Isn't this the meme blog?

YOU CAN ONLY ANSWER EACH QUESTION WITH ONE WORD. GOOD LUCK!

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk

2. Your significant other? Home

3. Your hair? Straightened

4. Your mother? Entertained

5. Your father? Thorough

6. Your favorite thing? Snuggling

7. Your dream last night? Forgotten

8. Your favorite drink? Coffee

9. Your dream/goal? Retired

10. The room you're in? Office

11. Your fear? Torture

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Director

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. What you're not? Father

15. Muffins? Yum

16. One of your wish list items? Coffeemaker

17. Where you grew up? Places

18. The last thing you did? Financials

19. What are you wearing? Clothes

20. Your favorite TV show? House

21. Your pet? Busy

23. Your life? Hilarious

24. Your mood? Fine

25. Missing someone? Meh.

26. Your car/truck? Driveway

27. Something you're not wearing? Earrings

28. Favorite Store? Target

29. Your summer? Hot

30. Your favorite color? Brown

31. When is the last time you laughed? Today

32. Last time you cried? Recently

THREE PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER: Church, Work, Grocery

THREE OF MY FAVORITE FOODS: Pork, Sushi, Breakfast

PLACE I WOULD RATHER BE RIGHT NOW: Vegas

Another one....

The annual Sundry End-Of-The-Year Questionnaire.


1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Saw someone turn 100 (my grandma).


2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? Sort of, for both.



3. Did anyone close to you give birth? A friend from church and my next door neighbor (definitely geographically close, right?)


4. Did anyone close to you die? No.


5. What countries did you visit? None, unless you count Mississippi and Alabama (both of which, by the way, are lovely, and full of wonderful, friendly people).


6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A bigger savings account.


7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? the day after Memorial Day (the new Starbucks opening), September 11 (the day of my surprise promotion), Election Day, the day after election day (when the dog got sick), Thanksgiving (the day he died...but also the day that my parents ate Thanksgiving dinner at my house and proclaimed it good).



8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? It was a good year for me professionally. The surprise promotion was just confirmation that I'd been doing things well for some time, and that people noticed. So it wasn't necessarily a 2008 achievement (I think I'd been good at my prior position for quite some time), but it finally got noticed and the noticing got acted upon in 2008.


9. What was your biggest failure? Dropping other balls. I got so wrapped up in work that I let a lot of other things slide more than I like to. I've gotten more isolated than I like to be, mainly because I'm tired at the end of a workday, and I've gotten very possessive of my free time. I need to work on this.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Nothing beyond a mystery bruise and a cold. Good year for the body.

11. What was the best thing you bought? Takeout pizza on a night I really needed downtime. And a fantastic, and very cheap, pair of shoes that live at my desk at work.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? This week, my dog's. She's six, and has always seemed like an overgrown puppy. I determined that "better late than never" was the best approach to her behavior and got more serious about being a good pack leader, and it's working. That makes me very happy, but a little ashamed that I didn't try harder oh, say, about five years ago. It would have saved my shoulder, that's for sure.


13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Our president.


14. Where did most of your money go? Groceries, bills, mortgage. Not necessarily in that order.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Coffee. I'm better now.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? that one about kissing a girl

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? happier

b) thinner or fatter? thinner

c) richer or poorer? About the same.


18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Volunteering.



19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Watching bad television.

20. How did you spend Christmas? The day itself? In the car, speeding home from Florida.


21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Not with any humans.


22. What was your favorite TV program? True Blood, probably.


23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I honestly avoid hating as much as I can. It's never done me any good, and it consumes a lot of energy. That being said, I've lost some respect for a few people.


24. What was the best book you read? This is driving me crazy. I remember reading it. I remember telling everyone about it. I can't remember it, and searching my bookshelves isn't helping. A strong second place goes to "The South," by the same authors as "Big Muddy" (I'm too lazy to look), which I've been reading very, very slowly. It's remarkably informative and entertaining, and has given me a better way to explain why I live here by choice and will never willingly leave. I'm sure every region is compelling, too, in its way, but I'm a Southerner by birth and choice (not by upbringing and culture), and I love it here.


25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Watching my family play Rock Band on the Playstation. I love how my son looks like a rock star on guitar but sounds like a little boy when he sings.


26. What did you want and get? A decent raise.

27. What did you want and not get? A new car. One day we will. But I think we'll keep driving the old minivan until it's just no longer possible. And the coffee maker of my dreams (only because I haven't found one in my price range that does everything I want).

28. What was your favorite film of this year? This survey is starting to feel very familiar. Once was definitely the best thing I saw this year.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? An ancient 37. We went strawberry picking the weekend before my birthday, and I was in training at work on my real birthday.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? If that whole stock market thing hadn't happened. I could have done nicely without those panic attacks in October. I'm better now, but it was pretty creepy there, obsessively checking my retirement money. (I don't check anymore.)


31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Until October, I'd call it Starbucks dress code. Afterward, vaguely hip professional. My husband might disagree.


32. What kept you sane? My family. And my commute (ten minutes, door to door, on foot). I like walking.


33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Britney Spears. I'm glad she's doing better. I hate to see anyone in as much pain as she was obviously in.


34. What political issue stirred you the most? That war.


35. Who did you miss? My two bestest BFFs who live way too far away.


36. Who was the best new person you met? A parent at the hospital who taught me a lot about grace and graciousness and gratitude and being generally cool, smiley, and well-groomed, even when going though a parent's second-worst nightmare. And looked smokin' hot the entire time. She's my hero. (And her kid is doing just fine...which is why it was the second-worst, not the worst, nightmare for a parent.)

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Sometimes people notice when you're doing a good job and they actually reward it. Or, as Cartman would say, "Follow your dreams, you will succeed. I'm living proof." BEEF-CAAAAAAAKE!


38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

And she was looking at herself

And things were looking like a movie

She had a pleasant elevation

She's moving out in all directions.



The world was moving, she was right there with it (and she was).

The world was moving, she was floating above it (and she was).

2008 meme

via Kalisah

1. Was 2008 good for you? Yes, it was. It's been a pretty good year.

2. What was your favorite moment of the year? Honestly, it's hard to choose one. We started out well, with a promotion (it became official in January), followed by another in September, but election night was pretty great. I'll count that.

3. What was your worst moment of the year? That's easier to choose. That would be when my sweet dog died in my arms on Thanksgiving night. It was just as awful as you might imagine.

4. Where were you when 2008 began? In my house, as usual.

5. Who were you with? My husband and maybe the kids. I can't remember if they were still up.

6. Where will you be when 2008 ends? See #5. I'm a creature of habit. We'll eat at Sekisui beforehand.

7. Did you keep your new years resolution of 2008? Maybe?

8. Do you have a new years resolution for 2009? Still thinking about it.

9. Did you fall in love in 2008? With a dog, yes.

10. If yes, with who? His full name is Baron Klaus von Waffles, but I usually call him Waffle Hut.

11. Are you still in love? Snuggling now :-)

12. Did you breakup with anyone in 2008? Cracker Barrel restaurants in general, which equally dismays and amuses my parents.

13. Did you make any new friends in 2008? Yes. Well, "friends" is probably too strong a word. I've gotten friendlier with people at the Corporation, mainly because my first promotion was to a pretty visible position, and I dealt with a lot of people in that position.

14. Who are your favorite new friends? Do I really have to play favorites?

15. What was your favorite month of 2008? I liked September a lot.

16. Why this month? The unexpected promotion.

17. Did you travel outside of the US (or your home country) in 2008? Nope.

18. How many different places did you travel to in 2008? A few...mostly to visit family. Most recently to Florida with my parents. I highly recommend visiting Sea World on Christmas Eve.

19. Did you miss anybody in the past year? Jennifer and Kaki.

20. What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2008? Once. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's fantastic.

21. What was your favorite song from 2008? 

Okay, this will probably make you lose all respect for me, but that Kid Rock song this summer? I loved it!

22. How many concerts or plays did you see in 2008? Two, I think. Maybe three.

23. Did you have a favorite concert in 2008? I don't think so. Nothing stands out.

24. What was your favorite book in 2008? I jumped on the "Twilight" bandwagon and really liked it, but I'm now reading the Sookie Stackhouse books and I like them better.

25. How many people did you sleep with in 2008? Just the one.

26. Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year? Not that I can think of.

27. What was the biggest lie you told in 2008? Can't think of one. Not that I'd tell you anyway.

28. Did you treat somebody badly in 2008? Not on purpose. I can't think of anyone.

29. Did somebody treat you badly in 2008? Not really. I have a pretty good life.

30. What was your proudest moment of 2008? That would be the second promotion. It was very unexpected and communicated the confidence that several people have in me as a professional. It felt great.

31. What was your most embarrassing moment of 2008? I'm sure it involved my dog somehow (not the dead one or the new one...the naughty one!)

32. If you could go back to any moment of 2008 and change something, what would it be? I would have declined some of the tests the vet ran a few weeks before the dog died. That was an expensive vet bill.

33. Where did you work in 2008? Same place I've worked since 2004. Best employer ever.

34. Favorite TV shows(s) of 2008? House, Lost, Heroes, Celebrity Rehab.

35. Favorite Band(s) of 2008? I don't know. I'm pretty out of touch.

36. Favorite Food in 2008? I wish I could honestly answer "Fruit" but that would be the biggest lie I told this year. I can honestly say that I've been known to dream about the General Tso's Chicken at the Corporation's Cafeteria.

37. Favorite Drink in 2008? Franzia Chianti. In a box.

38. Favorite Place in 2008?

My bedroom.

39. Favorite person(s) to be with in 2008? My family.

40. Favorite person(s) to talk to in 2008? Again, back to Kaki and Jennifer. Although I have to give my dad some props. He's never been much of a talking on the phone kind of guy, but we've had some VERY good conversations this year. I don't know what's making him so chatty, but I'm enjoying it.

41. Favorite trip in 2008? Orlando last week. The first full week I've taken off work for a long time, and it's been great.

42. Favorite stores in 2008? Huh? I do like Fresh Market.

43. Hardest thing you had to go through in 2008? That would be the dog situation. I haven't written a blog post about it (well, that's not quite true...it's in my drafts folder, but I don't know if I'll ever post it. It's not for the squeamish.) In a nutshell, he got quite ill the day after the election, got somewhat better with medication for a few weeks, then got very sick again on Thanksgiving night and died about half an hour after I realized that he was having symptoms. We wouldn't have had time to get him to the vet even if we'd left the house immediately, and I held him as he died. It was not fun at all. And it took a long time to process (um, I'm still processing it.)

44. Most exciting moment(s) in 2008? The presidential election.

45. Funniest moment(s) in 2008? Watching my kids playing "Rock Band".

A late Christmas Gift

For anyone who thinks opera is not accessible for "regular" people, I offer this rebuttal. Chills at 4:09.

You're welcome, and happy holidays!

Mabye if I do more of these I'll actually post something

Today I: have a sore throat but am choosing to ignore it.

Tomorrow I will: get on an airplane and see my family to celebrate my Grandma's 100th birthday. She's old.

I'm looking forward to: sleeping late tomorrow morning.

I could pass on: getting on an airplane. I really don't like to fly.

Newest song I like: I heard something on Saturday Night Live this past week that I liked. But I don't remember what it was called. That's my husband's job. Maybe he can make me a mix tape of the last 20 songs I've liked but didn't know what they were.

Last show I saw: TV show? Or live band? Top Chef, if it's the former, and Neighborhood Texture Jam, if it's the latter. I still have a few bruises from the mosh pit (!!) and it took a day for my hearing to recover, but it was so worth it to go back 20 years in time to when I had a mohawk and met my husband across the crowded room at an NTJ show. Good times. I love a good mosh pit, especially when it's populated by people aged 35-45. Much more considerate than those crazy kids back in the day.

Something aggravating: getting sick right before going out of town.

One thing you may not know about me: if I told you you'd know. But I'll share something easy - we got a new dog on Sunday and I'm completely in love. Mr. Waffles is his nickname. His real name is Baron Klaus Nomi Von Waffles. Because he's a dachshund and should have a name as long as his torso.

I can still: throw down in a mosh pit!

Gift I'd want if money was no object: a new car.

My Memphis (not my video, but yes, my neighbor)