Posts (page 2)
What's your favorite play and why?
I love theater and plays! Hands down, no hesitation, my favorite is "Our Town." It's totally hokey, but the self-awareness of it cuts the sweetness of it all.
What did you learn in kindergarten that you wish you did a better job of applying to the way you live your life today?
One of the few times that I ever got in trouble in school was when I was in Kindergarten. The teacher had left the room and everyone eventually started getting loud and playing around. So I stood on top of my desk and told everyone to shut up and get back to their seats before the teacher came back. Of course, in the middle of me doing that, the teacher came back and put me in the corner and no one else got in trouble.
Lesson learned? Life is really fucking unfair, especially when you try to do the right thing / nice guys finish last. I have to relearn this lesson about once a month. One of these days I'll cease to be surprised when it happens.
What's your best quality?
I don't know if it's my "best" quality, but I do know that the thing I like most about myself is that I don't settle. If I'm unhappy, I'll wallow in it for a while, but then I take active steps to change the situation to make it better. I also try to take responsibility for my part in situations and don't try to foist the blame on everyone else or everything. Every one has had a lot of bad shit in their life go down, myself included. However, there comes a point where people - myself included, especially in the past - start using these bad things as a crutch or excuse to avoid taking responsibility for their lives.
How have you changed in the past year?
Submitted by littleduckling.
Physically, I've become a lot healthier. I walk about 3 miles a day now and, as a result, I sleep better and I wore a skirt to work on Friday that I haven't been able to fit in since 2005.
Mentally, I don't know that I've changed that much in the past year. I think I did the big mental/emotional change from 2006 to 2007...and that's probably why the physical changes have been able to occur.
What's your favorite type of donut?
Submitted by tomatshonino.
What a perfect question for me to start a marathon QotD session with, as I like to think of myself as a bit of a donut connoisseur.
Okay, first of all, donuts need to have a hole. I just don't get jelly donuts and the cream filled ones make me want to vomit just thinking about them. One exception to this is a cream-cheese filled one that a local bakery does. Those are teh awesome. Secondly, I would prefer a yeast donut over a cake one. Cake ones are good, especially a nice sour cream one, but for the most part they make my teeth feel weird...sort of like when you eat an unripe banana. Plain glazed or a chocolate icing would be the best. I can also handle coconut topping. Sprinkles and nuts are just too much of a texture change from the fluffy yeasti-ness of a good donut that I tend to avoid those.
Damn. Now I really want a donut.
I just went to the restroom to do my ritual pre-lunch handwashing and water bottle fill. After I washed my hands, I noticed that my bra was wonky, so I leaned over and adjusted and re-situated everything, as one does when one is rocking the double-Ds. Unfortunately, in between actions one and two, I neglected to dry my hands. So now I have two big wet handprints on my boobs. Go me.
Wow. I am doing so much better this week than last.
I hate to say it, but I think I found myself again in Las Vegas. That's sort of...disappointing in a way. Aren't you supposed to find yourself in a Buddhist monastery or at the very least Europe? Why couldn't I have done this somewhere classier?!
So, anyway, yes. Very glad I went to Las Vegas.
Ever since I got back from San Francisco, I've been feeling fuzzy around the edges, like I didn't know who I was anymore or what I liked or wanted. And then, last week, with just boom-boom-boom tragedy/shitty things hitting, I was just broken. By the time I got on the plane I sort of didn't care if it crashed or not.
My trip started with a 3 hour layover in Charlotte. For reasons that shall forever remain mysterious, I decided to buy a sudoku book at the airport. Now, I've never played sudoku before...but now I'm hooked. Yes, no bandwagon is too old for ol' tortuga to get hooked on! But seriously, why have I never played this before? It's like spider solitare! But in paper form! Completely allows the "navel gazing" side of your brain to shut down while at the same time making you think.
Then I landed in Las Vegas and started gambling, another activity that shuts your brain down. That's not all I did...I also walked around a hell of a lot, went to Hoover Dam, and got an mani/pedi at the hotel spa. I also came back to my room when I was tired, showered and played more sudoku. Because that's exactly what I wanted to do. A lot of people of asked if I went out clubbing or saw shows, but I'm just not that type of person I guess. I did consider it, but realized that the only reason I was considering it was that it's sort of an expected thing to do. Well, fuck that.
I don't know how or why it happened, but by Sunday afternoon I felt whole again. And more...I don't want to say "selfish", but self-protecting. e.g. Usually when someone calls me, I try to return the call ASAP and freak out until I can return the call because I feel like I'm being rude. Same thing with that fucking scrabulous game on Facebook - I always feel so terrible if I 'hold the game up.' However, someone called me at around 2:30 Sunday and I was like, "You know what? I'm in the middle of Las Vegas trying to have fun. I'll call 'em back when I'm sitting around the airport - MAYBE and only if I get bored playing sudoku."
Well, now I'm back in the real world, and thus far, my bubble-wrap like cloak of self protection has been working. So yay.
Okay, first things first...everyone's alive. There's extensive property damage, but houses are still habitable and nothing living died. Also, given my dog's intense dislike of thunderstorms, it's probably good that she's dead because a tree fell on the car that she usually hid under and it she would have likely died of fright.
I hesitate to be melodramatic, but you know...damn. I'm starting to feel a little like Job here. I'm so very, very happy that I'm getting out of town tomorrow. Prior to last night it's because I didn't want to spend the weekend either (a) moping around my apartment or (b) up at my parents' house throwing myself on my dog's grave. But now that apparently there are no trees around the house...I just don't know what that's going to be like. There was a combo of 100+ year old maples and a ton of ornamentals that I've planted through the years. All gone.
There was one good thing to come out of this week...Barack Obama finally cinched the Democratic nomination. Read this summary from the Daily Kos that compares how he and Hillary have performed as Senators. I was excited about him before, but now I'm totally waving the Obama flag.
Okay. Leaving tomorrow hellishly early. Back Monday afternoon.
I just got off the phone with my mom. Apparently our farm just got hit by a tornado. They can't get a hold of my brother or sister-in-law. I'll keep you posted.
ETA 1 hour later: Just tried to call home. No answer on Mom's cell (which is what she called me on earlier.)
I realized today that I'm lonely, I hate my job and my dog died. OH MY GOD, Y'ALL, MY LIFE HAS BECOME A COUNTRY SONG! Clearly I need to get the Hell out of the South.
I have also realized that there are two types of people in the world: (1) those that offer a word of sympathy upon hearing about the death of a pet, and (2) those who don't even acknowledge the occurrence, even after being informed that said death has left one completely bereft and barely able to function.
I have no use for the latter in my life anymore.
