Happy Birthday, Dana!

Happy Birthday, Dana! I don't know what your plans are, but I hope you get to do something fun to celebrate! It's a special day. =)

PS - It is after midnight here!

New Blog: Introducing...Mikey!

A few months ago, Jing suggested I give fiction a try. So I am! I started a second blog called Mikey's Life. According to the blog's header, it's a story about Mikey, a boy who experiences highs and lows, doing his best to take to heart the words he hears about family, duty, and responsibility.

It's very different from Waiting for Wisdom. With WfW my intention is to share some of my weird, real-life stories and hopefully give readers a smile--and occasionally an important message (like not stopping for a policeman in the middle of nowhere). With Mikey's Life I hope to stir different feelings using fictional stories.

Most bloggers, myself included, prefer light-hearted posts. Mikey's Life is not light-hearted. It may include some light moments later on, but not in the beginning. So if you read my first post on the new blog and decide you're not interested, I understand completely. Somewhere along the line I may decide I can't stand it myself! LOL

But throw me a bone by at least reading the first post!!! ;P

Mirrors

I guess it is common knowledge that, in general, men and women interpret their reflections in different--opposite--ways. When I first joined the on-line community, my profile picture was this one of a meek kitten looking into a mirror and seeing a fierce lion staring back. I love that image. The first time I saw it I laughed and said it must be a male kitten, because that is how most men's brains work. Even the guy on the beach with the magical, disappearing Speedo thinks "Yeah, that beer, burrito, and ice cream diet has me looking gooooood" when he sees his reflection. LOL


This cartoon illustrates perfectly the different impact mirrors have, in general, on women vs. men. This is old news. The reason I'm posting about it is because I know a few girls who have been really hard on themselves lately. I hope it's just a spring thing and passes quickly. I know this probably won't help, but please be conscious of this "phenomenon" and try not to give in to it. Next time you don't like your reflection, ask your BF, or hubby, or that guy stalking you down the street how you look that day. He'll say "beautiful"!!!

PS - I would have said ask me, but I'm assuming I AM that guy stalking you down the street! ;P

PSS - Also, you're so much more than your reflection. My blogger friends are smart, funny, decent people--the kind I like hanging around with.

Our next contestant is...

Bandit is a pretty dog. He barks when he thinks he has to--at the mailman, for example! But his personality is a little like mine. He is mild-mannered and easy-going. Unlike me, he has an OCD regarding his toys.

This post has nothing to do with Bandit! =)

I mentioned last week that we played a game-show game at home when I was growing up. It was called "Find the Whatchmacallit". I wish it included searching for a candy bar, but it didn't. It was a quest to find the right tool.

My dad could fix just about anything and his sons took turns helping him. At some point in the repair, he would turn to us and say, "Go get me the whatchamacallit." He could not remember the name of the tool he wanted! There were no official rules, but I learned through trial and error that I could ask for two clues before being dispatched to the basement. There I would scan his workbench for likely candidates. If it was a plumbing repair, perhaps he needed a pipe wrench or thread tape. Were they on the bench or did he have them already? Was he making an electrical repair? He would need wire snips and electrical tape for that. Auto repairs were more tricky. Could he possibly need a nail punch?

There was no way you could lose this game. If you brought back the wrong tool, the look on his face was priceless. By then either he had remembered the name of what he needed or come to grips with the fact that he was going to have to go get it himself. But when you brought back the right tool, you could do a little victory dance. I got it right almost 70% of the time. That made me my father's favorite assistant. One of my brothers rarely came back at all and the other one always brought back a Bowie knife, regardless of the work being done. Looking back, I think he did that on purpose so dad wouldn't ask him again. Why wasn't I smart enough to think of that??? LOL! But that's okay, I learned a lot helping with the repairs.

When I was 18 I gave my dad a multi-pack of whatchamacallit candy bars (plus cash) with a note that said, "I found the whatchamacallit". And I laughed! It was just good fun, but must have produced some bad karma. Now my mind goes blank at times--like when I'm trying to say a name I know as well as my own. I remember everything about the person, but can't spit the name out. I try to pass it off as one of my quirks, but it really annoys me. Now I know how my dad felt!!!

Did your family have any similar games???

Correcting Stereotypes

Do all Indians live in tipis?
Aren't Native cultures a thing of the past?
Do all Indians say "How" and carry tomahawks?

I recently received an e-mail from the National Museum of the American Indian titled "Correcting Stereotypes". It started out by asking the 3 ridiculous questions above. I couldn't believe it was serious, but I checked with the Museum and they did send it. I was shocked there is still a need to inform people about such basic information.

But then I realized I've heard stereotypes repeated about a group of people I have developed a real fondness for during my time blogging—the oft-misunderstood Canadians. The recent Olympics shed some light on this secretive group and I want to do what I can to increase understanding of them. Here are a few fun facts about Canadians and their country:

1. They all attended Degrassi High.
2. And, yes, Degrassi Junior High too.
3. If you hear a Canadian say "a-boot", there's an 80% chance he's NOT talking about footwear.
4. They all worship hockey.
5. All Canadians consume mass quantities of Canadian beer.
6. They are all nice. The only way to make them mad is to criticize Canadian beer or hockey. *
7. Their mail is delivered via dog sled.
8. They are afraid of the dark (I learned this from How I Met Your Mother).
9. Tim Horton secretly controls the country.
10. They live in igloos, but only during the winter. **

* Kym posted about a horribly offensive female driver, but I suspect that "lady" was really an American.
** I stole this from a story Kym shared with me! =)

I hope you now understand the Canadians a little better and see they are just like people in the US. Well, if you substitute football, Budweiser, people in short-pants (mailmen), McDonald's and delete that part about being nice, then yeah, people in the US and Canada are exactly the same.

Ahahahahahahahahaha!!!! Clearly I am just being silly. People in both the USA and Canada are great! I'm a proud American and proud to have Canada as a neighbor.

But to be serious for a moment. Lack of understanding, ignorance, is a real problem. Dickens wrote, "This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."

Ignorance = Doom! So let's do what we can to erase it.

Leah, the birthday girl

Happy Birthday, Leah!

You were born on the 19th and have a 19 year-old spirit! What other numbers matter?? None! Have a wonderful, happy day.

Blog Awards!!!

My friend Jessie graced me with the awards shown here. I think you all know her, but if not, drop by her blog. She's one of those people you'll feel like you've known for years. She helped by combining these into a single requirement--share 10 random things about yourself. Since I have way over-shared here, I may end up repeating myself.

1. I like sardines. No one else in my family does, though.
2. My earliest pet memory is about a beagle named BugleAnn (and her brother Bugle). I remember hiding from her behind a tree while looking for an opportunity to run into the house. She liked to chase me and then she'd bite my shorts and try to pull them down. I was hiding because I was wearing my last pair of shorts!
3. My mom and dad both grew up on farms.
4. My parents had their kids in an orderly fashion: 3 girls first, then 3 boys, with alternating eye color: green, blue, green, blue, green, blue. Weird!
5. I have oddly hard fingernails. It comes in handy, but they can be a hazard if I don't keep them well trimmed--so I do!
6. In the 2nd grade I had a real rabbit's foot--my dad hunted. I think he gave it to me as a joke. I only got to take it to school once before my grandmother confiscated it.
7. I like old expressions, such as: precious as hen's teeth; drop a dime; hothouse flower; flim-flam; 2nd story man; and...I can't think of any more at the moment. I picked them up from my grandpa.
8. When we were forced to square dance in elementary school PE (physical education) class, I enjoyed it.
9. Apples are on my grocery list year-round.
10. The goofy post about mining for diamonds is the only time fiction has appeared on my blog.
    
    

I had to list really random and obscure items to make it to 10--after I post this I'll probaby think of 20 better things I should have shared instead. Hopefully I'll remember to write them down somewhere!

I want to pass these awards onto Dana, Jing, Megan, Mel, Leah, Amy, Rebekah, Manju, Ana, Ibyang, Khim, and Sonia.

Have a great weekend everyone. I hope to blog next week about the game-show game we used to play at home when I was growing up. It's name included the name of a candy bar. =)

It’s the fuzz! Or is it???

As you may have guessed from earlier stories, my dad wanted his kids to be security conscious, to be aware of what’s going on and react to it. In my youth, sometimes the reaction was good and sometimes it was just odd—and there were other times that aren’t worth mentioning. LOL! This story is about one of the odd reactions.

It was a Friday night and I was driving my girl home after a date. We were 18. Like me, she lived in a somewhat secluded area…no street lights and lots of room between houses. As I made the turn into her neighborhood, police lights started to flash behind us. I was certain I had done nothing to be pulled over, but I stopped.

As I pumped my brakes and looked in the rear view mirror I noticed the car really did not look like a police car—not even an unmarked one. I got suspicious, but wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to just sit there and wait for some maniac to walk up to the car. I also didn’t want to drive off, leading some maniac to my girlfriend’s house—or have it appear I was running from the police. What to do, what to do??? I came up with a third choice. Like my father, I kept a small baseball bat (and tools, a snow shovel, a blanket, etc) in my car, just in case. You never know what you’ll need!!!

I grabbed the bat and told my GF to get in the driver’s seat, keep the doors locked, and keep an eye on me in the mirror. If it was not a policeman, she should drive someplace safe. {Why didn’t I just do that? Kids!} Anyway, I got out of the car and walked at an angle towards the middle of the road and back towards the “police” car. I didn’t want to be too close to it. Soon I could see there were three guys in the car, but not their faces.

Me: Is there a problem officer?
Guys in car: What are you doing with that bat?
Me: It depends if you’re policemen or not.
Guys in car: {lots of laughter}

Then they turned on the car’s interior light and I could see a friend of mine sitting in the back seat. He was out with two guys (who had a flashing light for some reason???) and convinced them to play a little joke when he spotted my car. We chatted for a few minutes. Before I left I told them they were lucky my dad was not driving my car because he would have shot them. He would NOT have done that, but I wanted to give them something to think about before they considered playing that potentially dangerous joke again.

Moral of the story: I got lucky. I NEVER, never, never should have gotten out of the car. I should have done what I wanted my GF to do—drive to a well lit, populated area. I hope none of you are ever in that position. But if you are, don’t get out of the car like I did—even if you do have a baseball bat with you. =)

Happy 101 Award

I received a Happy 101 Award from Wenny @ Inside My Bubble Today. Wenny's posts are inspirational, motivational, and humorous...with an assortment of random topics thrown in. She is sick today, so stop by her blog and wish her well. =) Wenny, thank you so much for thinking of me--and get well soon!

There are rules associated with the award, but Blair freed me from following blog rules. So, like little Eric Cartman, I'm going to do what I want! One rule I want to follow is the requirement to share 10 things that make me happy:

1) A leisurely breakfast on the weekend.

2) Looking up at the stars.

3) Seeing a friend's face pop up as a new follower on another friend's blog and seeing friends' blogs grow.
4) Getting to know great people and acknowledging them--IN SONG (see 5 - 10)!!! It's very loosely based on the song “My Favorite Things”—very loosely. It reads a little better if you have the tune in your head.

5) Jessie and Dana; Kym, Megan and Mel.
Leah, Amy, Shirley and Rebekah as well.

6) Anne, Khimm, Kimmy; Sylvia and Missy.
Angel, Anne, Wenny, Susie and Krissy.

7) Robbie and Georgina; Nashe, Olive and Ana.

Kay, Daphne, Russ; Mayra and Hana.

8) Thanh Thao, teJan; Linda and Dawna.
Meibelle, Manju, Steph, Blair, and Sonia.

9) Elaine, eQ, Nitia, Ibyang and Jing.
These are a few of my FAVorite things (bloggy friends).

10) ...and last but not least, Stiletto Girl!!! =)


You know from my comments I think your blogs are happy places. So each of you should add this award to your trophy display case and do a Happy 101 post. However, a random number generator (in this case, me) selected the #7. So the award offically goes to Robbie, Georgina, Nashe, Olive, Ana, Kay, Daphne, Russ, Mayra, and Hana.

Note: I’ve probably missed some of my new friends, MIA friends, and others. Next time you'll be first--if there is a next time! This turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. =)

Why didn't someone warn me?

I learned something new Saturday night. I learned the hard way.

Unaware of the consequences, I entered the lair of a special breed of women. They don't care about looks or charm or money or finding a soulmate. They don't seem to care if the guy is married. They are just looking for someone who is handy around the house.

That's right! I came face-to-face with women who (according to my wife) inhabit hardware stores on Saturday nights hoping to snag some guy who knows the difference between a flush valve and a fill valve, who can replace a failed light switch, who can clear a clogged drain.

They kept getting in my way! I only needed a few items--plus I always like to browse the flashlights. To make a long story short, there were two women who seemed to be taking turns browsing whatever aisle I was in and standing right in front of what I was looking at--they showed up even when I doubled back to an aisle they had already been in. Separately, they kept making the same small talk about how they wished they had someone who could help them because they're just girls and have no idea how toggle bolts work (or something like that).

I was so annoyed I left without even looking at the flashlights (that's like a shoe girl not looking at shoes). I told my wife about it when I got home and she laughed. She said they were trying to pick me up!!! I told her that was crazy, they just wanted help with home repairs. But she insisted this is a real thing, there are women that figure a guy who can fix things around the house is a good catch and they hope to find one in hardware stores on a Friday or Saturday night.

Is that true? Have you ever heard of such a thing???

More Birthdays!!!!

Happy Birthday to my friends Krissy, Kay and Manju (her's is coming up soon)! I hope you don't mind, but I've had too much regular cake. So here are three ice cream cone cakes.



I don't usually post this often, but it turns out Aries are everywhere. =)

A piece of me...April 2010

This is a monthly game started by Toothfairy (hopefully she will be back soon). The game is to share info about yourself on the 1st Sunday of every month. This month....

I like: that as friendships develop/evolve, blogging gets to be even more fun. Also, March (my least favorite month) is over and we're having great weather right now.

I don't like: Tourists!!! Well, I love tourists. It's great to see people coming to DC and the Smithsonian. But when there are so many that foot traffic comes to a standstill and subway platforms become dangerous places, well, let's just say I wish I could spread them out a little bit.

I want you to know: I have super powers! Most are not very helpful. For example, if there is a wet spot on the floor anywhere in my house, I will find it by stepping on it! But there is one that could be helpful, if people would listen. But they won't! I'm going to blog about it soon. =)

I've planned: To give old friends (ex-friends) another chance. Three people who lost my trust and friendship are trying to roll back the clock. They're not making amends, but they are reaching out. I should give them a chance, right?

I want to say to someone special: Quirky? Me? That's a first and I like the sound of it.

Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to those who entered. This was fun! So much fun that I am changing the rules. Instead of having just three winners, I added a few. You'll see.

Before I name the winners, I want to explain the selection process. I could have put the names into a hat, but since I'm an accountant I was driven to develop a spreadsheet instead. I listed the names of those entered for each of the gifts and then used the random number generator in Excel to number them--with the lowest numbers winning.

Okay, on to the winners (as chosen by Excel):

herrohachi shirt: eQ
Hope Diamond pendant: Thanh Thao
Rhinestone necklace w/earrings: Jing

Now for the additional winners! I am awarding herrohachi shirts to the folks who finished LAST in the computer rankings because there is just something sad about coming in last (though it can be amusing, depending on the circumstances). The winners are:

Elaine (last for the shirt)
LOLanne (last for the pendant)
Dana (last for the necklace)

There's more! Two people went above and beyond in reposting the details of the giveaway (Kym was starting to show up everywhere) and I am awarding them herrohachi shirts for being so helpful--thank you both! The final shirt winners are:

Megan and Applepie

Okay, I will contact the jewelry winners for their contact information. The six shirt winners need to e-mail their contact information to Kym--and everyone should visit her shop.

Thanks again to everyone who entered. I plan to do another giveaway during the summer. It will be open to followers only as a thank you. I'm not sure why anyone reads my blog, but I greatly appreciate it--without you, I'm just talking to myself here!!! LOL

PS - Kym, I forgot to exclude you from the shirt giveaway. You finished 3rd!!! =)

Birthday Wishes

I want to wish happy birthday to my friends Ana and Thanh Thao . I tried my hand at baking cakes for them (and one for me), but as you can see I had a little accident and the three got smushed!

Okay, okay, I didn't make the cake!!! That was just my little April Fool's Day joke. No way I could have made the cake, my talents lie elsewhere--very deeply buried. LOL

You should visit their blogs, if you haven't already!