April 25, 2006

Next time won't you sing with me

ABC meme

I would link to the dozens of blogs I’ve seen this on, but I don’t have the energy to trace this one to its origin. That is the cool thing about memes, I guess. Someone writes them originally, but eventually, they take on a life on their own.

Accent: Yes, I have a Snowstorm Region accent. When I travel, people are always asking me to repeat myself.

Booze: Southern Comfort. Or Scotch. But I have not had a drink in over twenty years. Unless you count all the virtual ones over at Pilgrim’s bar.

Chore I Hate: Laundry. Because it never gets done. Unless you make everyone in the household get naked and stay naked until all the laundry is put away, there is always more. I especially hate trying to sort out all the white stuff – white socks in six different sizes and none of them ever match. I never minded washing diapers actually, because that at least that was a whole load of stuff that did not need to be sorted. All the items were exactly the same. Anyhow, I hate this chore so I never choose it. Spouse does the laundry.

Dog or Cat: Cat. I like dogs but I don’t respect them. They obey humans, a dreadfully stupid trait. Cats, on the other hand, are independent. They obey no one. And if they don’t like something, they hiss and let you know it.

Essential Electronics: None are essential. When I go camping in the summer, I realize this.

Favorite Cologne: I hate most colognes and perfumes. Strong ones, like the Chanel perfumes, actually make me feel kind of sick. When I was a little kid, we would sometimes sit in church behind these older women who would wear strong perfume and I would sometimes end up fainting. I do use essential oils for reiki – these are pure extracts from such things as lavender or ginger – and I love those scents.

Gold or Silver: Gold. The colour of leaves in the fall.

Hometown: Traintrack Village, just outside Snowstorm City. Yes, I live just a few miles from the house I grew up in. My parents live there still.

Insomnia: Rarely. Unless I end up drinking caffeine by mistake.

Job Title: Mom. Well, that’s my main job. I also have this college professor gig on the side.

Kids: Four. Plus a whole bunch of extras.

Living arrangements: I live with my husband and kids and seven cats in a house on a deadend street in a rural area just outside Traintrack Village.

Most admirable traits: Smart, self-confident, persistent.

Number of sexual partners: One

Overnight hospital stays: None. Well, not when I was a patient. I have spent nights in the hospital sitting in a chair next to someone else who was sick or dying. My grandmother. My aunt. An elderly neighbor. My husband when he had a kidney stone.

Phobias: None, I guess. I mean, phobias are irrational fears, and my fears are completely rational. I am afraid of heights, for instance, but that makes sense. People get hurt when they fall from heights! The funny thing is that I have no fear of heights when I hike in the northeast because I am comforted when I look down from a cliff and see the tops of trees. I am scared to death of heights when I am in the southwest because there are no trees. My fear of heights has not prevented me from doing cool things like rock climbing. I am fine jumping off a cliff as long as I have a rope.

Quote: "Naturally the common people don't want war . . . But, after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or parliament or a communist dictatorship. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country.” -Hermann Goering, (1893-1946) Nazi Reichsmarschall, at the Nuremberg Trials, 4/18/46. From *Nuremberg Diary* by Gustave Gilbert

Religion: Grew up Roman Catholic. Am still sorting out what I am now. If you’ve read Kathleen Norris or Sue Monk Kidd, you might have some idea about my spiritual leanings.

Siblings: Three sisters and one brother.

Time I wake up: 6 am. Or sometimes earlier. Even on weekends.

Unusual talent or skill: I can wash my hair with just one bucket of water. (This skill was taught to me by Blonde Sister, who perfected the technique over many years of camping.)

Vegetable I love: Broccoli. Cooked in garlic sauce and served over rice.

Worst habit: Picking fights over trivial things and avoiding what is really bothering me.

X-rays: Of my teeth! When I was a kid and went to the orthodontist. But then in my later years, I can remember that I was always turning down x-rays because it seems like I was always pregnant.

Yummy foods I make: Lentil stew. Vegetable soup. Vegan chocolate cake.

Zodiac sign: Taurus. People who know stuff about astrology always guess right away that I am a Taurus. Something about me being stubborn and bull-headed.

19 comments:

comebacknikki said...

Sue Monk Kidd? Very interesting - I actually met her a few weeks ago.

Have you read _The Secret Life of Bees_?

Jessica said...

Everytime I think of Southern Comfort, I think of Janis Joplin.

Love, love, love what you said about cats/dogs - I adore both but you hit the nail on the head!

Pilgrim/Heretic said...

That is the best. quote. ever.

And I just read SMK for the first time... very cool! and coincidentally found out that she's an alumna of my university.

jo(e) said...

Comebacknikki: Yes, I liked both The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair, but the book I was thinking of was Dance of the Dissident Daughter, which is about her spiritual journey.

Mona Buonanotte said...

jo(e)! Is that quote for real? Shouldn't we be showing national newspapers and tv this thing? Or am I just feeling too liberal?

If you ever do drink, I'll have some scotch with ya. My dad thinks it tastes like old socks, but my tongue appreciates the stuff.

jo(e) said...

Mona: Yes, according to historians (and Snopes, the quote is real.

I think it's a fairly famous quote -- well, at least to those who hang out with peace activists.

Sad to say, I've sworn off Scotch for life. But I can get pretty intoxicated on ginger ale, so I am still fun to party with.

landismom said...

That is a great quote, for sure.

"...my fears are completely rational." So true!

Anonymous said...

There's a six o'clock in the morning, too? No one told me that.

Yankee, Transferred said...

I've been away for a week or so, so I'm just catching up. The poem you wrote about your father-in-laws funeral day is so, so beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Yeah! I'm glad you are a cat person. Have you read the Cat diary? Here's the link. It's hilarious. http://www.loadsofjokes.com/jokes/5.html

Leslee said...

Cool meme! I might try it here in a few days.

Coffee-Drinking Woman said...

What a fun meme!

Jennifer (ponderosa) said...

I am a Taurus, too.

You didn't give birth in a hospital? Have you written about that before?

zelda1 said...

I saw you with a lot of cats and dogs. Hmmm, I suppose they go with kids. Mine, my kids that is, had a cat and a dog, then as they grew up, they brought in more strays, more kittens, until at one time, I have four adult cats, and seven kittens. It took me months to find good homes for them. Yes, I took applications and did background checks. In the end, we had two cats, one dog, two kids, and many many extra kids that came and went even after my children moved away from home.

jo(e) said...

Jennifer: When I gave birth, I went to a midwife instead of a doctor, and to an alternative birthing center that looked much like a bed and breakfast place, with homey rooms and such. I blogged about one of the births here: Birth Meme: Spring time baby.

Friday Mom: I never announce my birthday on my blog -- part of being pseudonymous.

jo(e) said...

Anastasia: Well, I do wear clothes from L.L. Bean so I guess I look sort of like I am from Maine ...

ccw said...

Loved reading this! Your reasoning about cats and dogs is exactly why I prefer my cats over the dog.

Anonymous said...

How it is possible to have 4+ kids and no alcohol is beyond me!

I liked reading this.

Elliot said...

Good meme. And, what a Quote. I'm tucking it under my arm and darting away with it to show to my friends!

The way I look at the dog/cat thing is that dogs are grateful and cats are not. Sure, you get the occasional rub from a kitty, but I have friends whose cats never even show up except for dinner, and from my experience, that rub means "Hey, pal, get to pettin'." But, I'll have to say, all kittens are cool to play with and Siamese cats are very striking to me, and never fail to make me stare.