This was my life, May 7th, 2007

I shamelessly (shamefully?) purloined this from AlieMalie and did a bit of tinkering and produced a few changes from the original. Since I recently did the 'interview' blog, I just thought I would extend the concept a bit and ended up with this long-winded (and maybe even tireseome) screed. Hope you enjoy.

1. Does anyone know your passwords beside yourself? Only my hairdresser knows for sure, and she’ll never tell.

2. What was the last thing you ordered at McDonalds? A hamburger and Coke in Grenoble, France (in the neighborhood shown in the picture). Nobody wished us to have un bon jour. They were aloof and borderline rude. But, they were French, so that’s kind of redundant.

3. Are you an emotional person? Sometimes I can give a chilly impression, but inside I’m more often a soppy sponge than I want to be. Still have a hard time listening to Presley sing Old Shep.

4. Do you like your middle name? Not much, since it’s the same as the name my father went by. On the other hand, it is the same as the last name of the character Mel Gibson portrayed in Braveheart – “Scots wha hae, etc. …” I didn’t mind that until Gibson showed the world what a Jewbaiting creep he was last year.

5. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes, I do, and I’ve even lived to tell the tale. It doesn’t always work out, but it’s a rush when it happens.

6. Does the person you like, know that you like them? I hope so, or she wouldn’t share her bed with me

7. What was the last thing you did? Picked up the garbage can from the street.

8. Wherefore art thou, number 8? V-8? Eight-ball?

9. Who was the last person you ate with? A lady named Samantha, who is a former addictions counselling colleague, at lunchtime today.

10. What song are you listening to right now? Nothing, but ‘Counting Flowers on the Wall’ keeps running through my head. That’s probably not a good thing.

11. How's the weather right now? Wet and crappy. (It's nice today, I did this yesterday)The forecast was for sunny and warm. I detest weather forecasters because no matter how often they are wrong (which seems to be most of the time) they never get fired. What the hell is that all about? How many people have jobs in which they can screw up every day and still pick up their pay every two weeks? Mind you, if they forecast crappy and it turns out nice, I feel more benevolent.

12. Last person who called you? A &*%%#@ telemarketer.

13. Last lie you told? I never lie. Or, with deference to WS Gilbert, “hardly ever.”;)

14. Last song you sang? I don’t remember. This morning’s shower was too long ago.

15. Do you love anyone? Of course I do. My wife, a few friends, my brothers, my stepdaughter, even if she does do a piss-poor job of returning the compliment, and (what the hell) Lisa Kudrow. There, now it's out.

16. Lost a friendship over something stupid? A couple of marriages, but never a friendship that I can recall.

17. Last thing you drank? A cup of English Breakfast tea.

18. Last thing you ate? A bowl of potato and onion soup at the Union Street Grill in Courtenay.

19. Where do you wish you were? At Tunnels Beach on the north coast of the Island of Kauai.

20. Faked being sick to miss school? With much regularity. Fat lot of good it did me. Each time I returned the damn place was still there. Kind of a dumb question for a guy my age.

21. What time did you wake up today? At 5:18 a.m. I’m an early riser, what can I say?

22. Last person you talked to in person? Cheryl, a checkout clerk at my local supermarket. She’s a chatty redhead who rides a motor-scooter to work.

23. Last person who made you laugh? Probably Debra, my editor when we met this morning. We always have a good time slashing at asshole local politicians.

24. What are you wearing right now? Shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, tighty-whities.

25. What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? You thought I was going to say either boobs or bum or something equally sexist and offensive, weren’t you? I’m not saying I don’t notice those things, but in a physical realm, I am very much a ‘face’ man. If I like her face (and it needn’t be beautiful) then the rest fades into insignificance. But, what really sustains me are intelligence and sense of humor.

26. When I was 26 I had been teaching high school English and history for two years.

27. Where are you right now? At home, at my computer, obviously, or I wouldn’t be writing this drivel.

28. What day and date is it? Tuesday, May 8/07, if you are going by the western calendar. I follow the Aztec one myself because I love them big old wheels, and I also love the fact they discovered chocolate.

29. Did you go anywhere today? Too many places to elaborate upon, mainly for meetings.

30. What did you do there? Met, of course.

31. What else are you doing today? Reading the paper, making dinner, watching TV, talking to Wendy on the phone, mainly because she’s at our ‘other’ place, which pisses me off, but that’s where her job is.

32. Are you watching TV? Not at the moment.

33. Are you mature or immature? I like to think I’m mature. At times I am. At other times I can revert, and not always in a positive and fun-filled way.

34. Who are you closer to, your mom or your dad? Neither, since they’re both dead. However, I think I miss my dad more. Not a whole lot, but just a bit more. I haven’t spared many moments missing my mom. Kinda sad, but sometimes life’s like that.

35. When I was 35 I became a newspaper reporter. My second career, which continues to this day.

36. What school(s) did you go to? Kindergarten, elementary school, junior high, two senior highs, university. That was enough. That was way more than enough.

37. What's the most annoying thing people say to you? "So, keeping out of trouble?" I hate that, so I usually respond with, “I would be but your wife keeps calling me.” No, I don’t really, but I’d like to.

38. Do you like music? Love it. All genres but rap and 99% of C&W. I make exceptions for Hank Williams and Patsy Cline.

39. Do you want to get married? I think I’ve done that often enough for now.

40. When I was 40 my ex-wife thought it would be a wonderful idea if she bought me a bicycle as a gift. It wasn’t a wonderful idea.

41. Where did you go on vacation last summer? Didn’t go on vacation last summer, but in October and November we went to France, Belgium and England. That worked.

42. Would you bungee jump? No. I have no desire to soil myself in public.

43. Do you like rollercoasters? Only been on once, when I was 16. Glad I did it. Never have had any desire whatsoever to repeat the experience. But, I do like the ‘idea’ of rollercoasters. I don’t know why.

44. Is there anything you wish for every summer? Vacation and sunny benevolent weather.

45. Do you use chopsticks? Quite adeptly, thank you. I hate people who go to Asian restaurants and ask for a fork. Go to Denny’s, moron.

46. What's your favorite meal of the day? Breakfast. I could eat breakfast at all three meals.

47. Thinking of someone right now? At this precise second, no.

48. Concerned about life right now? What kind of a moron isn't? Always. Too much. Especially about things over which I have no control, like which ‘joint’ will they be sending Paris to, and are the girls in there drawing lots as to who gets to have Paris as her ‘bitch.’ Oh, I know that wasn’t a nice thought, but it was satisfying.

49. Have you ever tripped going up the stairs? Hasn’t everyone? Worse for me is going downstairs and anticipating a further step that doesn’t exist.

50. What are you looking forward to this spring? Its continuation. Actually, its full-blown start, considering how unseasonable the weather has been this year.