Sunday Stealing

STOLEN FROM THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY PENPALS

1. Would you rather be the guest or the host? Guest. I hate having people over.
 
2. What do you like to wear when you feel fancy? Layers. I feel if I'm wearing a jacket or cardigan over a t-shirt, I'm fancy.
 
3. How often do you try something completely new? Depends on the situation. I can be adventurous when ordering in restaurants. I am resistant to change when it comes to process at work.
 
4. Do you enjoy weddings? NO! Hate, loathe, despise, and abominate them. My art director is toying with moving in with her "boyfriend" (they're both near 60 years old, so "boyfriend" kinda creeps me out) and instead of being happy for her, I honestly thought, "I hope it doesn't work out so they don't get engaged and I don't have to go to the wedding." Why can't more people run away to Vegas?

Be like them

5. Have you ever had something customized? All the time. I love giving personalized gifts.
 
6. Do you cook spontaneously or meal plan? I kinda meal plan. For example, this coming week I think I'll be having salmon. Which means I took the salmon out of the freezer and moved it to the frig to defrost.
 
7. Books you like to read over and over. I'm on something of a Nora Ephron binge these days. I just reread (and rewatched) Heartburn, her roman-a-clef about the end of her marriage to Carl Bernstein.
 
8. What are you really good at? I'm good with critters. Cats, dogs and the occasional rabbit. Critters and me, we get along.
 
9. Do you sleep with windows open or a fan on? Right now, both. Which is funny, because it's 20º outside. But I live on the top floor, and heat rises through the floorboards so it can get hot in here. I wish air conditioning rose up through the floor like heat does. It would save me a fortune each summer. Alas, it does not.
       
10. What is the easiest recipe you know? Take keys. Add mask. Go to McDonald's.
 
11. Are you comfortable starting conversation with strangers? Depends on the situation. If it's work related, yes. If it's not, no.
 
12. Do you prefer quiet, or ambient noise when you relax? Ambient noise, please. I have tinnitus, so quiet makes me crazy.
 
13. Who is your most adventurous or exciting friend? Hmmm ... We're all pretty old, or staid, or broke these days.
 
14. What do you eat when you can’t decide what to eat? A bowl of cereal.
 
15. Do you have any funny pet stories? Here's Reynaldo's selfie. I think he showed great potential.

 

A most happy moment

I admit we're not this good looking

My nephew is now an apprentice writer for a baseball website. He will be a full-time staffer after he graduates from college this spring. When he told me about the job, he thanked me for being the one who introduced him to baseball. It was a big moment for me. 

I just found one of his first articles on line. It's about US. Him and me. OK, not really. The article entertained ways MLB could grow their fanbase among a new generation of fans, and my nephew's suggestion is that the league get more involved in intramural sports. He used himself as an example, recalling how, when he was 7, his aunt explained baseball stats to him and showed him how to follow the Cubs in the Sunday paper. Then this aunt took him to his first game was he was 10. Alas, there was no place for him to indulge his enthusiasm for the sport, since his community kept promoting soccer.* Perhaps if MLB threw more money and attention to children, it would reap great rewards in terms of interest, TV ratings, and ticket sales.

I am awesomely pleased. I am reminded of how, in 1964, my favorite uncle introduced 6-year-old me to the Beatles and gave me the soundtrack to my life. I feel like I have paid that forward. I also often wonder how, as a single and childless woman, my life has mattered. I realize I had a lasting impact without really intending to.

Two sentences out of a 300 word article. It's not a lot, but it's everything.

*Auntie's note: He wasn't really very good at it. Could it be he, like me, is not a natural athlete? Or maybe he just truly didn't care for the sport.