Mute Monday - Music

Here the two instruments at which I am most skilled, although I also have played (for specific concerts or pieces) alto sax (jazz band), tenor sax (jazz band), English horn (orchestra/symphony), cymbals (marching band), and bass clarinet (symphony band).

Oboe
My absolute favorite; I played in bands and orchestras until my early 20s,
when law school had to take precedence.
I tried to pick it up again last year, but I've totally lost my embouchure.

I began playing the clarinet, a single reed instrument, when I was 10, but switched to oboe, a double reed, when I was 12. I continued playing the clarinet for marching band, though one year I played cymbals when we needed more percussionists for the Tulip Time parades. I loved playing clarinet in jazz and pep bands. I can still pick up a clarinet and play decently ~ embouchure isn't such an issue with a single-reed instrument, though I worry about ruining years of expensive orthodontia.

My high school marching band, September 1984,
in the stands at a football game. That's me in the red circle, with my 1984 semi-mullet and excessively curled & teased bangs. I scanned this out of my yearbook - the original was fuzzy too.

I'm off for the weekend!

We're leaving this afternoon (Friday) sometime after 4:30, when the in-laws are picking up the kids and leaving us a nearly-new car to destroy utilize for the weekend. We are no longer going to Cedar Point, however. Spousehole always kind of wanted to go to Six Flags instead (he's never been) and now the weather forecast indicates Six Flags is likely to be our better choice rain-wise. So instead of heading southeast to Ohio, we are going southwest to Illinois. Joy. Not nearly so many coasters, but oh well. Nicer hotel than we would have had at Cedar Point - that's got to count for something, right?

Hopefully the trip will be better than the actual birthday. Spousehole NEVER once said "Happy Birthday" all day, even when I pointed out that he had not said it (he said "Oh. Sorry. I had a deadline at work today . . . blah, blah, blah" but no "Happy Birthday." No card from Spousehole or the kids either. And no gifts goes without saying, right? I also didn't get any birthday wishes from PiC or someone else I had hoped to hear from. Men. Can't live 'em, can't have hot penetrative sex without 'em. Damnit.

(We'll celebrate with my family - parents, sister, nephew - next weekend and I'll get cards and gifts from them, thank goodness. What's a b-day without cards and gifts? *Wah* - I'm a crybaby, aren't I?)

Why do I always do these silly "tests"? It's like the Cosmo Quiz for 'net geeks. I think this is probably pretty accurate, though I don't think I'm that awkward. I do fine with public speaking, it's one-on-one that I can be awkward, I guess. Anxiety should probably be higher though, wouldn't you agree?

Your Score:The Subtle Neurotic
You scored 70 anxiety, 81 awkwardness, and 37 neuroticism!

You have all the makings of neuroticism without any of the amusing trappings--you are The Subtle Neurotic! Plagued by doubt, fears, and worries, you are much more likely to have a quiet existential crisis off on your own than to bite your fingernails. You worry a lot over social situations, but take heart -- chances are, you're not nearly as awkward as you feel you are. The best advice I can give you? Confide your worries in someone--no matter how irrational they seem. You're far too likely to keep everything bottled up.

Your high anxiety score implies that you are unable to relax, worry about the future often, and probably are plagued by irrational fears and self-doubt.

Your high awkwardness score implies that you are socially nervous, probably have difficulty with conversation, and perhaps feel uncomfortable in large groups of people, such as at parties.

Your low neuroticism score implies that you don't exhibit subtle neurotic behaviors--your nails are probably an acceptable length, your pencils aren't covered with bite marks, and your bookcase isn't arranged alphabetically by genre. Congrats!

See the other results!

Well-Adjusted

The Neat Freak

The Dork

The Geek

Phobic

Obsessive-Compulsive

The Subtle Neurotic

The True Neurotic

Link: The Neurotic Test written by littlelostsnail on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Birthday Meme! And some unwanted Cake

This meme requires one to go to Wikipedia and search one's birthday. Write down three events, 2 births, 1 holiday that happened on that birthday. This seemed only appropriate on the day after my birthday, so here goes:

Events:

1620 - The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower to settle in North America.

1901 - Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots and fatally wounds US President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales is laid to rest in front of a television audience of more than 2.5 billion. (I actually woke up early on my 30th birthday to watch the funeral. I am such a dork).

Births

1757 - Marquis de Lafayette, French soldier and statesman (d. 1834)

1860 - Jane Addams, American social worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1935)

(for current/popular tastes, also Jane Curtin, Joann Whorley, Swoosie Kurtz, Jeff Foxworthy, David Allan Coe [who I actually saw in concert when I was a kid], Elizabeth Vargas, Alice Sebold, Rosie Perez, Delores O'Riordin [The Cranberries], Foxy Brown, and porn star Raven Riley. Several funny chicks, you'll notice.)

Holiday

National Stillbirth Remembrance Day in 39 U.S. states and New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia in Canada (How's that for a happy one? If you want a more upbeat one, Labor Day falls on September 6 quite often.)
_____________________________________________

I've written before about how I get songs in my head, even after hearing only a snippet. Well the latest song in my head I haven't even heard for ages. My son keeps saying "The sun has gone down" and my brain just picks it up from there . . .

and the moon has come up,
And long ago somebody left with the cup
But he's driving and striving and hugging the turns
And thinking of someone for whom he still burns

He's going the distance
He's going for speed
She's all alone
In her time of need
Because he's racing and pacing and plotting the course,
He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse,
He's going the distance.

Cake. How appropriate. Thanks kid.

HNT - Birthday Edition!!

I AM 40 YEARS OLD TODAY!

Here I am 40 years ago (yes, I finally got my scanner to work with linux!):

And here's me 18 months later with my very best friend, Sarge:

Me at 26, taken for my firm's brochure:

PHOTO REMOVED. SORRY YOU MISSED IT.

And me at 31, 40 lbs later, in my wedding dress
(that I tried on last week and it's too big -yea me!)

PHOTO DELETED

Currently I weigh less, have (much) longer hair, and am not foolish enough to appear in public in that much white! You'll just have to use your imagination . . .

I know, I know, I'm very, very late to post my HNT. Sorry!
School bus woes again (no pick-up, AGAIN) and grocery shopping day, arrgh!)

My friend, Semi-Celibate Man, has posted his very last blog entry. Please go say goodbye and good luck to a wonderful blogger and friend and a true man stepping up to make the hard choices necessary for his family. He is a treasure and will be missed by so many of us who enjoyed his writing, his unique worldview, and, of course, his revealing photos and videos. Take care, SCM.

Why do we get half-nekkid? Want to join the fun? See Os at

WTF Wednesday, a Valuable Sex Toy PSA, and a Picture of my Pussy

WTF is with my public school's privatized transportation company? Their spokesbitch was on the news last night raving about how wonderfully the first day went, the buses ran on time, there were no glitches, and it was all because they ran these routes for a month to make sure they had them down and planned for traffic conditions, etc.

Lying bitch. My son's bus was more than 30 minutes late picking him up yesterday. When I called Dickhead Transportation to find out what was up, at first I couldn't even get through. When I finally got a very harried-sounding operator, she sent me to voicemail hell. I called back, got another very harried operator who explained that all the buses were late, it was a crazy, crazy morning. Yet their spokesbitch says "there were no glitches." Whatever.

So today the bus wasn't late. It just never showed up at all. We went outside five minutes before the bus is scheduled to arrive (8:22) and were still out there at 9:10 when the dispatcher got hold of the bus driver, who claims she was at my house at 8:30. Bullshit. Both kids and I were outside that whole time. No bus. So they sent a different bus to pick up just Boy and take him all the way to his school (20 minutes away.) They found us yesterday, but couldn't today? WTF?

So I call Spousehole and he tries to find a way that this is my fault (because everything is my fault). "Maybe the bus came and you just didn't see it." Yeah, because I could easily miss a big bright yellow bus on our tiny narrow street with diesel engines rumbling away while the kids and I stand on the sidewalk only feet away. Because I'm just that inattentive. And the kids too. The bus-obsessed children who scream "schoo bus! schoo bus!" in the car whenever they get a glimpse of a bus. Yeah, they missed it too. WTF?

Why didn't I just drive him, you ask? Mommyvan is in the shop - needs new plugs, wires, and coil box. It was misfiring this weekend, so I took it in for plugs and wires. Then they tell me it also needs a coil box (coil/distributor assembly) and will cost over $780. Holy crap. $331 labor, $45 for the plugs, $178 for the wires, $191 for the coil box, and so on. Remember when you could buy plugs and wires for about $30 and change them yourself in 30 minutes, including gapping all 6 plugs? WTF? And Spousehole's vehicle is leaking fuel so it's really not safe to drive (I would if it were just me, but not with the kids). Plus Girl's car seat is in Mommyvan, which I thought I would be getting back pretty quickly.As predicted, Spousehole attempted to use these vehicular set-backs as a reason to cancel my birthday trip. But the in-laws came to the rescue! They are loaning us one of their cars (mine will be back, but we don't trust it right now) for the trip and providing fundage as a gift to me. The car they are loaning us is one they get for free anyhow, they don't care what happens to it - lol. My FIL is retired from an American auto manufacturer. He (or his widow when he dies) gets a new car each year from the company that is registered to the company, insured by the company, maintained by the company, etc. All they do is buy gas and take it to the car wash occasionally. Each November, they turn it in and take possession of a new car. They get to order the cars direct from the factory, with whatever options, colors, etc. they want. It's a sweet deal if you can get it.
WTF is with my daughter? Like Hermione with the house elves, Girl is on a crusade; a crusade to free the liquids. Apparently, Mommy, the inhumane bitch, insists on confining poor, oppressed liquids in cups, glasses, bottles, cans, cartons, etc., when all peace-loving peoples know the liquids MUST BE SET FREE. Soy milk in a cup? Dump it on the floor, so it can be free! Lemonade in a glass? If you've foolishly sipped some into your mouth, SPIT IT OUT SO IT CAN BE FREE! Mommy's bottle of Diet Coke? It may not have been born free, but it deserves to taste freedom as well - let it free into its natural habitat (apparently, the dining room floor). Water in the bathtub? Set it free, one bucket at a time, onto the bathroom floor! FREE THE LIQUIDS!!

And now we interrupt our regularly scheduled ranting for this sex-toy related PSA:


And now, Maestro, a drumroll please . . . the long-awaited, oft-promised but never delivered pussy picture:



Notice the cleft in his front left paw. His name is Thomas, but we often call him by his Sopranos name, Tommy Two-Toes. At 25 lbs, he still outweighs my younger human child.

TMI Tuesday#99 and Dorky Tuesday!!

Dorky Tuesday pic is below TMI! Prepare for major dorkiness . . .

It's TMI Tuesday! Click the "I kiss and tell" icon to come play with us!!


1. What did you eat for dinner yesterday?

Hamburgers topped with blue cheese, red onion, and baby spinach. Chips, baked beans, and Diet Coke rounded out the meal. Walked to a local ice cream shop for dessert. (Kind of lacking in veggies, eh? I did have more veggies at lunch.)

2. How much cash is in your purse/wallet right now?

Almost none - $1.38, all in change. Spousehole doesn't like me to have too much cash. He wants me to have to ask for it and justify my intended purchases. All part of being an emotionally/psychologically abusive asshole. No debit or credit card either. Or checkbook. But I can go to the bank & withdraw $$ if I need it.

3. What have you done to avoid being flirted with by someone you didn't like?

Left a party/bar at which I was otherwise having fun, had a friend run interference, gone "invisible" on Yahoo messenger, introduced my husband to the person, and finally, the one that works every time now, I start talking about my children.

4. Do you believe the theory "Once a cheater always a cheater"?

No. I believe you can rededicate yourself to a relationship or dedicate yourself to a new relationship and never cheat again.

5. Describe your sex life in two words.

Seriously lacking.

Bonus (as in optional): Would you/have you ever paid money for sex?

I have not and can't imagine I ever would. But never say never ~ after all, I will be 40 - gasp on Thursday! And I am a total dork . . .

Dorky Tuesday!!

This is recent dorkiness - didn't have to go back far (and my scanner still won't work with linux . . . ). Anyhoo, this is my mom and me in May - I'm the tall one (not a phrase a 5'2" woman gets to use much). I was staying at her house to escape my husband and kids and I put on this cat shirt after I showered. My mom saw and when she emerged from her shower, she had on the same shirt. Apparently when she gave me one, she bought one for herself.

It gets worse. I figured on just hanging around the house that day, that's why I wore the shirt. But no-o-o-o, we actually went out to eat in our matching white-trash cat shirts. Oh yes, it wasn't dorky enough to have matching shirts, we had to wear them in public. I tried to change and my mother wouldn't hear of it. She was paying, so I kept it on. My nephew thought it was cool, but my sister was mortified. She didn't want to be seen in public with us, but again Mom was paying and it was the cool Irish pub downtown . . . so she tolerated it.

Dorky Tuesday is the latest game organized by Os, of HNT fame. Go give the O-man some dorky love!

Mute Monday - Horseplay

Holiday; It's time to celebrate . . .

Went "up north" this weekend (the definition of "up north" varies, depending on the person and location; where we went is 1+ hour north of us, therefore it is "up north" to us. When I lived in Alpena, however, where we were would still be "downstate.") Staying at my in-laws house with a crowd of folks. Seems the in-laws thought that Spousehole and I (and our kids) were the only ones coming, so they loaned the cottage out to their pastor's son and his family. Then, as you might guess, EVERYONE came up for the weekend. 11 people in one house, boat at the cottage, dang-it. At least with that crowd I didn't have to talk to Spousehole much :) I also drank. A lot. A couple big-ass sangrias before dinner, a couple glasses of something red with dinner (I don't even know what it was), a glass of shiraz after dinner, a single-malt on the rocks (Balvenie), a diet Coke and Captain Morgan followed by a diet Coke and SoCo, both kind of light on the Diet Coke, KWIM? Oh, and a couple Buttershots in there somewhere. I think that was it. But it was over a period of about 4 hours, so it was ok (lol). I went to bed before my kids even. For someone who has one drink or less per week, this was major imbibing. But it makes Spousehole and his family easier to take. Interesting:

You Are Rum

You're the life of the party, and a total flirt You are also pretty picky about what you drink Only the finest labels and best mixed cocktails will do Except if you're dieting - then it's Diet Coke and Bacardi all the way

What Alcoholic Drink Are You?

We went to church with the in-laws on Sunday. Reminded me why we left the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod and are United Methodists now. Not quite fire-and-brimstone, but close. The sermon was on Hebrews 13:1-14, with a particular emphasis on 13:4. Oh c'mon, you know the passage:

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.

Day-am. Was the pastor talking directly to me, perhaps? Though he really got into the porn thing also, so maybe he was talking to Spousehole too? (To his credit, Spousehole has cut way back on the porn, though I think his ED issues have more to do with that than a desire to abstain from porn.) Left me feeling unworthy to take communion even (and the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod technically does not offer communion to non-members except those with whom they have a communion sharing agreement. Since United Methodists will let anyone take communion, they don't like us much. But the pastor said later he would've been cool with me taking communion with them. Oh well.)

Watched us some football this weekend. Spousehole's family are HUGE Michigan fans. BIL's wife and I are Spartan girls and we actually attended and graduated from our school, unlike any of our lame-ass Michigan fan in-laws. (We also both got into Michigan and chose Michigan State for the particular programs we wanted.) Of course, we are Big Ten loyalists, so we always root for Big Ten teams over non-Big Ten teams (non includes Penn State, because they really don't belong). But I had to laugh, laugh, laugh at #5 Michigan's loss to Appalachian State. Who? I mean, did you see that game? Holy guacamole! It's like Michigan forgot to let their defense out of the locker room. Though I will say that Hart played his heart out - too bad the rest of the team sucked ass. I say the problem is that the Lions left Pontiac and moved into downtown Detroit, closer to Ann Arbor. The suckitude is creeping into A².

My beloved Spartans won, but they were only playing U-A Birmingham, a glorified community college. It's hard to get too excited about a win over a school like that. Plus I know my Spartans - they'll screw it up before too long. But a nice debut for Dantonio anyhow. We watched some of the game, but realized it would be a near-total blowout and watched the Wolverines disintegrate instead. Big 10 Network on DirectTV at the in-laws' - totally freakin' cool. Not available on my lame-ass Comcast system - not cool at all.