Tell Me Thursday 2012 - #7

Happy Almost-Friday everyone! Van update - looks like there's every possibility that she may be up and running again by Monday. I sure do hope so! It would be nice. I have a lot of stuff to do to help that happen though.

So, on to this week's questions:

1. Jorgen would like to know what skill would you like to have that you don't currently have?
2. If someone were going to play you in a movie, who do you think it would be?
3. Kelsey wants to know what is a quality that you admire in a dog but would never fit with you?
4. If you had just enough money to pay someone to do one chore for you, what would it be?
5. Are you a procrastinator, a doitnower (I made that word up), or something in between?

I'll try to get to answering as time permits today. So far it does not look good.

1. Jorgen would like to know what skill would you like to have that you don't currently have?

I would like to have a "doing the hair on the back of my head" skill. As it is now, when I do my hair I look smokin hot until you get to the back of my head. That's where it all falls apart. The front is all smooth and sleek... and the back looks like a cat's been licking my noggin. I'd also like the fixing my car skill.

Though I bet he meant dog related skill. I would like the whistling with my fingers skill. I've tried and tried - and though I can finally make a whistle it's pretty much just one tone. And it's pathetic and not very loud. Hm.

I'd also like to be able to read sheep better. I'm always amazed when Julie or Robin will refer to certain ewes as friends, and I don't notice it until after they mention it. I'd like to be quicker on the uptake there.

2. If someone were going to play you in a movie, who do you think it would be?

Hah. I made this up and now that I have to answer it I hate it. I'm going to go with Alyson Hannigan - she's played characters that are funny, quirky, occasionally a hair ditzy, but with emotional depth. Plus I think she's flat out adorable. One time... at band camp...



photo from www.wikimedia.org

3. Kelsey wants to know what is a quality that you admire in a dog but would never fit with you?

I really admire dogs that are balls-to-the-wall tough with tons of grit... but I know that *I* am too soft for them. It would make for a head banging relationship that I don't relish. But I always look on in wonder at these types of dogs.

4. If you had just enough money to pay someone to do one chore for you, what would it be?

Car maintenance. Hate. My method of car care is I get in... and I drive. If I could have one thing done for me, it would be car care. Just the worry about the "what ifs" is enough to put a tiny bit of stress in the back of my mind on a daily basis (even when my car is fine).

5. Are you a procrastinator, a doitnower (I made that word up), or something in between?

Most of the time I'm a doitnower. But there are a few things that I procrastinate on (car inspections anyone? See #4). Unfortunately, when I'm finished procrastinating I become a doitnower on the aforementioned procrastinated item. It's not pretty.

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Tell Me Thursday 2012 - #6

Yet again I'm sort of dragging myself over to blog today. Life has been seriously crazy this week. First, for a report on the van situation... all we know so far is that the head gaskets are definitely blown. We don't know yet about the heads or the block. I have my brother's SO's Camry, and I will be taking all six dogs in it this weekend to farm-sit. Oh yes, the Crazies go to the Circus. I'm actually having the shakes just thinking about it, but I think I have it all worked out.

This week's questions:

1. Robin wants to know what your ideal number of dogs is?
2. Lora wants to know if you find that your dogs are better or worse after time off from training?
3. What is your favorite power tool? What power tool do you wish you had?
4. What did you want to be when you grew up?
5. How many of your friends are not "dog people"?

Additionally, if you have questions you'd like to see posted and you don't play, or you don't usually link up, feel free to email me (my email is enabled on my profile).

... and my answers:

1. Robin wants to know what your ideal number of dogs is?

My ideal number usually ranges from two to four. It depends on the day and how frustrated I might be. My personal dog limit is six. I have six. When I'm out walking dogs in a public place with other people my dog limit is two.

Some friends and family think I don't have a dog limit, but I promise I do. Ultimately I'd like to get down to four. I think when the two that pass first go I'll not replace them. But I don't want to think about that today.

2. Lora wants to know if you find that your dogs are better or worse after time off from training?

This depends on the dog, and what I'm wanting to get out of the time off. For Linc, if I've been working him a lot he tends to get better with time off. Actually, both Nick and Linc tend to be latent learners, so giving them some time to think between times that they're worked (if I'm trying to train something) usually results in them "getting it". I've found with Linc that if I'm having issues with him usually time off makes him better.

With Nick I've found that time off makes him full of himself. Unless I'm LOOKING for him to be full of himself (when he was younger I DID want some more of that) the time off for him is... meh. It's not that bad, because it doesn't take much for me to get him back, but it could go either way for him.

3. What is your favorite power tool? What power tool do you wish you had?

I'm ashamed to admit this, but I don't own a power tool. Yeah, whatever. Does a weedeater count? I don't think so. I wish I had a cordless drill. I'm all the time thinking about things I could do with one of those. I'd also like a chainsaw on a stick. You know, so I could get it stuck again like that one time.

4. What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a gymnastics coach. Or a choreographer. It was what I wanted as early as I can remember. Now I just want to be something else. Anything else than what I am today.

5. How many of your friends are not "dog people"?

Um... somewhere between very few and none. I don't have many friends that aren't dog people (and those would fall into the inactive friend category). Even most of my friends from work are dog people. I guess it's just a testament to the culture that surrounds the dog world in general. I think maybe it's just like how people with kids tend to be drawn together... I don't really have any friends with kids (that aren't dog people). That's not to say that I'm a dog snob, but most of my family doesn't get me... and most of them aren't dog people, even though many of them have dogs. If that makes sense.

Happy Friday tomorrow everyone!

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TMI Sunday (a Mad Spaghetti Goes Corporate Story)

In two years at my new job there is one thing in particular that has remained constant. That is, my boss and I don't do personal conversation, or more accurately my boss does not do personal conversation. We all know I do. Strangely, here lately he has begun to ask me personal questions.

It frightens me.

It is outside of the natural order of things.

Not that I mind. Not really. It just creeps me out a bit that he suddenly wants to have some sort of relationship. That being said, I'm proud of him for trying.

But on to my point. This past week I had an unfortunate go-round with some sort of intestinal bug. I emailed him that morning to say my tums was upset and that I'd be working from home when I could. My desk (which sits outside of his office door) is on the opposite back corner from the bathroom and no way was I going in to the office with the screamers.

At any rate, that next day he looks at me and says, "So what happened to you yesterday?"

Needless to say I was not only frustrated that my "I've got an upset stomach" explanation wasn't enough, but I also was shocked that he was making personal conversation. I've been known to talk rather freely anyway (broken filter anyone?) and... well... he asked. He doesn't know me well enough to know that if he doesn't want to know he ought not ask.

So I got to rolling. I was in rare form anyway, and once I got going there was no stopping. Next thing I knew I was telling him about how when I disappeared the other day it was because I had a case of the raging... er... Well, you know. Not in those exact words, of course. I went on about some of the various and sundry details of my gastronomical distress. Then (remember, faulty filter) I found myself telling him about how I'd told the two people who sit nearest to me that if they saw me running to just get out of the way.

"It was a real situation", I said.

At that point I realized that the little boy inside of him was cowering in the corners of his mind with his little hands over his ears. He was at that moment rocking himself and crying, "Mommy, please make her stop!"

I could actually FEEL him begging me, for the love of God woman, to stop. His eyes were as big as saucers and he was desperately looking around to see if there was somewhere he could go to get away from me. I think if he could have run he would have, but I stood between him and the door. I could smell the panic on him.

I couldn't help it. He had that skeptical look on his face. You know the one, right? The one they give when they think maybe you're not sick and are just playing hooky? That one. As a result I turned into "The Overexplainer".

Well, I don't ever call in sick if I'm not sick. It's this rule I have.

I'm reasonably sure that he believes me now. I am also equally certain that he won't be making any personal conversation with me any time soon. At least not until his little inner child has recovered from our last exchange, if he ever does.

Tell Me Thursday 2012 - #5

I'm a bit slow off the start line today... sorry for lack of in depth dog training questions. This is the best I've got today.

1. Julie would like to know one frugal tip this week.
2. What are you reading this week?
3. Barbara wants to know: do you hit the snooze button on the alarm clock, and if so how many times?
4. If you had to travel in a sedan (or if you already drive a sedan type car) and you had five or six dogs, how would you handle it?
5. How much do you filter what you put on your own blog?

1. Julie would like to know one frugal tip this week.

When your car breaks down try to arrange it so that it happens right BEFORE you fill it up, instead of after you pump $68 worth of gas into it. If it's going to die a horrible death then you need to find someone who can siphon the gas out and put it into your new piece of junk car.

What? Not what you meant? Well. Frugal tip of the day: Stretch your coffee creamer out. I like flavored coffee creamers, and the powders are cheaper than the liquids. I buy the largest size of creamer, and then keep one small flavored one, plus one smaller empty bottle on hand. I then put about 1/4 to 1/3 of the flavored creamer into the empty bottle and then use plain creamer to fill it up. Shake it, and serve.

Though not being a coffee drinker this doesn't help Julie out any.

2. What are you reading this week?

I'm working my way through Book 2 of Laurell Hamilton's Merry Gentry series. I'm finishing off the last few books in her Anita Blake series too. She's sort of pushing my raunch threshold in some of the late Anita Blake books, but I've found them all very interesting.

3. Barbara wants to know: do you hit the snooze button on the alarm clock, and if so how many times?

Somehow here lately I seem to be waking about 30 to 45 mins prior to my alarm sounding. Assuming I make it to the alarm going off...in the days prior to Nick I would hit it for about an hour. Now Nick and I have reached an agreement that I get one snooze, maybe two.

4. If you had to travel in a sedan (or if you already drive a sedan type car) and you had five or six dogs, how would you handle it?

Sadly this is my situation as I think the CrazyMobile may have just taken her last gasp. She'll be on her way to my brother's tonight for some diagnostics, but he thinks she may have cracked her block, or blown a head gasket. If it's a head gasket we can fix it... but if the block is cracked she's doomed.

It looks like my back up car is to be a sedan, and I'm farm-sitting next weekend. I have six dogs and the last time I hauled dogs in a sedan it was two dogs in a Mitsubishi Galant.

I hope she's fixable but I have a feeling she's just done. I'm mad at her, too, though it's not her fault. In some ways she deserves to be done as she already had 168K miles on her when I got her, and now she has 246K.

5. How much do you filter what you put on your own blog?

I'll admit to having a slightly... uh... faulty filter sometimes about certain things. I typically filter pretty well when it comes to saying things when I'm trying to be diplomatic or trying to NOT be hurtful. But when it comes to filtering stuff about myself... clearly that filter is broken. I do try to be pretty transparent when it comes to blogging about my dogs, and in all honesty I'm uncomfortable with the videos of Pia the other day. My trigger finger itches to pull them down.

I sorta wish my filter had caught those before I'd posted them because I don't like the way she tried to quit a few times (didn't like it at the time and don't like it any any more now) and I wish I hadn't shown the world that.

I don't filter at all when it comes to telling stories, but I tend to also have a running dialogue in my head and a lot of that gets missed when I write.

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