since I've seen the ocean
... I guess I should


I had a hardish day on Friday the 19th. I was going out of town, and I was feeling stressed out and worn down and overwhelmed and generally out of control. I was having trouble getting a handle on myself, and sometimes when that happens, I find that taking a steamy shower helps me calm down and focus and sort things out. During that shower, I had an epiphany of sorts. The thoughts running amok in my mind included this song, and my profile pic, and the beach.

When I was going to post this earlier, I still had the title as "I guess I should", but I had more of a dreamy/fantasy/wishful feeling about it. During this shower, I decided that "I guess I should" is going to become a resolution to myself.

I Will Go To The Beach This Year.
I Promise.

I feel happier. It was a good shower.

UM 206

1. Episode ::
2. Source ::
3. Jerk ::
4. Introduce ::
5. Ralph ::
6. Stare ::
7. Cast ::
8. Scenario ::
9. Flu ::
10. Mad ::







1. Episode :: Psychotic
2. Source :: Document
3. Jerk :: Knee
4. Introduce :: the Variable
5. Ralph :: Calvin (my grandad!)
6. Stare :: Blank
7. Cast :: Playlist
8. Scenario :: Dark
9. Flu :: Virus
10. Mad :: Cow

Doubblle Letterrs

I have expressed before my frustration with what I feel is an abundance of superfluous double letters in the English language.

No estan utilizados otros idiomas. ¿Por qué en inglés?

This frustration is compounded when I work with and correct spreadsheet data from a coworker who uses double letters effusively. Two of the most annoying instances:
hemophillia and
possitive home pregnancy test.

Grrrrrrr!

One Up, One Down

I did something last night for which I am very proud of myself! :D

Unfortunately, I also did something which has me disappointed in myself.

It kinda sucks that the two seem to cancel each other out, and I can't extract the appropriate joy from the thing that I did well.

I suppose that I would rather dance around, forward-back-forward-back, than remain stagnant. At least I am moving. Even if it is only in circles.

And today is a new day to excel.

Be Heard!

Exercise your right to vote!
It will make you a better person!
(Or at least, it will make me happy!)

I've been playing around updating my template, and have been looking for a new pic to use in my profile. Unfortunately, I don't like many of the pictures taken of me. After much toil, I have narrowed the field to four.

Lemme know what ya think...


to vote for Marisa on the beach,
text *OSHUN








to vote for Marisa cropped out of a family photo at Blake's graduation,
text *RATGRAD









to vote for Marisa gussied up at Monica's wedding,
text *{whi-stle}
(... you know, the one that goes FWET-fweu)







and finally, to vote for Marisa two Christmasses ago,
text *SANTABABY








Thanks for playing!
:)

Retrospection

1. What did you do this year that you've never done before?
Bikram yoga

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t really make any. I have goals, but I don't really think of them as New Year's Resolutions.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth this year?
No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No. The only person I can think of is Dave P. from MCC.

5. What countries did you visit this year?
Sadly, only this one. I intend for that to not be the case when I look back next year.

6. What would you like to have in the next year that you lacked this year?
A stronger self-awareness and a rekindling of my stubborn side.

7. What date from this year will remain etched upon your memory - and why?
April 1st. I heard a funny joke.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Making it through. I had a year of small victories.
(Also, I took the GRE.)

9. What was your biggest failure of the year?
*sigh*
I'm unhappy that, after being given a post-op all clear, I haven't lost all the weight I gained on bed rest. I don't especially like being "festively plump".

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Just emotional unrest.
NO MAJOR CAR ACCIDENTS!! WOO-HOOOOO!!

11. What was the best thing you bought this year?
I guess my super-awesome backpacking pack.
Second would be the ring I gave myself for my birthday.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration (a public or private personality)?
My own! :)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
I can't think of any behaviors that appalled or depressed me. I guess I have pretty low expectations when it comes to the behavior of others.

14. Where did most of your money go this year?
Living expenses and some savings. Nothing extravagant.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about this year?
Hmmm ... really, really, really?
I got to see a great opera at an awesome venue with a friend with whom I hadn't interacted since high school.

16. What song will always remind you of this year?
Maybe Graceful & Charming. I don't know if it "will always remind me of this year", but I've thought a lot about it this year.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
- happier or sadder? On the road to happiness. This brings me the frustrations and trials of overcoming obstacles that were not in my life a year ago, but I have a greater sense of being "on the right path".
- richer or poorer? Slightly richer, I suppose. My income increased a bit, and my expenses remained relatively unchanged.
- thinner or fatter? Slightly thinner.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Things that bring a smile to my face. Meaning that, if I were to list "things that I know bring a smile to my face", I didn't do very many things on that list -- things that I know help me find happiness and peace.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Felt a need to cry. I cried a lot in 2006. And many times when I wished it would wait until a more convenient time.

20. How did you spend the holidays?
Working :( :(
I don't really understand how it is that, with 4 people to cover 6 shifts on 3 holiday weekend/day blocks, I worked all three, but somehow that's the way the cookie crumbled this year. I guess I didn't mind terribly, however. I still partook in my share of celebration.

21. Did you fall in love this year?
Yes.

22. How many one-night stands did you have this year?
Not a-one. (I never before realized that this was a standard by which to assess the year.)

23. What was your favorite TV program for the year?
I can't really think of one. I don't watch a whole lotta TV.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No. In fact, I can't think of anyone at all whom I "hate".

25. What was the best book you read this year?
Most enjoyable was probably My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.
Most helpful was How To Be An Adult by David Richo (I'm still reading this one. It seems that "psychological and spiritual integration" is most helpful in small doses.)

26. What was your favorite film of the year?
Nothing comes to mind.

27. How would you describe your personal fashion concept this year?
I developed a (sparse) work wardrobe after my daily job duties took me out of the lab, and so, out of scrubs. My personal wardrobe hasn't changed much and isn't all that terribly exciting. Wearing clothes now isn't as fun as it was when I was skinny.

28. Whom did you miss this year?
Jeni, whom I haven't seen in a few years; and Marianne, with whom I don't get to play nearly enough!

29. Who was the best new person you met this year?
Ken the Mexican. He's a cool guy.

30. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned for this year.
Structure that cradles is comforting, and makes us feel secure.
Structure that contains is oppressive, and makes us feel rebellious.