Measi's Musings

Archive for the ‘Memes’ Category

Saturday 9: I Saw It on TV

1. What new TV show rocks your world this year? It’s not actually a new show, but it’s new to me – Dexter.  Amazing writing, fantastic characters, and incredibly twisted.

2. What is your least favorite ethnic food, and what makes it your least favorite? I honestly can’t think of one. I may have least favorite dishes, but I find something I like in every ethnic cuisine I try.  Maybe okra?  Stuff’s slimy and yukky as hell.

3. When does liking someone a lot become loving that person? When you realize that there’s a part of you that is fulfilled by that person, and you’d be damaged permanently if they were gone.

4. Is there a job you would do for free, and is it your current job? I would not do my job for free.  I would probably stitch for free.  :)  Maybe do gardening and baking, too.

5. What is one person/thing that inspired you to take action of some sort?  My grandparents were very influential to me – they came to the US with nothing and worked incredibly hard.  They taught me that with hard work and determination, you can be successful.

6. Though you might not believe in it, would you like fate to exist? I think it depends on what would be determined by fate.  Some fateful things seem pretty negative out there.  I’d hate for someone to have that pre-determined from birth.

7. Tell us about a news story that truly shocked you. You know?  I’ve gotten so numb to the news, I honestly can’t think of anything that shocked me.  News from my friends and family, yes, but nothing in the news shocks me anymore.

8. What’s something you’re looking forward to? My week of vacation from work is a week away – and the latter half of that will be spent stitching at a retreat.  Can. Not. Wait.

9. What characteristics do you despise? Backstabbing, vindictive, slimy people.  I’ve had my fill of them recently.

Saturday 9: Margaritaville

1. Tell us about a time that you had way too much Jose Cuervo. Actually, I don’t really like tequila, so I’ve never had enough where I could classify it as “too much.”  Now rum or vodka on the other hand… oh, lordy.  There was that time that I managed to get so plastered that I wound up in the service elevator at the Back Bay Sheraton in Boston.  Oooh, that was not a good night.

2. Do you agree with the following statement: “The older you get, the faster time goes by.”? Absolutely. Case in point – what the heck happened to January?  I mean really – wasn’t yesterday New Year’s Day?

3. What do you usually do during your “down time?” I cross stitch through most of it.  Or I play World of Warcraft.  Usually the former, though – it helps me quiet my brain and forces me to slow down and relax.

4. When it comes to the opposite sex, do you feel you have a grasp on ‘em – or do they continue to just surprise you? I think I have a pretty good grasp.  But of course, there are always surprises.  Life needs surprises to make it interesting.

5. What is your home town famous for? My hometown is Billings, Montana.  I don’t know that it’s famous for anything itself, but it’s the largest city in Montana and a major tourism hub for people heading to Yellowstone Park, Battle of the Bighorn National Monument (formerly Custer Battlefield), and several fishing, hunting, and skiing areas.

6. How many romantic relationships have you had? Three that I’d qualify as relationships.

7. What’s the best concert that you’ve ever been to? It’s a toss-up between the two U2 concerts I’ve been to (PopMart or 360), or the first time I saw Billy Joel at the Fleet Center.  All were fantastic in their own ways.

8. Which famous person would you like to meet? Why? I really would like to meet Obama.  I admire the man who worked his ass off to get where he is, and to see his determination to get up every day to do his job despite the nastiness directed toward him from so many of his fellow citizens.

9. Has a newspaper or television reporter ever interviewed you? If so, what were the circumstances and what did you think when you read or saw what you said? I’ve been interviewed a couple times (both for TV and for the paper).  All for school-related things.  I honestly don’t recall what I thought when I read them – I’m sure I was excited.  I suppose the fact that I can’t remember it means that nothing went badly!

Happy weekend!

- Mel.

Rose Kennedy Greenway
Boston, Massachusetts
February 3, 2011

(those are park benches – and those aren’t drifts)

Honestly, the snow and its interruption of life routines have me so off balance this week that I hadn’t thought what I was going to write about for this week’s Thursday Thirteen.  So while I try to shovel out my brain, here’s Thirteen Types of Snow in the Alaskan Yupik Language:

1. qanuk (“snowflake”)
2. kaneq (“frost”)
3. kanevvluk (“fine snow particles”)
4. natquik (“drifting snow”)
5. nevluk (“clinging particles”)
6. aniu (“fallen snow on the ground”)
7. muruaneq (“soft deep snow”)
8. qetrar (“crusted snow”)
9. nutaryuk (“fresh fallen snow”)
10. qanisqineq (“snow floating on water”)
11. qengaruk (“snow bank”)
12. utvak (“snow carved in block”)
13. navcaq (“snow cornice”)

I can assure you that we’ve seen all of these various types of snow in the past two weeks in New England.  I’m convinced there’s no longer solid ground underneath all of this white – we haven’t seen it since the morning after Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by!  If you’re participating in Thursday Thirteen, please pop your blog link in the widget?  I’d love to be able to stop by and say hi.  :)

Thank you to all of the lovely commenters who have stopped by in the last week.  :)  I’ve been popping by journals as I’ve had time over the work week.  Tomorrow morning with coffee I’ll be stopping by everyone else’s journals who left a link.

Saturday 9: What a Fool Believes

1. What celebrity do you think is the MOST foolish? Oh gosh, where do you start?  Honestly, I am not a celebrity watcher.  I have a couple that I enjoy in movies/TV shows/etc, but otherwise, I don’t even follow their lives.  That said, I think Joaquin Phoenix is on a high list of foolish celebs.  He threw away a good acting career that really was just getting firm to go off on some random tangent.  Whether it was for a part or not, it was foolish and just a complete WTF.  Why throw away a successful career like that?

2. What are 5 things you don’t care about? Celebrities, playing the power-game to go up the ladder in my career, the whole “keeping up with the Joneses” phenomenon, shopping (unless for necessities), the what’s hot/not thing.

3. What ‘issue’ do you think your opinion is so right about that you end up trying to sway others to your point of view? I think I’m too intimidated by confrontation to really try to sway people, and I honestly don’t think it works.  I will express my opinions (which are quite strong) on adoption, abortion rights, and minority faith rights.

4. What personality do you like to listen to on the radio? No preferences.  I don’t listen to the radio often. Usually when we’re in the car, we have WBZ on so we can get traffic reports.

5. What culture are you fascinated by? India.  I think the depth of history and all of the complexities of the society are fascinating – both its good and bad aspects.

6. You are alone with your lover’s diary. What do you do?  Nothing.  I’d leave it alone.

7. What frustrates you? I confess to being one of those people who gets very frustrated with those who can’t keep up.  I sometimes forget that not everyone is fast on picking up routines/rhythms and can’t adapt like I can.

8. Do you remember the first time you were on the internet? What did you do first? The first time I was on the internet as we know it today was 1993 at Boston University.  I don’t doubt I was setting up and sending email.  But I had been on Prodigy before then (account #FFRF97B, baby!) and on local BBS all the way back to 1983.

9. What was the biggest fight you have ever had with someone? I’ve had a few bad fights, and they were all equally big but played out differently.  I don’t really care to recall them anymore.

Until I became wrapped up in Doctor Who fandom, this was a favorite weekly meme of mine.  It’s still around (albeit under new management), and appears to be open-ended with themes these days… which is good, because that way I can be a bit more sporadic with my lists.

So.. this week’s Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things I’ve Done Since My Last Thursday Thirteen
(which was on February 21, 2008)

1.  I went to the United Kingdom . Erich and I went to the UK on our belated honeymoon in October 2008 and spent two weeks in England and Wales and having an absolute blast.  We talk about going back all the time.

2.  I saw Shakespeare performed in Stratford-on-Avon. And not only did I see Shakespeare performed – but I saw the ultimate geek matchup of David Tennant and Patrick Stewart together.  My little geek heart exploded – both for the sci-fi fandom and a love of Shakespeare and his immersive rhythm of wordplay.  Granted, it wasn’t Hamlet in the original Klingon (cough), but I think this was just as good.

3.  My kitchen is finally painted. No more god-awful wallpaper.  No really.  We had this wonderful pattern you see to the right in our kitchen.  It’s almost – almost - so ugly it’s cool.  But not with the peach(ish) and black subway tile that comprised the lower half of the wall.  We have new hardware on the cabinets, the cabinets are painted too.

4.  I bought my first car. I have a 2009 Honda Fit, and I absolutely adore it.  40 miles to the gallon, a manual transmission – and it drives like a little sports car.  Heaven.

5.  I began a yearly garden.  The first year, it was just a few plants in Earthboxes on our patio.  This past year, we built raised beds and experimented with a proper full vegetable garden.  Next year we’ll finish the raised bed design.

6. I spent last summer exploring Rhode Island. With the aforementioned little car, I wandered literally all over the state in Wanderlust fashion.  Every weekend I’d just pick a state route number and just drive.  Didn’t matter where, except for one rule – I would not get onto a major interstate or other known major road unless it was starting to get dark.  I found a bunch of glorious routes to drive just for the sheer pleasure of driving.  I found some local Mom ‘n Pop shops I want to explore.  And I found some absolutely gorgeous areas of wild Rhode Island (yes, it does exist in this small state… lots of it, in fact!) to just get lost in.

7.  I’ve joined a local stitching group. It took years, but I finally am part of a local stitching group of women where we just have a blast.  Between chatting via email over the workdays and the mutual cheering/drooling over the crafty projects, I just feel happy and excited to come home and stitch.  It’s no longer just a lonely hobby – it’s something I do to socialize, and I really needed that.

8.  I switched positions within the same company.  In Spring 2010 a position opened up that was perfect for my skillset.  I jumped in and got the job.  It’s been a challenge (and has continued to get tougher), but aside from the day-to-day stresses that everyone vents about, I know I made a good decision.  There are just some factors that need ironing out, but I’ll deal with them.

9.  I’ve reconnected – somewhat – with  my dad. It’s still distant and still tense, but I’ve talked with him significantly more since my wedding than I did in the five years prior.  It’s still less than a hand’s count on the fingers as far as times per year is concerned, but it’s getting better.  Improvement is good.

10. I’ve learned to stand up for myself more. Sadly, it’s cost me a couple of friendships – including one that I lost only a couple months ago that saddened me greatly.  But for too many years I’ve tried to just accept crappy behavior from people that I considered friends, even when it hurt like hell.  They would call me on behavior they didn’t like or appreciate – but I wasn’t allowed to do the same.  It got old, and so I’ve grown a bit of a spine (a bit… this is still in the works).  Likewise at work, I’m trying to not just swallow every ounce of b.s. that’s thrown at me.  If something’s really out of line, I’m at least running it by my manager.

11.  I’ve expanded my cooking horizons. I’m still not a day-to-day cook, but I love making the big holiday and “event” meals.  Thanksgiving, St. Patrick’s Day, pierogi (which are always an event), etc. – bring it all on.  I’m making my own pasta sauce from scratch.  I’m exploring stock and other such things that yes, are basics, but I’ve never cooked before.  It’s exciting to not be afraid of making food.

12.  I’m finding ways to have “me” time despite the long commutes. My twelve hour days can be an absolute killer – especially when a quarter of that is spent solely on commuting.  Whether reading, stitching, or just meditating – I’m enjoying the time I have on the train to just enjoy for me.  It makes the commutes much more tolerable, and they feel a lot shorter.

13.  I‘m making an effort to be active in my blog. For the better part of two years, fandom just took over my blog – and then it exploded my blog as fandom arguments made me retreat from view because I was miserable in the fandom circles.  It made me hate blogging.  Now I’m getting active again with a lot of my posts focused on stitching, since that’s what I do during a lot of my spare time.  Hopefully a couple of the weekly memes for kick-off discussion points will help, too.  :)

*waves to other Thursday Thirteen folks stopping by*

I’m going to try out a few weekly memes… so forgive me as I experiment.  :)

1. Have you ever been to Japan? If not would you like to travel there? I haven’t been to Japan, but I definitely would like to go someday.  I’ve looked at history books and photo books of Japan since my early days of reading (there was a book in the school library I was particularly fond of).

2. Have you ever played a game that required removal of clothing? I’ve played strip poker.  And lost.  Badly.  Granted – when you have nine guys and two girls, the results are going to be a tad skewed.

3. Have you ever dated one of your best friends? Yes.  Most recently my husband.

4. Have you ever kissed someone you didn’t know? Not in a romantic sense, no.  The whole European kiss-kiss on the cheek?  A few times, usually at the Polish-American gatherings at my grandpa’s house.

5. What is your secret guaranteed weeping movie? It wouldn’t be a secret if I revealed it, would it?  :)

6. What feature are you most insecure about? Since weight technically isn’t a feature… probably my nose.  My nose is somewhat crooked, and I’ve always been self-conscious about it.  And the funny thing is that I seriously doubt anyone really notices it.

7. What do you miss most about being young? The absolute obliviousness about the world around them.  Although I don’t know – maybe kids today aren’t getting that.  But as a kid in the 1980s, life was pretty damn good.

8. Who is the most annoying musical artist EVER? Annoying, disgusting?  Tough call.  Brittney Spears comes to mind.  Fergie comes to mind.  Usually if they’re annoying, I just turn the dial and ignore them.

9. Have you ever applied for a job that was an internet hoax, asking for credit history and your social security number? No.  Thankfully.  The closest I’ve come is one of those god-awful magazine scams.

I’ve been having some issues with comments – again. I’ve now changed the software plugin, so hopefully commenting will be better. If you are unable to post on my blog, please let me know via an email at measiwitch(at)gmail.com? I’d appreciate it. I love to hear from folks, and I’d hate that something’s wrong that’s preventing people from posting.

I just came across a cute little meme over on Jennilynn’s blog and wanted to give it a go – particularly with all of the new TUSAL stitchers bouncing around blogs.

ABC’s of me…
A – Age: 36, minus 6 days.
B – Bed size: King
C – Chore you hate: cleaning random cat… messes. bleh.
D – Dog’s name: None – we have cats. (Colley, Fizzy, Gus, Noby, Elly, and Hoodz)
E – Essential start of the day item: Coffee.
F – Favorite color: Green & Purple
G – Gold or Silver: Silver
H – Height: 5’4″
I – Instruments you play: clarinet (any), piano, bass drum. I once played the viola.
J – Job: Administrative Assistant
K – Kids: None (yet)
L – Living arrangements: My husband and I own our home. A friend (Matt) is currently living with us.
M – Music you love: 70s and 80s rock & pop.
N – Nicknames: Mel, Measi
O – Overnight hospital stay at hospital: ? I have before – only once in high school
P – Pet Peeve: people cracking their knuckles. It literally makes my stomach turn over.
Q – Quote from a movie: “I’ll tell you one thing about the universe, though. The universe is a pretty big place. It’s bigger than anything anyone has ever dreamed of before. So if it’s just us… seems like an awful waste of space. Right?” – Ellie Arroway, Contact
R – Right handed or left: Right
S – Siblings: One younger brother (Scott). Two step-siblings that joined my family in my mid-20s, Jonathan & Emily
T – Time you wake up: 6:45 am
U – Underwear: Well… yeah.
V – Vegetable you dislike: brussel sprouts.
W – Workout Style: I need to get off my butt and do something.
X – X-rays you’ve had: Dental, head (for jaw surgery), ankles, knees
Y – Yummy food you make: pierogi, chili, my Thanksgiving turkey
Z – The best place to visit: Somewhere quiet where I can unwind and relax

and now you know my ABC’s, won’t you play along with me????

I keep forgetting to post this darn thing every month.  *sigh* In any case, here’s the state of my “Totally Useless Stitch-a-Long” Jar.  It’s filling slowly.  I’m not sure that all of my bits are finding their way to the jar, though – I’ve been doing a lot of stitching on the train, and I’m not quite sure where the dregs are disappearing to.

It’s still loosely packed – a bit less than halfway full. There are some scraps of fabric leftover from Hush Hush back in March that I’ve tossed in there, as well as a mix of threads from the UFO RR and my own pieces.

Age: 35

Where you grew up: South-central Montana

Qualification: I’ve lived in New England for 17 years. It has changed my speech, so I’ll be putting currents in parenthesis.

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks: Creek, pronounced crik. (now with a long e).

2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called: Cart

3. A metal container to carry a meal in: Lunch box

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in: Skillet

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people: Couch or sofa, interchangeably.

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof: Gutter

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening: Porch (now if it’s screened in, it’s also called a patio or florida room)

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages: Pop. (now soda, but it still comes out of a pop machine)

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup: Pancake (if flour-based), (now also johnnycake if corn-meal)

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself: Sub or hoagie (now just sub)

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach: Swim shorts

12. Shoes worn for sports: Sneakers.

13. Putting a room in order: Cleaning or tidying up.

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark: Firefly

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball: Rollie-pollie or potato bug (interchangeably)

16. The children’s playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down: See-saw

17. How do you eat your pizza: Always with my hands – point side first, crust last.

18. What’s it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff: Yard sale

19. What’s the evening meal?: Supper (now dinner gets mixed in, too – but that was always the name for a meal between lunch and supper growing up)

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are: Basement (now also cellar)

21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places: Water fountain (I do not, but my husband uses bubbler… sans the R, so it comes out “bubblah”)

Plymouth Rock – Plymouth, MA
Originally uploaded by measi

[Charlie Brown] I got a rock… [/Charlie Brown]

On Saturday, I met up with for a day of S.E.X. (Stash Enhancement eXperience) in Plymouth, Mass (approx. 50 minutes drive from my house). Lots of stitchy stash was had, as well as a short experience in a scary towny bar, followed by a much nicer experience in a better bar. It was a good, relaxing afternoon. Only thing we didn’t manage to do was fit in high tea and scones (with real clotted cream!!!) at the tea room on Court Street.

On my way out of town, since it’s not tourist season, plus it was dark and quiet and cold and a perfect solitary time, I swung around the corner to go look at the rock.

Yeah… THAT rock.

So here ya go… here’s Plymouth Rock, in the… quartz… as it were.

It’s really nothing exciting, sadly. It’s a big ol’ rock with 1620 stamped into it, and a repaired crack running through it. It’s on the beach, covered with a nicely lit little stone pavillion thingy.

I think the glorified American history I was taught as a child made it feel like it was supposed to be a cliff or something. It’s funny how those far-away places we’re taught about as children seem so much smaller and tangible when you see them up close. Sometimes the illusion is a far better picture.

But still – it does exist, which is kinda cool when you think about it.

Oh. Oh my.

Hmmmm…

No.

Christmas Gift Toy & MySpace Layouts at pYzam.com

So… my 1001 days expired last month.    I managed to do 46 things on my list, with some things still in progress.  Honestly?  Not bad.  I’ve forgotten dates for some of these things I’ve done… but I will be honest on them, of course. 

101 things in 1001 days

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past – frequently simple goals such as new year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities

Start Date: Sept. 12, 2006
End Date: June 9, 2009
Final Status Update:  July 14, 2009
Days Remaining: 0
Key:
(normal text)- not yet addressed
italic – in progress
bold- completed (with date)

I’ll organize these by category later. Most are in order, but I’m just striving to get the list for now.

1. Doctor- get my physical done
2. Doctor- go to OB/GYN
3. Eyes- new prescription & contacts
4. Lose 2 dress sizes
5. Create Living Will
6. Pay off credit cards
7. Put $2,000 into my IRA
8. Find a new job – 11/27/2006
9. Create a personal cookbook
10. Learn to cook 3 fabulous meals
11. Cook every night for two weeks straight
12. Sit ritual for Samhain
13. Reimburse Erich on loan
14. Reimburse dad on loan
15. Get a pedicure
16. Find a new hairstyle that I love
17. Get each cat to the vet for an annual checkup. 11/24/2006
18. Pick a date 9/30/06
19. Reserve ceremony & reception site 9/30/06
20. Reserve caterer Dec. 06
21. Compile guest list with addresses Mar 07
22. Send out save the date cards Mar 07
23. Buy dress & accessories 9/29/06
24. Arrange photographer 6/15/07
25. Arrange florist
26. Send out invitations
27. Get married
28. Take down wallpaper and repaint bedroom
29. Take down wallpaper and repaint bathroom
30. Take down wallpaper and repaint kitchen
31. Restring windows in sunroom to make them functional
32. Buy a snowblower
33. Finish sorting through boxes
34. Organize basement
35. Create a functional space in my office
36. Go through all clothes and make serious (and realistic) decisions
37. Have a yard sale
38. Create flower bed in the empty space in front of the house
39. Reclaim side flower bed from the weeds
40. Plant something under trees along slope in side yard
41. Send photos of the house to grandma
42. Create a good address book (with birthdays and other important dates)
43. Attend all three sorority degrees during the year
44. Hold an autumn 2006 Stitch ‘n Bitch 11/10/06
45. Hold a spring 2007 Stitch ‘n Bitch (multiple 07
46. Reconnect with Andi
47. Reconnect with DT
48. Clear out penpalling stuff
49. Send out all thank-you notes for wedding
50. Send out thank-you notes for Christmas
51. Shed old email groups
52. Clean out clutter email
53. Complete already set stitching goals for 2006 Dec. 06
54. Create new stitching goals for 2007 Jan. 07
55. Complete stitching goals for 2007
56. Complete Egyptian Sampler
57. Complete Apache Wedding Blessing
58. Complete my wedding sampler
59. Start an active stitching group/guild with semi-regular meetings – Stitch Bitch & Who – 5/07
60. Knit a shawl
61. Learn how to do cable knits
62. Write a fanfic story
63. Buy a floor stand for stitching
64. Buy a natural light lamp
65. Get The Castle professionally framed
66. Buff up my Russian
67. Read a Jules Verne novel in French
68. Read any book by Jane Austen
69. Attend the human body exhibit at the science museum missed it.
70. Audit a college class
71. Create a “must read” list
72. Read at least five books from said list
73. Buff up my French
74. Visit Vermont
75. Attend Arisia
76. Attend King Richard’s Faire 2006 10/2006
77. Attend King Richard’s Faire 2007
78. Go to the Big E fair in Mass
79. Attend one of the CATS (not feline-related) exhibitions
80. Visit the Roger Williams Park zoo
81. Spend an afternon at the Gardner Museum in Boston
82. Attend Waterfire
83. Visit Erich’s Mom R.I.P. 3/12/07.
84. Go on a romantic weekend getaway with Erich (that’s NOT part of the honeymoon)
85. Donate platelets in fall 2006
86. Donate platelets in spring 2007
87. Donate platelets in fall 2007
88. Watch a meteor shower
89. Attempt a looser-schedule novel project
90. Level another character in world of warcraft to 60
91. Purchase new battery for my laptop 6/10/07
92. Try a new ethnic cuisine Mar 07 – Brazilian
93. Re-memorize how to do sun and moon salutes for morning stretches
94. Find my clarinet at Mom’s
95. Start retraining my breath and fingers so I can play again
96. Research (and attend) a meeting for a casual/alumni band
97. Attend a Drum Corps show
98. Knit an afghan
99. Balance my checkbook every month
100. Update this list every month
101. Create a new list to start in 1001 days.

TOTAL – 47 Completed, 5 in progress

Quite a few photos to share for this one. These were requested by wiggiemomsi, ctorres, ruisseau, roxyk630, jadore_histoire, and heathere3. All of these photos link back to Flickr, so just click on them to see them better. I know some look a little blurry on the resize link.

everything under the cut…