A Meme

This was a recent sunrise on Queens Creek. They're really incredible this time of year - sunsets too. Another thing that's incredible is the length of this post.

Pueblo Girl has tagged me for a meme.

Three years ago, that sentence would have made no sense to me, and to this day I'm not sure I can explain what a meme is, but loosely translated, blogger Pueblo Girl has asked me to answer ten questions. Then I ask some questions and tag others. Let's begin.

Here are her questions:

1. What music/tribe defined you as a teenager?
While most of my friends were into rock, my favorite was funk and disco.

Tribe? Well, the Pamunky and Mattaponi Indians were nearby, but there was never any interaction with them. The family clan influenced me, obviously, but the people I chose to hang out with were often the underdogs, the athletes (of the same underdog vintage), or the seriously funny (ha ha) people.

2. Urban or rural?
As long as I have access to the internet, rural. Even without it, rural, although I might fuss a bit and stomp my foot--but only once.

3. How old do you feel inside? And how different is this to your real age? Most days I feel about 18 inside. On the long days when I have to commute to work while simultaneously tending to my family's needs, I feel like I'm 88 trying to climb Mt. Everest blindfolded. 18 is about 27 years from my real age, and now I must go cry.

4. Worst relative story, please.
After I stop crying about my age, I'll share a story from Dysfunction Junction, which by the way could be the name of a whole new blog filled with stories that you wouldn't believe. But to answer the question, my uncle, who lived next door to us, suffered from schizophrenia (really). Growing up with a close family member who struggled with mental illness was unusually difficult to say the least, and I've been meaning to write about all that happened. That story alone would fill a book and make a great movie--a sad, tragic, bittersweet movie much like A Beautiful Mind.

Aside from that, I'd probably have to choose my father singing Elvis's, "You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog," in Goodfellas Restaurant right before he tripped over something and fell. (They were jam packed and we had to wait in the bar area for quite some time until we could be seated for dinner. No doubt this contributed to both the singing and the tripping.)

Or, it might be when we were vacationing in the Outer Banks and my mother showed up to the supper table wearing nothing but her bra. We had a guest there. At the table. Bra. At the table. Guest.

Excuse me while I resume my crying spell.

5. What are you reading at the moment?
Aside from the instructions on the various boxes of ant killer sent to me by the wonderful folks at Terro, I'm trying to decipher a contract that was due to be signed last week. If anyone speaks the ancient language of Contracts, please let me know.

When I can focus, which is never rarely, I am plodding through Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera, sent to me by one of my best college amigos, Sam H.

6. Who/what pushed /inspired you to start blogging?
I knew no more about blogging than your average ground hog, but one day back in 2007 I was searching for "the world's best chocolate cake" for my daughter's birthday and stumbled upon the Pioneer Woman's site. I became hooked. Through her comment section I got to know a wonderful woman named tj, who convinced me to start my own blog. Another friend Kathy taught me how to upload photos, and the rest is a mystery history.

7. Are you a learner or a teacher? Yes. However if we're talking about technology, then neither applies.

8. What is your pet hate? Assuming this is different from a pet peeve, I'd say litter boxes, hairballs, tumbleweeds of fur, fleas, ticks and spending way too much money on cat food. Pet peeves are many but rarely debilitating because in the scheme of Life they are just ants invasive insects that one must accept and endure.

9. Your word is law. What is your first decree?
I hereby declare that every citizen of this planet shall be helpful, tolerant, accepting and appreciative of other people and their differences; that we all take responsibility for conserving and preserving the planet's natural beauty and resources and not try to pave it over one strip mall at a time; and that CBW never has to work in a 9 to 5 office environment again but still can make ends meet doing things she loves, such as taking pictures and writing silly little blog posts. The End.

(Is that asking too much?)

10. Swanky bars or sawdust on the floor affairs?
Although I can navigate both, I much prefer the sawdust on the floor affairs, because they remind me of my kitchen floor home. Given that I'm preaching about tolerance, however, I'll happily take whatever is thrown my way and adjust accordingly.

Now I'm supposed to ask questions and tag people, but I'm going to bend the rules a little. Instead of 10 questions, I'll ask 5; and instead of tagging specific bloggers, I'll tag you, my three two readers. If you feel like answering, leave a comment.

My Questions:
1. If you could change one thing about your life at the moment, what would that be?
2. Of all the places you've traveled to, what destination was your favorite and why?
3. Do you exercise? How often and what do you do?
4. Complete this sentence: I'm sorry for the time I ...
5. What is your favorite meal and who prepares it?
6. Pueblo Girl's questions are incredibly clever and she has a gift with words, my personal favorite in this series of questions being "sawdust on the floor affairs."

Thank you, Pueblo Girl, for the meme, and thank you to anyone who has waded this far through this post. You both deserve a medal.