Something Different
1. What is a normal thing that took you an embarrassingly long time to learn? Measurements. In fact, I still don't know them. Ounces to a lb.? Hell if I know.
2. In what ways are you old-fashioned? My manners. I always say, "please" and "thank you." I've been known to say, "excuse me" when I bump into inanimate objects.
3. What is the best sandwich you've ever eaten? Where did you get it? What made it so delicious? The chicken salad croissant at my local coffee shop. It's so juicy, yet you don't taste the mayo. Just chicken and buttery croissant. Sigh.
4. What are you currently not bragging about that you should totally brag about? The Big Project. It's going smoothly this quarter. It's not a sexy project -- it's massive and detail oriented -- but the billing keeps the lights on. And it's my show.
5. What food have you never tasted and are most interested in trying? Nothing comes to mind.
6. What history facts were you surprised to learn because it was never covered in school? We never, ever discussed the internment camps here during WWII. I was so shocked and disappointed when I finally heard about them. I was in my 20s, and it was a PBS special. FDR did that? We did that?
7. What is something that you waited entirely too long to start or stop doing? What made you say "Why did I wait so long?" Fixing the hole in the living room wall. I mean, really! There was a hole in the living room wall! But I was intimidated by the process -- interviewing and choosing a contractor, the expense -- so I put it off longer than I should have. The contractors were uniformly nice, the expense wasn't that great, and I'm happy now when I put my key in the lock, open the door, and am not greeted by a fucking hole in my wall.
8. What socially expected thing do you hate doing the most? What thing about polite society really grinds your gears? Weddings. Hearing about wedding plans. Dressing up for the wedding. Making dumb small talk with strangers at the reception. Then ooh-ing and ahh-ing about the wedding pictures. Dear Brides and Grooms, for just $200, you can get married at The Graceland Wedding Chapel on the Vegas Strip. "Elvis" will walk the bride down the aisle and sing two songs. If you run off like that, you'll save me the expense and agony of attending your wedding. And you'll have some pretty awesome wedding pictures.
9. What is something about your city that I should know if I'm going to
visit? What is the hidden "must see" that you always tell friends and
visitors to not miss. Well, if it's summertime, you have to visit Wrigley Field, baseball's most beautiful and legendary park. (Let's face it, people who don't enjoy baseball at Wrigley Field hate America.) The hidden gem would be The Cultural Center. There's always a free art exhibit or two going on and besides, the building itself is fantabulous. 120 years ago, it was the public library and it's a landmark representation of public buildings of that period. It's a treat just to go in and look up at the Tiffany glass dome. It's free, it's open almost every workday. Go!
10. What do you miss most about childhood? My uncle and my grandpa. They always brought such fun.
11. What "fact" did you learn in school that is not true or no longer true? Nothing springs to mind. Sorry.
12. What's your favorite piece of useless trivia? Billy Whiskers: Autobiography of a Goat is the first book John F. Kennedy ever read by himself. His mother estimates he was 4 years old. His original copy is on display at his birthplace in Brookline, MA.
13. What's your best go to homemade "lazy" meal Slap a piece of salmon on the George Foreman grill, toss a salad, grab the water bottle
14. What's the title of this current chapter in your life? "While Waiting for the Next Chapter to Begin"
15. What is a habit or practice that you learned from your childhood
that you didn't realize was "weird" until you were an adult? Well, it didn't take me to adulthood to learn otherwise, BUT my mother had me convinced "ain't" was a swear word.
These are the thoughts and observations of me — a woman of a certain age. (Oh, my, God, I'm 65!) I'm single. I'm successful enough (independent, self supporting). I live just outside Chicago, the best city in the world. I'm an aunt and a friend. I feel that voices like mine are rather underrepresented online or in print. So here I am. If my musings resonate with you, please visit my blog again sometime.
It's nice to see so many of us hang on to manners. I fear the day is coming when they are totally gone. I hope I'm gone before that happens.
ReplyDeleteOh, how I wish my daughter and her fiance would have eloped. Somedays I'm not sure if I'm going to survive until the wedding next month...the angst, the drama, the all-consumingness of it all. Sigh.
Your mom was a pretty smart cookie!
I had to laugh at the hole in your wall. We had one of those for YEARS until the dog sitter fixed it. We won't talk about the giant hole in the kitchen ceiling where a ceiling light should go. It has been there at least 5 years and I cook in semi darkness. My husband is not a "fixer." He also doesn't like to hire someone else to fix anything.
ReplyDelete#8 sounds like a memorable and good time!
ReplyDeleteLol on 2. And, Oh ya. #6. We did that. But only to all the Japanese farmers in California and the west coast. Japanese friends in Hawaii were not interred as they were needed to plant and pick crops, one explained. Germans, including my grandpa's family, on the East Coast weren't interred. It was a land grab. These people were American citizens, some of them, and hard working. Oh Lord, that was another rant!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Colorado with a child of parents who'd been interned. I didn't 'get' the whole ethical/political thing at all till I was older, but I totes knew about it fairly young.
ReplyDeleteWeddings are great. All the stupid foofaraw around them is absolutely AWFUL!!
And let's not even talk about all the forbidden words in my childhood...smh parents are so dumb sometimes.
It is hard to beat a good chicken salad sandwich. And yet they are so hard to find.
ReplyDelete