Tag: Sunday Stealing

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.

Sunday Stealing: January 8, 2023

1, If you could change the ending to one movie you have seen, which one would it be, and how would you reshoot it?

Old Yeller. I think we all know why, and what the new ending would be.

2. If you were to select a food that best describes your character, what food would it be?

Anything vegan: It fits my love of animals, environmentalism, and appreciation for health-consciousness.

3. If you could cure any disease, which would it be?

Cancer.

4. If you had to describe the single worst thing a friend could do to you, what would it be?

Murder me.

5. If you could be a contestant on any game show, which would you like to be on?

Wheel of Fortune. I’m good with word stuff.

6. If you could choose the music at your own funeral, what would it be, and who would play it?

It would never happen because the original four will never play together again. I guess I’ll have to live forever.

7. If you had to spend all of your vacations for the rest of your life in the same place, where would you go?

Europe. Hey, you didn’t say it had to be only one country or city.

8. If you could ask God a single question, what would  it be?

I don’t believe in any deities.

9. If you could eat one food in any quantity for  the rest of your life with no ill effects whatsoever what food would you choose?

Vegan ice cream.

10. If you could have a year any place in the world, all expenses paid, where would you go?

Finland. I’ve been fascinated by Finnish culture ever since becoming a Poets of the Fall fan. And think of all the gigs!

11. If you could forever eliminate one specific type of prejudice from the earth, which would it be?

You can’t eliminate just one. Racism, sexism, and homophobia grow up in the same toxic house. But if forced, I would say racism.

12. If you could own one painting from any collection in the world but were not allowed to sell it, which work of art would you select?

Probably something from Monet.

13. If you could ask a single question of a dead relative, what would it be and of whom would you ask it?

My mother’s father’s mother, to confirm her maiden name.

14. If you had to choose the best television show ever made, which one would you pick?

Probably the Carol Burnett Show. It was pure hilarity. Half the fun was watching the performers try not to crack up whenever Tim Conway did something.

15. If you could write letters to only one person for the rest of your life, who would receive them?

Letters? Do people still do that? I wouldn’t.

Sunday Stealing, December 18, 2022

My plans for December: 

Already had the office party and a couple of other events. For the rest of December, Season’s Greenings at the U.S. Botanic Garden, New Year’s Eve Game Night party at a friend’s, and not sure what else yet.

How energized I feel at this point in the year: 

VERY. I’m a cold-weather person. Went for a city walk with friends yesterday and the fresh cold air felt glorious.

The best things about the holiday season: 

Seeing friends, viewing all the displays, and all the celebrations.

Something that changed my perspective on life: 

My job. I write about mental health and substance use disorders, and I read and write about trauma a lot. The things people do to one another make it hard to keep the kibosh on my misanthropy.

But also, people, PLEASE, the stigma has got to stop. It is just one more trauma to the people who have mental illness and substance use disorders. No one ASKS to have a mental illness. No one ASKS to have a substance use disorder. If you have never had either of these, please consider yourself fortunate that you do not have the genetic make-up that challenges resiliency. No, I do not want to hear how you experienced trauma in your life and you’re fine. That is not the point. (And not for nothing, but people who say that are usually not fine, as that very statement speaks to a callousness that often springs from past trauma.) Everyone walks a different path. Everyone has a different experience.  Everyone has a different childhood. Everyone has a different level of resiliency. Everyone has a different family history and genetic make-up. The brain is living tissue and it is subject to injury just like anything else in your body.

What I seem to get the most comments about: 

The changes I’ve made to my style:

I’m slowly transitioning to my natural silver hair. Right now my hairdresser does very fine highlights that make me look blonde overall, but slowly but surely, I will be all silver. It will take a few years, as the hair in the back is a dark gray, but I’ll get to all silver eventually. Also, I don’t wear face make-up anymore. Laser treatments are a wonderful addition to my life.

What gets in the way of my success: 

Procrastination and impatience with people who are slow to catch on to the fact that not everyone has to do something the way they would do it.

News sources I trust the most:

Reuters, AP

Fictional characters that would easily fit into my life:

Skeeter Phelan, Andi Sachs, Prince Akeem (Google them if unfamiliar. It is a peeve of mine when people ask me things they can easily type into a search engine and learn for themselves. It will stick better that way, anyway.)

My relationship with spirituality: 

Atheist here, so not big on that.

How I feel when I’m being retrospective: 

Relieved. What’s done is done and what’s in the past is in the past. I often think, “So glad I don’t have to deal with that/him/her anymore.”

My thoughts on AI technology:

It makes hilarious artwork.

The odd/weird things I do when nobody else is around: 

Oh, I don’t hide my weirdness. I let my oddness out into the world. Deal with it.

What I do when I can’t sleep: 

Think about how I can’t sleep. Resent that people with night chronotypes are so judged and maligned.

The winter/holiday season tasks I enjoy: 

I don’t do tasks anymore. I don’t bother with decorating, holiday baking, etc. I used to enjoy making ribbons for gift-wrapping but I don’t really do gift exchanges anymore, either. Just a few friends, and a lot of that is having stuff delivered to them. Gotta say, I love not having a financial hangover in January.