I have a question...

There are too many random, disjointed things floating through my mind today. So instead of attempting to write anything coherent, it’s time for another meaningless questionnaire! I found these questions on a website called “The Daily Meme.” There’s actually an entire site dedicated to these silly little surveys. (Actually, there’s probably more than ONE entire website… probably a LOT of websites…) So here we go:

What are you superstitious about?
Um, not much, I don’t think. Except pitching anyone against the Yankees in my fantasy baseball league. (Hey, it’s been PROVEN that it’s a bad decision.)

Who let the dogs out? Who? Who?
It was Eric. He’s so irresponsible.

If you could, would you be a taxi driver for a day? In what city?
Nope. I really don’t even like driving MYSELF anywhere. I’m certainly not gonna drive OTHER people around.

In high school, the kids voted you “most likely” to do what?
I was actually voted “most quiet” for my high school yearbook. What kind of high school has “most quiet” in the yearbook?? I mean, it wasn’t bad enough that I had to put up with the kids and teachers who made fun of me on a daily basis – I also had to make sure it was forever remembered in the yearbook??? Yeah, Lisa, just in case you weren’t scarred enough by all the people who reminded you about what a total loser you were, it’s gonna be emblazoned across the pages of your senior yearbook. So you can have a memory to “treasure” forever. (I may be a teensy bit bitter about my high school experience…:))

Who’s the most famous person you have ever spoken with?
Uh… well, I had a professor at St. Ed’s named Susan Loughran – you can look her up on http://www.imdb.com/. She was in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And that’s about it. So I wouldn’t exactly call her “famous.” And I once shook hands with a guy who was running for office in New York… what was his name?? I can’t even remember. I just remember thinking he was really cute, and if I’d been voting age (I was about 16) I would’ve voted for him. Because he was cute. I knew SO much about politics.

Company’s coming to stay with you. Do you have a guest bedroom to put someone up in, or are they sleeping on your couch?
I DO have a guest bedroom, with two futons. In fact, I THOUGHT Eric was gonna stay with me last week when everyone was in town, so I got everything all cleaned up in there and washed the sheets and stocked the guest bathroom with towels… and then he decided to stay with mom and dad. So if anyone else wants to stay at my house, now is the time, because everything is all clean and ready for guests. Thanks a LOT, Eric… I did laundry for nothing. :)

What is your favorite color of a rose?
I think I like the good ol’ classic red rose.

Do you watch Mythbusters? What myth would you like to bust?
Yes! I LOVE Mythbusters! I think those people have such cool jobs – they get to destroy things and blow stuff up and play with crash test dummies in the name of science. That’d be so much fun. I can’t think of a specific myth I’d like to “bust,” but I think pretty much any of those forwarded “my cousin’s best’s friend’s roommate’s brother’s girlfriend’s mother got cancer because she drank water and ate bread at the same time” emails should be sent to Mythbusters…

Why does Mickey Mouse wear gloves all the time?
He has a horrible case of eczema. And he’s very sensitive about it, so shush…

Where would you hide a safe in your house to assure that it couldn’t easily be found?
Oh, I’d probably put it – hey! I’m not gonna tell YOU.

How many shoe boxes do you have that do NOT have shoes in them?
I only found one – it’s the box for those sneakers I bought at the outlet mall a couple weeks ago. I should probably throw that away…

How surprised would you be if your mother came home sporting a new tattoo? What do you think she would get, and where would it be?
I would be totally shocked. But if she DID get a tattoo, I think she would have “pie” tattooed on one hand, and “queen” on the other – that way, when she was making her famous pies and she was rolling out the dough with a rolling pin, you’d see “pie queen... pie queen… pie queen…”

Suppose you could have the ability to compete in any Olympic event. In what event would you want to compete?
Hmmm… when I was a kid, I liked the ice skating and the gymnastics best. But now, I’d probably want to do something like snowboarding… or maybe biathlon, where you cross-country ski and then shoot stuff. (I’ve never understood the biathlon – do cross-country skiers frequently have an urge to shoot at things? Or is it supposed to be like, “pretend you’re skiing through the wilderness of Montana, and a bear appears. Shoot it! Shoot it!!”)

Do you think it’s okay to bring your own snacks into the movie theater?
Sure. It can be ridiculously expensive to buy snacks at the movies. They're already charging a bazillion dollars just to WATCH the film... so if you can sneak in a Kit Kat and a bottle of water, go for it.

What is the furthest north and the furthest south you’ve ever been?
Um, let’s see… which is further north –Anchorage, Alaska? Or Helsinki, Finland? I think it’s Anchorage… and south I think would be Panama. Which actually isn’t TOO far south… I need to travel more… Australia – THAT would be pretty far south…

Have you ever missed your flight? What caused that to happen?
Yeah, I was flying up to NJ, back before there were direct flights between Austin and Newark, so I had to get a connecting flight in Chicago. But my flight from Austin was seriously delayed, and by the time we were in the air, I knew there was no way I’d make my connecting flight. I was actually quite proud of myself – I was traveling alone, and managed to not panic about anything (unlike the woman in the seat next to me – she was on the airphone the entire flight, yelling about how “you HAVE to get me on another flight! I don’t CARE if there are no more flights out tonight – you’d BETTER get me on a flight! I HAVE to be there today!!”). When we landed in Chicago, I went to the gate where my connecting flight was, and although there were no more flights to Newark, they were able to get me on a flight to La Guardia.

Have you ever thought the lyrics to a song were something other than what they really were?
Okay, when I was a kid, and the movie “Flashdance” was really popular, that “what a feeling” song was playing all over the place. And when it got to the line, “take your passion and make it happen,” I thought the words were, “take your pants off and make it happen.” Which, when you think about it, really makes it a decidedly more risqué song…

What was your very first job?
I was a library page at the Sparta Public Library. And yes, there really is a position called a “page” in a library full of books with pages. A page is just a library assistant – I spent a lot of time shelving returned books, helping people check out books, and pointing people in the direction of whatever subject they were looking for. It was a great job, because it was quiet, it was a good workout (shelving a cart full of books takes a lot of walking and bending and crouching and stretching…) and when things got slow there was plenty of reading material.

When was the last time you did a community service project?
Well, I’m not sure about a “project,” but my friend Cindy and I used to volunteer at a thrift store that her mom managed. All the profits from the store went to charity, so it was sort of a “community service,” right?

What aspect of being a child do you miss the most?
I can remember when I was a kid, there were times when I’d come home from school on a Friday afternoon, and make sure all my homework was done, and know I had no projects due, and realize I had an entire weekend ahead of me, and I’d lay in bed at night thinking, “wow, I have absolutely nothing to worry about right now…” I guess for a kid, homework is about the biggest “worry” you can have. Nowadays, I NEVER go to bed thinking, “wow, I have nothing to worry about.” I can always find something…

What famous person do you look like?
The only person I’ve ever been told I look like (and this was only once – when I was registering for some classes at St. Ed’s and a professor said it) is Kelly Rutherford. And she’s not even all that famous. You’re probably all saying, “who the heck is Kelly Rutherford?” She used to play Dixie on The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr. (which is a show I loved, but it didn’t last very long…). And I think she was on Melrose Place. But I don’t think I really look like her at all…

What is your signature dish, you know, the one you’re always asked to make?
I guess it’s chocolate chip cookies. Because I’m always being asked to make chocolate chip cookies. And sometimes key lime pie. And fajitas, although I really can’t take any credit for my fajitas, because it’s the seasoning that makes them taste so good – and I just buy Fiesta fajita seasoning and shake it on the meat. Not too difficult…

Which do you prefer for cooking, a gas or an electric range?
I definitely prefer a gas range. My older brother the ex-chef was always talking about how gas ranges are better than electric ranges, and I thought he was just making things up. But there really is a difference – a flame just heats differently than an electric coil.

What do you do when you’ve started to read a book that you can’t get in to? Do you keep reading?
Not usually. I tend to give a book about a chapter or two to hold my interest. If I’ve found nothing interesting in the first two chapters, I kinda figure the rest of the book won’t interest me much, either. In fact, when I’m buying books, I often go by the first SENTENCE to decide whether or not to buy something. If the first sentence grabs my attention in some way, it’s more likely that the entire book will do the same.

If you have painting to do in your home, do you do it yourself, or call in the pros?
I’ve always painted my own house – in fact, I’m considering doing the bathrooms some time soon. I actually painted our ENTIRE house back when we lived in Cedar Park. And, of course, I painted my super-cool media room in the basement of the house in New Jersey. I loved my super-cool media room…

Have you ever pretended that you weren’t home while an unannounced guest (or salesman) was on your door step?
Are you kidding? I INVENTED pretending to not be home while an unannounced guest is on the door step. Although when we first moved into this house, I did answer the door now and then – but it seemed like every time I did, it was someone trying to sell me something. If I’m here at my computer, I have a view of the front porch and can see who is standing at my door – if I don’t know who they are, I don’t answer.

How often do you update your blog?
Well, if you would check it once in a while, Mysterious Asker of Questions, you would know, wouldn’t you?