Sunday, July 1, 2012

Random 10 for July 1

As a writer, the hardest part of the gig is coming up with brilliant topics to write about. Sometimes inspiration punches you in the face and you can’t type fast enough. And sometimes you pull an all-nighter to finish something dumpster-worthy.

One fun way of writing is taking prompts, of which the blogosphere possesses no shortage, and seeing what you come up with versus a slew of other clever scribes. The great majority are just not my style. But the wonderful Stasha from The good life is always a lock for intelligent and thought-provoking topics as part of her “Monday Listicles” series.

When I saw this week’s prompt, I knew had to participate.  It’s a list of 10 totally random questions. With my mind approaching mush lately, and with at least a half-dozen blog posts started-but-not-nearly-finished, this was right up my alley. So without further ado:

1)      Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, and find line 4. What is it?
Given that I have a 6 month pregnant wife, it’s not super surprising that the nearest book to me is a baby name book. Truth be told, the SIX closest books to me are baby name books. The one on top is beyond ava & aiden: the enlightened guide to naming your baby. What’s written on the instructed page is not going to help me at all, though: “Clementine” & “Julia”.  I’m semi-enlightened and all, but since we are having a boy, those names are not even close to my radar.  

2)      How many times a day do you say “Hi”?
I have a 2 ½ year old son, so without counting, I’d have to guess several hundred.

3)      Have you ever worn a uniform?
Does Little League count?

4)      What do you think about the most?
As I mentioned, I have a spirited toddler and will have another kid in 3 months. They occupy an increasingly high percentage of my cranium. How I will take care of them. How I will parent them. How I will teach them. Knowing that my actions and behavior will have a lasting long-term effect on them, I try to be very conscientious. Or as much as I can be without being completely OCD.

5)      How many keys are on your keyring?
Two: car & work. I don’t even have a house key. Weird, right?
 
6)      What was the last thing you bought?
On the way home last night, I bought a supermarket chicken to bring home for dinner. Full disclosure: it was fried.  
Fuller disclosure: I bought a box of Honeycomb, too.  

7)      Are you growing anything these days?
Older: Hopefully wiser.
Wider: Unfortunately.
Kids: And sanguinely more patient with them.

8)      What is under your bed?
A slew of shoes, in no orderly fashion. Not necessarily in contemporary fashion, either.  
And enough dustballs to make a Dyson weep.


9)      What is most important in life?
See #4 above.

10)   What is the strangest word you used this week?
Listicle

Hey, I'd love to hear your answers to any or all of the above questions. 
Leave it in the comments below.


40 comments:

  1. Lol - Listicle is a weird word but I kind of forget because I love doing Stasha's lists! Congrats on the baby on the way, being pregnant in the summer is not fun (too hot out!) so I hope your wife is doing ok.

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    1. Thanks, Anna. She is doing very well. Stay tuned for the updates!

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  2. #2 and #4 - me too!

    Have you chosen a baby name yet?

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    1. Not even close, Alison. You'd think SIX name books might help, but not really. We'll go down to the wire again...

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  3. Listicle! now that I think about it it's probably the strangest word I've used this week too, but it just seems so normal after awhile...

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  4. First off, you made me blush. Thank you!
    I love your answer to #4! I am growing those three too. And husband used to keep his shoes neatly under the bed too. But then we moved in together...

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    1. Thanks, Stasha. I always have a good time playing at your place.

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  5. I don't have a house key either, and since my work is on key card, I only have my car key. Odd cause as a teenager, I collected keychains and had a ball of "keys" that wouldn't fit in ANY purse!!
    I have a two and a half year old too, we are potty training as well so I say "don't peepee on Dora!" a great deal!
    Good list! :)
    Devan

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  6. I like the word "listicle". It kind of rolls off the tongue. :)

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  7. Since you are in baby naming mode, you have to go to the Appellation Mountain site. You and your wife will have a blast with all of the names there.

    Your shoes crack me up. My 15yo son has a similar collection. Erin

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    1. I generally have the attire of a 15 year old boy. Mindset, too, unfortunately.

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  8. Wow. I'm very impressed with the under the bed photo. I would never post a photo of the underside of my bed. I'd like my internet friends to have some illusion that my life is someone pulled together. Good luck with the names. Maybe Clem -- for short? That would work.

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    1. Apparently I created the illusion you described, based on yours and the other comments I've received :)

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  9. books of baby names ultimately become more useful for playing things like trivial pursuit where knowing that Murgatroyd is the name of some bagpipe-playing clan in remotest scotland. or something.

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    1. Exactly. I think you know when you know.

      Murgatroyd has a nice ring to it...

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  10. I love when other guys blog too. It changed the dynamic so much. Great set of answers. I love Honey Combs too.

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    1. Thanks, Wayne. I'm here all the time. Come hang out sometime!

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  11. That's a really neat line of shoes...WOW!

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    1. It's kind of like the hamburger in the McDonald's commercial versus how it really looks when you order it.

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  12. Haha...my answer was the same for #10. I like your shoes, too.

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  13. Yes. Listicle is definitely an odd word. Cool. But odd. And speaking of odd, the baby naming process. Oof. When my daughter was on the way I went to a message board on baby names for a bit and had to stop because it made my eyeballs leap out of their sockets and roll at 500 rpm. Every second post was like, "How about the name Jack? Only I feel like it's so common and I want my son to have a unique name so what if we named him Jyack or maybe Gee'ahck. Or how about Jaxck? I don't know. This is hard. We'll just name him Aiden instead. Or maybe we should spell it Ayden..."

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    1. If you give your kid a common name with an unusual spelling, you are just setting him up for a lifetime of confusion and frustration. I know that first hand.

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  14. Listicle is a funny little word, isn't it? FYI, check out both behind the name dot com and www.nymbler.com for help with baby names!

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  15. We didn't use a house key for 7 years and then we listed our house for sale so I had to start using it...what a pain. I want to read your take on baby names..if you are allowed to have an opinion :)

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    1. Here's my take, Robbie: http://dudeofthehouse.blogspot.com/2011/07/your-name-is-what.html

      Check it out and let me know what you think!

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  16. Ahhhh Listicles!!! I never THOUGHT about that. Good job.

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    1. It was weird, Kim. I didn't even have to think of it. It was probably the easiest question to answer for some reason. My brain is weird.

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  17. I can not keep shoes under my bed. I'm always worried spiders will crawl into them and bite my feet when I place them into my shoes. Weird though, isn't it? Because spiders only exist under beds.....

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    1. Lately our spiders have only existed on the ceilings, JUST out of reach. It makes for good times around the homestead...

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  18. Like many above...I am most impressed with the photo of the shoes under the bed!!! WOW! I am also like Ducky...phobia about spiders so do not keep anything wearable under the bed. :D

    Great list!

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    1. What do you keep under the bed then? You have to use the space somehow.

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  19. I wish I had a Dyson to make weep. how sad is that? and totally buying Honeycomb tomorrow. best cereal ever.

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    1. Nah, they aren't that great. We got one as a wedding gift and it crapped out after a few months. That cycle repeated twice until I gave up on them.

      How was your honeycomb?

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  20. Your shoes are so neat and organized! :) I have lots of boy baby names if you need some! I'd be more than happy to share them since I'm not having anymore kids Ha ha! Although my husband does like far out there ones :)

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    1. Thanks, Audrey. How far out there does he like to go? I'm not that radical...

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