Saturday 9: Best Day

Saturday 9: Best Day of My Life (2013)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

(New song for me!)



Clouds from 2009

1) This song begins by mentioning clouds. Do you see clouds in the sky this fine Saturday?

A. There are a few clouds dotting the sky as I answer this question. Mostly, though, it is sunny and the sky a wonderful robin's egg blue.



2) Lead singer Zac Barnett sings that, "Everything is looking up." What are you looking forward to today?

A. Saturday, after nearly a year since our original purchase and a bunch of BS, our new sofa and loveseat is supposed to be delivered. I so hope these don't fall apart or smell terribly or are the wrong color or something. I will be glad to stop sitting in lawn chairs.

3) 2016 is not yet half over, but what's been your best day so far this year?

My man is so sweet.

A. That's rather difficult to answer, but I will go with sometime around February 5, when my husband gave me an early Valentines present that consisted of jewelry AND chocolate. What more could a girl want?

4) The members of the group, American Authors, met in college. When is the last time you heard from a school chum? Do you know them from grammar school, high school or college?

A. Thanks to Facebook, a number of my school friends are around. I suppose the last one I talked to was one I went all the way through grammar school and high school with; he is also my husband's first cousin. I went to school with my husband, too. And my brother. If you want to count "not family," then I last heard from a college classmate who was looking for information about freelancing.

5) One of the all-time best-selling American authors is romance writer Danielle Steele. She's been writing for more than 40 years and has sold more than 800 million books. Have you read any of her work?

A. I have and I confess I do not understand her popularity. Her writing is terribly uneven and stereotypical. Nora Roberts does a better job of story telling, in my opinion.

6) Have you ever dreamed of being an author?

A. Yes. I tossed my one completed novel in the trash about three years. It was terrible and deserved its fate.

7) Do you have an e-reader?

A. I have a Nook, a Kindle Paperwhite, and a Kindle Fire.

8) American Authors rang in 2016 in Chicago, giving an outdoor concert on New Year's Eve on a stage not far from Lake Michigan. There are 5 Great Lakes in all, including Lake Michigan. Without looking it up, name the other 4.

My guitars.

A. Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings in the rooms of her ice water mansions. Michigan stings like a young man's dreams; the islands and bays are for sportsmen. And farther below, Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Eerie can send her. And the iron boats go as the mariners all know with the gales of November remembered. (Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and no, I didn't look it up, I just know the song. I play it on the guitar. Not sure I have the words right but it answered the question.)




9) Random question: You see photos on Facebook of a dinner party hosted by a friend. You recognize most of the attendees, yet you weren't invited. How do you feel? Left out and angry? Do you wonder what you may have done to offend your friend? Or do you just forget about it and move on?

A. Rationally, I would not be offended or hurt or anything else. I don't throw parties and most of my friends have dogs or cats and know I am not able to visit their homes without a trip to the emergency room for an asthma attack. So they would not ask me, anyway, and I would appreciate their acknowledgement of my health issue. Would I like to have a more active social life? Yes. Will I ever? No. It is what it is, but that does make me a little sad.

_____________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday 13 #445

Stuff to do in the morning before lunch.

1. Meditate. We've all heard how this is supposed to help you, making your blood flow better and your brain less cluttered. So breathe in and out a few times and find your inner calm. What's it gonna hurt?

2. Be grateful. A gratitude journal is a good way to start the day - maybe read over yesterday's entries (or last year's) and remember that all is not lost.

3. Set your schedule. Some people call this a "daily intention" - focus on the things you most want to accomplish during the day. A daily to-do list will suffice if you can't make it feel spiritual. List three things - that's all. Don't overload it.

4. Allow yourself free time. Maybe you need to take a chill pill around 3 p.m. because that's when your energy wears out. Or you need to meditate again. Reasons don't matter, but schedule in a little free time so that, if nothing else, you can stare out the window without guilt.

5. Drink lots of water. Some people advocate drinking a full glass of water as soon as you wake up. Drinking water before you eat is supposed to make you feel full and eat less, too.

6. Stretch. Maybe you just reach down and touch your toes once or twice, or lift a leg or something, but let your body move a bit. (I think a good dance in the morning would be terrific, if I could dance.)

7. Listen to music. Music can help set your mood, especially if it's upbeat and something you like. If, like me, you play an instrument, maybe you should pick that thing up and make a little noise of your own.

8. Smile. Okay, so maybe you're alone in the house. Who is there to see? You, silly! You're there. Go smile at yourself in the mirror. Show some teeth.

9. Pick up/clean up/ make the bed. Nothing says, "I'm up and doing stuff" like making your space a bit neater. There's always something that needs a dusting.

10. Do the thing you don't want to do. Get a start on the hardest task, whether that is balancing the checkbook or clearing out the refrigerator. Chances are you'll finish it up and not stop, but even if you only clean one shelf, that's still one shelf done. With practice, this might even help with that procrastination problem (though I apparently have not yet practiced enough).

11. Take a shower/ wipe off your face/ use a little water. Showers are wonderful. They wake you in the morning and help you sleep at night. If you take a night-time shower, then be sure to wash your face in the morning. The water will refresh you. Maybe spritz your hair with a bit of water to freshen it up, too. And don't forget the deodorant.

12. Brush your teeth. You'd be amazed at how many adults don't brush twice a day. It is an easy task to ignore, especially if you are at home and not going out, but it should be on your list.

13. Eat something. I'm not sure breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but by lunch for sure you should have something in your stomach.
 
There. Now our days are all organized and half over.

You're welcome! (Ha!)

(If only I would follow this advice!)


_____________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 445th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

The Gobbler

Making Mourning Mountainous

When I was 10 years old, a local monument called the Mill Mountain Star (now the Roanoke Star), a neon construction perched high on a mountain top above Roanoke City, turned red at night when someone died in a traffic fatality.

I am not sure how long this lasted. The star was built in 1949 as an advertising gimmick for local merchants, who built this large neon tubing that is billed as the world's largest man-made star in hopes of drawing in holiday shoppers. The star can be seen for 60 miles and sits 1,045 feet above the city.

For me, the star has always been there. I remember driving home nights with my mother and looking to see what color it was. I would be sad if it were red and remind my mother to drive safely. That, I think, was the real message of the change of color - a reminder that poor driving skills (including drunk driving), kills.

The city stopped that practice in 1976 (I would have been 13) and turned the star red, white, and blue for the nation's bicentennial. It has stayed that way for the most part, except for September 12, 2001, after the 9/11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, when it changed to red, and then it changed to all white in April 2007 after 33 people died in a shooting at Virginia Tech, which is nearby. The white color was to symbolize hope.

Prince (the musician) died last week. Cities turned monuments purple. I do not think our star turned purple. At least, I hope not. I liked Prince as well as most people, more, actually, than my husband, at least, but not enough to feel great grief at his passing. I'm sorry he died and I think 57 is young - that's my husband's age. But I did not cry over him. On TV last night, a young woman said she had cried for two days because Prince had died. And she had never even met him.

This trend of raising up people to be exalted in death while others go unnoticed has disturbed me for some time. When I wrote for the newspaper, I hated those end-of-year stories that I was sometimes asked to write wherein I reported on the "people of note" who passed away during the year. Everyone who died was important to somebody, or at least, one hopes so. Inevitably there would follow the bitter letter from a mother or brother whose family member was not on the list. "I guess my son/daughter/mother/brother wasn't important enough to be remembered," they would write.

Roadside memorials spring up overnight when people are killed in car wrecks, visible reminders that someone died in this curve or on this straight-a-way.

Mass outpourings of grief over people we have never known indicate to me that we have something wrong with our mourning process as a society. I am not immune - I have cried when famous people died. Heck, I have cried when fictional characters in books or movies died. But only for a moment. Only when I hear the news, maybe, depending on my frame of mind.

But I do not mourn these people the way I mourn the loss of a relative or close friend. People I love receive my respect and my grief when they pass on, as they should.

I do not believe that when celebrities die, monuments should turn a color. Yes, perhaps, they are "national treasures" of a sort, but Meryl Haggard, Prince, and a member of some team in the NFL do not deserve week-long mentions on cable TV.

People die every day. Good people. Young people who have not lived their lives yet. Old people who lived solid, decent lives and contributed greatly to our society, whose roles go unnoticed.

Did we turn monuments a color when all of those children were killed at Sandy Hook? Eleven people have been shot in the last several days, in episodes that made the news - will we turn the Brooklyn Bridge a mournful color to honor those lives? And what about the ones not reported, the multiple deaths every hour? How can we put one life above another? Isn't there something wrong with that?

My mother taught me we all put our pants on the same way; we all go the bathroom, we are all equal when standing naked in front of a mirror (regardless of how beautiful). Of course honors should go to those who deserve them, but I do not put celebrities in that league. Presidents, prime ministers, Ghandi, and Mandela, perhaps. Even then, we are honoring the role of office as much, if not more, than the person.

Hollywood stars and other artists? They are not the same.

My uncle passed away yesterday. He will have small service and perhaps no mention at all in the newspaper because he was 80 years old and he and his wife lived on Social Security. He lived in California, a world away from me, and I did not know him well. However, he served in the Armed Forces, he raised children, and for the last 20 years he has cared for his mother, who at 96 is still alive and has outlived all of her children but my father. My father and brother, my aunt and my cousins will attend his funeral, if there is a funeral at all. I'm not even sure there will be a grave marker, though I hope so.

No one will turn a monument purple or green or any color in his name, just as if I died today, no one would turn a monument any color for me.

We idolize too much and too many. I am not Biblical as a rule, but I do believe there are cautions against idols in that sacred tome, and for good reason. When we begin to set others above us, for whatever reason, we create problems. We create inequality, all by ourselves, without any help from the government or any other institution. Religions, alas, have fed into this need for idols by setting up their own versions of "higher callers," those who preach on TV or create universities and Moral Majority groups in hopes of making the U.S. a theocracy instead of the republic she is. The very group that should be speaking against idolatry has turned it into a profitable business.

It is okay to love an author or a musician, and to feel sad when that person passes on. It is fine to remember him, to play the music or read the book, or watch the movie or the great NFL play. But I think that should be done on a personal, not national, level. If you want to get together with friends and play Purple Rain for hours on end, have at it.

We should remember, though, that these people are humans. They simply chose a different and more visible path. Their deaths should remind us that we are all mortal. It doesn't mean we should mourn like it's 1999, and when the clock rolls over to 2000, we're all going to die.

Sunday Stealing: Ask Yo

From Sunday Stealing

Ask Questions, Yo Meme

(Does anybody know what that meme title means?)

1. Are you a very open or private person?

A. I'm introverted but if you ask me a question, most likely I give an honest answer. I am not, however, the most private person I know, which means in some respects, I must be open.

2. Change one thing about the world what would it be?

A. I would make people write grammatically correct sentences that made sense.

3. Live in any country/city, where would you choose?

A. Hobbiton on Middle Earth.

4. What perfume do you wear?

A. None. Everything is unscented because of my allergies and asthma.

5. How are you feeling right now?

A. I have a headache and I am a little low. I also have hiccups, which just started as I was answering this question.

6. If money was no object, where would you move to?

A. I would build me a starship, fly to skies, live among the stars, baby, don't ask me why. Time to leave the ol' Earth and see where else I'm bound, the mysteries here are too lost to be found.

7. Who was the last person to make you cry?

A. I don't know. I don't really need a person to cry, sometimes I just cry.

8. What age do people usually mistake you for?

A. My 40s. At least they don't think I'm 85.

9. Is there a song which can bring you to tears instantly?

A. Yes. Vincent (Starry Starry Night).

10. Do you play video games?

A. I do. I like RPG games like Skyrim, hidden object games, solitaire card games - pretty much anything where I am not interacting with other people.

11. What do you think about before you go to bed?

A. I try to meditate and focus on my breathing.

12. Have you ever online dated?

A. No. I've been married for 33 years. The only "online dating" we did involved leaning against a wire fence talking to one another.

13. Do you get cranky when you’re hungry?

A. Yes.

14. What drink did you last consume?

A. I had a Boost. Before that I had water.

15. Have you ever tripped while walking up the stairs?

A. I trip walking on flat surfaces, so what do you think?

16. Is there something you’re happy about at the moment?

A. I'm very relieved that it rained, because the hayfields were starting to look bad and we were growing concerned. We have to have the hay to feed the cows.

17. Are you a shy person?

A. I'm introverted to the point where people think I am shy. Although I think in my case, some people think I am simply "stuck up," though nothing could be further from the truth.

18. Were you happy when you woke up today?

A. I wasn't unhappy.

19. Do you like rain?

A. Yes.

20. Can you go a day without music?

A. Yes. But I have been trying to do better about listening to it.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: Little Red Corvette

Saturday 9: Little Red Corvette

From the archives.
 
In memory of Prince (1958-2016)

The musician called Prince passed away this week at the age of 57. This year seems to be the year we lose a lot of artistic people.


1) The subject of this song is frankly sexual. Do you blush easily?

A. I'm a medium blusher. 

2) Prince was his real first name (Prince Rogers, to be exact). Growing up, his relatives called him "Skipper." Do you have any nicknames within your family?

A. Yes, but if I tell them I would have to go into deep hiding in outer space.

 

3) Prince said he was "obsessed" with Mozart and read whatever he can find about the composer. What's the last book you read?

A. I'm reading The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende and listening to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in the car. I am not really obsessed with anything at the moment.

 

4) Between Prince and The Beach Boys, the Corvette is a much sung-about car. Tell us about your vehicle.

 

A. I drive a Toyota Camry. It is my second Camry, and it is white with a bunch of electronic stuff on it that I do not need and doubt I will ever use. I drove it for almost six months before I realized it had a built-in GPS. I liked the interior of the first Camry better, but then it had more room because it didn't have all the electronic junk.

 
5) In the 1980s, when Prince was popular, MTV could turn a song into a hit. In 2016, where do you hear new music?

 

A. Friends post things on Facebook, and I listen to the radio.

 

6) In 1982, when "Little Red Corvette" ruled the airwaves, Braniff Airways shocked the travel industry and threw passengers into chaos by declaring bankruptcy. When did you last fly? Did your trip go smoothly?

 

A. I have not flown since 1993. As best I recall, the trip was fine. (I don't get out much.)

 

7) 1982 is also the year Disney opened Epcot. Have you ever been to a Disney park?

A. Yes, in 1993, that was where we flew to. Disney.

8) 1982 is the year Cheers premiered. The sitcom was set in a bar where "everybody knows your name." Tell us about your favorite local bar or restaurant.

 

A. I don't have a favorite local bar. The restaurant we eat at the most is Shakers, a local chain that has good salads and a nice menu selection. They also play a lot of 1970s and 1980s music, which makes me happy to hear.

 

9) The 1980s were considered a highpoint in professional tennis, with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe dominating the sport. Do you play tennis?

A. No. I play the guitar, though.

_____________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday 13

What's the pollen count in your area? According to pollen.com, the air I'm breathing in is dusty with pollen, a big ol' 10, with oak, maple and birch trees being the main instigators.

I have asthma and I am allergic to all three of those trees. So here's a list of 13 tips to help you breathe better when the sneezes start.

1. Stay inside. I tend to stay inside all day, but pollen counts usually peak between 5:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.. They are also higher on dry, hot, windy days. If your local weather forecaster says it's a bad day to be outside, heed his or her advice.

2. If you must go out, do it in late afternoon.

3. The best time to go out is after a rain.

4. Keep your windows closed both in your car and in your home. Try to purchase an automobile with a changeable cabin air filter - this helps keep the dust and pollen out of the car's interior. Also be sure your car air conditioning is on the "use the inside air" mode that most new vehicles have so that you are not pulling outside air into the car.

5. Use air conditioning instead of window and/or attic fans.

6. Take off your shoes before you go in the house. If you've been outside a while, you may want to take off your clothes, too. You can bring the pollen indoors with you.

7. Wash your pets frequently or keep them inside because they can also transport pollen indoors.

8. Dry your clothes in a clothes dryer and do not hang them outside. Pollen will collect on the clean clothing and negate the benefit of washing.

9. If you can, have someone else mow the yard. If you have to do it, wear a mask. If you are very sensitive, you may need to mow in long sleeves and long pants to keep from breaking out in a rash.

10. Choose ground covers that do not produce pollen, such as Irish moss. (I suppose if you could afford it, there is always artificial turf.)

11. Trees around your house should be the kind that do not aggravate allergies. These include crape myrtle, dogwood, palms (they don't grow well in my area), or willow trees.

12. Take a shower in the evening. Washing the pollen off before you go to bed is the best way to ensure that you're not breathing in something that will aggravate your health for the duration of the night. (During bad pollen days, I take fast 3-minute showers twice a day. Once in the morning to get rid of bed-head and to wake up, and another at night to get rid of pollen. I use a timer so I don't waste water.)

13. Lastly, make sure you change the bed linens no less than weekly and wash the sheets in hot water. If you have had the windows open in your home, at the least you should run the bedspread and any blankets through the dryer weekly to lessen dust and pollen build-up. Washing them is better but that can be difficult to do at home every week, especially if you have a heavy coverlet or comforter.

Finally, if your allergies are severe and you find yourself wheezing, sneezing, or otherwise in need of medical care, see your doctor. Prevention helps but can only go so far if, like me, you are sensitive to everything that blooms. If you have asthma, you may need prescription inhalers and information on how to use a peak flow meter to ensure that you're getting enough air. Asthma is not something to ignore as it can be life-threatening.

For more information, check out these links, or do a search on the internet for your specific concern:

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/asthma/basics/definition/CON-20026992

https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/allergens/pollen/index.cfm?utm_campaign=%2B+Housing+and+Community&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=28677697&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-__csl3MaOrrxYQgmj1GU270-qr8gWTj9y5ZGazFlbKlza1oLqFNzhDp6jC1n7GENin3457sCoNkeOn47AhUuyGui8nuw&_hsmi=28677697

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/default.htm

_____________

Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 444th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. 

Alice

Alice in Wonderland from a coloring book called "Mythic." Medium: colored pencil.

A Great Talent

I have a friend (who shall remain nameless because I suspect she'd prefer it that way) who drew a caricature for me of my physical therapist. I gave it to my PT yesterday, my next-the-last session before my insurance makes me go to a "home program" that neither of us thinks I am ready for.

 

She loved it, I think.

My PT and I have a lot in common - we are both big Lord of the Rings fans, and enjoy fantasy. We like to read and we have had lots of interesting conversation over the last 75 or so visits. She has been very good to me and incredibly helpful during this most trying time of pain and frustration. She has done her best to get me back on my feet and I think that, had she not helped me, I would probably be unable to make it through the grocery store. I could not do that when we started, but now I can and occasionally I can even walk for 20 minutes without doubling over in pain. So, progress.

Unfortunately, we hit a plateau this winter after I had a severe upper respiratory infection, and things slowed. I stopped improving fast enough for the insurance company.

Wish me luck as I begin my healing adventure on my own. My main goal is not to go backwards, and forward progress would be most welcome. We can only see what happens from here on out.

A Bad Purchase

Back in May 2010, we purchased new windows for our home. At that time, the windows were the original from 1987, and they leaked. During the winter the house was drafty and cold.

We did extensive research on window brands available, and ultimately settled on Gorell because at the time, they were listed as among the best and given high energy efficient ratings and blah blah blah.

Fast forward six years and we're ready to replace the damn things again. Most of them have already been replaced once under warranty because the glass did weird things and turned brown or the gas leaked out of the seal.

Unfortunately, Gorell went bankrupt in 2012. The company was bought out by Soft-Lite, which chose not to honor the lifetime Gorell warranty.

Instead they came up with some deal with the installer that if they sold so much of their product, they could then obtain warranty replacements. The installer refused to honor the window warranty as well, though they did (sort of) honor their free labor for 5 years portion of the agreement.

Toward the end of our five-year labor warranty with the installer, we parted with harsh words because the windows were (and are) crap and they wouldn't stand behind what they sold.

I have two windows now that look like this -

That is not screen. That is degeneration of the window glass. It has turned brown and you cannot see through it. We managed to get several replaced after Gorell went out of business but it was a trying task. It took well over a year to replace some of them, and during the time we waiting on those, others began to fail. 

 
Replacement windows are not cheap. We spent thousands of dollars on these. Some day soon we are going to have to do it again. These certainly aren't going to last as long as the windows we originally had on the house.

My guess is Gorell was beginning to have problems about the time we made our purchase, and we got the short end of things despite the raving reviews online in 2010. Probably about the time we received these windows, they were cutting quality because of financial issues which they obviously could not overcome.

The company that installed these windows, Southwest Sunroom and Windows, doesn't show up as a dealer for Soft-Lite anymore. The nearest dealer who comes up is in North Carolina, about 100 miles away.

The last time we tried to replace these, while still under the 5-year warranty, the installation company sent us a bill for both labor and the window. We didn't pay it and pointed out it was all still under warranty. They billed us several times and my husband had some angry phone conversations and we sent at least one letter before they stopped billing us.

If we want to replace the browned-out windows, I guess our only option would be to contact Soft-Lite and pay for them. But that is not happening. We will replace all of these windows with some other brand, at some point, and not spend any more money with a company that refused to stand behind the warranties it obtained during the bankruptcy sale.

And of course, we will use a different installer, having burnt that bridge over these horrible Gorell/Soft-Lite windows.

The drafty, cold air still comes in. It is especially apparent in the second-replaced windows, the ones made by Soft-Lite and not Gorell. They do not fit as well as the original Gorells. Of the original Gorells that did not fail (or have not so far), they seem to be okay. But I think of the 12 windows we originally replaced, about 7 of them failed, either with the gas leaking out or the window panes turning brown.

Buyer beware, is all I can say. Businesses all want one thing - your money - and they don't give a rat's ass if you are happy with the product or not. I think the installer should have stood behind the product; after all, they sold it to us. They should have offered to give us a complete set of windows of a different brand, but of course they weren't going to do that. I also think the company that bought out Gorell should have stood behind the warranty.

But we live in a world where it's all hooray for me and f&ck you, don't we? And guess where we ended up with these windows. It certainly wasn't on the "hooray for me" end.

Sunday Stealing: 25 Large

From Sunday Stealing

25 Large Meme

1.Travel anywhere, where would it be?

A. To some other M Class planet. (That's a planet that humans can live on, for the non-Star Trek folks.)

2. Meet anyone, who would it be?

A. The beings on the M Class planet. Hopefully, they are not hostile to aliens.

3. Bring anyone dead back to life, who would it be?

A. Nobody.

4. Be anyone for a day, who would it be?

A. One of the beings on the far-away M Class planet.

5. Get anything for free for the rest of your life what would it be?

A. Health care.

6. Change one thing about your life what would it be?

A. My health.

7. Have any superpower what would it be?

A. I would like to be able to heal people.

8. Be any animal for a day which would you be?

A. An eagle, so I could soar through the sky and see what the world looks like from that angle.

9. Date anyone who would it be?

A. I am happily married, but my husband thinks I have a crush on Orlando Bloom, so I will say him.

10. Change one thing about the world what would it be?

A. We would have no inequality.

11. Live in any fictional universe which would you choose?

A. Apparently a Star Trek one today, though one would think I would want to live in a Tolkien world given my love of Lord of the Rings.

12. Eliminate one of your human needs which would you get rid of?

A. Eating.

13. Change one thing about your physical appearance what would it be?

A. Less fat, more muscle.

14. Change one of your personality traits which would you choose?

A. I would not be judgmental.

15. Be talented at anything instantly what would you choose?

A. I'd like to play the guitar better.

16. If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

A. The person who is the wisest.

17. Erase an event from history (make it so it never happened) which would you choose?

A. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

18. Have any hair/eye/skin color, which would you choose?

A. I'm fine as I am, thank you.

19. Be any weight/body type, which would you choose?

A. I'd be slimmer and fitter.

20. Live in any country/city, where would you choose?

A. Some place in Sweden or Norway.

21. Change one law in your country, which would you change?

A. The Electoral College.

22. Be any height, which would you choose?

A. 5' 5". I'm 5' 2" and it is hard to reach the top shelf at the grocery store.

23. Have any job in the world, which would you choose?

A. A multiple-published book author. Meaning, I think, I am one of those people who want to have written as opposed to one who wants to write, even though I've published (and been paid for) thousands upon thousands of words. Just not a book.

24. Have anything appear in your pocket right now, what would it be? 

A. One of those medical tricorders from Star Trek that Dr. McCoy used to fix people.

25. Have anyone beside you right now, who would it be?

A. My husband.

__________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: You're Beautiful

Saturday 9: You're Beautiful (2005)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The first line is of this song is, "My life is brilliant." Using one word, describe your life.

A. Confused.

2)  This is about a chance encounter between strangers in a crowd, specifically the subway. What "crowded place" were you most recently in?

A. The supermarket.

3) Near the very end of this song, James Blunt sings, "It's time to face the truth." Do you believe you face things head on? Or do you tend to deny or put off the unpleasant?

A. It depends on the situation. Some things you have to face immediately, the moment they're happening. Other things you put off and hope something decides to heal on its own.

4) James Blunt went to an all-boys school. Some educators recommend single-sex classrooms because they maintain girls just naturally approach subjects like math and science differently than boys do. Do you agree?

A. I went to a same-sex college (go Hollins!) and loved it. The masters level courses were co-ed, and in my creative writing seminars, men were frequently in the room. They tended to dominate the conversation, take over, be snide and condescending. And the teacher nearly always called on them first. But in the undergraduate classes, all female, there was none of that, we were all equal. I learned so much about being strong, inwardly and outwardly, from those classes, things I would never have learned had I always been second place everywhere to a male. So I agree with single-sex education but not because the sexes learn differently (though they may) but because the patriarchal society we live in simply demands that women fall in line and come second, an attitude that even an all-female undergraduate school cannot vanquish when men are added to a class for whatever reason.

5) Blunt put his father in charge of his finances. Income taxes are top of mind for many of us this time of year. Do you do your own taxes? Or do you go to an accountant or tax preparation service?

A. I have an accountant. We had been going to the same accountant for over 10 years, but we did not agree with some of his advice, so last year we went elsewhere. That turned into a nightmare, as this year we had to pay someone else to redo the 2014 taxes and the 2015 taxes. The person who did the 2014 taxes was either clueless or not who he said he was. At any rate, we think we have it sorted out now with someone who at least understands what a farm is.

6)  In 2005, the year this song was a hit, the sitcom How I Met Your Mother was also popular.  Do you know how your parents met?

A. My father had come home from the Army and wanted to go fishing. His parents lived in the house behind my grandparents'. He asked if he could look for worms underneath an old mulberry tree my grandparents had in the back yard. My mother went to help him look for worms. I guess she caught the worm she was looking for.

7) 2005 is also the year Tom Cruise famously jumped on a sofa. Do you remember where he did this?

A. He was on some talk show, but I can't remember if it was a late night show or Oprah or whatever. Gee, let's google: Oh. Apparently it was Oprah so I was sort of recalling it right.

8) 2005 was also the year YouTube really took off. What's the last video you watched?

A. You're Beautiful, the video for the Saturday 9 song, of course.

9) Random question ... Which of these high profile jobs would you enjoy more: head of General Motors, CEO of Apple or president of the New York Yankees?

A. CEO of Apple. It sounds like it might have some potential for creativity in it, and I don't know a thing about cars except how to put them in gear and drive them. I don't like baseball, so that's out, too.

_____________

I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.