Category: Life

Sunday Stealing: Pink

Doing some Sunday Stealing today.

1. Do you tend to have a guilty conscious?

Sometimes I wonder if I didn’t give Inigo enough of a chance to heal from his leg injury before I took him to say goodbye. But he was in pain, his quality of life took a deep turn for the worse because he couldn’t walk or climb, and I sensed he wouldn’t come back from it. As one friend said, freeing him from pain was a final act of love that I could offer him.

2. Do you still have your wisdom teeth?

No, and that’s actually a Christmas story, as I had them taken out over a winter recess while I was in college. That was also the year my father cut a gash in his hand sawing the trunk of the Christmas tree. We made quite a pair sitting on the couch. My mother said she was running an infirmary.

3. Peanut Butter – creamy or crunchy?

I like both but usually get creamy.

4. Get up off your butt. Take 5 steps. Which leg did you start out on?

Right.

5. What color is your favorite kitchen utensil?

Wood.

6. Did you watch the Michael Jackson memorial/funeral?

No.

7. Do you know anyone who graduated from high school this year? Were you invited to their graduation party? Did you go?

Nope.

8. White with black stripes or black with white stripes?

Zebras are black with white stripes.

9. If we were to call your 6th grade teacher, what would they say about you?

“She’s very bright and a joy to have in the classroom. She enjoys science and English.”

10. Can you draw a perfect circle?

Nope, but I can listen to them. LOVE this song. A friend once cracked a joke that this song might be the first time Maynard James Keenan wrote something in a major key. The sound is ridiculously happy considering the subject matter, which is the stupid ways humans spend their time and money when we could all die tomorrow. I love the hat-tip to Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. (TW: There is one scene of suicide, and the whole thing is about nuclear annihilation. If you’re easily triggered, watch the second one, which is just dolphins swimming.) Bravissimo hip hip hooray!

11. What was your favorite scratch & sniff sticker scent?

As a child, root beer. As an adult, gardenia. I found these Filter Fresh sheets that you can attach to your air filters and the “Scratch for Scent” sticker on the gardenia one smells just like the perfume my mother wore in the ’70s.

12. How many light switches and electrical outlets are in the room that you are in right now?

One light switch, three electrical outlets, and one defunct cable/landline phone outlet.

13. Do you know sign language?

Just how to spell my name and how to tell someone to eat shit and die. No joke. Back in college two of the girls at the end of the hall were legally deaf and they taught me that.

14. Do you step on cracks in the sidewalk?

Not intentionally.

15. And the sheets on your bed look like….?

White with white stripes.

My Favorite Christmas Commercials

Today was a hard day after a hard week, and once again, I’m wiped out. Therefore I will reach into my bag of emergency entries, er, classic holiday cheer, and attest that these are my favorite Christmas commercials of all time.

This one came out the year I was born. I love it because of its simple animation and of course, the birds. The story gets me every time. Birds bring us their music. How lovely to offer them some of ours in return, instead of taking their homes. Birds LOVE music, too, so this story isn’t too far off the mark. If I go out on the balcony and my little friends are not around, I need only to whistle a tune and the Sparrows emerge from the holly bushes, fly up into the tree, and look down at me with their heads cocked in curiosity as they wait for their snacks.

Then there is this classic, the Hershey’s Kisses commercial. I feel like it’s not the holiday season until I see it. The original came out in the late 1980s. I loved it then, and I love it now.

And finally, this commercial for Coke from 1970. It was right on time, coming out of the 1960s with their call for peace, love, happiness, and civil rights. But given how far this country still has to go, in some ways, it seems ahead of its time. It’s also the only song I can play on the piano.

Ode to Arlington

Tonight Holidailies asked me to describe why I love my neighborhood.

I live in the perfect spot as far as I’m concerned. Everything I need is nearby: parks, trails, grocery stores, drugstores, retail businesses, restaurants and night life, a public library, and several of my doctors, all within walking distance. It’s urban, but also has a lot of green space, including on the property where I live. The police and fire departments are top-notch, as are the schools, and there are two Metro stations nearby. I don’t even own a car.

The residents are pretty cool, too. They’ll leave an old TV out for someone to take, and the person who takes it will thank them.

A sign that says "Thank you for TV!" Signed "Neighbor."
I resisted the urge to read the writing inside.

But they won’t steal from local businesses.

Red chairs on the sidewalk in front of a restaurant.
These would be gone in 30 seconds flat in New York.

We have lots of Crows, too.

A Crow on top of street signs in front of an apartment building.
I love a good Crow silhouette.

Even the view from the ICU beds at the local hospital is lovely at sunrise.

Treetops and sunrise clouds through a window.
The most grateful moment of my life was seeing this from my bed–because I woke up and was alive to see it.

The only problem is that it’s impossible to buy around here unless you’re a bazillionaire.

A sign that says "New townhomes from $1.5 million."
That ain’t hay.

The rents are expensive, too, but between the green spaces, the public services, the things to do, the health care, and the general vibe of the place, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. After all, we’re consistently rated in the top five cities in the United States to live. This year, we’re number 2. I guess we’ll just have to try a smidge harder, heh.

Why do you love where you live? Or do you?