Liebster Award

My friend and writing mentor Mel, who is wise in the ways of becoming prolific, says this: one blog post at a time, no matter how brief.  Anne Lamott says that in order to write anything, you need a shitty first draft (sing it, sister).

In that interest, I'm posting my responses to Mel's Liebster award.  Thanks, Mel, for nominating me!  Hopefully I'll get around to posting something more substantive again soon.

1. Longest you’ve ever gone without a shower.
   
   That would be camping.  Two days, at most.  I learned that I don't enjoy being grimy.  (Which sort of mitigates against my possible potential participation in the six-day-long outdoor orientation program for students that they run at my current place of employment.)
   
2. Tell us about a recent disappointment.
   
   Life has been pretty good to me lately.  I was disappointed by getting a plate of couscous for dinner when what I really wanted was vegetables (because most caterers think that "vegetarian" means "pasta-eater"), but I'm not about to grouse about that, especially given that it was a free meal, and there was curry on top of said couscous, and at least it wasn't penne.  I will also not bellyache about the huge bag of hand-me-down pants I had to return to my neighbor, none of which fit because unlike her, I have curves.  I was a little disappointed to discover that the big wet spot on my daughter's carpet, which caused a patch of black mold to grow, was actually coming from inside the wall (though I'm glad that my husband cut open said wall so that the source of the water could be identified).  Not looking forward to the re-drywall process.  Maybe we could just leave it that way?  It is pretty humorous being able to see through the wall from my daughter's room into our bathroom.
   
3. Tell us the person you’d most like in the car with you for a road trip.
   
   Any car trip that doesn't involve commuting to work sounds pretty good.  (I would take my husband; we're pretty good on the road together, since we find the same people annoying.)
   
4. Which do you like better: goats or sheep?
   
   Goats are more interesting: they're not afraid to express their opinions, and quite literally butt heads with anyone else who gets in the way.  I think I have more respect for goats.  Yes, that's hard-coded, thanks for asking.


5. Do you like to watch scary movies?
   
   Not really.  But I'm not a huge consumer of movies at all, come to think of it.  And you already know that we don't own a TV, which makes me a cultural illiterate.  Will you throw tomatoes and laugh at me if I tell you I don't really understand references to Breaking Bad?
   
6. What do you call yourself when you’re talking to yourself inside your head?
   
   Depending on what I'm talking to myself about, I call myself anything from "genius" to "idiot."
   
7. Name someone from your kindergarten class that you wonder about to this day.
   
   About a year or two ago, one of my classmates posted our kindergarten picture on Facebook, and tagged as many people as he could find.  The surprising thing, to me, was how little people had changed.  Sure, we were older, and greyer, and a little fatter (or skinnier).  I can't say that I loved elementary school, though, and there aren't people I really wonder about; I suspect I can guess, for the few I know nothing about (they probably don't let you have access to Facebook in jail).
   
8. What is the best song for picking up your mood?
   
   Anything that I can belt out in the car.  And sometimes things that I can dance to with my kids.  Currently: "I'm Gonna Rock Some Tags" and "Applause."
   
9. How do you organize your socks?
   
   Oddly enough, despite my tendency to over-organize everything, I don't organize my sock drawer.  They're packed in there in pairs, one sock stuffed inside its match to facilitate ease of retrieval.  I guess that's organization after all, isn't it ...
   
10. When no one is home, do you close the bathroom door?
    
    I don't like locking myself in to windowless spaces, just in general.  I'm more likely to close the door if there's a window.

I'm supposed to nominate seven more people.  Let's turn this on its head a bit: go ahead and answer any of the questions you'd like in the comments ... and ask one of your own!  Then visit the commenter before you, and leave a comment on their blog!