33 posts tagged “qotd”
What's the longest boat ride you've ever been on?
I went on a whale watch off the coast of Plymouth, MA, on a day when I was 11. A smallish, ferry-type ship took a group of passengers (30? 50?) out into international waters to look at humpback whales. We were out on the watch all day, from early in the morning (6 or 7) to late afternoon (4 or 5). I have a small phobia about deep open water, so it's amazing that I was able to handle the whole thing. I read a book and drew pictures of Snoopy during the trip.
It took hours to get to the location where the whales hang out, and we waited for a long time without seeing any, but eventually we did see a few. They even told us some stuff about the whales we saw and their histories, since the whales are generally recognizable from their tail flukes. The whales seemed pretty friendly, breached a lot, checked us out, and were huge.
Later that year, we had moved to Florida, and I brought in some swag from the whale watch (floating, plastic-coated foam keychain shaped like a whale, whale-shaped patch, adopt-a-whale information, pictures of whales that I'd taken) for show-and-tell. My classmates were distinctly disinterested, and I was disillusioned into thinking that what had been an interesting experience at the time was totally lame.
But now, I think it was cool and I'm glad I went. How many people really get to see humpback whales up close?
Now I just think show-and-tell usually sucks.
What was the most embarrassing hobby you've ever had?
In the seventh grade, not only was I the president of the school Stamp Club, I was also a member.
I still have a banker's box full of stamp-collecting goodies somewhere around these parts.
And for years, my mom subscribed me to the U.S. First Day Cover Society... that may not be the exact name, but it's a stamp-collecting subscription service. Whenever the U.S. releases a new stamp, that stamp is sent to you on a special envelope featuring coordinating engraved art. The postmark will be the day of the stamp's release. I had a screw-post display album for these and everything. IIRC, they sent display pages for each stamp in advance of its release, so you would put the pages in your album, then wait for the actual First-Day Cover to arrive, when you would slot it into the display page.
This is all ironic in that I've never really been "into" collecting stamps in more than a desultory manner. I liked the pictures on them, but I never took very good care of them, or had nice albums or anything, with the exception of the First-Day Cover album. For me, collecting stamps is a lot like collecting stickers. I haven't done any stamp collecting in the last 15 years, but I'm loath to part with the little collection that I have.
I was also a Girl Scout for a year or two longer than was fashionable in my circle.
I don't know... I just don't think any of my hobbies, past or present, are that embarrassing. I have some geeky topics of interest, like Latin language, Roman history, 17th century England, but that's something different. Those are mostly just lonely rooms... never anyone in them to have a discussion with.
What are some charitable causes that you support or would like to support?
There are lots of worthwhile charitable causes, but in general I try to support ones that deal with animals, partly because I'm sentimental and partly because I think that people who will kick animals will still often give money to abused children. (That said, I give where and when I can, and try not to give to religious charities that only help people they can also preach to, or those who don't let GLBT people volunteer. I don't think charities should attach those strings. Not all religious charities are like that, though.)
So, the easiest way to do this is at The Animal Rescue Site, which is my browser homepage. Now that tabbed browsers are around, it's easy to remember to click there and The Hunger Site each day, and if I have time I also click the other related sites like The Literacy Site. Places like Heifer are pretty good, too. I hope I got all those URLs right.
What's one of your favorite quotes?
More than ten years ago, I used to keep a file-box of quotes, which was sort of an unnecessary task, since I was mostly copying them out of my Bartlett's.
Recently I have started trying to write out and illustrate some quotes I like, but that is slow going, and none of the quotes I've used have been all that uncommon.
I am really not willing to get up and look around to answer one of these QotDs, and normally, if nothing comes to mind, I just won't answer the question. But this one is pretty broad, and could be interpreted as,"What's a quote you like?"
I found this site a while ago, and I like several things listed there. For example,
It is easy -- terribly easy -- to shake a man's faith in himself. To take advantage of that to break a man's spirit is devil's work. Take care of what you are doing. - George Bernard Shaw
(Well, the older I get, the smarter Shaw sounds. As with Wilde, you can often just take a book of his work, page through it, stop on a random page, and come up with something quotable.)
Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago. - Bernard Berenson
No matter how hard you try, there is always going to be someone more underground than you. - Robert Fulford
Also, there is a splendidly funny couple of paragraphs about Merle Rideout's time in Columbus, OH in the first hundred pages of Pynchon's Against the Day. But with the neck injury, I'm not up to running upstairs and getting the book and typing it all out. It ends with the assertion that if the US were a person, and that person sat down, Columbus would be "instantly plunged into darkness."
I concur.
Did you order Girl Scout cookies this year? What kind?
I didn't order them; I wasn't in the position to have the opportunity. That is, nobody asked me.
But I bought some cookies a few weeks ago from some Girl Scouts who were selling them at a shopping center: 1 box Samoas (for which I would basically beat a Girl Scout*), 1 box Thin Mints (for which Keebler Grasshoppers are a fair substitute). I shared them, but I don't LIKE to. My precioussssss....
* Kidding, but I'm envisioning one of those scenes where an adult behaves like a bullying child towards actual children. You'd have to have Adam Sandler or someone like that playing me. That is, before he started taking Dad Roles.
What's your favorite blend or brand of coffee or tea?
I drink tea, mostly, and my favorite brand overall is probably Republic of Tea, though there are specific teas I like in other brands.
Republic of Tea: Cinnamon Plum, Blackberry Sage (now gives me heartburn, alas), Rose Petal Tea, Ginger Peach, Mango Ceylon, Chamomile Lemon, Honey Ginseng Green, etc.
Lipton Pyramid: Bavarian Wild Berry. Strawberry Passionfruit Red and Vanilla Caramel are OK too, but I'd be wary of recommending them to others.
Lipton Herbal: Quietly Chamomile (which has citrus notes, lemon and orange, and a thirst-quenching tang to it).
Jasmine green teas: Yamamoto Yama is my favorite, but sometimes HTF. Numi's "Monkey King" is more widely available, tasty, and recently repackaged to emphasize that it is, in fact, just jasmine green tea, no monkeys inside. Teas'Tea has a bottled version that's nice. Foojoy, often sold in cans in Chinese markets, is very good as well... it's cheap, but the full leaves unfurl in the strainer and are amazingly fragrant.
Honest Tea: Moroccan Mint.
Bigelow: Constant Comment, Raspberry Royale, Lemon Lift, etc.
Tazo: Zen, Passion, & some others...
Celestial Seasonings: Black/Wild Cherry Berry, Country Peach Passion, & some others...
Teas for going to bed: Aside from the aforementioned Quietly Chamomile, which can be hard to find (possibly because they introduced a new box style and wanted to sell through what they had?), I like Traditional Medicinals' NightyNight and Celestial Seasonings' Sleepytime. The latter is also a tea that I've been drinking for my entire life and remember well from early childhood. Tazo's Calm is also decent.
Other "medicinal" teas: Traditional Medicinals Gypsy Cold Care, Cold Care PM, a few others.
Yogi Tea: Hah. I never drink this stuff. Most of the blends have Dandelion Root and, thus, a disgusting aftertaste.
Chai: Oregon Chai's "Slightly Sweet" blend. I also like the Caramel Tea Latte served at Borders.
Bottled Tea: mostly Tazo, esp Brambleberry.
If I drink plain coffee, not espresso, I like flavored coffees, particularly anything chocolate or hazelnut or both. I used to occasionally have a blueberry-flavored coffee that was surprisingly good. But coffee really upsets my stomach these days, so I no longer drink it, which is why I'm not listing several dozen flavored espresso concoctions here.
What method do you use to prepare your coffee or tea?
Method? That question could be a little more explicit.
It depends on the variety. I don't drink coffee often, because it upsets my stomach. If I do drink it, I'll usually drink a flavored latte or capp. I like hazelnut, toffee-nut, gingerbread, etc. Do not like vanilla, raspberry mocha, etc.
If I drink plain coffee, rather than an espresso drink, I'll always take it with a lot of cream/milk/half-and-half, but not always with sugar. I only use sugar if it's a flavored coffee, in which case the sugar usually helps bring out the flavor.
Bubble tea? I like strawberry green tea with strawberry jelly (which isn't bubbles, but close enough).
Most hot flavored teas? Honey. Again, it brings out the flavor. I will use sugar or stevia in a pinch, but I prefer the taste of honey. Stevia is too strong for green or white teas, and can be cloying in herbal teas.
Plain black hot tea? Honey and lemon or honey and milk.
Iced tea? Lightly sweetened. Some teas make better iced tea than others do.
How many bones have you broken? Yours or someone else's?
Heh - none.
The heart is a muscle.
Seriously, though, I seem to lend myself more to extreme sprains and exceptionally gruesome cuts than to broken bones. I think I cracked my tailbone a few times - no actual breakage, just minor fractures - when I was a kid, usually during the gymnastics portion of gym class. I hurt my finger pretty badly a few times in high school, most notably when my mom was dropping me off at school: she rolled up the window, which was motorized and automatic, and started to drive away, not noticing that my finger was caught in it.
What's something you bought, knowing it was a total waste of money?
Most things that most people buy at most times are total wastes of money. Most people I know have too much stuff and an impulse to collect it. Since having to move all my stuff, I've tried to purge myself of that impulse.
But lordy, how I still want Pullip dolls and Re-Ment miniatures.
I have Pullip's "Greggia" model, which is a pretty doll with rich auburn hair and creamy skin; she wears a little "sheep" hat and has a pet lamb and some knitting supplies. There are a few other models I would like. I also like her new rival, Dal. I used to like Blythe, but I think Pullip has a prettier face sculpt.
I have just a few Re-Ment things: the cheese shop from Natalie's French Goods and a set of strawberry cakes from some pastry shop line. Aside from the Dish In Fairyland or Fairytale Dishes set which I am considering ordering (update: received it today!), I also want several items I don't have from Natalie's French Goods, especially the set with the typewriter and records, and the set with the sewing machine.
Anyway, is something really a waste of money if it makes you happy every time you look at it? I didn't pay for my Pullip doll - she was a gift - but I enjoy having her around. I can't justify things like the miniatures (and the hundreds of other little things like them that I've collected over the years), because I don't get as much enjoyment out of them. I mean, they aren't even toys for me! They're toys for my Pullip! Actually, I am also interested in miniatures - the environment kind - as a hobby and art form.
FWIW, to me, after having collected piles of this stuff, some of the most pointless things you can buy these days are CDs and movies. I still get my favorites, or things that the library doesn't have, but for the most part they don't seem worth owning - I can always borrow them if I want to hear them, and I can only listen to one at a time anyway.
I bought a lot of cds because of free, illegal MP3 downloads in the late 90s and earlier part of this decade. I got to try a lot of things in a format that worked for me (in a way that the samples on Amazon, etc really don't), and I tended to buy new stuff I discovered. I haven't bought much since I quit downloading & started using my fantastic local library... most things that would interest me turn out to not be of much interest once you've heard the whole album a few times, but I still pick up a cd or two every few months. A few I've gotten in the last couple of years that I do listen to frequently and don't think were a waste of money are Interpol's Antics and Kate Bush's Aerial - but your mileage may vary, as they say on the interwebs. (I also like the Klaus Nomi collection that I got for Christmas, but I don't know what it's called!)
Sure, most sequels stink, but what movie really needs a sequel?
Um, Pretty in Pink.
Duh.
Maybe Labyrinth, but not necessarily one based on the manga sequel that came out relatively recently.
If I actually felt like thinking about this more, I might come up with something. I've been sick for the last few days with that stomach flu that's been going around, though, so... thinking? Pah! I'm just trying to get up the final version of a post that's been sitting here in draft for the last couple of days... I'm having trouble with photo uploads.
