Ask a silly question....

I got one of "those" emails the other day, and actually decided it would be fun to respond to it (really). But then I realized... if I'm going to take the time to fill this out, I'm darn well going to use it toward my recently deficient blog quota. So I'm posting it here instead of sending it to anyone. That way, no one will ever know. ;)

1. What is your first name? Andy
2. Were you named after anyone? No, and for that reason I actually managed to start a sort of silent family feud before I was even born. Although I do get some sort of quirky secret pleasure out of this, I really wish I was named after my great-uncle Jesse. The only reason I wasn't is that it was such a popular girl's name at the time, but I think Jesse is the coolest name ever for a guy, except for the ones whos last name is Hessie. My first son will be named Jesse, if I can help it.
3. Do you wish on stars? No, I find it more effective to pray to the almighty God, the maker of the stars and of earth and of me, made possible by the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.
4. When did you last cry? It was last Sunday, while in church listening to this sermon.
5. Do you have siblings? Yes, one sister, 5 years younger (and married... with kids.. and house... grrrr. Oh, wait... I have a Tanzer 16 , she doesn't. Ok, I'm better now). :P
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Yes
7. What is your birth date? January 20, 1975 (first 1975 baby in my hospital!)
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? Well, not one in particular, but I am sort of embarrassed that approximately half of my CD collection is of organ music. But really, why shouldn't the coolest instrument in the history of the world be the mainstay of my collection? I do admit, however, to turning it WAY down at intersections.
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? Well, I think we'd get along ok, but I usually hang out more with people who have different interests than me... I learn more that way.
10. Are you a daredevil? Well, I've rock climbed, ski'd over small cliffs, driven cars with known non-functional brakes, gone sailing alone on the nation's largest non-Great Lake on a very windy day without knowing how, ridden motorcycles without a helmet. No. Yes, I've done all these things, but if I was a daredevil I'd be dead or at least have broken a pinky-toe or something by now. I'm overly cautious and I'm reluctant to do anything if I think it might hurt. By the way, the second most dangerous thing I've ever attempted (driving a car being the first) is attempting to learn to snowboard (which does hurt, and I plan to actually keep doing it).
11. Have you ever told a secret you swore not to tell? I hope not. Probably have.
12. Do looks matter? Yes. Just the other week I bought a jacket that I chose over the other options almost solely on how it looked (only other factor was price).
13. How do you release anger? By working on my to-do list. I can accomplish 10 times as much when I'm angry, bringing me almost up to the same productivity as normal people. Unfortunately, I'm very rarely angry.
14. Where is your second home? Funny you should ask that. Two years ago, Burlington Vermont was my second home, and I finally realized that that is where I should live. Now its my first home, and I don't really need a second home anymore.
15. Do you trust others easily? Hmmm.... why do you want to know?
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Age 0-2, a yellow stuffed bunny; age 2-5 Tonka trucks; age 5-10 tinkertoys and leggos etc; age 10-16 off-road motorcycle; age 16-20 radio-controlled airplanes; age 20-25 yeah right I was in college; age 25 to present, sailboat. It'll probably stay there for a while. (All ages very apporoximate).
17. What class in high school do you think was totally useless? Heh. Can't remember.
18. Do you have a journal? Yes, several. Each has one or two pages of real deep thoughts. The remaining pages are empty.
19. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Oh, no. Uh, uh. Nope.
20. What are your nicknames? Handy Andy seems to be the best anyone can come up with, which has me worried about what they might be coming up with and not telling me...
21. Would you bungee jump? Doubtful. I would like to, I really would. But when I vomit, I prefer that it ends up below me, not above me.
22. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? I've tried not doing it... they will not come off. Except my loafers or boat shoes or whatever you call them. Gotta love shoes that you can wear to church, and yet with shorts and no socks, go sailing with them. I never untie those.
23. Do you think you are strong? When I'm in the gym (which is never), no. When I'm among mostly city-raised people doing manual labor of some sort in a group, yes.
24. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Red raspberry, which I've only seen once in my life. If anyone finds some, please email me immediately!
25. What is your shoe size? What on earth do you think you are going to learn about me from my answer to this question??!! oh...
26. Red or pink? Absolutely. Oh, you mean on me? Green.
27. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I have trouble showing emotion.
28. Who do you miss most? Oh man. No fair! Maybe I'll come back to this one.
29. Do you want everyone you sent this to to send it back? Definitely. But then, I didn't send it to anybody.
30. What color pants & shoes are you wearing? Tan/Black. I was expecting to be working on my car, but it mysteriously fixed itself.
31. What are you listening to right now? The sound of stuck, spinning car to the north; computer fan to the east; passing cars to the south; west pretty quiet today.
32. What is the last thing you ate? Yogurt
33. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Oh, that's easy. White. White crayons stay sharp forever.
34. What is the weather like right now? Turning into the day of the year, actually! Granted, we're barely over 2 months into the year, but I'm itching to get out. Only 23 questions to go...
35. Who is the last person you talked to on the phone? A guy at work about work.
36. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Hair (Hey, quit rolling your eyes... its true!)
37. Do you like the person who sent this to you? What kind of question is THAT?
38. What is your favorite drink? Cold Hollow apple cider. Mmmm...
39. Favorite sport? Sailing. Except I refuse to make it a sport :) Unless the contest is whoever is having the most fun, wins. Or whoever has the most non-mainstream boat. Etc.
40. Hair color? Dark (black? brown?).
41. Eye color? Brown
42. Do you wear contacts? Never tried it. I guess I just like my glasses.
43. Favorite food? Leftovers... so easy to make!
44. What was the last movie you watched? Napolean Dynamite. See previous post.
45. Favorite day of the year? That day in April or March... you know the one I mean. The only day of the year normal people can wear shorts and see snow on the ground.
Hey, this day finally came: 4/6/05
46. Scary movies or happy endings? Neither. Give me Spitfire Grill, Ladykillers, or anything that's kind of different.
47. Summer or winter? Used to be winter, before I got into sailing.
48. Hugs OR kisses? Haven't had much practice with the second one... not sure its a fair question. Suffice it to say, if from Dad... you know the answer.
49. Favorite Desert? Vanilla ice cream, with maple syrup on it.
50. Who is most likely to respond? N/A (sort of)
51. Least likely? see above
52. Living arrangements? Oh, if you only knew. What a story. Ask me sometime.
53. What books are you reading? Might be more productive to ask "what books would I be reading if I wasn't going to school part time and working full time?". Well, I'd start by reading the last book of the CS Lewis space trilogy that I started ages ago. What to read next? I have a few ideas, but please send your suggestions!
54. What's on your mouse pad? I have a laptop. If I had a mouse pad, it would definitely be Homestarrunner.
55. What did you watch last night on TV? I don't remember the last time I watched TV. Oh, yes I do... I watched the superbowl with friends. But I actually only watched the ads, and was somewhat disappointed with most of them this year. Except the "robber in the store" one. Hilarious!!! Anyone remember the product being advertised? Not me!
56. What is your favorite smell? Easiest question yet. Maple sap being made into maple syrup over a hardwood fire.
57. Rolling Stones or the Beatles? Beatles hands down, though I'm not sure its the right question. Grateful Dead vs The Beatles? Oh man. Harder yet... Phish vs The Beatles. Ok, I give up.
58. What is the furthest you've been from home? VERY embarrassed to say... Texas (nothing wrong with Texas, except that the only difference between it and Mars is the billboards and oil pumps... its just not that far away from me).

Napolean Dynamite

I watched Napolean Dynamite late on Saturday night with a friend. She'd heard good things about it, I thought it looked funny, so we grabbed it (after the usual hour or more of hmmm'ing and ha'ing... which is why it was late on a Saturday night instead of early). :) We both thought it would be a good late night, barely awake, laughing movie.

Ha! All through the movie we were like "what?". It was so weird and random and pointless! When it was over we both sort of apologized for having made the other suffer through it, and I went home.

Next day though... we started talking about it, imitating parts of it, remembering quotes, laughing about it. Then I remembered that's how it is with The Princess Bride and Monty Python. You watch it and its like "what?" but you remember it later and it seems hilarious. Maybe that's a requirement of "cult" movies... that they are weird and random and pointless when you watch them. Maybe Napolean Dynamite is a pretty good movie after all. The trick is to watch it a few more times... and then never again. Just like The Princess Bride and Monty Python and Sesame Street... stuff that's much more fun to remember than to actually watch. I guess I'd have to admit that's better than laughing myself inside out during the movie... and then forgetting about it forever.

Weird

Strange phenomenon.
How did such a random form
Become so mainstream?

Oh My Darlin'

I was excited today when I was in the grocery store and saw that they had a huge load of clementines on display. I had been in a different store a few days before and they had some, but they didn't look so good. I thought maybe the season was over. Well, the season is apparently alive and well, so I bought some!

Yum! Its like candy that you don't have to feel guilty eating. But... has anyone besides me ever wondered where these things came from? They peel easy, they are mostly seedless, super-sweet. What are they? Were they made in some laboratory? Well, whatever they are, they're yummy and I'm gonna keep eatin' 'em!

Tell the truth, and make sure the truth is good...

... or just be lucky, as in this case.

I used to be a little lax about car maintenance. Ok, ok, I still am, but I'm not this bad anymore. Here's the story of when I was driving around with a missing muffler:

I was sitting at a stoplight with a lady cop behind me and I knew that as soon as I started to move I was nailed, but I tried to just ease on the gas and make as little noise as possible. No dice, she heard it (or just saw it, probably both) and pulled me over. She said it appeared I had no muffler at all and I (truthfully) said yes, that's partly true... this car has two mufflers in-line and its missing the rearmost one (so it wasn't as loud as no muffler).

I also told her that the inspection was current, that I was aware of the problem and had plans to fix it. That was all true too, though I didn't reveal the timeline I had had in mind.

Anyway, she took my license, and insurance and all that, but it turned out I didn't have my latest insurance card. This made me a little nervous... I was pretty sure my insurance was current, but then why would my card be outdated?

Well, I had an old one, and I gave it to her and told her at least that was my insurance company with phone # and all that.

She was the quinessential scary woman cop.. young, pretty, stern... the way I picture a female army interrogator (I have a friend who was one of those, with eyes that seem to penetrate your mind and find all your 1's and 0's and convert them in her mind back into your inner thoughts).

She looked me straight in the eye and said "do you have insurance?" and I looked her straight in the eye and said "yes, I do" but in my mind I was like "oh, Lord, I hope I have insurance".

So then she said "I can call them right now from here. Do you have insurance?" And I said "I know... I don't mind if you do" looking her straight in the eye again. So she didn't call and she let me go. I went home immediately and called the insurance company.

I had forgotten to pay and I was uninsured. Just about fainted.

I would like to say that I learned to always tell the truth. I really did think I was telling the truth... sort of. I was pretty sure, but the lie was that I made it sound like I was totally sure, which I wasn't. I definitely did learn to make sure the truth is what you'd want cops to know! But more importantly, God knows the truth. Not much point in lying.

I wonder what would have happened if I just told her I wasn't sure I had insurance. Even more interestingly, I wonder what would have happened if after I told her I did, she found out I didn't. Oh, man. Can't be anything good about that. Fortunately, I don't know.

Here's how to become a cop in vermont.

Wayward Eggs

I get a kick out of egg slogans. Shadow Cross Farm eggs... "Good Eggs to Deal With". Good eggs to deal with? Well, that's a relief! I'm sick and tired of eggs that are hard to deal with! In fact, I'm going to start a "march against difficult eggs".

I'm not complaining... just think its hilarious. I'll take this over the usual sex, drugs, and money any day of the week.

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about eggs

The "Gift" of Winning Arguments

I was in a McDonalds late at night (late enough that nothing else was open) with nothing to do but thumb through a yellow pages that was sitting there (well, and eat of course). Saw this funny quote in there from Dave Barry, whose work I love, when its censored (as in the newspaper). May I know how to debate well, and -- especially, most importantly, and for crying out loud -- know when not to.

"I argue very well. Ask any of my remaining friends. I can win an argument on any topic, against any opponent. People know this, and steer clear of me at parties. Often, as a sign of their great respect, they don't even invite me." (Dave Barry)

Ladykillers

Just watched "Ladykillers" the other night. Best movie I've seen in a while. Since, "Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou", in fact, which was the same producer. I only know a little Edgar Allen Poe (Tell Tale Heart, Most Dangerous Game), but I get the feeling this movie gets a lot of its ideas from Poe, though it does not apparently come directly from it. It has a lot of Poe references too. Don't let that scare you... its not particularly scary. If you like subtle humor and irony, and can deal with a slower moving plot (but faster than "O Bro, wr art thou" was), you'll like this. No sex scenes either, IIRC.

Ode to Spider Plants

I have this spider plant a friend of mine didn't want. It was all brown and gangly looking. I almost wouldn't take it because I've never thought spider plants were very attractive. I reluctantly took it because she convinced me that spider plants are good for keeping the air fresh or something. Anyway, I'm a total believer in spider plants now. What they lack in looks they totally make up for in personality. With just a little love, it has bloomed into something, well, not quite beautiful exactly, but great to have around. It is always there, ready to forgive me when I don't water it, purifying my air, and even producing babies that I can give away to other people who can appreciate the inner beauty of a plant. :) (Next Older) (Next Newer)

Boxes

Some people freak out if you do something different than what they would predict. Like, if you are generally conservative but are liberal on one issue, or you don't usually dress up and one day you do. Pleasant surprise would be one thing. To think "oh, this person is broader than I thought"; I wouldn't mind that at all. But to have it rock their world and sort of create this crisis where they don't know what category you should be in now, that drives me nuts. I HATE it when people try to put me into some category. I mean, its useful for getting to know someone, but don't lock me in, PLEASE! This is the reason for my partial dislike of Myers Briggs, even though I do think its useful. (If you're curious, I'm an ENTJ... 33%,39%,22%,22%, respectively. I'm proud of these low numbers and would like to get them lower). So, anyway, I thought I'd share this quote (kindly provided by Agatelamp) that captures so nicely what I think about these boxes we put each other in:

(From "Lolita"): "I have often noticed that we are inclined to endow our friends with the stability of type that literary characters acquire in the reader's mind. No matter how many times we reopen "Kind Lear," never shall we find the good king banging his tankard in high revelry, all woes forgotten, at a jolly reunion with all three daughters and their lapdogs. Never will Emma rally, revived by the sympathetic salts in Flaubert's father's timely tear. Whatever evolution this or that popular character has gone through between the book covers, his fate is fixed in our minds, and similarly, we expect our friends to follow this or that logical and conventional pattern we have fixed for them. Thus x will never compose immortal music that would clash with the second-rate symphonies he has accustomed us to. Y will never commit murder. Under no circumstances can z betray us. We have it all arranged in our minds, and the less often we see a particular person the more satisfying it is to check how obediently he conforms to our notion of him every time we hear of him. Any deviation in the fates we have ordained would strike us as not only anomalous but unethical. We would prefer not to have known at all our neighbor, the retired hot-dog stand operator, if it turns out he has just produced the greatest book of poetry his age has seen." (Next Older) (Next Newer)

Sailing/ Camping Trip

The clever eye will notice 4 in the boat. Yep, I cheated. This is my boat, but a different outing. Digital cameras and water are a tricky mix.

Hey, there. Just got back from my first overnight sailing cruise. Three of us started from the Burlington waterfront Monday morning and headed for Valcour Island in New York. It's about a 15 mile journey; took about 4 hours. Sailed on dead run almost all the way. If you are curious, Valcour Island is actually visible on your Rand McNally road atlas if you have one. Its just south of Plattsburgh. So that was great and so was camping. But the next day (today) had a series of scattered thunderstorms. We got soaked! But we had fun. I highly recommend it! :) that's it...

Falling off of Roofs and Stuff

So I fell off a roof last Wednesday. Well, I guess I more fell _through_ the roof. I was in the process of dismanting a tool shed for one of my customers, and it had a tin roof. I was taking screws out one by one. Of the piece of tin I was standing on. Totally Wiley Coyote-esqe. It started to give way. I think there actually was that pause, you know where Wiley just sort of hangs there until he _realizes_ his situation, then starts falling. This was handy because it gave me time to brace myself and get ready so I landed on my feet. Once I landed it was kind of wierd. Like I didn't really remember the process of falling very well. It was like I was on the roof, then I wasn't. I remember thinking "um, wait, wasn't I _on_ roof? Why am I on the ground?". I dunno... its hard to describe. It was weird. Guess I'm not used to such sudden and involuntary changes in surroundings. The nice thing is it turned out the screw I was trying to unscrew was easier to reach from the ground, and I conveniently still had my screwdriver in hand! So I just accepted my new surroundings and carried on. Well, that's all... laters!

Perelandra

I'm reading "Perelandra", the second book in the CS Lewis space trilogy (finally getting around to it... well worth it). Read chapter 4 last night. There was this part where Ransom has just discovered the tree bubbles that give him some sort of nice "high" when he pops them. The thought occurs to him that he could take a flying leap and pop a bunch of them at once... if one is good, more must be even better, right? But he restrained himself. Here's the quote on why: "...He had always disliked the people who encored a favourite air in the opera -- 'That just spoils it' had been his comment. But this now appeared to him as a principle of far wider application and deeper moment. This itch to have things over again, as if life were a film that could be unrolled twice or even made to work backwards... was it possibly the root of all evil? No: of course the love of money was called that. But money itself -- perhaps one valued it chiefly as a defence against chance, a security for being able to have things over again, a means of arresting the unrolling of the film."
Isn't that brilliant?! K. bye. :)

They

Ever notice how we love to use this gender neutral pronoun? I finally realized we almost always use it to mean the opposite gender. If a woman says "I was talking to my friend and 'they' said...", 99% of the time, she's talking about a guy. Otherwise she would have said "...and 'she' said...". Isn't that interesting? So next time you hear someone do this, you can say "so what is his name?" (if a woman said it) and make her blush. :) Toodles!

Cell Phone Moral Dilemma

So I use a cell phone as my only phone... I have no land-line. To you city folk this probably seems pretty normal but here in Vermont its still a fairly novel idea. So of course it has caller ID and all that. I'm realizing that cell phones are changing forever the way we answer phones. It used to be "hello?". Now its "hi, so-and-so". But I find that when I answer that way, the person calling is like "um, oh, uh, hi! Um, this is so-and-so. Um, oh, but I guess you knew that. Um, well, I was just calling about...". They are taken so aback by it. So I often just say "hello" even though I know who it is, so they can think they're having their customary 5 seconds of anonymity, and then I pretend to be surprised when they tell me who they are. Recently I've modified this slightly where I'll answer "hi, so-and-so" if I happen to know they are a frequent cell phone user. So... is this right? Does this fall under lying? dunno. All for now...

Testing 123

This is only a test. If this were an actual blog... um, this would be interesting... probably.