megfowler.com

January 27, 2008

just things i wonder.

Filed under: think, questions — meg @ 6:21 pm

1. What made you decide to be with the person you’re with?

2. What made you decide to do the work you do?

3. What type of discussion brings out the most passion in you?

4. If you could change three things about your life instantly by snapping your fingers, what would you wish for before the big snap?

5. What two qualities do you possess that you would never, ever change?

6. When you come across something you want to change in your life, what’s the first step?

7. At what moment in your day are you most at peace?

January 2, 2008

welcome back to work, y’all. and holy crap.

Filed under: love, questions, listy — meg @ 9:25 am

I’m sorry, but is anyone else like WHOA WAS THAT THE HOLIDAYS I THINK I SNEEZED.

It just blitzed on by like a freight train and here I am at work and whew.

I have a new iPod. Christmas MUST have happened. Either that or I stole it, and if that’s the case, 2008 is just going to end up a complicated web of crime.

Which kind of sounds a little more razzamatazz (shut up, it’s a word) than my 2007.

So, to celebrate these “supposed” holidays, I’d like to give you a quick list, and a question…

THINGS I INTEND TO KEEP DOING IN 2008, I DON’T EVEN CARE

1. Drinking too much coffee.
2. Taking my laptop to bed (IT’S NOT LIKE IT’S ANNOYING ANYONE EXCEPT MR. PILLOW MY IMAGINARY BOYFRIEND I HUG WHO IS ACTUALLY JUST MY PILLOW BUT STOP JUDGING)
3. Not wearing correct footwear (nor corrective footwear, for that matter)
4. Playing the same songs over and over again on my iPod
5. Doing laundry almost every day
6. Continuing to smell like a cookie
7. Smiling without teeth until people force me to grin
8. Swearing at hockey games
9. Obsessing about produce
10. Perfecting the art of the momentary crush

So what aren’t YOU changing in 2008?

And why am I so shouty?

Ah well. On my sixth shot of espresso this am. Bliss.

December 10, 2007

hey monday, here so soon?

Filed under: random, questions, vancouver — meg @ 10:04 am

Hello peaches!

(Do you mind being referred to as a fuzzy fruit that bruises easily? No? Harvey Fierstein jokes notwithstanding…)

It’s Monday already, and despite the fact that it’s sunny and fresh and cool outside in Vancouver, I’m feeling a little… oh, I don’t know… sluggish? Snailish? Decorative rock gardenish? Something likewise still?

Everyone goes on and on about how hard it is to get motivated at the beginning of the week, unless they happen to be one of those people who says things like I SLEEP THREE HOURS A NIGHT IN FIFTEEN MINUTE SHIFTS and I’M JUST THANKFUL FOR ANOTHER WEEK TO FOLLOW MY PASSIONS and LIVE EVERY DAY LIKE IT MIGHT BE YOUR LAST and MY NAME IS DAVID AND I’M A SPEED ADDICT.

I’m generally fine with week-ginnings. I’m just bloody tired TODAY for some reason.

So how about we make it easy? This blog post, that is.

Tell me…

1. What’s the weather like where you are?
2. Do you have pants on?
3. What’s the last thing you ate?
4. If you could get anything at all for Christmas — $1,000 limit — what would it be?
5. Do you like your middle name?
6. Any questions?

December 4, 2007

the answer is: only on mondays, and with your left hand.

Filed under: questions, vancouver, radio radio — meg @ 9:47 am

This morning, I was on Battle of the Sexes on 95Crave (95.3 FM) in Vancouver. Before I’D EVEN HAD MY COFFEE.

I co-hosted with radio ninja Buzz Bishop (also available at Cyberbuzz.) Buzz lets me jabber on the radio now and then — partly because he’s a nice guy, and partly because he enjoys listening to me sound like a complete ass “in front” of thousands of listeners.

(You can hear more of our antics by clicking on the “radio radio” category down there to your right.)

The point of the game is for both hosts — a male and a female (usually Nat and Drew, the usual morning drive folks) — to choose three questions to stump the opposite sex.

In fact, on Nat and Drew’s page, it says something about Battle of the Sexes deciding which gender is “smartest.”

But I definitely don’t think that’s what Battle of the Sexes is all about. Doing well at trivia contests is much more about exposure to culture (and memory) and a certain kind of upbringing/nurture than actual intelligence.

I mean, I know a lot of trivia, but that doesn’t make me brighter than anyone else… I just tend to fixate on random details, rather than large, useful concepts.

(Just ask my PoliSci profs.)

I asked the following questions this morning of my “stumpee” (poor guy probably wouldn’t like THAT title too much…) Chris:

1. When a woman gets “threaded”, does that involve:

    a) Getting something sewn for her wardrobe
    b) A sort of hairstyle
    c) Getting hair removed

Chris, to his credit, got it right (c). I was impressed! And that’s all he needed to do, apparently, because his female counterpart, Janelle, batted .000 on Buzz’s questions. The only other question I got to ask was about Mr Big’s real name on Sex and the City (he didn’t know: John.)

(I knew all of Buzz’s answers, by the way.)

We had an ongoing competition like this at camp, and I used to be called in as a ringer to help the junior girl staffers, since the boys couldn’t knock me out with their questions.

I think I was successful in part I have a brain for randomology… but I was also raised by parents with diverse interests.

My dad loves sports — which is apparently “guy knowledge” — but he also loves fashion (A topic that eludes a lot of men. A LOT OF MEN. GET LONGER PANTS NOW.)

My mom can knit or sew circles around most people (do you need a knitted circle? let me know), but she can also wield a power tool with extreme proficiency (back off, boys… she’s taken.)

I don’t think either of them fits any kind of gender stereotype very well, even if my dad DOES love his car to be obsessively clean and my mom DOES bake a mean pie.

Ew… even TYPING those stereotypical roles made me cringe.

That’s why this whole thing has me thinking: Is there really such a thing as “gender-specific” knowledge? Or does it just have to do with how you grew up? How “cross-gender literate” is any of us, overall?

So here are my questions for you:

    1. Do you think your knowledge base is gender-specific?

    2. Do you ever refer to certain information as “girl stuff” or “guy stuff”?

    3. What is the most stereotypical “gender topic” you know well?

    4. What subject area do you know a lot about that might surprise people, given your gender?

    4. Were you raised with ironclad gender roles? Or were the people in your life “generalists” of a sort?

    5. Got a “boy question” to stump me? I promise not to Google.

    (And try to make it something that most guys would know, not just something you happen to know at the same time as you happen to be a guy… like the serial number on a small part in a Nissan RB engine, or your middle name. Yeesh. Unless you’re like… Richard Dean Anderson.)

November 27, 2007

good morning, sunshinefaces.

Filed under: questions — meg @ 8:53 am

Okay! It’s sunny and cold in Vancouver (well, coldISH… I could stand to put a - in front of our temperature) and I bought a Christmas mug and I’m feeling all JAZZ HANDS! and THERE’S A LOT OF SUGAR IN THIS PEPPERMINT MOCHA.

So.

1. How are YOU?

2. Are you a holidays person, or no? (whatever holidays you celebrate)

3. How many blankets are on your bed right now?

4. If I told you I was going to bring you lunch, what would you want me to bring you?

5. We can do absolutely ANYTHING you want today. So what would that be?

6. Brunettes: the true fun-havers? Yes or no.

November 22, 2007

crambles.

Filed under: random, questions, getting out, vancouver, help a girl shop, christmas — meg @ 10:27 am

Well, hello there!

My body continues to fall apart rather charmingly, but I’ve decided to say FINITO! to complaining about it or dwelling on the fact that my $#%@stomach@#$&$knee@#*&$lungs@#&$head hurts.

Pain is a part of life, right? If we never hurt, we’d never know the sweet relief when that hurt passes away.

Yeeeeah. Uh huh.

But enough of the whining. Moving along.

Today is a glooooooriously sunny day.

And when I say gloooooriously, I like to use a different amount of ‘o’s every time.

I love it when Vancouver spends a few days being crisp and cool like my home of yesteryear, the Canadian Prairie.

(Cue noble, sweeping music and an aerial shot of snowy fields…)

Now, when I say that I lived on the Prairie, it sounds like I was all Laura Ingalls Wilder in a dugout in the middle of nowhere, when really, I lived in actual towns and cities. With running water and electricity and nary a wall constructed from sod. And cable. But no internet, since there was no internet yet. At least not an internet for everyone. It was just for geeks back then.

Mmm, geeks.

I’m getting off track here.

Clear and cold weather is my favourite kind of weather, in a near tie with clear and warm weather, which is kind of ironic, since I live in the Clouds (I’m enjoying capitalization today!)

The Clouds have lifted for now, though. I celebrated the Lifting (see?) with a Peppermint Mocha (now it’s just getting out of hand) which thrills me with After Eightish deliciousness (why is there a Wikipedia entry about mints?)

I’m also thinking about all things Christmassy, including the Christmas Train (I HAVE TO GO THIS YEAR, DAMMIT) and my work Christmas party (I’m trying to think up something to wear. I’m not big on buying some spectacular new dress, since all the rest of my holiday parties are of the jeans-heels-pretty shirt-giant earrings variety, rather than the cocktail variety. You feel me? Okay, maybe you don’t, but any suggestions for how to work up the same black, v-neck, mildly cleavage-y, sleeveless, knee length little black dress? I’m thinking a cute red wrap and some heels and an ostentatious piece of jewelery… and also thinking this is much too long for a parenthetical remark.)

If I could be doing ANYTHING today, I’d be on a sleigh ride somewhere snowy, wrapped in blankets and all cozed in behind horses puffing steam out of their noses. HOW AWESOME WOULD THAT BE? I love that stuff.

The last “ride” I was on was on a cardboard box behind my grandfather’s LeBaron on country roads outside of Devon, AB. He attached it to the car with luggage straps and whee! we were on our way.

To this day, I have no idea why my mother was okay with this. I mean, one sudden brake and I’d have been one with the undercarriage of his car. But I think he was careful. Maybe? A little?

At least until he threw me off the box into a ditch full of brambles on a sharp turn. Did I mention I was six? Yeah.

My parents were watching from the front window of my grandparents’ home and were ready to run out and get me, but then they saw my little snowsuited body emerge from the ditch, running at a full clip. My grandfather spotted me in his rearview and slowed down (how kind!), at which point I hopped back on the box and rode for another half hour. Awesome.

Well, awesome until I walked into the house and the hot air hit my scratched-up, frozen little face. Then I was a scene from Carrie (I was going to link to an image there, but EW. EW.)

Really, I’ve always been this way.

I was putting together a Holiday Online Shopping Guide for my blog, since I am the shopping link queen on Facebook, but then it occurred to me that EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING THAT, TOO. Meh. We’d probably all end up linking to the same things, right? And I don’t shop much online… I just BROWSE LIKE A PRO.

But if you want some holiday shopping links, I’ll post them later today.

This mocha is still awesome.

Love to all!

November 5, 2007

so!

Filed under: questions — meg @ 3:23 pm

Between stomach-wrenching antibiotics, missing sleep, and leftover adrenalin from our firefighter/police/paramedic shindig this morning, I’m feeling a tad… well… uh… lacking.

Rather than go on and on about that, though, I’d thought I’d check in on you wacky kids and ask a few questions that have popped into my head today:

1. If you were running out of a burning house (I know, I know… I said I wasn’t going to go on about that, but I was curious!), what are the five things you’d grab, given a minute to do so?

2. Are you more cynical or optimistic about romance in general?

3. Do you judge people according to how they look? And if you do, what matters most: fitness, fashion, posture, or general mood?

4. Do you like your laugh?

5. If I gave you a camera right now, what are the first five things you’d want to capture on film?

6. What song should play when you come in a room?

7. Is there a colour you wear more often than not?

8. Do you dance when music plays?

October 24, 2007

you are soooooo good lookin’.

Filed under: questions, help a girl shop — meg @ 12:02 pm

It’s that time again.

The annual MegFowler.com Beauty Survey!

I can call it annual because this is the second time we’re doing it. In two years.

That’s annual, right? YEAH.

It was great fun to read the responses last year for two reasons:

1. Some of you are product freaks like me, so I discovered some VERY fun new things, and…
2. Some of you just mocked the hell out of the whole thing, and I enjoyed that, too.

So, do tell:

1. Your all-time favourite shampoo and conditioner:
2. Your all-time favourite face wash:
3. Your all-time favourite moisturizer (face):
4. Your all-time favourite moisturizer (body):
5. Your all-time favourite sunscreen (face):
6. Your all-time favourite sunscreen (body):
7. Your all-time favourite fragrance:
8. Your all-time favourite masque/face treatment:
9. Your all-time favourite shower gel/body wash:
10. Your all-time favourite foundation:
11. Your all-time favourite bronzer:
12. Your all-time favourite mascara:
13. Your all-time favourite blush:
14. Your all-time favourite lipstick:
15. Your all-time favourite lipgloss:
16. Your all-time favourite hairspray:
17. Your all-time favourite hair product:
18. Any products you love that don’t fit the list:

If you have a question about someone else’s recommendation, you can ask it down there, and hopefully they’ll come back to tell you about it. If I give them a cookie.

And yes, men are welcome, too… just skip the makeup questions. Or, you know… don’t.

GO!

October 19, 2007

post 900: and how did YOU get here…

Filed under: questions, let me count the ways — meg @ 3:12 pm

This is my 900th post.

Which doesn’t actually mean too much at my blog, because I’ve actually written 1354 posts.

I just deleted the other 454 because I thought they were boring, or thought you thought they were boring, or they made my mom cry, or I was getting freaky Google hits.

This is not a recommendation for what remains, of course. I’m sure I’ve left a lot of tripe/fluff/silliness behind.

BUT!

In honour of this, the 900th Post Not Yet Deleted, tell me a little about YOU! Delurk! Come on out! Hello!

1. Who are you? (be as thorough or as vague as you like)
2. What are you wearing?
3. What’s the last thing you ate?
4. How did you get here? (the blog, not the planet)
5. Been here long?

October 11, 2007

get out those glad bags…

Filed under: questions, vancouver, hockey, angsty, listy, help a girl shop — meg @ 12:34 pm

… because MAN ALIVE, do you people know how to bring out the trash!

I love it. I love it so much.

And so does my faithful roommate and heterolifemate, Catherine, who phoned me from work to relive a few of the best comments. Honestly, folks — the best way to realize you’re not all that weird is to look around you and SEE THE MAGIC.

You are all magic.

And should keep being magic, if you haven’t posted your weird/trashy/awkward/problematic confessions yet below.

Here are three more of mine:

    I own a Diana, Princess of Wales paper doll kit where her base outfit is royal underwear. I have no idea where it is (I’ve moved too many times, and so have my parents…) but I find it kind of creepy at this point. Granted, I got it in 1982 (were some of you people even alive yet?), but still.

    I really, really, really enjoy the skin on KFC chicken. No, I don’t find it too salty or greasy or SKINNISH… I just love it. Mmm. And the more gross you think it is, the more left for me! Woo!

    I sing into my thumb in the car like it was a microphone. And in grocery stores. And pretty much anywhere.

Anyway. Do share. Do tell. We can’t wait to learn more.

In other news, I am buying actual shoes next week — maybe even three pairs! Which would bring my non-heel shoe total to… five pairs! — and need to think of a decent flat shoe that is not a boot or a running shoe or a walking shoe or a nurse shoe or a mom shoe.

I love ballet flats, but can’t seem to find a pair that don’t fall apart or give me the mother of all blisters on my heel. Which heals eventually (HEEL HEAL HEEL HEAL), but still.

Any suggestions?

OH! And…

If you could choose a category as yet uncategorized and unwritten at MegFowler.com, what would it be?

OH! And…

The Canucks lost by six points last night. I don’t expect anything as devastating as this to happen again, but I feel terrible for the guys. The fan bashing afterwards can’t be doing them much good in prepping for the next two games, either.

Let’s not decide we’re going to lose all season because of a couple bad contests. That’s like ending your marriage because you fight over whether to have the toilet paper roll over or under (over, by the way.) JUST MOVE ON.

And I hate “stat hexes”, too. Who cares if we lose to a team all the time? That doesn’t mean we can’t nail them now.

One more thing: Jesse Boulerice? You think you’re awesome railing on our Kes when you’re 5 points in the lead? Yeah. Meet me in the alley behind my house and I’ll give you the cross-checking of your LIFE.

OH! And…

WHAT THE FREAK! I see her going both ways. Alternately. Randomly. I keep thinking that shouldn’t work because of the lines of her body and anatomy but it HAPPENS! AAAA!!

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