Sunday, January 18, 2009

The Six Random Things Meme

Thanks to Liberality, I have been tagged with the meme that is making the rounds in recent days: The Six Random Things Meme. Here are the rules:

The Rules
1. Link to the person who tagged you. That would be Liberality!
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

OK, so here are six random things about me:

1. When I'm commenting on blogs, I smile. DH looks at me and says "What on earth are you grinning about while you're typing?" And I get indignant and say "I'm not 'grinning.' I'm smiling. Because I'm TALKING to someone, that's why!" (As Lisa would say!)

2. Everybody who knows me personally knows this about me, but some of you out in the blogworld may not know it yet. I am always late for everything. I started as early as age five when I distinctly remember walking into kindergarten late and having one of my little friends call me a "late bird." I probably take after my mother, whom I always remember sitting there drinking her coffee and having a cigarette while my father had his coat and hat on, pacing, waiting for her to be ready to leave for wherever they were going.

I've been a "late bird" all my life and not likely to change now. I have tried, believe me. At work I used to get chastised for being late and I'd try to reform myself and rush to get there on time. It would work for maybe a week or two but then I'd start to slip. I finally decided being on time was impossible to achieve. Sure, I can do it once or twice (for a particular meeting or to catch a plane, for instance). But not on a regular basis.

For one thing, it was dangerous. I'd be rushing to get there and would run red lights or have to slam on my brakes at the last minute. I also always ended up working late hours because that is when my brain kicks in and I get most of my work done. I am not a big believer in working insane hours at work. Let others get promotions and become Directors and whatnot; my holy grail is the mythical "work-life balance" people talk about. I work a full day's work and more when I'm there, but I come in late and leave late, and check e-mails from home. Finally, my current boss understands me and doesn't care when I get there as long as I'm getting my job done. Thank goodness, I can finally be me! (It also helps that I am now old enough to retire so I have nothing to lose!)

3. I am an antique car buff. I've always been interested in history and old things, so it figures I'd like old cars too. I particularly love cars from the 1930's like the Cord and the Auburn (see here for some nice pictures), but I like the 60's "muscle cars" too.

I used to own a 1955 DeSoto (that's a story for another day). It was being kept at my mother's house in the garage there - but when Mom moved to the senior citizens apartment building down the street from us two years ago, we sold it.

4. As you probably realize, I care a lot about animals, wildlife and nature. I would love to have a whole bunch of cats and more than one dog, but it just isn't feasible right now. For one thing I can't imagine having more than one dog in bed with us; Diva takes up most of the bed as it is! Plus it would be tough to walk more than one Pit Bull Terrier at a time, much as we'd like to rescue another of Diva's kind.

When I was a kid our family usually had several cats; the most we had at once was four. But they were indoor-outdoor cats so they managed to stake out their own territories and they all got along OK. I'm not sure Baxter would appreciate having another cat in his domain. Maybe someday we'll adopt a couple of cats together and see how that goes.

5. I am a dedicated Star Trek fan, mostly of the Original Series. I have seen every one of those episodes so many times I could probably recite them verbatim. The reason I like the Original Series, no matter how hokey it sometimes was, is how idealistic the stories were, and how Star Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry, was trying to influence the present with his vision of the future. Star Trek had officers of all races and backgrounds on the show (including the half-Human Vulcan Mr. Spock), and the stories all had a message. When my mother was moving and I was cleaning out my old bedroom I found a notebook where I had written down what I thought the "moral" of each episode of Star Trek was!

6. DH and I have had only one microwave oven for the past 24 years. It was a General Electric model given to me by the marketing department of my job as a gift for our upcoming wedding. It still had a dial instead of digital controls. It died last night and we had to go buy a new one today. It's another GE, but we had to come into the 21st century and get one with digital controls. Oh well, I'm sure we'll get used to it.

So that's my six random things. It's going to be hard to tag six people who haven't already gotten this meme so I'll just tag a few:

Annette at Just My Little Piece of the World
TheMom at Attentive Aphorist
Deb at Drivin' 55

Have fun everyone!

16 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for putting me up on your blog roll. I'll add you to mine soon. You know I am little busy.

Deb said...

I learned a lot about you in reading this post. Now I have to think hard about my random things. Thanks!

Going Like Sixty said...

#1. I know. I know! My wife does the same thing. And even moves her head from side to side.

#3. I hope you have been, or will get the chance to attend the ACD (Auburn Cord Dusenberg) festival in little Auburn, Indiana some day. You would be in heaven.

#5: How many A's in Khaaaaaaaan?

Annette said...

I learned a lot too...but man oh man...lol thanks girl...make me work my brain...now who to send mine to...and what to put...

Life As I Know It Now said...

We have 8 cats and 3 dogs. A lot of them are strays. We get a discount at the vets office because we are there so much! Anyway, not all animals can get along, at least at first, and it is a lot of work to take care of so many animals. However, hubby is a huge animal lover and any abandoned stray is soon making it's way to our house whether I, or the other animals, like it or not!

Thanks for playing along.

Annette said...

Ok, girl... I am done...my 6 is up...lol whew...glad that is done.

Anonymous said...

You know MG...of all the random things you posted here, being a Star Trek fan is not one I would have guessed, One of my favorite episodes is when the crew of the Enterprise encounters a race of half black/half white people who are war with each other. Or what about the one where two planets fight a virtual war by killing their own people in a controlled manner rather than try and kill each other. That was some heavy stuff, even in the 1980s when I became a fan through re-runs.

Christopher said...

I love Star Trek.

Have you seen the new, color restored videos? They are enhanced and the color corrected -- they look like they were made yesterday instead of 40 years ago.

Just splendid. Are you a Next Generation fan? I like it too.

The new Star Trek movie, with Chris Pine as the young Capt. Kirk looks great. Chris Pine is so damned hot! I would love to go to "warp" with him! LMAO!

D.K. Raed said...

Live long and prosper, LOL! I had the hots for Nimoy's Vulcan Mind Meld. I was so mesmerized by him, it took me years to realize ea ST episode was a morality play.

Anonymous said...

Ah ST:TOS, the show with a quote for every occasion:

America to President f*ckwit:

"You are reduced two steps in rank! Return to post."

lisahgolden said...

I love it that you're an antique car buff! I have a co-worker has just started restoring a 41 Chevy and we were talking about carnut.com. Such a cool website!

And I'm so glad that you're finally in a work situation that isn't negatively affected by your natural clock. If you're not interacting with customers and it's not imperative that you be there at a certain time, why not work in the timeframe that better suits you? Work gets done well, right? Good for your boss who understands that!

Mauigirl said...

Mathman, yes, I think you have a few more important things to do right now!

Deb, glad you enjoyed it - thanks for playing!

Going Like Sixty - I'm very glad to hear I'm not the only one who does this! I'll be sure to tell my husband so he'll stop making fun of me. I would love to go to the Auburn/Cord/Dusenberg festival. I was out that way about ten or more years ago and saw a sign for the ACD museum. Unfortunately I was on business and couldn't take the time to go! As for the number of a's, I think you got it right!

Annette, thanks for playing along!

Liberality, so glad you and your husband have taken in all those cats and dogs! That is what I'd love to do!

Spartacus, those are two great episodes - have always liked both of those, and the messages they had for us both then and now.

Christopher, I haven't seen the new color restored ones - will have to get them! We do have a full set of the original Star Trek episodes - on VHS! Time to upgrade!

I liked Next Generation too - had some really interesting ideas in it. My favorite episode is the one where they find a civilization that communicates entirely in metaphor. I thought that was a really original idea. And so was the Holodeck! I liked Data (who was "fully functional") and a lot of the other characters. Picard was good of course, but if it came down to who I'd pick to defend my planet, I'd pick Kirk over Picard!

I'm really looking forward to the new movie - I've seen a few previews and yes, Chris Pine looks great!

Have you seen any of the fan episodes that have been done? You can download them. There are a few different sites where they have done their own Star Trek episodes. One that we've watched has the whole original cast with new young actors in it. Not related to the upcoming movie.

DK, I always had fantasies about Mr. Spock too. It was that tease of knowing that under his cool exterior he had actual emotions!

Very appropriate quote, Kvatch!

Lisa, thanks for letting me know about carnut.com, will check it out! And thanks about the work situation - it totally makes sense to do my work when I am most able to function! I'm really lucky my boss gets it. She's a kind of "out of the box" thinker herself so she gets me. We make a good team.

Mariamariacuchita said...

very interesting!

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

I was a fan of the original Star Trek too (although I saw it all in reruns). I was definitely in love with Spock. Before I met Michael, I was drawn to cold men. LOL.

It was fun reading about you.

Anonymous said...

I'm right there with you with #2 except I often have problems even with catching flights:) Nice to see I'm not the only one who is chronically late or as my bf says, lacking a sense of urgency. I don't think I lack a sense of urgency, though, I am always RUSHING to get somewhere or do something, it just never seems to happen by the time its supposed to. And its better working late at night anyway!!

Also, with you on #4. My dog Bondi is my numero uno:)

Cheers.

Randal Graves said...

Now I don't feel so bad for being late to this post. ;-)

Finally, someone else who doesn't loathe the holodeck episodes. It must be some weirdo fanboy thing. Dixon Hill, baby!