Sunday Stealing

The Wish List Meme, part two 

26.) If you had to order from a kid's menu, what would you get?  Grilled cheese

27.) Do you speak any other languages?  I tried to learn Spanish but I let myself get distracted. I must try again!

28.) Do you use Twitter? Yes, when watching NCIS or a Cub game. It's like being in a bar without having to actually deal with people.

29.) Do you go onto YouTube?  Yes, and I'm always fascinated by the crap that's up there. I mean, it never occurred to me that this clip would matter to anyone but me, but here it is. And it's gotten more than 100,000 views! (And before you click on it, beware. It is indeed crap; the epic teeny bopper pairing of Bobby Sherman and David Cassidy.)



30.) Do you play Angry Birds? Not as well as my nephew, which is humbling because he's 13.

31.) Do you like theme parties? No.

32.) Do you like current cartoons?  No.

33.) Have you ever cried because you were so happy?  No. (I feel bad with all these no's, like I'm not giving this meme my all.)

34.) Who would you like to see in concert? Recently I've seen the Three B's: A Beatle (Sir Paul), The Boss (Springsteen) and Babs (Streisand). And I'd love to see each, any and all again. As soon as possible, please.

35.) Can you swim well? Yes. I think I could do the backstroke forever.

36.) Ever won a contest? Yes. When I was in third grade I won an essay contest from our local newspaper and I used the money to buy a Madame Alexander doll (Jo from Little Women). It meant a great deal to me to find, as I recently went through my mother's belongings for the last time, that she hung onto it for all these years.

37.) Ever won a giveaway?  Yes

38.) Do you get a full 8 hours of sleep every night? Probably, though not uninterrupted.

39.) What tea do you like?  Cranberry pomegranate or cinnamon vanilla, please


40.) What mixed drink do you like? Vodka and ... (Once we've got the vodka, we really can't go wrong, can we?)

41.) Do you shop at Walmart? I'd prefer not to. Parents don't watch their kids and it makes me nervous. I'm always terrified that the little boy or girl who races past me unattended will be on Nancy Grace next week. (This impulse to monitor all children everywhere is why my best friend maintains I must be part border collie.)

42.) Do you shop at Target? I recently started because now there's a "City Target" near my office. Geez, they really do carry everything, don't they? And the "City Target" supposedly has a "limited"
selection!

43.) What do you order at your local coffee shop? My local coffee shop is Starbuck's: Tall hot chocolate, no whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon.

44.)  Do you drink bottled or tap water? Tap. I want my old teeth to get as much fluoride as possible.

45.) Do you like homemade meals?  Not if I have to cook them.

46.) Do you like homemade baked goods?  Not if I have to bake them.

47.) Do you shop online?  Yes, indeedy!

48.) Name 3 stores online stores you would like to shop at:  Drugstore.com, Amazon and Ebay

49.) What holiday don't you like? They have each been a challenge since my mother died last fall. I'm sure I'll enjoy them all again. It's just hard now.

50.) What do you eat more when you're sick? Gooey cheesey stuff. Like mac and cheese.

It's a good day

My new air conditioner is humming -- and quietly! Thank you, Kenmore. The delivery went almost smoothly. I wasn't crazy about all the whining on the part of Bob, the installer, because he couldn't find a place to park his truck. Um, Bob? That's a YP, not a MP. After yesterday's screw up, I wasn't in a mood to be especially helpful. All I said was, "I can't help that." This cannot be the first condo in a congested area that he's installed in. And he worked it out somehow. Once Bob got up here to do his work, all was well. I was a little disappointed to learn that, to his knowledge, my old unit will be scrapped. It did still work, and at the Sears store they implied it would be recycled. Maybe it's too old, and there aren't any parts that can be used. I comfort my conscience with the words of Snarky Pants and Bud, who assure me that at least this new unit will burn less energy over the long haul.

Then I tried a new restaurant (at least new to me) here in town for breakfast. Brunch, I guess, since I got there at 11:00. I was able to eat outside, because the day was so nice and sunny. I had a bacon/egg flatbread and their "brunch punch" (mango vodka, champagne and pineapple juice). This was the first time I had a drink with my breakfast since Key West. I said a silent toast to my friends down there -- especially Ted, who is battling a brain tumor. It seemed like a fitting way to remember them in prayer, as I was doing just what we'd be doing if we were together.

I feel bad because I'm about to abandon the book I read over breakfast, Anne Frank's Family. I want to like it, I do! I think it's neat that Anne's paternal grandmother was as good and dedicated a writer as Anne. But I don't care about Anne's great-grandparents. They never knew her, barely knew her father Otto, and they seem very distant and snobby, anyway. Oh well, maybe I'll just skip those parts. It's important to remember that, in addition to their father, Anne and Margot left cousins and a grandmother who loved them, and that for them, Anne's story is more than a chronicle of long-ago horror. It was real and intimate.

Then I came home and watched the Cub game. Yes, they lost. And OK, it was a heartbreaker. But you know what? Those are the exciting games. I'd have preferred a win, of course, but it's a long season and we will win our share!

I'm worried about my oldest friend and my best friend. They each seem to have hit a rough patch. But I prefer not to write about that just now. Maybe later.

They're still people, People!

I'm watching Cubs manager Da1e Sveum try to explain the inexplicable -- which is how, by giving up just one hit, the team blew a 4-2 lead and still lost 6-4. Dale looks so weary.

And why wouldn't he? Today was the first really nice Saturday of the season. It was Cubs Derby Hat Giveaway Day. There were more than 35,000 fans within the Friendly Confines. It began well and then, in the time it takes to walk four batters and hit another, a win turned into yet another loss.

I'm sad for everyone involved. Baseball is supposed to be fun, but it can't be fun for reliever Carlos Marmol to hear 35,000 of the most faithful fans in baseball boo. It can't be fun for Alfonso Soriano watch his best day at the plate so far this year go for naught. It can't be fun for Jeff Samardzija to pitch six solid innings and then end up not even being the pitcher of record. And it can't be fun in the clubhouse when Soriano and Samardzija come face-to-face with Marmol.

A lot is made of how Cub fans "suffer." I watched an exciting game today. I didn't "suffer." I think my heroes in Cubbie Blue are the ones suffering. That's why I never boo. (Well, not since the Cubs unloaded Zambrano.)

Blog Every Day in May -- Day Four

Day 4, Saturday: Favorite quote (from a person, from a book, etc) and why you love it

"What man has done, man can do."

It could be a Chinese proverb or a quote by an American Colonist or maybe some Russian.  Whatever. I still think it's very wise. I try to remember it when I feel myself becoming daunted.