Twice this morning, I have left my room and come back only to discover the light has been turned off. I either have a poltergeist or am losing my short term memory. Either is a distinct possibility.

Another weird thing: I was sitting here working and I heard a bird chirping. It didn't sound like it was coming from outside but inside around the kitchen. I heard it twice. So did Elliott. He sprang up from his deep catnap and bolted into the kitchen looking for his potential prey.

Yep. Definitely a bird-chirping, energy-efficient poltergeist.

Permalink | File Under: Thinking

Question: Whom do you admire the most? In what way does that person inspire you?

Excerpts from the responses:

Stacy: The person I most admire is my husband, Robert. He is the only person I know who can just inherently be himself. He is just quietly and amazingly Robert. I have never heard him judge another person. He just seems to have no reason to. He has a beautiful heart and spirit. He doesn't hold a grudge. He is a great father to our children in more ways than I can list. I feel safe when he is with me, like we could triumph over anything. And he looks fantastic in his underwear.

Micheale: So I thought about this, and at the risk of being corny, I could not think of any better candidate than my own girlfriend. In my life, I have admired many people's qualities, but I see that most of them struggle to figure out what's important and are afraid to act on it when they do. Cheryl instinctively knows what is important and real, and she doesn't screw around in getting down to the often difficult work that we all have to do in order to do this "life thing." She is fearless, spiritual, and kind.

Jennifer: My initial response is my son Jackson, but then I thought that might seem trite. But I don't suppose it should be considered trite if it is the truth. He inspires me through his innocence. He begins each day fresh. He carries no grudges and wants to be nice to each person he meets. He judges no one, he just sees another potential friend. He finds joy in most things, joy that causes him to laugh out loud. He inspires me to mimic his view of the world and he inspires me to do whatever necessary to ensure that he holds onto his innocence.

Me: This was hard. I resisted the urge to pick someone I don't know like Oprah for instance. After giving it much thought, I realized I kept coming back to the same person, my friend Micheale. She is open, honest, compassionate and extremely intelligent. Whenever I spend time with her, I walk away having learned something either about myself, her or the world around me. Our friendship enriches me.

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Stop answering the door when someone knocks. It's never anyone you know. Everyone you know would call first and not show up unannounced. Usually it's some pothead trying to scam you into buying magazines, or better yet..they want your help in earning "personality points" which is a not so creative way of trying to scam you into buying magazines. These people are relentlessly annoying. Remember that crackhead a few weeks ago? The slacker who was high? The one who didn't even try to make his paperwork look legitimate? (Where there was to be a picture of him, he drew a smiley face.) The one who started getting mouthy when he caught wind you weren't buying into his scam? That same jackass was at Karen's apartment yesterday trying to pull the same frickin' scam. Remember him and the ones before him next time you hear a knock at the door. Ignore it and just continue what you are doing.

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I woke up this morning with the horrible post-tequila taste in my mouth. Bleah. As with all Sundays before a Monday holiday, Cynthia and I went to BS last night for beers and an evening of making fun of the karaoke set. Cynthia and I have had this little pre-holiday tradition for a while now. One of the perks for working for a bank/the government. After many beers, my resistance to the margarita special was weakened (damn you you evil temptress). Our cocktail server accidentally spilled one on me. I'm sure I would have cared more if I was a bit more sober. He was genuinely apologetic, although when we suggested he sing "Stand Back" by Stevie Nicks to make it up to me, he politely declined. Some lame ass excuse about it being out of his range. Hmmm...his limited range didn't seem to be an issue when belting out "Lady Marmalade".

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When I was in college I pledged a couple fraternities. (I know, I know...it seems so unlike me.) The only thing I liked about the pledging process was interviews. We were expected to interview the members to get to know them better. Now, most people asked basic and boring questions, much like those email surveys that make the rounds; "What's your full name?", "Where did you go to high school?", "What's your favorite color?", etc. Those questions bored me to tears. I hated asking them and I hated answering them. Also, most pledges thought the more questions they asked the better the interview. I dreaded the long laundry list interviews.

When I was a senior pledging one fraternity, I decided to do something different and a bit unprecedented. I asked only twenty questions. I didn't ask anyone's name, hometown or favorite color. I didn't care about that crap, nor did I think it would help me get to know anyone better. I asked questions that provoked conversation and reflection. I asked questions about values, morals and choices...questions I thought would help me really get to know the people I was interviewing.

Most of the questions came from The Book Of Questions. It's a tiny little book to stimulate self-discovery or conversation. I found it the other day in a box. I haven't picked it up in ages. I went through and marked some of my favorites.

So, if you will indulge me, I'd like to ask these questions to you. I'll just do one at a time in a sort of series. Once I receive your answers, I'll post my answer and selected responses. If you prefer not to have your response public, let me know in the email.

Here's an excerpt from the introduction of the book: Don't simply answer "yes" or "no" to these questions - probe and explain your responses and pursue interesting tangents. There are no correct or incorrect answers to these questions, only honest and dishonest ones.

Here we go...

Question #1

Whom do you admire the most? In what way does that person inspire you?

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I saw Blast last night. I heard it was like Tap Dogs & Stomp. It's really not. It's more like marching band on crack. It's pretty amazing to see. The performers' energy and enthusiasm is really infectious. When the show is over, they leave the stage and go to the lobby. Some stand around the auditorium and say thanks and shake hands, while the others are in the lobby still playing. The thing that is so cool is they are having so much fun and you are really taken in by that.

Permalink | File Under: Music