Living In the World, Not on It

1) How did your education prepared you for your current career? Do you wish you had taken a different path academically? No. I'm happy with what I've done. No regrets at all. 2) If you could pick the two major candidates for the next presidential race (politicians, celebrities, people you personally know, etc.), who would we see running? Yikes. I'm guessing President Obama and Mitt Romney will end up being the front-runners. I don't particularly care for either one. 3) Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? Both places are fine. I usually don't like the outcome of the images in front, but I like being in some photos. 4) What is one simple indulgence you could never live without? Candles. Music. I think there are a lot more than one. Books. Blogging. The image to the right was taken at home, after shopping at a Yankee candle sale: 3 boxes of tea lights for $15 (normally one box of 12 tea lights is $15). It was an incredible sale and I...

1) Today (Sept. 28) is National Ask A Stupid Question Day. What is the stupidest question you've been asked lately? (Feel free to include one of my meme questions if you so choose. I can handle it.) The stupidest question I've been asked... The Short term disability poeple asked me if I am disabled. No. I'm just seeing if you would take a request and pay me if I'm not disabled... Here's your sign! (I'm quoting Bill Engvall on that last comment, "Here's your sign!") 2) When someone says "We need to talk" to you, what is usually the first thing that runs through your mind? That the topic is not a positive one. Isn't that what runs through everyone's mind? 3) If someone rearranged your living room, what is the first thing you would look for? The remotes: the TiVO, the Samsung surround sound/DVD/Aux and HDMI 2 players, the Mac Mini, and the fireplace remote. This is a sad statement, but it is true. Then I would look for the k...

The three fastest-growing diseases in America today are diabetes, Lyme disease, and sports jerseys. Wearing a jersey used to be for kids. You be Tom Brady and I'll be Darrelle Revis. Now people with actual jobs are wearing them. At 6, it's adorable. At 36, deplorable. You can't swing your arms at an NFL game without hitting somebody in one. (A very good idea, by the way.) You say it's your way of expressing devotion to your team? I say try a hat. It doesn't make you look like an adult Trick-or-Treater.  What's your jersey dream? Someone shrieking, "Oh, my God! There's Brian Urlacher! Oh, wait. No, no. It's just Justin from purchasing."? Women in jerseys? Fine. But dude, you're really going out with another man's name on your back? Do you have no male pride? But like gluten-free beer, the jersey flood seems un-damn-able. But can we at least have some rules? Jersey Rule No. 1 : You may not wear a jersey past ...

I would like to confess. About the cats.  I know it's un-American and a downright insult to my beloved Cat Blogosphere to not be a cat person but alas, I am not. Do you see the grief I put my poor dog Homer through? And he's just an internet dog! I tried to be a cat person. Once. But I failed. Cats just don't like me. They hiss and spit and run in the other direction. Cats do not meow softly at me, they crouch in attack position and prepare the claws. I cannot retaliate because I might break a nail. Hence, I cannot even protect myself from cats. The only cats I get along with are the cats from The Cat Blogosphere . They are wonderful wonderful kitties with hoomans to look after. Of that I am sure. And none of them - yet- has spit at me. And they sure fly some marvelous peace globes. We shall talk cats this week. Puuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... 1. Do you have a cat? I have two, Siobhan, who is feral and will always be feral, and Sorcha, who is...

When is the last time you got to spend $170,000 - of some one else's money? I used to do it every week - when I ran the payroll. And don't kid yourself, that was the best money ever spent. Any company is only as strong as its employees. Money like that is money well spent. I'm doing it again. And like the previous five years, it is the best money I will ever spend and it will save lives. Just as paying employees saves lives. I can't say this is just my effort, but I'm a big part of it and I love every minute of it. I know more about the inner and outer workings of the rigs more than I would ever imagine. There is so much to know - the payload, the electrical load, the safety for the patient, the crew and the town. The continuity for the EMTs, so that we know where everything is. The fuel consumption curve for long standbys. Meeting Triple K requirements. Having duel Whelen sirens and now (and this is the coolest thing!) the Rumbler, a low-sonic add-on...

When I saw Patrick's post, Like Me! No, Really, Like Me!, I had to write about it. And here is the answer I got on 8 September... "Like Me. No, Really, Like Me!" http://www.patrickkphillips.com/2011/09/07/like-me-no-really-like-me/ patricksplace said @Aisl íngeKelloggdeGómez I'll admit it: it IS extra work staying active (and being useful) on multiple social media networks. In terms of referrals, of the three, Twitter brings me the most traffic. Then Facebook. Then Google+. I avoided Twitter because I saw far too much of the "having eggs for breakfast" tweets that made me wonder who could possibly care. But posting links to useful information (on my blog or elsewhere) and the occasional amusing quote can help you build a following and can, as a bonus, bring people to your site. I like Facebook a lot, and have a lot of contacts there. Many of them are people from school who wouldn't have given me the time of day when we ...

1) I recently received a gift from my employer for making it through five years of employment. It was a stupid pin and key chain. What would you want your employer to give you for a five-year gift? I did get it - a check for a generous amount of money. We did not do things by halves. They still don't. Part time or full, the people reaching an anniversary of 5, 20, 15, 20 and on years get decent gift amounts and not less taxes, which is the right thing to do. 2) The fall season of television is starting. What show are you excited to have return or what new show are you excited to make its first premiere? Well, I am excited about some of the returning shows: Castle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Grey's Anatomy. But I no longer look forward to this new season as it is clear that more and more television is made for the lowest common denominator. I hate that. I want to see intelligent television, and no one wants to make it. It's very disconcerting. The other problem i...

"Autumn is finally here, but before I try to find a few fall colors to photograph, I wanted to post this week’s edition of the Saturday Six ! I hope you enjoy, and thanks for playing! Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find blogs you may not have visited and keep the conversation going! Here are this week’s “Saturday Six” questions. Either answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your blog… But don’t forget to leave a link to your blog so that everyone else can visit! Permission is not granted to copy the questions to message boards for the purpose of having members answer and play along there. Enjoy!" 1. Do you consider yourself more of a giver or a taker? I used to be much more of a taker when I was younger, a trait my mother passed on to me. It  was not a good trait, so over the years I have modified it a lot so that...

Welcome to Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme! 1. If you could put a spell on someone, who would it be and why? Easy. I'd put the "You get to live like me for a week" spell on the people at the State who declined my long term disability so they can find out exactly how difficult my life is. Then we'll see how that turns out. I'd also like to give the clueless man the spell of "One period" so he can understand how hard it is to go through menstrual cycles like we do.  2. If you could go back in time and relive one moment, what wo...

[01] How many texts do you send per day? None. I don't even have texting enabled on my phone. As an EMT, I see far too many idiots texting while driving. I feel these people need to be in jail. No one would be hurt from that, and the streets would certainly be safer. In fact, one night jail time and a good, hefty fine of at least $500 for the first offense would be good. It beats letting them kill the rest of us with their thoughtlessness and overblown sense of importance. [02] How many phone calls do you make in a day? As little as humanly possible. I am not a big phone person, as I had to do so much of it throughout my career. I prefer e-mail. It is easier and I can answer it at my leisure. [03] How many emails do you send in a day? Now that I'm working, not nearly as many as I used to. I suppose on average I send about ten to twelve a day. Kind of... I don't know anymore. When I worked, it was many. Life is slower now. [04] Who is the person you contact most? My...

[01] What is the last prize you won? I have to think about that. Not because it happens so frequently but because it almost never happens. I think it was the Baltusrol Holiday party from 2009. I put my one ticket in the basket for the prize that was a beautiful set of poker chips. Luis really wanted a set as a gift, and they were rather expensive, and there was not any other gift I wanted (there were a couple of iPods, but I already had my Nano, so I was very happy with mine. Anyway, when Judy had someone draw the ticket for the chips, I won them. I was very happy and Luis was. too. [02] In what era do you think you were meant to live? Too many choices, now! I love some many different time periods that it is hard to pick one... but in actuality, while I would love to visit other eras, I would not like to go to other eras to live. This is my time. Space travel was in its infancy for all intents and purposes. I have seen so many advancements made in my time, that it is hard to i...

Do you carry books with you when you’re out and about in the world? Always - you never know when you will have the opportunity to read! And, do you ever try to hide the covers? No, never. I am not embarrassed at all about what I read. I do take the covers off of hard cover books, though, as they are annoying. I find they create more problems than they solve. Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website! Some friends have invited you over to watch the big game. What do you bring for the snack table? I doubt anyone will invite me to a televised sporting event and I wouldn't go, but if I did, I'd bring veggies and dip. The Shoprite grocery store makes a really nice tray that would feed an army. What do you bring for a potluck lunch at work (or school)? Ummm... I usually didn't... I don't cook, not my thing. It’s a regifting party! Everyone brings some gift they never opened or used and leaves with someone else’s. What do you bring? Oh, I wish I would get invited to something like that! My father-in-law gives me Hummel ornaments for the Christmas tree and I hate them. I'd give those. Someone else would like...

1) Cell phones owned by actresses Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis were recently hacked, and photos contained on them were leaked to the public. What would you be most afraid of if your phone ever got hacked? Absolutely nothing. There is nothing for anyone to see or steal, other than minutes. I have a stupid phone. It does not have a camera. I have nothing stored in it. I can't do anything with it except make and receive phone calls. It doesn't even have texting enabled. Let 'em hack it. 2) Autumn begins today (Sept. 23). In one word, describe how autumn makes you feel. Warm, crisp, cool (that sounds weird, but it is true) and colourful. Even though Autumn means winter is coming, it is still my favourite season. I love it. It is less than wonderful at the moment (rain and we are expecting 5" of it this weekend, which will not help. We were hard hit by Irene and there are still about four dozen condemned homes here. And Wayne, NJ, where my parents live was even ha...

1) Next week is my 30th birthday, but I'm boycotting it because I am not ready to leave my 20s behind. What has been the toughest birthday for you so far? None of them, not as an adult. When I was 13, my mother turned 40 and had a total meltdown. She just went nuts. I refuse to be that way. I see it as this or being dead, so give me birthdays, please! I also love my birthday and feel it should be a national holiday. The closest thing I can think of as the toughest birthday was when I turned 13. I wanted to wake up and have breasts and a curvy woman's body, not the board that I still looked like. Keep in mind that none of us looked like we were growing into women right then - some were showing small signs and some nothing, not like kids today who are starting menarche at age 9... I was very disappointed that I woke up looking the same as always. I also wanted to get my period when I was that age, again because it was a sign of womanhood. I'm so glad I'm done with ...

1) Thought Catalog has posted a list of "20 Foods To Avoid On A Date." What is a food you avoid when you're eating with other people? Well, specific foods would take some thinking, but generally, I stay away from anything that will either drip on me so I'll end up wearing a food or anything that will become lodged in my teeth, thus looking very attractive and highly visible when I eat. Charming. 2) My future husband recently checked the "married" box on official paperwork by accident instead of "single." Have you ever made a funny accident on official paperwork? Hmmm. I have funny stuff on paperwork all the time because New Jersey does not recognise common law marriage and Luis and I have been living together for well over 21 years. This means that I have a conundrum with legal paperwork because if I list him as my "husband" it is assumed that money is shared. It is not, but they don't know that. So I used to put in POSSSLQ, whic...

Saturday 9: Tuesday Afternoon 1. Where will you be and doing this Tuesday afternoon? I guess the same thing I do all the time... blog, read, nap. This is my life. 2. Do you belong to any group(s)? Well, I am still an active member of the Parsippany's Rockaway Neck First Aid Squad, I'm just not an actively riding EMT . I can be on committees, though, so I am on the new rig committee and heading the Nominations committee. Both are temporary, but I'm hoping to be on the Executive Board as the Recording Secretary for 2012. The job takes maybe an hour and a half once a month... Stuff I can do. 3. Do you feel energized or drained by being in a group situation? (If the answer is "it depends," on what does it depend?) It does depend... there are a lot of factors. One is that when there is a lot of political bulls**t, it is draining. It is always draining. But other times there is a positive group dynamic and then it is quite energising. So, yes, it does depend. ...

"Here in Charleston, the weather has gone from about 96° to about 72° — or even less — in a matter of days. The weathermen say we shouldn’t get used to this too quickly: more hot weather is on the way. But in the meantime, we’ve been able to enjoy much cooler, fall-like weather. Which got me thinking about this week’s topic. Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find blogs you may not have visited and to keep the conversation going! Here is this week’s “ Sunday Seven ” question. Either answer in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your blog (with a link here), and then comment here with a link back to your blog so that everyone else can visit! Permission is not granted to copy the questions to message boards for the purpose of having members answer and play along there. Enjoy!" THIS WEEK’S QUESTION : Name your seven things you’re looking forwar...

"We’ve been hearing a lot lately from nutrition experts about the importance of the rainbow when it comes to placing food on your plate. So this week, I thought I’d do a set of questions that focus on the colors of the foods we eat. Remember that for some colors, like orange, there may be only one obvious food: the orange! But there are also carrots, orange bell peppers and even salmon, which can have an orange-pink color. So give it a thought before you answer! I hope you enjoy, and thanks for playing! Be sure to check back this week and click on the links of bloggers who play along in the comments below! It’s a great way to find blogs you may not have visited and keep the conversation going! Here are this week’s “Saturday Six” questions. Either answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your blog… But don’t forget to leave a link to your blog so that everyone else can visit! Permission is not granted to copy ...

1) On a airplane, would you prefer to sit in an aisle seat or a window seat? Why? Oh, always the window seat! I always want to look outside and see whatever I can. I love to fly - seeing the earth from that viewpoint is so dramatically different from the way we see it every day. 2) Today (Sept. 14) is National Cream-filled Donut Day. What is your favorite type of donut? I'm a purist and call it a doughnut. My favourite kind of Bavarian Creme. I love the creme inside and the chocolate compliments it nicely. I eat them very infrequently, though - they give me the worst heartburn. It's the greasy part of the cooking process that does it. I've never been successful in staving off the heartburn, either. 3) What are the four most important things children should learn in school? All the stuff they did not teach in my day (and may still not teach): how to balance your checkbook and save money and live on a budget; how to get a job from soup to nuts; how to learn instead of ju...

Welcome to The Queen's Meme #94 7 Royal Questions on Tuesday This week has been wide open. In case you haven't noticed, I tend to meme-blog about those things that are concerning me at the moment. Or making me laugh. Or driving me crazy. I can't get my mind off a conversation I had with a new guy possible love match maybe kinda sorta we'll see acquaintance this week. He's conservative. But edgy. Liberal with his opinions. But not haphazardly. Tall. A littttttle younger (I said a "little!") and downright challenging. But in a good way.  The Love Match Meme 1. Which is more important.... romantic chemistry or friendship? Friendship comes first - once a good, solid friendship, then the relationship can slowly develop into into something more than just friendship. Time is the biggest factor after type of relationship; RUSHING is the next killer of relationships. 2. Would you date someone who is much taller or shorter...