Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. YOU HAVE 10 BUCKS AND NEED TO BUY SNACKS AT A GAS STATION. WHAT DO YOU GET? Chips and the biggest Coke they've got.

2. IF YOU WERE REINCARNATED AS SOME SORT OF SEA DWELLING CREATURE, WHAT WOULD YOU BE? Seahorse.


3. WHO'S YOUR FAVORITE REDHEAD? She who stomps grapes.

4. WHAT DO YOU ORDER WHEN YOU'RE AT A DINER? A burger sounds good, doesn't it?

5. LAST BOOK YOU READ? I finished Till the End of Tom by Gillian Roberts. It was OK. Liked the characters and the setting but there's something disappointing about a mystery when you don't much care whodunnit.

6. DESCRIBE YOUR FAVORITE PAIR OF UNDERWEAR? Well, a picture is worth 1000 words.

 

7. DESCRIBE THE LAST TIME YOU WERE INJURED. In spring 2015, I twisted my ankle while running to catch the bus.

8. ROCK CONCERT OR SYMPHONY? LAST SEEN? I saw Sir Paul at Lolla couple summers ago.

9. IF SOMEONE WERE TO BUY YOU A GIFT, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE IT TO BE? Airline tickets. I'd love to take my nephew Washington DC.
 

10. WHAT TYPE OF SHIRT DO YOU BEST IN? This one goes with everything I own.

11. IF YOU COULD USE ONLY ONE FORM OF TRANSPORTATION FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Train. I like trains.

12. WHAT IS YOUR DEADLY SIN? None has killed me yet.

13. MOST RECENT MOVIE YOU'VE WATCHED IN A THEATER? RATE IT. The last movie I saw in a theater wasn't new. It was a special 55th anniversary showing of Breakfast at Tiffany's. I loved it. 
 
14. IF YOU COULD INVENT ONE THING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Something like the Jetsons' Rosie.

15. NAME AN ACTOR/ACTRESS YOU'VE HAD THE HOTS FOR? Bruce Willis. I wish he worked more. I miss his smirk.
 
16. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE CITY? LAST TIME THERE? Chicago. Friday.
 
17. WHAT'S THE FIRST WORD THAT COMES TO MIND RIGHT NOW? "Itch." My skin is very dry.
 
18. WHAT TYPE OF PET DO YOU HAVE? Feline.
 
19. WHERE HAVE YOU LIVED THE LONGEST? My previous apartment.

20. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON THAT SPENT $100 ON YOU? Probably my friend John for my birthday.
 
21. WHAT'S THE LAST PIECE OF CLOTHING YOU BOUGHT? A lilac cardigan with black trim.

22. WHAT WAS/IS YOUR FAVORITE JOB?  I worked in new product development for a haircare company. That was a lot of fun, and I won a Clio.
 

23. WHO MAKES YOU LAUGH THE MOST? 

 
24. WHAT ARE YOU CRAVING? More Coke.

25. WHAT'S ON YOUR MIND? Elvis. (That phrase is a song cue if ever I heard one.)

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Take My Breath Away

1) When were you last breathless? Friday. Hustling up the stairs to the el. It's two flights and I'm an old broad.

2) This is the love theme from Top Gun, and the romance was between a pilot and his instructor. Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? Oh, yes. One of my high school English teachers. He was Jewish, which was very exotic in my white-bread community. And he had very long, curly hair, which made him indescribably sexy.

3) The pilots in Top Gun all had cool nicknames -- including Maverick, Goose, Merlin, Cougar and Stinger. Give yourself a cool pilot name. Go To Gal. I get things done!

4) The actress who played the instructor, Kelly McGillis, owns Kelly's Caribbean Bar/Grill and Brewery in Key West. It's known for its cheese and beer dip appetizer, served with warm pretzels. What's one of your favorite between meal snacks? Lately it's been crackers. Either Club (if I want salty) or graham (if I want sweet).

5) The group who recorded this week's song is called Berlin, but they're really from Southern California. Have you ever been to Berlin? How about Southern California? I've been to both, having spent time in both Beverly Hills and Berlin, WI. (And trust me, you can't find two more different towns.)
 
6) Lead singer Terri Nunn has a weekly radio show, Unbound on KCSN. How often do you listen to the radio? Do you tune in for music, comedy, news or talk? I love my shower radio. I listen to the oldies and play their morning trivia game while drying my hair.

7) In 1986, when this song was popular, PeeWee's Playhouse premiered. While ostensibly for children, PeeWee Herman's show had many, many adult viewers. Do you watch still watch any kid's shows? Nope.

8) Robert Pattinson, the actor who played Edward the vampire in the Twilight series, was born in 1986. Have you read the Twilight books? Seen the movies? Nope.

9)  Random question: In an alternate universe, which of these professions would you like to find yourself in -- United States senator, Ivy League professor, or imminent psychiatrist? I'd be honored to be in the world's greatest deliberative body, the United States Senate.

 

On the house!

One of my favorite things to do has always been to celebrate the weekend with a coffee shop breakfast while reading my book. This morning I decided to get into the swing of the holidays by ordering something distinctly seasonal -- pumpkin pancakes topped with cream cheese, a side of bacon, and a glass of OJ.

Before my breakfast came, the hostess came over to me and asked me what I ordered. Because another patron had asked her if she could pick up the bill for "a restaurant regular" as a Christmas present.

Huh? What? This has never happened to me before.

I turned around and a woman at the cash register waved sheepishly at me. I waves and started to get up but she shook her head. Then, as she walked out of the restaurant and passed my window, she mouthed, "Merry Christmas."

And here I had been happy to get a table near the Christmas tree! I never dreamed my meal would be comped.

When I left the restaurant, I asked the hostess to be sure, next time she sees that woman, to tell her that I intended to take a little of the money she saved me and use it to buy something for the food pantry donation box at Trader Joe's.*

"Ah!" the hostess said happily, "I knew I picked the right patron!"

Don't you just love Christmastime?

*And I did. Instead of one box of mac 'n' cheese mix, I donated two.

That was humbling

I'm riding the el home the other night, my nose buried in a book. A man across the aisle keeps saying, "Miss! Miss!" but I don't look up because I assume he's on his phone. (I assume everyone is on the phone.)

Then a hand waves across my line of sight and I look up and a homeless man has been trying to capture my attention.

"Miss, do you have a Kleenex?"

I dug through my purse and produced one of these pocket packs, which had cost me 20¢. He started to take a tissue out and I told him to just keep it.

"The whole thing? Thank you!"

It made me sad to think how much this meant to him, and it humbled me to help him.

My new tradition

In years gone by, I've gone to the local grocery store and plucked "ornaments" off the "giving tree." Each ornament detailed the Christmas wish of a kid who lives below poverty level and attends daycare at the children's home next door. But I'm not doing it this year.

A restaurant is having an event for those kids, so is a quasi Starbucks: Bring in an unwrapped toy and get a discount. Add that to the grocery store giving tree, and I don't worry so much about those kids feeling forgotten.

So instead this year, I've dropped gifts into the Toys for Tots bin at Walgreens. Hopefully they will find their way to a child who would otherwise be forgotten. I hate thinking that anyone stops believing in Santa, just because their parents or guardians hit hard times.

I would have loved Spy Barbie

The joy of the end of the line

Every year the CTA has a holiday train. There's car a decorated for the holidays and The Big Guy himself follows along. It's a cheery tradition.

While I didn't have occasion to ride it this year, I did see it a couple times because I live along the tracks. It lifted my spirits every time.

Happy Birthday to me, part 5

I love this movie. Yes, underneath all her charm and glamour, Holly Golightly is a hooker. And I suppose it's not a stretch in the slightest to call Paul ("Fred") a whore, too. And yet ... and yet ... I love almost every moment* of this movie. So I was very happy last Sunday when I got to see a restored print of Breakfast at Tiffany's on the big screen. It was part of my day long birthday celebration with Kathy.

Also part of the gift: dinner at Maggiano's and a trip to the biggest local mall to finish my Christmas shopping.

It was an all-day affair -- 10 hours! -- which is an awful lot of Kathy. But the older I get, the more I appreciate how hard she's willing to work to keep our friendship in tact. I treasure that.

*Not Mickey Rooney's over-the-top and racially insensitive supporting part, though.