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One of the current culprits behind my blog reading obsession is Thomas; who is now conveniently linked. Somewhere along the way he picked up a challenge from a blog he reads. He was to answer the questions that blogger asked of him, post his answers (on his own blog), and then ask questions of his readers. Now it is my turn. Here are my answers to T's questions:

1) Did you keep a diary in written format ever? If so, where did you hide it?

No diaries for me, sorry. There was, however, a period of poorly written, teen-angst poetry. These were kept in a Garfield folder, stored right on my bookshelf. It was the safest place. With my affinity for school and school supplies, I always had folders around. No one touched them for fear of finding my papers on obscure theatrical companies (or a failed history exam). The more embarrassing heartfelt poems took up residence, folded in quarters, in the sonnets section of my Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

2) You wake up tomorrow and find you've traveled back in time to when you were 16. The past you wakes up too. Would you tell her about the things you experiences since you were her age? (Notice, I didn't ask if you'd make out with yourself.)

First, thank you for not asking if I'd make out with myself. I don't even want to contemplate the ways in which that thought is so very wrong. Second, no. No, I wouldn't tell my 16 year old self what I have experienced. Good and bad the experiences made me who I am today. If I had knowledge or forewarning about any of it, things would have changed. I wouldn't react to things the way I do. I wouldn't see things the way I do. The temptation would be there to share the most major incidents, but I would have to leave her with a simple, "You'll get through it. All of it." Now, if I could warn her about some of the things she would be currently choosing to do.....well, that would be a different story.


3) What animal would you say best reflects your personality?

I'd like to be able to pick some exotic, sensational animal....but in reality, I'm a Golden Retriever. The puppy next door. Cute and cuddly, the owner of the slightly brilliant moments which are usually well hidden behind a strong desire to be surrounded by friendly people. Let's not forget about the being petted part!


4) You find Bill Gates' wallet. Inside is a wad of cash all a jumble. Do you return the wallet? Return the wallet but keep some cash? Return the wallet with no cash and say you found it that way? Keep the wallet?

The moral part of me, which would most likely win out, would "face" all the bills and then return the wallet to him. The part of me that is flat broke right now is busymaking these justifications: He probably has several wallets filled with cash- he won't miss this one. If it is "all a jumble" he wouldn't know what was there and what wasn't. If it was lost, who's to say that a couple bills didn't just "fall out"? I wouldn't take the large ones. Do you think all the cash is real? You never said anything about credit cards, although I'm pretty sure he'd have the ones with smart chips or fingerprint tracking or somesuch. I work in a computer lab...essentially I work for him....he owes me. I could send him a thank you note (anonymously) when returning the wallet.


5) What was your favorite breakfast cereal when you were younger, and do you still eat it today?

When I was little I had an affinity for cereals that when left soaking in milk would color and flavor said milk. Cartoon watching is much more enjoyable when not interrupted by the crunchiness of eating breakfast. I tend to run away from those cereals now. Something about the dye bothers me. There has been a constant cereal though. Honey Nut Cherrios. I love them! Almost every time I buy cereal that is what I buy.



So, there are my answers. I know most of you are in finals right now, but if you would like to answer your own questions let me know in the comments here. I will post questions for you. Look at these as a distraction technique, sanity saver, fun-time, or as something to do because you love me. You don't have to answer right away, but you will need to promise to answer the questions on your blog. So.....who's up for it?
posted at 6:33 PM

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May 02, 2005

Yuma

I should have known better than to drive down in the evening. By the time I got there it had been dark for about a couple hours. This gave the whole drive a rather ethereal feel...very much like driving to the end of nowhere, taking a right, and then continuing on into the beginnings of eternity. Seriously. For the last hour of the trip, Yuma was always 12 miles away from everywhere.

Pros: Both middle school and high school seem interested in me, their preferred housing for teachers not from the area - 2 or 3 bedroom townhouses that rent for around $400 a month, diverse population of about 50% Hispanic, classroom size of max 13 students, green lots of green, no snow, Greeley and Ft. Morgan within an hours drive, Pizza Hut and Subway (that's about it), and largely varied religious community.

Cons: Schools are severely lacking in funding for staples such as books, a rather terrifying superintendent, about 75% of the Hispanic students are first generation non-documented residents, lots of feed lots- of the pack the cattle in nature, no mountains or trees to wander in randomly, Laramie 4 hours away, Cheyenne is 3 hours away, 2 stop lights, a rather striking resemblance to Pinedale (at least according to yahoo maps), no stores, no bowling or roller skating rink, 1 small coffee house (not meant to be a hang out), religious community is all Christian (I've never seen so many variances on Baptist before).


Now we wait and see.

posted at 8:59 PM

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May 01, 2005

I have problems with ambient noise. My hearing has been starting to slowly fade. It runs in my family. When tested I can hear all the little bells and whistles in all the scales. According to the testers, my hearing is fine. Those tests don't include outside noise. They are done in sound proof rooms through padded earphones. There is no hum of 20 computers, soft buzz of the florescent lights, clicking of keys, or the occasional almost whisper of the users. People wonder why I can't hear them when they stand across the table from me and do that I'm talking but the level is below whisper volume thing. I've gotten strange looks when the phone jangle pierces through the shimmery sound barrier and scares me out of my chair. I started to notice the problem a few years ago. I would sleep with a fan on to block out the sound of the neighbors. The issue then became that I could hear nothing...NOTHING...else that happened during the night. I've also witnessed this problem in the classroom. I can't teach over students using the pencil sharpener. I can't hear what they are saying...or what I am.

I'm sitting at a different computer in the lab today. The LA machine is having "issues" with me. Here, I am surrounded by sounds that are usually a bit removed from me. I can hear the traffic outside the window, hallway noise echos more distinctly from this position across from the door, and someone is tapping their foot against a chair leg. I'm having trouble concentrating.

posted at 1:30 PM

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