I'm a O41-C52-E42-A69-N60 Big Five!!

I filched this from Jennifer Crusie's blog, ARGH INK

1. YOUR PORN STAR NAME: (Name of first pet / Street you live on):   Phoebe Harvard  (At least she's educated)

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (Name of your favorite snack food / Grandfather’s first name):   Booty George (Starring in those fabulous  B movies -- "Attack of the Alien Butchers"  and "Dimbos on Parade")

3. YOUR FASHION DESIGNER NAME: (First word you see on your left / Favorite restaurant)  Ace Longhorn  (gotta love those hardware ads)

4. EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS: (Favorite Spice / Last Foreign Vacation Spot):  Ginger Toronto  (I need to travel more)

5. SOCIALITE ALIAS: (Silliest Childhood Nickname / Town Where You First Partied):  Chubby Waltham (I'm not cut out to be a socialite, I can't even party high-class)

6. “FLY Boy” ALIAS (a la J. Lo): (First Initial / First Two or Three Letters of your Last Name):  P. Bry  (Boring)

7. ICON ALIAS: (Something Sweet Within Sight / Any Liquid in Your Kitchen):  Brown Sugar Coffee  (Yum! it's dessert - Brown sugar coffee creme brulee)

8. DETECTIVE ALIAS: (Favorite Baby Animal / Where You Went to High School):  Kitten Memorial (sounds like the marble sculpture outside the humane society but it's way better than Puppy Pennsville)

9. BARFLY ALIAS: (Last Snack Food You Ate / Your Favorite Alcoholic Drink):  Popcorn Disaronna ( I should eat more sophisticated snack foods  -- Crudite Disaronna? Tapas Disaronna?)

10. SOAP OPERA ALIAS: (Middle Name / Street Where You First Lived):  Ruthe Harvard (she's educated AND snooty)

11. ROCK STAR ALIAS: (Favorite Candy /Last Name Of Favorite musician ):  Gummy Schwartz  (that's not a rock star, that's an old blues guy with no teeth in the Bronx)
 

Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes. Tag 15 friends, including me because I'm interested in seeing what books my friends choose.

 

1. Magister Ludi – Hermann Hesse “We invent gods and struggle with them and they bless us.”  That quote’s been with me forever.
2. Bet Me – Jennifer Crusie – classic romance about playing the odds
3. Joseph had a Little Coat – Kids’ book with a great moral
4. Berenstain’s B Book – another kids’ book I have memorized
5. Fast Women, Faking It, and Welcome to Temptation – 3 more Crusie books – what can I say other than these kept me reasonably sane while I was in NM.
6. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – all the books. Douglas Adams was a genius
7. The Stupidest Angel  - Christopher Moore’s take on Christmas
8. Lamb – Moore’s take on the Jesus story
9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – TRR Tolkien – amazing
10. The Silmarilion – I love the creation story in this book – the gods singing the world into existence
11. Dress for Success for Women – the best color for accountants is grey, then dark grey then light grey.  Bah! Hot colors are needful.
12. The Wounded Healer – Henri Nouwen – healing our own wounds helps us heal others
13. Crazy Time : Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life -- This one helped me realize my feelings about the divorce (ie naming the targets at the range and going for the crouch) were valid.
14. Get Out of My Life, but First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall? : A Parent's Guide to the New Teenager – Anthony Wolfe – Josh’ should write this guy a thank you letter.
15. Further Along the Road Less Traveled - M. Scott Peck – this book was influential when I was pursuing the ministry and several concepts still resonate today.

I've been meaning to share this since last week.  I found the site http://pictureisunrelated.com/.  This is only one of many classics.  Enjoy

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends. You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority. Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives. You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller! In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart. You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. You break a lot of hearts. At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do. You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist. How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused

Your result for The Naughty or Nice Test ...

You've been Naughty!

44% Naughty and 36% Nice!

The Life Experience Test

Overall, you have partaken in 99 out of 174 possible life experiences. Your average life experience score is therefore 57%. The average score is 50%, making your experiences more than 68% of the people who have taken this test. The average for your age group (36-55) is 55%. Broken down by category: Art: 9/17 (53%) Career & Work: 9/13 (69%) Civics & Technology: 4/7 (57%) Crime & Disarray: 1/11 (9%) Education: 14/18 (78%) Fashion: 8/15 (53%) Fitness, Health and Sports: 2/7 (29%) Life in General: 8/14 (57%) Relationships: 11/14 (79%) Religion & Politics: 4/4 (100%) Social: 12/22 (55%) Travel: 11/20 (55%) Vices: 6/12 (50%)

Take the test and see how YOU compare

 

Bold the ones you've done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland   (does Disney World count?)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

I just heard this classic story from my co-worker:

She had picked up an Cross pen set for a college friend.  Said friend was late to pick the pen up and my co-worker was going to dinner with her roommates.  She left a note telling the friend to get the pen from the guys next door.  When she returned from dinner she was met by 5 men grinning widely.  "Why are you here?", she asked. "Because of the note," they replied. 

Here's the note: 

We   had   to   eat 
the   pen is   next   door.

She was very popular that day.

Leave me a comment and I will reply with why I like you. If I don't know you, I'll either make something up or tell you why I like your LiveJournal**. You must pay for the privilege by posting a message like this one on your LiveJournal.

**If I don't know you and/or don't read your LJ... introduce yourself.

A fun and quick way to stay in touch – ***Four, Four, Four, Four***

A.      Four places that I go to over and over:   Home-Salem, NJ; Home-Milford, MA; Fight Practice-Clinton, MA; Work,

E.      Four people I think will respond:  leslie(she already did), as for the others, I don't know.

F.      Four TV shows I watch: CSI, House, Good Eats (when I can get Food Network), Numb3rs

G.     Four things I do when no one is watching: eat, sleep, cry, shower

So, here's what you are supposed to do . . . and please don't spoil the fun . . .
·       hit Forward
·       delete my answers
·       type in your answers
·       send it to a bunch of people, including me
Good Luck . . .

Phoenix Swords performed at the Downeast Pirate Fair last weekend and much mayhem ensued.  Dastardly pirates, shanty singers and gracious merchants combined with beautiful weather and a picturesque setting on the Rockland, ME harbor in support of the Make A Wish Foundation.  I decided to forgo the joys of unpacking and joined the troupe at the festivities, a good decision on my part.  I came away from the event exhausted and happy.

Thinking that I needed to be at the fairgrounds at 7:30 AM, I set the alarm for 3:00 and was out of the house at 3:30.  Sadly, the Dunkin Donuts was not opened and the night help at McDonald's was surly, so I started my travels with no coffee.  I was almost an hour into my travels before I was able to score a large hot, cream only.  Around 6:30, I was on the coastal road near Portland and I called Blue to see how late I was.  And that is when I found out that we were scheduled to be onsite at 9:00 AM.  No matter, I drove on until I realized I the coffee hadn't had the desired effect.  Not wanting to be a danger to myself or others, I pulled off the highway and into a gas station with a large parking lot to "rest my eyes".  I awoke an hour later.  Returning to the highway, I made exceptional time until I discovered that I had missed the exit for US1 and was now in Augusta. Phone calls with Blue ensued.  I was soon on the correct road to Rockland.   I arrived around 8:30 and drove through the town looking for the fairgrounds.  There were no signs for the fair.  I circled the town again,  Still no signs.  After a phone call to Blue and a call from Perrin, I finally located the fair and faced the disappointing fact that although I was the first one on the road I was the last one to arrive. 

The fair was laid out in a small park on the harbor.  Merchant tents faced each other across a wide grassy boulevard that ended at the cannonade on the harbor.  A paved parking lot (normally used for patrons of the party boats) ran along side the park.  The main stage was set up at the harbor side - two flat-bed trailers pushed together with a few picnic tables set out in front.   The configuration of the trailers was great for the musical acts but not so good for our historical or stage acts and so Hestia decreed that we would perform in front of the main stage.  At the town-side of the park was the only shade - a ship climbing structure under a large oak tree.  The very few food vendors were setup across the parking lot from the tree.  

It is unfortunate that there was no shaded seating for patrons.  The event's success had much to do with the fine weather.  I know Phoenix would have performed in the rain and the seasoned merchants are always prepared for inclement weather.  But the setup left the musicians and the patrons with no protection from the elements.  In addition, I think the patrons would have stayed longer, spent more and been more involved if there had been shaded seating.  

Phoenix performed at the top of it's game.  Pirate's Puppets under the tree kept the kids engaged and giggling.  Saint George shone - probably one of the best performances I've seen.  Blue came into her own as the narrator although the interactions of the dragon and the princess were a close second.  I'm especially proud of the troupe's ability to carry the piratey stealing of the queen's eye or tear or whatever that big gem was.  The cannon firing from shore and ship was thrilling. 

At fair's end on Saturday, a very tired and hot troupe straggled to the hotel only to find what had been three rooms had turned into two.  Much discussion ensued on sleeping assignments. Finally a compromise was struck and all retired to shower and prepare for dinner.   Dinner location engendered another discussion.  The vote went to Brick's Pizza which I found unimpressive.  Of course, I was hankering for broiled fish and wound up with a tasteless cheese drenched mess.  The best part of the meal were the snow peas.

Rockland redeemed itself as a foodie haven the next morning.  I woke early and, not wanting to disturb my roommates, went for a walk.  I window-shopped the business district ending up at Rock City Books and Coffee for a heavenly breakfast of blueberry pie and Guatemalan medium roast.  Wanting to share the bounty, I bought blueberry scones to share - amazing light baking-powder biscuits filled with wild Maine blueberries. 

Sunday's fair started out overcast but cleared up for the afternoon.  Due to time constraints, we dropped the puppets in favor of Sheep Story and St. George.  We mugged for the TV camera's and switched up fights for the pirate melee so others could be on the Must Roos.  I left shortly after fair's end stopping at a gas station to fill-up and change to civvies.  I bought blueberries on the way out of town and stopped for dinner at the Maine Diner in Wells.  Arriving home, I fell into bed and slept - much-needed and well-deserved.   I returned to my normal life on Monday with stories and shanties running through my head. 

Moving sucks.  Too many boxes.  Too many things gone wrong already. 
I wonder what's going to go wrong next.

So here I sit at the repair shop waiting for the POS Chevy to be fixed - another electrical problem.  I started the new job yesterday but, no problem, the dealer has wireless.  If only it were that simple.  The wireless started at 48 Mbps As soon as I connected to work, it dropped to 1 Mbps.  It continues to fluctuate between 1 and 18 and chokes when I try to load up an excel spreadsheet (one of our smaller ones) .  So it is a problem.  They tell me the car will be ready in a 15 minutes which about all the power I have left in the laptop.  *grumble*

Think positive - at least I'll have air conditioning on the drive to work. 

Josh & I spent Sunday afternoon searching for housing in MetroWest and found nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  I'm looking for a 3 bedroom and the places we saw were either expensive apartment complexes or tired houses.  I'd blame it on Craig's list but I found my current place there.  So I bought 3 papers, the Globe, the T&G and the MetroWest News and found a few possibilities.  If these don't work out, I'll find a realtor. 

It's day 4 of close.  I've so much to do that I've allowed myself to crawl onto the proverbial ledge and stare into the abyss a few times already.  But this morning I started out very focused.   Then I got the first of what I believe will be many stupid questions today.  How much does it cost to make coffee free for a day?  Granted two weeks from today that will be a mere distraction.  Yet today  it kicked me right off track and I was sucked into the abyss.   

Right now I'm clawing my way out.  However, along the way back, I've rented a car for the NJ run this weekend, read my email and now am in LJ.   Only a few inches more and I'll be back to focused. 

Yes, I'm back at work.  I left a few very specific instructions that I'm told were ignored.  So, using that as inspiration, today's whiteboard is: 

What would Yoda do?  Your ass, kick it, he would.

has triumphed over death again.  I'm back at work, recovering from family & Florida.

 So, I agreed several months ago to take my mother to visit her great-granddaughter on the child's 12th birthday.   And that's how I ended up in Clearwater.  The chaos?  Well - that's just happens when my family gets together. 

I left from Manchester, NH on Wednesday, May 21st.  Met up with my mom at the Philadelphia airport.  Mom has osteo- and rhumetoid arthritis and doesn't get around very well.  I swiped a wheelchair (I asked a skycap but the man couldn't be bothered to help me so I helped myself) and wheeled mom on up to security.  She can't go through the metal detectors because of all metal parts holding her together so it was off to the private attention detail where everything was patted down and searched.  Mom lost her toothpaste because it was 6 ounces instead of 3 ounces.  She's bitter about that I can tell because that cost her $1.50!  Our flight to Tampa was pleasant.  We shared a lunch I'd bought in the Philly terminal.  The flight attendants were great and they had a wheelchair waiting for us at the gate. 

I picked up the rental car, a Ford Fusion.  That's when I was told that Enterprise doesn't have a location at the Orland airport.  So tomorrow I'm going to have to find the off-site location and get a shuttle from there.  Growl.  You'd think they could have said that when I was renting the car.  The Ford's been good, great on gas and enough room to do the transportation thing since it seems no one in the FL family has a vehicle.  

Anyway, my mom can only do one thing a day and she has a very set schedule.  Our plan was as follows:  
Wednesday - travel
Thursday - Angel's birthday party
Friday - take Angel and Dimitri to the library
Saturday - take Angel and Dimitri and their mom & dad to the Clearwater Aquarium
Sunday - go to church with Angel, Dimitri and Grace, the children's grandmother.  Then travel to Merritt Island
Monday - visit with my Aunt Grace and Uncle Bill.  Bill is my father's youngest brother. 
Tuesday - travel.
In theory, it was a good plan.  In practice, well that's another story all together. 

Where to start ... My family is just like the Waltons, that is if the Waltons were drunks, smokers, addicts and just plain weird (that's weird not in a good way) Here's an image:  My former sister-in-law, Grace, is a well-baked woman with no teeth and a voice like a raptor, who smokes cigarettes and drinks soda (it used to be beer - thank god for small favors). She yells at the kids to behave every 4 minutes but does not pay much attention to what the kids are doing.  How about this image - The kids' mother, Trish, says she's taking all day Saturday to be with the kids and my mother, shows up at 11:30 and informs us she has to leave by 1pm and by the way first we have to go to a pizza place to have lunch (Mom isn't supposed to have salty food like pizza).   The list of incidents could go on and on but it would only serve to get me angry again. 

The positives:  Angelina is a beautiful young woman on the verge of being svelte Hispanic stunning.  She's still an innocent, loves her great grandmother bunches and is doing her best in a difficult situation.  Where Angel has her daddy's good looks, Dimitri is his mother's boy, white blond and overactive with a huge imagination and a penchant for Asian martial arts.  

I worry about both of the kids.  They don't live in the best situation.  I'm not sure what is more dangerous to them, the neighborhood they live in or the adults they live with.  The fact is my niece and her husband do not have legal guardianship of the children.  Their guardian is Grace's sister, Reba.  She impressed me with her sensible, practical, take-no-prisoners attitude.  We bonded immediately and I'm grateful she is involved with the two kids. 

Back to the schedule 

Thursday Birthday Party.  Very nice. Reba arranged a cookout.  Angel was thrilled.  Dimitri was showed off his karate moves.  Grace got on my nerves.  Juan, the kids' dad, made his only appearance of the week. Trisha was loud and singing the 'me, me, me' song. Didn't get mom back to the hotel until 9pm, much too late for her.

Friday library was preceded by a very long tour of places of interest such as schools, church and work places all punctuated with "Dimitri, sit still" and "Angel behave."  By the time I dropped everyone at the front door of the library, all I wanted was some quiet.  I stayed in the car.  The best part of the day for me was dropping the kids off with my brother, John, and his wife, Mary.  "Here are your grandkids, John. See you in the morning."  Didn't have dinner until late.  Got mom back to the hotel around 9pm - too late.

Saturday aquarium. See comments about my niece.  I saw a dolphin named Winter who has no tail and swims with a prosthetic.  Best part dropping off the kids.   Had a very late dinner. 

Sunday church.  I threw a mini-tantrum when Grace tried to guilt me into going to church.  Best part getting on the road to Merritt Island.  Only 2.5 hours drive.  Pretty area, much cooler than Clearwater.  I split a crabcake dinner with my mom on the theory that I hadn't had a reaction to crab yet.  Well, I'm not going to be eating crab in the future. 

Monday visit with Grace and Bill.  Grace took us to lunch. I had fresh broiled grouper and green beans.  Very tasty.  Grace took mom back to her house to visit and I went to Cocoa Beach.  I was going to dip my toes in the Atlantic  but I couldn't find a parking space.  I drove back to Grace and Bill's.  My uncle Bill reminded me of my dad both in his voice and mannerisms.  I haven't seen these folks for 30 or more years so it was good to have a chance to chat.  Got mom back to the hotel before 7:30pm.  She was happy.

Tomorrow we're homeward bound.  I'm really looking forward to my own bed. And the quiet.