Saturday, November 09, 2013

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Potential New Boyfriend

Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here
 
1) In this song, Dolly Parton locks eyes with a definite maybe. What's the first thing that attracts you to a potential new boyfriend or girlfriend? If you're currently in a relationship, what first attracted you to your partner? Hair. Hair is very important to me because I am a very shallow woman.
 
2) When Dolly was still a very young girl, she met Johnny Cash, who told her to follow her instincts and pursue a music career. Obviously this worked out very well for her. What's the best advice you ever received? "Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do." A very wise coworker told me this. In the corporate world, executives have been known to say things they don't necessarily mean to further their agendas, so it's better not to trust the words but monitor the deeds.


3) Dolly enjoys telling interviewers how she met her husband at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat in Nashville. Do you have a load of dirty clothes, or some other household chore, waiting for you after you finish this week's Saturday 9? I love my new futon, but cat hair does find its way into the nooks and crannies and to vacuum it properly I must open it and ... well ... I don't feel like it. But I really should do that today!


 
4) Dolly's Imagination Library is a charity devoted to children's literacy. What book did you

enjoy as a kid? Or, if you're a parent, what book did you enjoy sharing with your own children? I loved, loved, LOVED this book about Lincoln by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. The storytelling is highly relate-able and the illustrations are gorgeous. If you have a young book lover on your gift list, I couldn't recommend this more highly. (Of course, I'm an unabashed Abe-o-phile and believe the world would be an inherently better place if all kids grew up reading about Lincoln.)


5) Dolly's theme park, Dollywood, is a very popular vacation destination. When you have time off, would you rather travel or have friends/relatives visit you? I prefer traveling and staying in hotels. I'm visiting my cousin Rose later this month and staying with her and, I must confess, I'm dreading some aspects of it. I like my quiet, alone time. (I know I'm being ridiculous. She loves me and is looking forward to doing anything I want to do.)

6) Dolly is godmother to Miley Cyrus. If you could advise Miley, what would you say? Little girls look up to you, you dipshit. Don't brag/joke about how much pot and tobacco you smoke. What is this, 1960? We know how UNcool smoking is for our lungs and our skin. (I'm looking at you, too, Rihanna.)

7) Dolly has earned a reputation for being very warm and friendly to the public. Have you ever had a celebrity encounter? To this day, Bruce Springsteen is the only man to dip me back and kiss me. Yes, it was awesome. (I've blogged about this before, and if you want to read it, click here.)

8) As you can see by the photo, this song was originally released on vinyl. Do you still have any old-school LPs or 45s? Yes. I never play them, but I cannot part with them.
 
9) Sam simply cannot stand Dish TV's Hopper commercial, where hysterical grown men hide under the bed and up in a tree house because they're afraid of ... something. What commercial just bugs the beejeesus out of you? There's an Aflac commercial during which the duck is preparing to tape a commercial and he keeps saying "Aflac" in different ways. The kid who prompts him says he's afraid he's going to get fired. The commercial bugs me because I don't get it. I don't mean I don't think it's funny, I mean I don't understand what it means.

 

Me and my Nano

I've written 7000 words for my November novel, More Real than Anything. According to conventional Nanowrimo wisdom, my wordcount should be double that if I'm to finish my 50,000 word book by November 30.

I write to deadline. It's what I do. Therefore this bothers me, even though there is no downside to not finishing my Nanowrimo attempt. Plus, I like my heroine, Dorothy. She's the editor of a very popular 1960s-1970s era teeny bopper rag. She truly cares about her young readers and the message she sends their way on the pages of the fictional Teen Datebook. And she just fell into this success when her first career as a model fizzled. As you can see, Dorothy is very real to me and I have many plans for her. I just have to get down to it and write it!

Nanowrimo isn't the only thing I haven't had time for. I also didn't work out one single day this week! I feel mega-pudgy right now. (Thank God I don't have a scale!)

The upside to all of this is that I have been very busy at work. The days just fly by, and I feel more secure in my position at the agency. That's a relief.