Sunday Stealing: Our Players' Meme

Ah, Sunday Stealing, it's been awhile ... The bonus of doing a regular weekly meme is that it gives you some really interesting ideas for future blog posts.  Oh, and it's a great way to wake up on a Sunday morning while you drink the requisite coffee :-)  

1. You have been awarded the time off from work and an all-expenses paid week anywhere in the United States. The catch is that it must be somewhere you have not been before. Where do you choose to visit? 

Somewhere in the south, where I've never been in reality (other than driving through on the way to Florida as a kid) but have been extensively through literature.  Is South Carolina what Pat Conroy and Anne Rivers Siddons made it for me?  And how about Alabama, where I grew up alongside Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird?  

2. Name three of your guilty pleasures.

Coffee, cheeseburgers, and reading.

3. The best kind of Girl Scout Cookie is:

Tagalongs.  Oh my gosh, I can put those things away by the box ... I am not buying ANY Girl Scout cookies this year.  It never ends well ...

4. What do you value most in other people? 

Humor.  Even if you're an asshole, I'll find some sort of redeeming value if you can make me laugh.

5. Be honest. Do you sneak some raw cookie dough when you’re baking cookies?

I don't cook, but what I have been known to do is worse.  Yeah, you know the pre-made cookie dough they sell at the grocery store?  I've been known to buy that for the sole purpose of ... well, not baking it. Haha, I don't think I've ever admitted that before ;-)

6. Have you ever looked back at your life and realized that something you thought was a bad thing was actually a blessing in disguise?!

More times than I can count :-)

7. What is the most beautiful place you’ve ever visited? 

I think it would have to be Bar Harbor in Maine.  I love my little tiny slice of New Hampshire ocean, but seeing the ocean in Maine surrounded by mountains and forests, and the water is this unbelievable shade of blue, and it is just the most beautiful place ever.  

8. Are you more of a thinker or a feeler? 

I feel first and think later.  I do both equally, but it's more of a sequential thing with me than with many people, I think.  It's something I'm working on ... not a great way to be.

9. Name three things you are thankful for right now.

My family, having a job I love, and coffee.

10. Have you ever participated in a three-legged race? 

Haha, yes.  It was a drunken college thing.  It did not end well.  (I seem to say that a lot...)

11. When you are at an event that plays the National Anthem, do you place your hand over your heart?

This is going to sound really stupid, but I didn't know you were supposed to.  The Pledge of Allegiance, yes.  "The Star Spangled Banner"?  I thought standing and removing your hat were sufficient to show respect.  Since I've started attending more events where this comes up, I've started placing my hand over my heart because half the audience does, and I don't want to look disrespectful.  However, I'm still not sure if this is right or not ...

 

Second meme: 

12. What kind of work do you do?

I am a high school English teacher.  That means I'm a psychologist, a psychic, a clown, a philosopher, a referee, a coach, a technology expert, a cheerleader, a warden, a facilitator, and about a hundred other hats.   

13. During the course of your lifetime, which job or career has been your favorite or most fulfilling?

Teaching, no question.  Of course, the other options include things like wearing the rat costume at Chuck E. Cheese's and working third shift at Cumby's, so it's kind of a no-brainer ;-)

14. Do you think it’s necessary in your life to have a day-to-day “career” that is meaningful and service-oriented or do you function better in “just a job” with a steady paycheck?

Absolutely.  If I didn't love my job, I would certainly find something that paid better.  I discovered last year that I made more money bartending than I do teaching, which is scary.  Teaching is far more than a job to me, and the stories you collect are just amazing ... even better than the ones you get while bartending.  

15. Was there ever a time in your life when you wanted to stay home with your children instead of working, even if it meant less money in the household?

Of course ... although I still think I am a much better mother because I work.  It makes the time I have with my girls a hundred times more valuable, plus dealing with kids all day makes me appreciate them more.  I have really enjoyed this summer, actually, since I've gotten to spend a lot of time home with my kids ... where Addie basically asks for money to go out with her friends and Belle's incessant chattering begins to wear thin after awhile to the point where I direct her to the television (I'm exaggerating, of course, but I've found that it's not exactly all it's cracked up to be)

16. Tell us your worst boss story.

I have to plead the fifth on this one.  Make sure to read my memoir when it comes out, though ...

17. Have your ever been the boss?

Not the BIG boss, no way.  My skill set is not exactly suited for being a boss.  I'm great at being a high school English teacher, so why would I want more than that?  Some of my colleagues are all about going back to school to get certified as administrators, and I am honestly puzzled by that.

18. What is your dream occupation?

A published author.  But "high school English teacher" is the ultimate fallback :-)

Sunday Stealing: The Madness Meme (Part I)

Sunday Stealing is good fun :-)  If you don't participate, give it a try!

1.Have you ever licked the back of a CD to try to get it to work?

No.  Yes.  Kind of.  Well, to be completely honest, I’ve spit on a Kleenex and tried to clean it up that way.  The crazy thing is, it often works ...

2. What’s the largest age difference between yourself and someone you’ve dated?

Officially “dated”, six years (and, yes, that would be Henry … he’s very wise J).  In terms of more casual kind of things, twenty-five years … in the older direction, of course.

3. Ever been in a car wreck?

Once … I fell asleep while driving to Andy’s condo at three in the morning, took out a “sharp curve ahead” sign, and drove into a ditch.

4. Were you popular in high school?

Popularity is a relative thing.

5. Have you ever been on a blind date?

Yup … And that’s all I have to say about that.

6. Are looks important?

Nah, hygiene is important.  I’ve been through the “you have to be hot to have a chance with me” phase, and it’s stupid.

I've learned that, if a person has a beautiful heart (and did I mention good hygiene ;-)?), they are beautiful on the outside, too.

7. Do you have any friends that you’ve known for 10 years or more?

Of course.  Bless their hearts … J

8. By what age would you like to be married?

I’d like to be married by the time I’m 40.  No pressure or anything, Henry ;-)

9. Does the number of people a person’s slept with affect your view of them?

Funny story, I was having this very conversation this morning. 

My bottom line is no because, once you get to the right place with the right person, you can look back and be glad for the experience and for learning what exactly it is that floats your boat.

If it gets to the point where you can’t keep track of the number, that might be a different story ….

10. Have you ever made a mistake?

I make mistakes at least once every hour.  It’s how we learn and grow J

11. Are you a good tipper?

I’m an excellent tipper.  If you’re aware of the horrible wages given to waitstaff because of the assumption that the real money is in tips, you would be, too.

That being said, I’m also very good at making my point on the rare occasions I encounter a truly sub-par waiter or waitress …  I’m convinced that pennies were created for the sole purpose of tipping badly …

12. What’s the most you have spent for a haircut?

I spent just under $200 for a haircut once … it had been eons since I’d had one, I don’t do change well, so the poor stylist had to put up with my angst.  I don’t begrudge it.

13. Have you ever had a crush on a teacher?

Ew, no!

14. Have you ever peed in public?

Haha, I was ALSO telling this story recently.

I was at the parking lot of Six Flags in Montreal.  I really had to pee.  REALLY had to pee.  The park wasn’t open yet, the line was already ridiculously long, and … well, I really had to pee.

I told Pythagorus I was going to pee in the parking lot if we didn’t go find a gas station or something.  I don’t think he believed me.

He should have.

15. What song do you want played at your funeral?

Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”

16. Would you tell your parents if you were gay?

“Mom, Dad, I’m gay.”

17. What would your last meal be before getting executed?

A cheeseburger.

18. Beatles or Stones?

Stones.

19. If you had to pick one person on earth to die, who would it be?

God judges, not me.  I'm pretty sure I know some people on the "karma's coming for you" list, though ...

20. Beer, wine or hard liquor?

Anything but wine…sounds clichéd, but the alcoholics in my life are winos, so the very smell of wine makes me nauseous.

21. Do you have any phobias?

I cannot get on an airplane. 

22. What are your plans for the future?

Happiness, good health, and … well, getting the novelpublished and embarking on a great writing career.

The Things-to-Do-Before-I-Hit-35 List

I guess a lot of people have a "things to do before I'm 30" list.  Well, since I'm already 30, I guess I missed the boat on that one ...

And creating a "things to do before I'm 40" list seems a little depressing.

So while I know that it's not realistic to make a "things to do before I'm 35" list considering I'll be hitting that particular milestone in a matter of months, I'm at kind of an interesting juncture in my life right now.  I've finally developed some guts, have come a long way with following through on things, and ... well, if I say I'm going to do something, I'm at a place where I'll at least give it my best effort.

So, with that being said, here it is.

Things To Do Before I'm 35
1.  Read at least five "classics" that I've never read.

2.  Get at least one piece of writing published in a place that is "legit" (in other words, not me posting my writing on this blog or on a place like Wattpad, which is a cool thing to be sure, but not the same as being actively solicited ... um, that sounded bad ;-))

3.  Fly in an airplane.

4.  Make amends with people in my life that I've disappointed, let down, or grown apart from.

5.  Lose 20 pounds.

6.  Organize my clothes.

7.  Be in a normal, healthy, happy relationship with a nice guy.

8.  Do a random act of kindness every day.

9.  Go out socially at least once a week.

10. Learn how to walk in high heels.

Considering that the deadline is October 26, 2011, I have a lot of work to do ... but at least now I've verbalized it.  And in a public forum, no less, so that means that you, my lovely readers, will have to hold me to it.

Which of these do you think is most likely for me to pull off?  Which isn't (or aren't) going to happen?