A Meme!

Hooray, a meme!

1. ONE OF YOUR SCARS, HOW DID YOU GET IT?
I have a scar on my chin from skateboarding. I didn’t want to go because I thought it was too dangerous, but my aunt convinced me to just lay on my stomach while they pushed me down a small hill, just so I could get a ride. I slipped forward and scraped my chin the entire way down. I even needed stitches. Isn’t my family great?

2. WHAT IS ON THE WALLS IN YOUR ROOM?
Some shelves, some little shadow boxes where I keep statues that belonged to my grandparents, and a wedding photo.

3. DO YOU SNORE, GRIND YOUR TEETH, OR TALK IN YOUR SLEEP?
I talk in my sleep…I save my teeth grinding for when I’m awake (and at work!).

4. WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU LISTEN TO?
I’m getting curmudgeonly about music in my old age (I’m 27). The newest CD I got is one that Mike bought me, which is We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank by Modest Mouse. The CD before that was another one Mike bought me, which was Highway Companion by Tom Petty. That was last summer. Mostly I listen to classic rock; rap, alternative, and R&B from the 1990’s; and rock and alternative from this decade. As time goes on there’s less music that I care to listen to.

5. DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME YOU WERE BORN?
2:22 AM.

6. WHAT DO YOU WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING RIGHT NOW?
Something I can’t mention in a family-friendly blog.

7. WHAT DO YOU MISS?
I miss hanging out with my friends. I do that less and less as time goes on.

8. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION(S)?
My wedding album is pretty important to me, along with my other wedding paraphernalia such as my bouquet, the rosary we got during the ceremony, my other pictures, etc. I also have the teddy bear I had since I was a baby, and a small statue my grandparents brought back from Rome.

9. HOW TALL ARE YOU?
5’7” or 5’8”

10. DO YOU GET CLAUSTROPHOBIC?
No, if I did I’d die in our tiny apartment.

11. DO YOU GET SCARED IN THE DARK?
I don’t if Mike is here. But if I’m alone and I’ve been watching Law & Order, I leave the lights on.

12. THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU CRY?
I can’t even remember!

14. WHAT KIND OF HAIR/EYE COLOR DO YOU LIKE ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
I’m not choosy.

15. WHERE CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BEING PROPOSED TO AT?
I never fantasized about it before it happened.

16. COFFEE OR ENERGY DRINK?
Ugh, neither. Just give me a Mountain Dew.

17. FAVORITE PIZZA TOPPING?
Taco pizza! They just built a Topper’s in the Milwaukee area, and they have the best taco pizza EVER.

18. IF YOU COULD EAT ANYTHING RIGHT NOW, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Taco pizza. Come on now.

20. HAVE YOU EVER EATEN A GOLDFISH?
Ew, that would be mean.

21. WHAT WAS THE FIRST MEANINGFUL GIFT YOU'VE EVER RECIEVED?
Probably the cross necklaces I got for my First Communion.

22. DO YOU LIKE ANYBODY?
Yep!

23. ARE YOU DOUBLE JOINTED?
Unfortunately not.

24. FAVORITE CLOTHING BRAND?
I don’t have one…I just go with whatever fits.

26. DO YOU HAVE A PET RIGHT NOW?
I have five!

27. WHAT KIND IS IT?
They’re all cats.

28. WOULD YOU FALL IN LOVE KNOWING THAT THE PERSON IS LEAVING?
I don’t think I could help myself.

29. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO TELL SOMEONE HOW MUCH THEY MEAN TO YOU:
Um…verbally? Along with actions? I like to have both.

30. SAY A NUMBER FROM ONE TO A HUNDRED:
My first reaction was to say, “Five hundred and thirteen,” which proves that I’m really bad at math, can’t follow directions, or both.

31. BLONDES OR BRUNETTES?
Who knows.

32. WHAT IS THE ONE NUMBER YOU CALL MOST OFTEN?
I’m not sure.

34. HAVE YOU BEEN OUT OF THE USA?
Just to Canada. Shout out to Canada! You rule!

35. YOUR WEAKNESSESS?
Food, for sure, along with books and attention.

36. MET ANYONE FAMOUS?
Some authors that came and did readings at the bookstore where Mike works.

38. EVER DONE A PRANK CALL?
No, but I have done drunk dials. Classy!

41. WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE YOU FILLED THIS OUT?
Perusing MySpace.

40. HAVE YOU EVER HAD SURGERY?
Yes, I had a tumor removed from the side of my head. I guess it was benign.

42. WHAT DO YOU GET COMPLIMENTED ABOUT MOST?
My efficiency. That kinda sucks.

44. WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY?
I haven’t started to think about it yet. Something good, though.

45. HOW MANY KIDS DO YOU WANT?
Two.

46. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No, my name was process of elimination. My mom didn’t want me to have the same name as any woman that my dad dated or any of my cousins, and I guess that shot down a lot of her suggestions.

47. DO YOU WISH ON STARS?
Nope

49. WHAT KIND OF SHAMPOO DO YOU USE?
Pantene

50. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I do, until I compare it to someone else’s.

51. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey…it’s safe.

52. ANY BAD HABITS?
Cussing, negative self-talk (if that counts…it probably doesn’t, I’m so dumb!), biting my nails.

54. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
No, we’d both be so shy that neither of us would talk.

56. DO LOOKS MATTER?
To me? Not so much. To the world? Unfortunately, yes.

60. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A CHILD?
My Little Ponies.

63. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Far too much.

64. MASHED POTATOES OR MACARONI AND CHEESE?
Mashed potatoes. One of my favorite comfort foods!

66. WHAT ARE YOUR NICKNAMES?
My family calls me Chris, and my aunts, uncles, and grandparents still call me Chrissy. Mike sometimes refers to me as Beautiful.

68. WHATS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW?
House

70. WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Blue ice cream with bubble gum pieces mixed in.

71. DO YOU HAVE ALL YOUR FINGERS AND TOES?
Yeah, which is sort of shocking considering how accident-prone I am.

72. DO YOU HAVE A COMPUTER IN YOUR ROOM?
Nope.

73. PLANS FOR TONIGHT?
Again, not in a family-friendly blog!

74. WHATS THE FASTEST YOU HAVE GONE IN A CAR?
Like 85 miles per hour. I drive small cars.

75. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS?
Enh.

76. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
Mike walking around.

77. LAST THING YOU DRANK?
Diet Pepsi.

78. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My sister. She might have broken her elbow.

81. FAVORITE THING TO HATE?
Politicians that like to interfere with public education. BASTARDS! Also, beauty magazines that consider an extra five pounds to be as disfiguring as a third eye.

82. FAVORITE MONTH OF THE YEAR?
June.

85. WHAT IS YOUR HAIR COLOR?
Naturally or right now?

86. WHAT IS YOUR EYE COLOR?
Blue, kind of.

88. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
Quizno’s.

89. FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
A Chinese restaurant in the town where my parents live.

90. DO YOU LIKE SUSHI?
I’ve never tried it.

91. LAST THING YOU WATCHED?
Law & Order: SVU.

92. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR?
The last day of school.

93. PLAY ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS?
I used to play the alto saxophone.

94. REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRAT?
Democrat, baby.

95. KISSES OR HUGS?
Depends on who’s giving. Actually, both from Mike and neither from everyone else.

96. RELATIONSHIPS OR ONE NIGHT STANDS?
Relationships.

97. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT?
Lunch!

99. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
“Pretend You Don’t See Her” by Mary Higgins Clark. Pretty soon I’m going to re-read the sixth Harry Potter book in order to prepare for the seventh one. I know, not exactly cerebral.

100. DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE:
Good!

New Bike For Me!

Today I got my new bike.

I actually picked out the bike on Wednesday. I combined my leftover glasses money with the money I've saved not having to buy gas* to go to and from school and was able to buy a pretty nice bike.

I went to Crank Daddy's, a local bike shop, and test-rode a few. The cruiser-style bikes were good for comfortable riding but looked too retro...I wanted a serious-looking bike so that I didn't look like an overgrown kid riding next to Mike. They also showed me a serious-looking bike that was sort of uncomfortable. Both were more than I wanted to spend. I left feeling sort of dejected and with my enthusiasm waning.

After that I went to another shop called Cory the Bike Fixer. The inventory wasn't as large and the employees weren't as helpful, but the prices were better and I found a bike called a hybrid, which means it's a cross between a road bike and a mountian bike. It had 24 speeds and they assured me that I could take it on the 25-mile trips Mike was hoping we could take. I pedaled it around and decided that I loved it. They needed to make some adjustments and tune it up, but when they called me this afternoon to tell me it was ready I walked there and picked it up.

Riding it was fun! I encountered a hill, and actually rode the whole way up! I was amazed. I got home and realized that Mike had the key for the lock on our porch so I sat outside and watched my bike until he got home. I wasn't going to let my new bike get stolen.

When Mike rode up on his bike he ooohed and ahhhed appropriately. He declined to ride my bike though, despite my assurances that the frame was a "step-through" style, not a "ladies'" style. He smiled and asked me, "So, do you want to ride down the bike trail to Culver's for dinner?"

I hesitated for a minute. "Um...how far away is that?" I asked.

"Two, two and a half miles," he replied.

"And...how far away is Cory the Bike Fixer?"

"Mile, mile and a half," he said.

I pondered. On one hand, I was tired. On the other, though, part of the reason I got this bike was so I could go biking with Mike. "Okay," I said, "but do you agree to drive home and come get me in the van if I'm too tired to make it?"

Mike chuckled. "Deal."

So we set off. There's a long bike trail in Milwaukee that's sort of like a valley that they decided to pave. The streets actually run over it, like bridges, and the trail itself is lined with trees and extremely quiet. We rode the whole two miles to the restaurant, and the whole two miles home. I even went up a long, long hill that's at the foot of Brady Street. Even though it was hard work I was happy when I realized that I wouldn't have been able to go up the hill at all before.

When I got home my knees were jelly-like and I was tired, but I didn't hurt the way I did before. I know that throughout the trip I went slower than Mike usually does, but I hope that by the end of summer I'll be able to keep up with him better.






*It really amuses me that I bought a bike with my gas money. It seems so appropriate.

New Glasses

Today I got new glasses.

For those of you who have never bought glasses, it's actually kind of a surreal experience when you're as nearsighted as I am. The exam is usually pretty standard, but picking out frames is always weird. My vision is something like 20/200, so it's pretty bad without glasses. When they have me try on frames they make one of the employees take me around the store to choose my frames for me. The employee hands me frame after frame, watches as I try them on, frowns at my face, and either puts the frame in the "maybe" pile or places it back into the case.

"You'll be fine as long as you trust me," the employee said to me. "I have great taste in glasses."

"Okay," I said, noting that she herself didn't wear any. "I trust you." Of course, I couldn't see a damn thing and had no other choice.

When she asked me if I wanted wire frames or plastic I just shrugged, so she pulled out all wire frames. I suppose it does make me look more mature, but I don't like them as much. The plastic frames really dominated my face and took the attention off my other features. In my mind that's a big plus for the plastic frames. I don't like attention being drawn to my gigantic nose or cartoonish lower lip. If I can wear anything that takes the attention away from those, I do it. These new wire glasses blend in so much that it's barely like wearing glasses at all. I suppose I'll just have to get a highly creative haircut or a large hat to take the attention away from my face again.

I'll soon get used to these glasses. I always do. And I'm glad that I have this behind me for another two years.

Biking

Lately I've been riding my bike to and from my summer job. It's a round trip of about three miles, and man, by the end my thigh muscles are burning and my lungs are close to bursting. After my first day of riding I informed Mike that I'd taken my bike instead of driving my car.

"And how did it feel?" Mike asked. He's an avid biker, and is always hoping I'll take up the hobby and go out with him.

"It felt like dying," I replied sourly. "But I did it, and I'll keep doing it, and I suppose it'll only get easier."

When I bike to work there are two hills that are steep enough to make me hop off my bike and walk up, and the rest of the time I'm huffing and puffing and pedaling as best I can. The bad part is that almost the entire way there is uphill, and this isn't exactly the type of job where you're sitting around. It's actually really physical labor. I hate just getting there and being tired already.

Mike has been urging me to consider buying a new bike. I have a Huffy that I bought last year, and it spent the entire winter out in the snow. Mike and I buffed out most of the rust on the handlebars and fenders, but the chain is still stiff and the thing just generally needs a tune-up. Mike keeps going on and on about how a bike with gears would be so much better for me, and how I should just buy a used street cruiser from one of the local bike shops. I kept turning him down. A bike is a bike, I figured. How could one be better than another? Maybe Mike can tell the difference, but he's really into biking. If you're just riding a few miles each day it probably makes no difference at all.

This evening when Mike came home I asked if I could try out his bike. It's a fancy $400 eight-speed that he got a few years ago and has kept in great shape. I fiddled with the gears, spun the pedals, hopped on, nearly crashed into a parked car because I forgot the brakes are activated by levers on the handles and not by pedaling backwards, and then straightened myself out and pushed off.

Holy shit. Let me think of an appropriate analogy. Mike's bike is like riding on a cloud. And my bike? Like swimming through molasses. Mike's bike was swift, light, completely soundless, and let me zip up a hill that I need to walk my Huffy up. My bike clanks and groans and is almost as out-of-shape as I am. After being on Mike's bike I don't even want to ride my damn bike anymore.

I just ordered new glasses and it was less than I was anticipating, so I have a bit of money to put towards a bike. I hope I can find something reasonable...nothing as expensive as Mike's, but something decent. After riding on his bike tonight I don't know if I can go back to my molasses bike.

Tips for Daily Living

You know what really hurts? Icy Hot in your eyes. I wish I hadn't done that.

Actually, I'm not really enjoying the sensation on the backs of my calves either, which was the original location. Mike's hooked on the stuff, but to me it just kind of...burns. I guess that's the hot part.

But still, take it from me. Avoid the eyes with this stuff.