Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Treat You Better (2016)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here. 

This song was chosen because October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Please share this information about The National Domestic Violence Hotline. Let's spread the word that there's help out there.

1) In this song, a young man advises his neighbor to stop wasting her time with a guy who makes her cry. What is something you regret wasting time on? (It doesn't have to be a romance.) My Farmville 2 farm.

2) Much of this video takes place in a very sparely-decorated apartment. Because Shawn Mendes and the girl he’s singing to both appear young, it’s easy to assume they are both in their first apartments. Tell us about the first place you ever rented. A two-room studio. Fourth floor walk up. Spiral staircase with a beautiful varnished banister. Pretty as that staircase was, it was a nightmare to navigate with my laundry and groceries.

3) It's clear he can hear his neighbors' conversations and arguments through the walls. Are your neighbors quiet? Do you consider yourself a quiet neighbor? We're a pretty quiet group here. I don't hear my neighbors and they've never complained about me.

4) This song received a lot of attention and airplay because it was used in a Southwest Airline commercial. When you last visited an airport, were you traveling yourself or meeting someone? I was landing. Home from my Christmas in Key West.

O'Hare decorated for the holidays

5) This week's artist, Shawn Mendes, was a serious skateboarder during his high school years. Sam has never even set foot on a skateboard. How about you? I somehow manage to get banged up just walking up the street. I shudder to think of how I'd fare on a skateboard.

 
6) Shawn is happy eating cold cereal with milk for every meal -- breakfast, lunch and dinner. He prefers cereal with almonds in it. What about you? Do you have a favorite cereal? It changes. These days, I'm into raisins, so Kellogg's Raisin Bran is my cereal of choice.

7) He says he started eating cereal beyond breakfast because it's convenient, and it helps him avoid "junk food" when he's in a hurry. Do you often order your food "to go?"  Not often. Given the choice, I'd rather eat in the restaurant. Unless the dining area is really unappealing. My favorite thin-slice pizza place has terrific food, but the ambience is kind of hectic, so I'm always to-go from there.

8) In 2016, when this song was popular, a German shorthaired pointer named CJ won Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show. Is there a dog who holds a special place in your heart? Sweet Pea. She was a squat little black pup who lived on my street. Everyone loved her, because she loved everyone. If you called her name, she would strain at her leash as her little legs brought her to you as quickly as they could. She was old the whole time I knew her -- with a white muzzle and cloudy eyes on the day we met. The last time I saw her was nearly a year ago, and then she was deaf, too, and having a hard time walking. She felt vulnerable, so she was grumpy and snappish. (Wouldn't you be?) Though I still look for her, I suspect she's gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Rest in peace, Sweet Pea!

9) And this week, we're trying a random fill in the blank: I wish someone would create an app that _____________________________________. I'm sorry. I've given this a lot of thought and I've got nothing.

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