September Quiz -- Day 19

Day 19: OMG!

Oh, my God, I'm interested in numbers! And I hate math more than I hate nuclear war.

Right now the two numbers obsessing me are 5 and 0.5.

5 = Five straight wins, and against the two teams the Cubs need most to beat: The Pirates and the Cards.

0.5 = Games we are behind the Pirates. This is important because it's becoming rather obvious that the Cubs and the Pirates are going to meet for a one-game wildcard playoff ... and the team with the best record gets home field advantage. Naturally, I want that all-important game to happen here:

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Saturday 9

Time for Me to Fly (1978)

1) How often have you flown so far this year? Once, ORD to LAX and back again

2) Think back to your last flight. Was it pleasant, stressful, or just uneventful? I hated it. I hate flying.

3) According to the Airports Council International, the world’s busiest airport is Atlanta's Hartsfield. Have you ever been to Atlanta? Yes. There's a beautiful spa/vineyard there called Chateau Elan. I wish I was there now.

4) This week’s featured band, REO Speedwagon, took their name from a truck. Have you ever driven a truck? No.

5) REO Speedwagon got their start in Champaign, Illinois, which is home to the U of I campus and, consequently, many bars. One of the most popular is the Blind Pig on Walnut Street. Give us the name of the bar, club or restaurant where you met up with friends in your younger days. We partied at Ziggy's, a dive with an elephant motif. The owner/bartender's name was Frank, but he rechristened himself Ziggy in honor of a zoo elephant who suddenly, after decades of being placid, turned on his keeper. Ziggy reminded us young revelers that, while he was usually a nice guy, he too could get rough if the spirit moved him. I remember spending Friday nights at the bar, drinking Yago out of a plastic cup. The height of sophistication!

6) Recently, lead singer Kevin Cronin appeared on an infomercial, hawking TimeLife’s two CD set of Ultimate Rock Ballads. Have you ever purchased anything from TV? Endless Summer by The Beach Boys

7) This song is from the CD, You Can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tunafish. Is there a can of tuna in your kitchen right now? Yes

8) You Can Tuna Piano, but You Can’t Tunafish is available on eBay on vinyl, CD, cassette and 8 track. Did you have an 8 track player? My dad thought they were the wave of the future, so I got the player and a few 8 tracks for Christmas. I preferred by vinyl, though.

9) In 1978, when this song was popular, the first Susan B. Anthony Dollar was minted. How much do you have in coins in your wallet right now? That would entail getting up and looking, and I'm sorry but that just isn't going to happen.

September Quiz -- Days 16, 17 and 18

Day 16: The last party I went to was thrown by:

I don't recall. I truly can't think of the last party I attended.

Day 17: What went perfectly about my day?

That would, of course, be my Cubs! My heroes in blue are enjoying a late-season surge, and it's given me playoff fever.

Day 18: How old do I feel?

Right now, at this moment, I feel like a woman in her 50s. (Which I am.)

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WWW.WEDNESDAY

This meme is no more. And yet I persist in answering the three questions it asked each week. Stubborn, ain't I?

1. What are you currently reading? Kill & Tell by Linda Howard. From Publisher's Weekly, "Bestselling author Howard meshes hot sex, emotional impact and gripping tension in this perfect example of what romantic suspense ought to be." I just started it last night and am on page 11, so it's not right for me to say if this is true or not. But I'm up for some mind candy, so let's hope Kill & Tell lives up to the review.

2. What did you just finish reading? Calico Joe by John Grisham. A lovely little book about courage, integrity, filial bonds, and baseball. Lots of baseball. You don't have to love the Cubs like I do to enjoy this book. On the other hand, everyone should love the Cubs like I do.

3. What will you read next? I'm looking at some Agatha Christies.

Ssptember Quiz -- Day 15

The last thing I said to another person was... 


"Thank you" to the conductor who punched my train ticket.


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He's so good it makes me sad

Christopher Reeve is indelibly etched into our national consciousness, first as Superman, and then as America's most inspirational disabled citizen. Those images are so powerful that it's easy to forget he had a career in between.

Right now I'm watching him in Death Trap, a lightweight murder mystery starring Michael Caine. Christopher Reeve is the best thing in it. Playing a character who couldn't be farther from the Man of Steel, he's savvy and graceful and perverse. It was a daring career choice for the man who personified "truth, justice and the American Way."



He so obviously loved acting. I wish he'd had the opportunity to do more. It's aching to think of how his life unfolded and ended.

With all due apologies to the Eagles ...

... I've got an unpeaceful, uneasy feeling.

Christine the Mole was warm and friendly today. (So unlike her.) Our department head, Mr. Big, was all anticipatory glee when he asked when my boss would be back from vacation. (Tomorrow.) And Katie, our team member who works remotely on site with our client downstate is suddenly coming up here "for a day or two." (Usually her trips are planned out in advance and have a definite agenda.)

Uh oh.

I fear that tomorrow it will become official and Christine the Mole will replace Long Tall Sally.

This is not good. She's petty. She's negative. She's political. And she's always so mired in the small stuff that she doesn't see the big picture, and we desperately need a big picture thinker.

Let's all fervently hope that I'm 100%, completely wrong on this.

I wish the Cubs were playing tonight. I need the distraction!

Who knew?

Because this weekend featured my favorite, FAVORITE weather -- 65º and sunny -- I was going to take Reynaldo to the park. He likes the park, likes watching the plants and squirrels and people from the vantage point of his carrier. (I never let him out because there are always dogs there, too.) Being alert like that chills him out somewhat and helps alleviate the inevitable evening mano-a-feline conflicts.

But Sunday we did not enjoy our little adventure, as planned. When I did a little test run through the park, I discovered a festival going on. Chicagoland's Pagan community was having their annual event. There were incense and crystals, psychic readings, dissertations on prejudice and religious beliefs and a willingness to answer questions about their way of life. They were also doing a wonderful job of collecting canned good for local food pantries -- a cause that's near and dear to my heart.


I am very proud of the fact that they felt welcome in my hometown. We don't have a state religion in this country, and I'm old-school patriotic about that wise and brave stance.* I'm also secure in my Christianity and, while I'm humbled by and grateful for the guidance and comfort my faith reliably provides, I'm not threatened by those who don't worship as I do.

I was surprised that there was such a flourishing pagan community here in Chicagoland. Who knew?

*Especially when watching the burlesque that's going on with that Kentucky county clerk, who exhibits no respect for the heritage of the separation between Church and State.

September Challenge -- Days 12, 13 and 14

Day 12: The computer I use most is:

My MacBook Pro. It's more than 7 years old now and I worry that one day it's just going to go kaput on me. :( It's filthy because Joey loves to rub up against it. I can see fur under the keys and just know the slot for DVDs/CDs must be full of it. Yet he's 20, and I don't have the heart to refuse him anything his feline heart desires. So if he wants to cuddle on the warmth of this computer ...

Day 13: How did you spend your free time today?

Cubs baseball through my headphones as I walked to the other side of town. I got a pair of expensive but environmentally solid lightbulbs (because they last so long, I always forget how they cost -- almost $20 for 2!) at the hardware store and then stopped at the ice cream store for a scoop of cinnamon. The stores on this path tend to be mom and pops (though Starbucks and Subway are still represented) and I always enjoy the vibe. I should head over there more often.

Day 14: Were you stressed today? Why?


My day has barely started and I'm already stressed.  The Big Project and Christine the Mole. Sigh.

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Sunday Stealing

Click here to play along

Can you ever get enough of mac ‘n’ cheese?
 Yes. A little goes a long way with me.

Are you allergic to nuts or diary products?
 No.

Do you think age matters in relationships? Yes, but less and less so if babies aren't part of the equation.

Has anyone ever called the cops on you? No

Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? No

What’s the connection between the last person you texted? We've been friends forever

Are you in a good mood? Sure. I usually am.

Excited for anything? 
The Cubs are leading 1-0 in the bottom of the 5th, so I'm excited for a sweep of the Phillies. (Yea!)

Do you have a hard time controlling your emotions? Good goobies, yes. Controlling and concealing them.

Do you like your height? Not especially. I'm barely 5'2 now and I'm told we shrink with age, which means I may someday be shorter than the average second grader. However, there's nothing I can do about it.

How long have you lived in your current home? 14 years.

Could you go a week without brushing your teeth? EWWW! No!

Have you ever given any amount of money to the homeless? I always carry change in my pocket for this very purpose.

Own anything from Bath & Body Works? I have but do not currently.

Have you ever had your nails so long that they curved down at the ends?
 EWWW! No!

Have you ever swallowed a bunch of salt water by accident? Yes.

Does it take you over an hour to go to sleep sometimes? Yes, but not recently.

When you get home from school/work do you change into your pjs right away? Oh, I love to do this. Feels very decadent and luxurious.

Have you ever stayed up all night and the whole next day without any sleep? Yes, but not recently.

Make it one for my baby ...

Has anyone ever told you that you have pretty feet? Yes.

What is the temperature currently in the town you live in? 60s.

 Do you ever actually drink milk alone? Yes. Why, is drinking  alone a sign of a milk problem? Should I limit myself to only drinking milk socially? 

She defines sui generis

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: That's All (1983)

1) In the lyrics, Phil Collins sings of a time he was wrong when he thought he was right. Tell us about a recent time when you got it wrong. I thought I'd lost my very favorite sunglasses. I love those sunglasses so much I never wear them, for fear I'll lose them. Then I decided that was silly, that there's no point to having them if I never wear them. So I wore them one day and then couldn't find them the next day. It's pathetic how I first searched for, then mourned, those glasses. AND THEN I FOUND THEM IN MY SUNGLASSES DRAWER! YEA! I was wrong. I hadn't lost them at all! I simply put them away.
 
2) The song is addressed to a lover that Phil clearly feels is contrary. When he says, "day," she says, "night." Is there anyone in your life who seems to disagree with you all or most of the time? Ugh. Christine the Mole. She is part of my ongoing problem at work. She's so negative about everything that comes out of my mouth that, when she heard me mention that I'd found my beloved sunglasses, she sneered, "And it's cloudy today."

 
3) This was Genesis' first Top 10 hit in the US. Can you name another Phil Collins or Genesis song? "Against All Odds." I love that song because it reminds me of this scene from the movie of the same name. Sigh. It may be hard for you young folk to believe, but Jeff Bridges was once soooo hot.


4) Phil Collins is a model train enthusiast. Is there anything special that you collect? Books. Especially hardcovers about the 1960s.

  5) Collins was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. At the ceremony, he delivered the commencement address. When did you last give a presentation or deliver a speech? It's been a while. Which is too bad. When I do a presentation and do well, it's a great lift to my spirit and confidence.

 
6) One of Phil Collins' early solo albums was called, Hello, I Must Be Going. He took the title from a song in the 1930 Marx Bros. movie, Animal Crackers. What's the last black and white movie or TV show that you watched? I watch a lot of b&w. Just the other night I saw a cool episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents starring a very, very young Robert Redford.

 
7) In 1983, when this song was popular, the Lotus 1-2-3 program made it easier for PC users to build spreadsheets. Are you answering these questions on a PC or a Mac? Laptop or desktop? Tablet or phone? MacBook Pro

  8) 1983 is also the year when McDonald's introduced McNuggets. What's your favorite chicken recipe (assuming it's not McNuggets)? Nothing fancy. Just  breaded. (I'm a simple gal with simple tastes.)
 

9) In 1983, President Reagan signed the bill making Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday a holiday. What's your favorite holiday? Oh, Christmas! (Unless I can get away with calling my birthday a holiday.)

AARGH!

This is how I feel at work every day.

As part of the Big Project, I have generated a ton of copy. Letters, brochures, web content ... And it feels as though every piece brings an argument. Not from the client, from my internal team. Who question everything.

No, not stuff that needs questioning. That would be welcome.

But, "You say, 'visit our website' here and 'go to our website' there. Make them the same." And other similar shit.

I could post more about this, except that I'm upsetting myself and that serves no purpose. But I want to record this so, in a few years when I look back, I wonder why my posts suddenly became erratic.

I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE.  I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE. I HATE IT HERE.

That is all.

That was one in a row

Yesterday my oldest friend began an intensive program of group therapy aimed at helping her cope with her bipolar disorder. 9 to 3, five days a week, for 6-8 weeks. In addition to talk therapy, they will be monitoring her meds intake very closely and counseling her one-on-one about how to cope with her condition. I think this is just terrific!

Except that she didn't go in today. Tummy trouble.

I hope she truly commits to this, for it could provide her with support and social interaction she's sorely missed since moving to Los Angeles. I also like the idea of someone looking at her prescriptions in total and making sure that the drugs she takes for her moods aren't conflicting w

ith the antibiotics or her heart meds. (After just one day they already made a switch.) It's time for her to see progress and feel better about life.

I know it sounds strange to say, but I hope she's really unable to leave her bathroom today. Anything short of that, and I think she should be off the couch and with her group. (The Gal worries.)

Oh well, at least she'll be home when the cake pops arrive. I sent her these six celebratory confections through ProFlowers because I didn't want to introduce flowers or plants into a multicat household.

The anniversary is here again

 I won't be watching the documentaries and commemorations. I can't.

I agree 100% that we must never forget, and that younger Americans must learn. But the day is seared into my soul.

September Challenge -- Days 9 and 10 and 11

Day 9: Does anyone owe me money?

I suppose. My oldest friend and I are going to Las Vegas for my birthday in November, and I've paid for the hotel and the show with my credit card. I know she'll pay me back when we're out there.

Day 10: When is the last time I intentionally wasted a day?

I waste days often, and then feel bad about it. Maybe I should just admit that I'm going to do nothing and spare myself the guilt.

Day 11: What is your favorite gadget?
I'm writing on it.  I love my MacBook Pro.

Want to play along? Click here for the day's question.

WWW.WEDNESDAY

This meme is no more. And yet I persist in answering the three questions it asked each week. Stubborn, ain't I?

1. What are you currently reading? Calico Joe. This Grisham baseball novel was a surprise giftie from my aunt, who knows how I love my Cubs (who are -- knock wood -- headed for the playoffs this season!). Grisham also loves the Cubs and the game. It's a leisurely paced, lovely little book. Bonus: some of it is set in Arkansas, a part of the country I developed affection for during my spa trips to Hot Springs.

2. What did you just finish reading? Being Nixon by Evan Thomas. Far more emotionally engaging, and emotionally taxing, than I expected. Yes, he was paranoid and vindictive and opportunistic and very comfortable spewing anti-Semitic rhetoric. But he was also patriotic, committed to creating a peaceful global community and touchingly, unexpectedly optimistic. My favorite moment is the one Thomas quotes more than once. As guests would slip out of a White House screening because they'd given up on the movie, Nixon would stop them and encourage them to stay. "Wait! It'll get better!" That was his attitude after every setback (even and especially the tragic ones he engineered). I expected to be repulsed by him, and frequently I was. I didn't expect to be touched by him, and frequently I was.

3. What will you read next? I don't know.

Well, whaddaya know

So tonight I'm in front of the TV, just spinning the dial, and look who I come upon: Robert Redford at age 25. He has a pivotal but still supporting role in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, billed after Gig Young and Martha Hyer.

Considering the time I spent taking A Walk in the Woods with him this past Sunday, it was fascinating to see him at the beginning of his career, 53 years ago.

In 1962, Gig Young was a star who moved smoothly back and forth between movies and TV. At the time of this episode, he was married to a promising actress named Elizabeth Montgomery (yes, Samantha from Bewitched). In a few years he would win an Oscar for They Shoot Horses, Don't They? -- the film that paired him with one of Redford's frequent leading ladies (Jane Fonda) and favorite directors (Sydney Pollack). Then he drank himself out of a career and died of his own hand in a hideous murder-suicide when in his 60s. Today Gig Young isn't relevant at all, and this past weekend, 78-year-old Redford scored at the box office.

I wonder why some people succeed and others don't. Yes, Redford was gorgeous. But he's also obviously short (Gig Young towers over him in this show) and he has that cluster of moles on his cheek. I'm sure that in 1962 Los Angeles you could find boys who were as good looking. Yes, the camera loves him. But he's an unassuming actor who specializes in small moments, not showy ones. (Richard Burton was relieved that Redford dropped out of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf because he considered Redford quite dull.)

A lot of it has to be luck and timing. But I think it's also think it's intelligence, taste and stubbornness. There are so many Hollywood tragedies, like Gig Young. It must take serious tenacity and drive to survive and thrive.

Good for you, Sundance. Good for you.

September Challenge -- Day 8

My life would be easier if ... 

I had staff. I wish I had people. Someone to make my dinner, handle my bills and other paperwork, and clean my house.

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September Challenge -- Day 7

The last thing I felt guilty about ... 

How enthusiastically I tore into this issue of People. For if the term, "rest in peace" means anything, it should apply to poor Rosemary Kennedy. Yet Kennedys still sell, and I'm a dedicated Kennedy consumer. So I consumed. At least I'm a subscriber, so I didn't contribute to incremental sales.

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Good News, Bad News

Good News: I saw A Walk in the Woods and not only enjoyed it, I was pleased to see the theater was full. According to box office reports, it's a hit. It's a quiet movie and, like Redford's best films, it's light but also has a message. I'm happy to see there's an audience for this kind of film. I enjoy car chases and explosions as much as the next moviegoer, but diversity is important in any pop culture diet.

Bad News: I knew going in that Redford is now 78 years old. I was happy that he finally got to make this movie, as I'd been reading for years that he related so to the character of Bill Bryson and had dreamed of Paul Newman playing Katz. Newman was interested but at first, their schedules didn't allow. Then Newman's health began to fail. So it was lovely to see the realization of his dream project.

But I wasn't emotionally prepared to see Sundance, "Hubba-Hubba-Hubbell" of The Way We Were, as a very old man. The hair is the same, the voice is the same, the body is remarkably the same, but the FACE! To say it's heavily lined is an understatement. I read in Peter Biskind's biography of Warren Beatty, Star, that the uber-vain Beatty enjoyed hearing how increasingly hard it was to light and photograph Redford. Because so much of Walk in the Woods takes place outdoors, and because he's knocking on 80, I suspect the filmmakers (and Redford himself is a producer) just gave up on making him look like a leading man.


I hate this.

And not just because that face was once able to stop my heart. Because I don't like the passage of time. His face is a reminder that I'm no longer a girl. That one day I'm going to turn on the TV and hear (as I did about Cub Ron Santo in 2010) that he's dead.

I hate this.

My girlhood is slipping away.

September Challenge -- Day 6

Six things I didn't do today

Three things I should have done today ... 

1) Scrub the tub
2) Vacuum the living room
3) Flip the pad on the futon

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Sunday Stealing

Making a List Meme

1. Do you like making lists? Not especially

2. Do/did you play sports with your siblings? Nope

3. Would you rather go to a University or a community college? At this late stage of my life, neither

4. What’s your favorite kind of bread? Wheat for breakfast toast, white for sandwiches

5. What toppings do you like on your pizza? Sausage, spinach or pepperoni (but only one at a time)

6. What color or design does your shower curtain have? A rather intricate vertical pattern on white fabric.

7. What kind of car does/did your mom drive? My mom once drove a light blue Corvair

8. What’s on your cell phone’s home screen? The icons for all the apps I could use if I knew how

9. Do you like to watch the National Geographic channel? Nope

10. Are you the type of person to correct a survey maker’s grammar and/or spelling? Well, I did change the capitalization on the headline ...

11. What color is your microwave? White

12. Do you have a fan in your bedroom? Two, one in the window and one on the ceiling

13. Mountain Dew or Sprite? I'd prefer to do the Dew. (I like caffeine.)

14. Does it rain a lot where you live? Not a lot

15. Do you shop at Walmart regularly? Seldom, if ever. Not once this year.

16. Does it bother you when animals lick themselves? No

17. Have you ever been to a Trader Joe’s? I go there a couple times a month

18. What’s the longest time you’ve ever been stuck in traffic? I've never clocked it

19. Do you wear black a lot? Not that often. (Cat fur really shows up on black.)

20. Are there stairs in your house? There are stairs leading to and from my condo, but none in my condo.

21. Have you ever held $500 in cash? Yes.

22. Do you like onions on your burger? No.

23. Could you ever give yourself a shot? You mean like a Jägerbomb?

 

24. Do you wear shoes in the house? Not often

25. Have you ever worked as a cashier? Very briefly, when I was in high school.

September Challenge -- Day 5

The last doctor's appoint I made was for ... 

My annual physical. Unfortunately I had to cancel it because of jury duty and I never got around to rescheduling it because of The Big Project.

But I must reschedule it next week because, well, this old gray mare just ain't what she used to be. I tire so easily. I'm so much more short-tempered than I should be. I think a lot of this is that I don't get the exercise I need. But it could be something more, either something more serious or (hopefully) something very easily treated. I'd like to get my quality of life back.

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I miss the sumbitch

I used to love the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon. The plate spinners, the ventriloquists, the lounge singers performing "Guantanamera" ... it was a smorgasbord of tacky and I adored it. Especially Jerry himself.

I was hypnotized by the greasy hair, the tux and pinky ring. Jerry mugged and wept and insulted people. (I remember the year I heard him call a cameraman a "fag" and wondered if anyone else caught it.) He laughed at his own gauche hilarity. And he sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" to kids who will never walk at all.

Oh, and the crazy bastard raised more than $2 billion. He deserves more credit for that than he gets. He's nearly 90 now and has suffered a litany of health problems himself. Wherever he is this weekend, God bless him.