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You are currently browsing comments. If you would like to return to the full story, you can read the full entry here: “tuesday five.”.
1. I would spend a year travelling across North America by car. I’d go to all the requisite touristy things that aren’t theme parks, but then I’d try to see all of the “World’s Largest” statues/monuments in both Canada and the US. I’d take in some high school football in Texas, and a college football game at Ohio State, and go see the Cowboys play a home game, and maybe the Raiders and Patriots too. I’d go see the Yankees and the Red Sox in New York AND Boston, I’d stand at the top of the Statue of Liberty, and the top (and bottom) of the Grand Canyon. I’d watch the sun come up in Newfoundland and watch it go down in Alaska, and be in Inuvik for the first day of summer, and I’d make sure that I hit each state, province and territory, and visit as many national parks (in both countries) as possible. I’d love to do this with a coworker of mine who has never been east of Sherwood Park, AB.
2. My ideal dinner party would be a BBQ. The menu would be: brisket, greens, corn bread, peach cobbler. I’d do the hosting and the cooking, and I’d invite my close friends (and my parents too) on Labour Day, to catch the football games.
3. Your Hand in Mine – Explosions in the Sky
These Days – Bon Jovi
Hallelujah – either Jeff Buckley, or Justin Timberlake
My Ghost – Glass Pear
Heartbeats – Jose Gonzalez
My Happiness – Powderfinger
Free Fallin’ – Tom Petty
None of these fit together (I can’t make a Genius playlist with any of these songs that includes any of the others), but each song speaks to me in its own way.
In a nutshell: I express my emotinos through the music I listen to, and each of these songs, to a varying degree, represents some of what I feel on a regular basis.
4. Things that annoy me: Late assignments, bad excuses for being late, people who use the same hashtag in every single tweet (especially when each tweet is NOT about that hashtag), people who turn left AFTER the light turns red, when people don’t communicate their expectations clearly, anytime someone uses shorthand when it’s not necessary.
Things that cheer me: full on belly laughs, Friday beers with colleagues, sunsets, listening to good music (see above), a good latte, singing for no reason at all
5. Calories, finances, children/spouses (if I don’t ask about them), work (again, if I don’t ask)
1.Tour of Europe the old fashioned way. Take a transatlantic voyage; explore the British Isles with tons of time in London. Move on to France and explore Normandy, Provence, and of course lots of time in Paris. Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Russia, etc. Staying in nice hotels along the way and all in all have a very fun time. Different people for different parts of the trip but always with good friends and family around.
2.At my own house, with good friends and conversation. I would cook, but the food isn’t as important to me as the company. And it would absolutely have to be like all the dinner parties my parents threw when I was a kid; low-key and unpretentious, but still very, very classy and fun.
3.I suck at any sort of mix making, and seven songs are hard to pick but:
Spoonboy- Ashley MacIssac
Under the Milky Way-Seven Nations
The Way You Make Me Feel- Michael Jackson
God Only Knows-Beach Boys
Everlong-Foo Fighters
Bye Bye Bye- N’Sync
Clumsy-Our Lady Peace
4.Stupid people, drivers who dawdle in the left hand lane and don’t move over, an obvious “I’m better than you†mentality, unwillingness to hear the other side of the argument, people who wear clothes that don’t fit (goes both ways, too big or too small), and passive aggressiveness
Hearing the Overture from the Phantom of the Opera; anything having to do with horses, my cats, ice cream sundaes, reading in the hammock at our camp in Maine, sitting on a beach and watching the ocean.
5. Baby/child bowel movements, complement fishing, body image issues, and deep seated parental issues (unless I know you really well)
1. I would go to the Maldives with my boyfriend *ahem husband since this is my fantasy and therefore is my honeymoon* and we would stay in one of those fancy little huts over the water that you see in really posh tropical hotel locations, and we would eat at the underwater restaurant.
2. I would host my ideal dinner party with my closest friends, probably about 8 guests. We would sit outdoors in the back garden (apparently envisioning this ideal dinner party also involves conjuring up images of owning a house with a gorgeous backyard) and enjoy a seafood feast – salad with shrimp, crab cakes, scallops with grilled veggies and rice, and some kind of delicious fruit tart or pie for dessert.
3. Shadowfeet – Brooke Fraser
Hold On – Sarah McLachlan
Somebody for Someone – The Corrs
Sanctuary – Gabriella Cilmi
Mushaboom – Feist
Heaven – Live
Sunrise – Norah Jones
No theme that really runs through all these songs that makes them ME, it’s just a collection of mellow songs that I have loved and found personally meaningful over the years.
4. Drive me nuts: the sound of bristles, someone touching my eyebrows, people being treated unfairly, leggings as pants, being cut off, lack of punctuality.
Cheer me up: pictures of cute animals (especially puppies, hippos and elephants), sunny days, So You Think You Can Dance, great songs back to back on the radio in the car, yoga, a walk in the forest.
5. Politics, cars, bodily functions, and technology stuff that guys go gaga over (video games, the latest gadget, blah blah blah).
What a lovely distraction (and reflection) – exactly what I needed.
Tuscany. I’d make a return trip to Italy but this time with C. It would be simple, and lovely. By day we’d explore the towns and cities. By night we’d retreat to a villa with a view and spend each evening on the terrace taking in the stunning scenery while sipping local Chianti, eating artisan cheeses, and drenching freshly based breads in olive oil.
Small and cozy. Ideally, late fall with as many people as we can fit around the dining room table. The menu would be something hearty and comforting, a stew or lasagna with a crusty bread. Always accompanied by a good wine and an assortment of desserts! I find nothing more satisfying than a home full of friends with great conversations and lots of laughter.
Low-key, reflective, and re-energizing:
1. The Moment That It Stops, The Narrative
2. Park Song, The Dodos
3. Boy With a Coin, Iron & Wine
4. The Perfect Space, The Avett Brothers
5. Extraordinary Machine, Fiona Apple
6. The Fear, Lily Allen
I require “me” time – I need time to reflect, and time to grow. Music enables me to loose myself within myself, especially after a hectic day or when I’m simply craving an immediate escape.
Ugh:
1. Arrogance …period.
2. Losing socks in the dryer (where do they go)
3. Ignorant judgment, especially re: my parenting choices
4. People who talk/text on their cellphones and drive
5. An unmade bed – an odd quirk I know, but C’s very supportive of this need
6. When people, things, or opportunities are taken for granted
Yeah:
1. Fresh flowers.
2. L’s smile – it melts away any bad day
3. Bags! It’s a compulsion, and I can almost always justify a bag
4. Cupcakes!
5. Being with my whole, 15+ extended, family
6. Unexpected mail, emails or phone calls from friends
Nothing’s off limits so much me topic-wise. Rather there are tone’s that I’d rather avoid:
1. Condescending
2. Patronizing
3. Hateful
4. Confrontational
Hum, English would be a nice choice for that last piece. How about I try again:
Nothing’s off limits to me topic-wise, but there are tones that I’d rather avoid:
Ah, better. Clearly I needed a second round of coffee ;)
My gut answers:
1. India. Nathan and I would go to India. I would wear a sari and we would eat amazing things and live in the spiritual moment and never at any time would we be annoying tourists.
2. I realize I’m trying to make my wedding exactly that. Casual food with unique ingredients (lamb pizza, short rib sliders) an open bar, and the people I love the most all mingling in the same room and getting along. Also, I don’t have to do the dishes.
3. “Plant Me” – Suddenly Tammy “Plant me and watch me grow”
“Greetings in Braille” – The Elected “And the stories they told you were true, babe/your mom really went crazy/but that doesn’t have to be you.”
“A Better Son/Daughter” – Rilo Kiley (my favorite band of all time) “Sometimes when you’re on/you’re really f*ckin’ on/and your friends they sing along and they love you” and “But you’ll fight and you’ll make it through/you’ll fake it if you have to/and you’ll show up for work with a smile.”
“Marais La Nuit” – Neko Case. There are many Neko Case lyrics that resonate with me, but this song in particular is ME. It’s nearly 32 minutes of nothing but peepers. Or crickets. Or whatever you want to call them. It’s like a Southern summer night and it’s calming and wistful all at once.
Huh. That’s all I’ve got right now. Not sure I can come up with more and be able to stop myself.
4. Horrible: People who talk loudly because they think others will be impressed with what they overhear.
People who wait a long time in line and give no consideration to what they want to order so they hem and haw when it’s finally their turn.
Mean girls.
People who don’t pick up their dog’s poop.
Chewing with an open mouth.
Public transportation running late.
Awesome: “Letter from an Occupant” by The New Pornographers.
Glee.
Flowers.
A pedicure (not like the ones you and Bean got at Miniluxe, though)
A glass of wine with friends.
Hearing about/seeing you and Gradon. I know, it sounds cheesy, but the truth is that every second of your story, the good and the bad, renews my faith in love and humanity and hope in general.
5. Sarah Palin.
Immigration.
Money/Salary.
Employment.
Fun. Let’s do this over pancakes next time.
Mine’s posted here: http://talesfrommidair.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/five/