"D" is for definitely the last meme this week.

Here's the bit: Start with the first letter of your first name, and have all answers start with that letter also.

1. What is your name: Derende
2. A four letter word: Drop
3. A boy's name: Dave
4. A girl's name: Dierdre
5. An occupation: Doctor
6. A color: Daffodil
7. Something you wear: Doc Martens
8. A food: Danish
9. Something found in the bathroom: Drains
10. A place: Denmark
11. A reason for being late: Death in the family
12. Something you shout: "Damn!"
13. A movie title: "Day of the Dead"
14. Something you drink: Dr. Pepper
15. A musical group: Depeche Mode
16. An animal: Dromedary camel
17. A street name: Deronda Dr. (in Los Angeles)
18. A type of car: Dodge
19. A song title: "Deep in the Heart of Texas"
20. A verb: Dive

In other news it's been a busy weekend. Not only were all the previously listed errands run, but all bills and checkbook balancing is up to date, and I've done a little demolition at my house (removing the weird window between living room and hallway, and the shelves above the bedroom door).

Taking the window out was interesting since I'd been intending to do that for years, but it's led to another WTF moment when we saw inside the wall. There's at least a foot-deep drift of debris in there, and it looks like they did something to the stud. Ruh roh. That's a load bearing wall. We'll see how much wall we'll strip off - there were some god-awful patches there which we'll take off, but I'm hoping it's not a free for all. I'll replace the whole inside surface of the hallway if it's less trouble than patching, but I'm afraid to see what else I find in there.

One Word Only (meme week continues)

Another long day at work followed by renewed crazy neighbor activity (= me removing piles of leaves). I'm sure you'll find this more interesting than a full account of my day.

Here is what you are supposed to do: copy and paste into your own note, type in your one-word answers.
Where is your cell phone?....briefcase
Your hair ........ taupe
Your father? ....... nerdy
Your mother?....... social
Your siblings..... faraway
Your favorite thing? .........sleeping
Your last dream?..........lost
Your favorite drink? ...........shaken
Your dream/goal? ........wealth
The room you are in? ......."office"
Your fear? ........ dependency
Where do you want to be in 6 years?.... retired
Muffins? ...........occasionally
One of your wish list items?.....studio
Where you grew up? ...........Aurora
The last thing you did? ....... ponder
What are you wearing?.......layers
Your TV?............ recycled
Your pets? ......... late
Your computer? ...... obsolete
Your life? ....... content
Your mood? ......... simmering
Missing someone? ....... sometimes
Your car? ..... beater
Favorite store?...... online
Your summer? ..... nostalgic
Your favorite color? ........cobalt
When is the last time you laughed? .....yesterday

Tomorrow it's errands! Laundry, smog test, realtor meetings, glasses return, picking up Burning Man tickets, painting! The fun never stops!

Give My Regards to Broadway

Nothing interesting going on here, just an impending tsunami of work. My brain is saturated from two days in a software class so I'm doing another meme. Enjoy and copy if you want to! And please, forgive the shouting. It wasn't me.



RULES:

1. Put your iTunes on shuffle (or whatever music player you prefer, which happens to have a shuffle option)

2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.

3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS! (I don't know where those all caps came from)

4. (optional) Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the same as well as the person you got this from.



IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY? Ride the Lights


WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? I Zimbra



WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL? Female of the Species



HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY? Intro



WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? (Reach Up For the) Sunrise



WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? A New Life



WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Everything Will Be Alright



WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Memphis Exorcism



WHAT IS 2+2? Insight



WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND? Eight Days a Week



WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? Find the River



WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Can't Buy Me Love



WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? Another One Bites the Dust



WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE? All the Way





WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? Where You End





WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING? Nth Degree





WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? Gotta Jazz





WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? I Held Her In My Arms



WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET? Hall of Heads



WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS? Mr. Blue



WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? Beautiful World



HOW WILL YOU DIE? Les Antipodes



WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET? Spooky



WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? Remember Me

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? Siren Song

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED? Perfect State



WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? Santa's Beard



DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU? Return of the Dead Man



IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? Don't Go



WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? Blue Mountain



WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS? Give My Regards to Broadway


Now if you'll excuse me, I need to tend to the wine that I laugh-snorted through my nose.

25 random things

So, I've been seeing a lot of this going around lately. I haven't been invited to do one, but I'm going to anyway! So there! How do you like them apples??


The good part is, since I wasn't tagged to do this, I won't tag anyone else, either. Do one if you want to, don't if you don't. Easy-peasy.


Ready set GO!

1. I'll only do full-head hair color when I'm going to cut it all off soon. It's just too high-maintenance. Streaks are another story.
2. I think I'm going to have a crisis when I turn 40 this year. That sounds old. I think my midilife crisis prop of choice would be a cabana boy (mostly because it's fun to call out, "Oh, cabana boy!" if I need something), but I can't afford one.
3. When in hardware stores, if I'm by the faucet displays, I'll turn the handles, and make sounds like running water. Quietly.
4. I fear the sun and don't go out any more without sunblock.
5. When traveling, the first words I learn after "please" and "thank you" are food words.
6. I'd rather ride than drive.
7. I only wear makeup when going out to a party/date. This has the benefit of keeping people's expectations low, which is good since I had better makeup application skills when I was 16 than I do now.
8. I do portraits in pastels. I love doing it, but have a very difficult time these days making time for it. Maybe after renovations are done I can start it up again.
9. I love the results of feng shui design, but I think the "reasons" for it are hooey.
10. I can read, but not write, LOLspeak.
11. My favorite Burning Man activity is wandering the quiet open playa and coming across art installations in the middle of nowhere.
12. I hate gardening.
13. I do not approve of peanut butter sandwiches made with sourdough bread. That's just wrong.
14. I sang a solo in a musical in college. (all theater activities were done by engineering students and faculty - it was still good! We performed in the big chemistry lecture hall)
15. I don't get the appeal of watching professional sports.
16. I've been CPR certified for the last 23 years. Never had to use it.
17. I don't talk much about my private life at work. As a result, I hear some hilarious rumors, and now don't want to say anything just so I can hear the latest. (they'd be so disappointed if they knew the truth)
18. I had laser surgery (PRK) done on my eyes twice. The first try overcorrected a lot. I hear they presented my case at conferences; not what you really want to hear about your surgery.
19. I didn't like avocado until 2004.
20. When I lived in DC/Maryland for two years, I lost touch with a lot of my local friends and haven't been able to re-establish a lot of the contacts. I miss them!
21. I've been to the Alaska North Slope.
22. I was attacked by jumping leeches on a hike in Thailand.
23. I had a pierced nostril for a while and loved the reactions it got (people would stare at it but never say anything), but had to take it out because it wasn't healing right. Sometimes I consider having it done again. (for those who wonder, it hurts less than getting your ears pierced)
24. Irrationality bugs me.
25. In dealing with things, I prefer data to machines and machines to people.

Deeply Getting to Know Meme

Thinking about the interview thing, I also had this article I ripped from Real Simple a couple of years ago. This is a long list of questions, for getting to know your family better (or friends, for that matter, if you can get it rolling). I'm thinking of hitting the family with one group of questions by email a month, rather than the whole thing in one shot, but here is the whole list FYI and so I can find it again myself!

I may even answer some of these myself in future posts - but for now, it's just the questions. Use as needed!

BTW, if anyone feels compelled to fill this out and post it or email it to me, that would be great to see. I'll probably be pinging a lot of you anyway! And I promise I will answer some myself, especially if asked directly.

Childhood
• What was your childhood home like?
• Your neighborhood?
• Was your parents' relationship a strong one?
• Which of them were you closer to?
• When you were growing up, what was the biggest disagreement you ever had with your parents?
• What was your role in the family?
• What were your siblings like back then, and how did you get along with them?
• At school, what were you like?
• Other than family, who were the most important people in your life when you were growing up?
• What were the happiest times of your childhood?
• What were your biggest disappointments?
• What were your hobbies as a kid?
• Who was the first person you ever kissed?
• Tell me about your first serious romance.
• When you were a kid, what did you imagine your adult life would be like?

Work
• What was your first job, and how did you get it?
• How did you decide what field to enter?
• Did your parents influence your approach to work or your choice of career?
• Was money a big factor for you?
• Was there one person—a mentor, maybe—who had a big impact on your working life?
• Is there anything you think is absolutely crucial to success at work?
• What was the best job you ever had? The worst?
• Did your career have any major turning points?
• What were the best moments of your working life? Any lingering regrets?
• On balance, how did you like your chosen field?
• If you had it all to do over again, would you choose the same path?

Love and Family
• Were you and your spouse in love from the start, or did the relationship take time?
• When did you decide to have children?
• Over the years, what was the most rewarding thing about raising kids?
• The toughest?
• What do you remember as the best times you had as a family?
• Which family vacation was your favorite?
• What was the worst thing you went through with your family?
• Did you dream about doing anything special once I'd/we'd all grown up?
• What are the secrets to a good relationship or marriage?
• Do you have any advice about being a good parent?
• Is there anything you'd do differently as a mother/father now?
• Would you try to do anything differently as a spouse?
• What would you say love is? Have your ideas about it changed over time?
• Now that you're all adults, what are your relationships like with your siblings?
• How are you like your parents? How are you different?
• Who in the family is most like you?
• What have you always regretted not asking your parents?

You and Me
• Is there anything you've never been able to ask me or say to me?
• In what ways do you think we're similar? In what ways different?
• What were your favorite times with me?
• Is our relationship anything like the one you had with your parents?
• Are you happy with the way you and I get along?
• Is there anything you wish had been different between us? That you'd still like to change?

You as You
• Who knows you better than anyone?
• Other than family, who are the most important people in your life right now?
• What's the key to a great friendship?
• Who makes you laugh the hardest?
• Do you have a favorite book or author?
• A favorite movie?
• What was the best trip you ever took?
• The most amazing place you've seen?
• If you could go somewhere you've never been, where would it be?
• Would you rather be living somewhere else?
• What are five things you couldn't live without?
• What's your most beloved personal possession?
• What's the bravest thing you've ever done?
• The scariest? The dumbest?
• Is there anything you always wanted to do but never did?
• What would I be surprised to learn about you?

The Kind of Life You've Lived
• What were the best years of your life?
• What was the hardest decision you've made?
• What are the most important things in life?
• What do you consider to be your strongest character traits?
• What traits or habits do you wish you didn't have?
• Do you believe that people can change?
• Do you believe in God?
• Has life made you more cynical or more hopeful?
• What do you consider to be the most important world events of your lifetime?
• Do you think life now is harder or easier than when you were young?
• If you could do anything over in your life, what would it be, and what would you do differently?
• What are you most proud of?
• What do you hope to be remembered for?