16 Weird Temporary Boredom Cure Questions Survey

Started April 2021. 

From 16 Weird Temporary Boredom Cure Questions Survey (quizopolis.com)

I chose this one for the title, and I thought the first question was enough to go on. Guess we'll see what happens.

Do you believe in unicorns?

I think the latest buzz question is Do you believe in Pleiadians? Or this page might be better- Pleiadians - A Thorough Explanation (tokenrock.com)

In case your insomnia is severe and you need super deep distraction STAT, here's two things that might help.

The Best TV Shows About Aliens, Ranked by Votes (ranker.com)

people of earth - YouTube 

Here's a sample if you're just sitting there wondering which one to click.

How many of you does it take to screw in a light bulb?

All of us. Some of us might not be paying attention, but it still takes all of us.

Are you single?

I'm without fellowship on two different towns, but I seem to be holding my own ok.

Do you like pickles?

I tried a recipe for pickled eggs last week that really grossed me out, so emphatic NO on that one.

How do you feel about meadows?

I finally got a Stonehenge build but only managed to get 3 artifacts to upgrade it, and then I look over at Scott's game and his is leveled up to a 10 already, so now I'm sad and kind of ticked.

Have you heard of Flarp!?

Sadly, I've had full demonstrations of how necessary flarp is in our lives. I remember being jealous of kids who'd get more than one silly putty to play with, now kids can flarp themselves silly.

Ever flipped a turtle over?

Back over after a car sent it skidding around. Got back in my car, another car zoomed by just as the turtle stuck a toe back on the highway, and I watched it crunch in my rearview mirror. I never stopped to turn a turtle back over again. Scott is more sympathetic, he'll put the turtle into the car and drive it to safety first.

Do you like to doodle?

This is my favorite doodling.

How do you feel about long socks and chucks?

Nothing. I feel nothing.

Would you rather find a four leaf clover or a heads up penny?

This reminds me of a man I saw double masked in a store the other day giving me the stink eye for no mask. I'd say the superstition is about as strong with that one.

Ever squirted orange juice in your eye?

One morning I was frying bacon and it suddenly popped really hard right at my eye. Good thing I was wearing glasses.

Do you keep a journal/diary?

Ha, do I keep a journal... 😂😂😂😂😂 Blogs all over the internet, baby.

Do you play an instrument?

I'm getting better at playing like I care.

What is your favorite sound?

My coffee maker nearly done when it suddenly does those big bubble and hiss noises.

How many kisses on the lips have you given?

Probably far too many. Well, yeah, you know you have when someone blows a bubble with their bubblegum in your mouth.

What's your favorite ride at the amusement park?

I heard they removed it last year, after 30 years of it being there. I'd be sad, but I'm a crippled gun slinger now, trigger thumb probably getting surgery this year anyway. I'll always have the fond memories of being the best shot on the shootout ride.

So I can't believe I actually finished this and never posted it. Today is 6/29/22 and I just discovered that someone actually found this blog doing a search for "doing your homework without throwing up", was even more surprised to find out that is an actual book for a very real anxiety problem. I feel bad for you guys. I never cared enough about homework to actually get sick over it. 

Anyway, gonna toss this out to the wind, sorry I never fixed all the html but there you go. 

My Parents' Little Secrets!

Originally from a private blog on March 30, 2008, posted publicly on November 26, 2015.

 Lets Start With Me...

My Name Is:: I loathe my real name.  It's so common that I regularly get my prescriptions, dry cleaning, doctor scheduling, and even my voter registration mixed up with at least 5 other "me's" in the area, and I could never publish under my real name because there are already 3 other people doing that.  On top of that, I spent my childhood having the same name as my cousin, who was a couple of years older than me.  Now, who in their right mind gives their child the same name as their sibling's child???  Good grief.  So, I have made up my own name for myself.  And guess what, it's so unique that

You can try this out at How Many of Me.  And no, I'm not going to tell you what that name is because I don't want there to be two of me.  Guess I'm a little paranoid about that now.   

(Yes, we all know now there is only one Janika Banks because I have this posted in widgets on several blogs. Here on Pinky blog it's in the footer.)

Were You Planned or an Accident?: I was told, after I had my own child, that I was a surprise that cannon balled into existence right after my mom miscarried another child.  That really gave me the willies, thinking that another child had died so I could live.

How old are you now?: Too old to run through a sprinkler shrieking with joy.  That makes me sorta sad.

Were your parents married when you were conceived/born?: They have always been the most married people I have ever known.  I can't even begin to explain how loaded that sentence is.  Imagine a rebel Mennonite pseudo-science weirdo farmer and a scattered psycho-nut joining in holy matrimony.  Nothing against my parents *ahem*, but that was one strange childhood.

Where do you live?: Next door to a really nice chicken.

Do you hate your parents right now?:   I am appalled that you would even ask.  Just kidding.  No, it's kinda hard to hate old geezer people who honestly believe they are absolutely right about everything, no matter how ludicrous they sound in the face of modern science and the information age.  It's funny how me getting older changes all that.  I just hope I don't ever look like that to my own kids.   

Do u get along with your parents right now?: I let Dad talk to me by the hour about the tribulation starting in the next 3 years.  I kinda hope he gets to 'go' before then because he will be so extremely disappointed if it doesn't happen.  He's been looking forward to the end of the world all his life.  He's 78.

Are you expected to get good grades in school?: Dad was upset when I went to college, said I would be brainwashed.  He could have cared less about my grades.  My mom rarely even brought it up.  I have no idea if she ever had any idea what I even studied.

What happens if you do/dont?: The higher the grades, the more I was being brainwashed. 

Do you go to public places with your parents?: Not any more.  I still don't know if I'd be able to hang out with Dad very long in Walmart without being embarrassed half to death to find us having a deep discussion about something politically incorrect that he might completely misconstrue and know terribly little about but of course he'd be absolutely right, and passers by would shoot looks at me.  Last time I was with Mom in Walmart (after she started having the smaller strokes, before the big ones put her in the nursing home), she threw this weird little fit in the aisle with Nair removal stuff and scared a guy walking through, he practically scuttled away.  It's kinda funny to think back on it now, but at the time it was a little unnerving.  Kinda iced the ol' psycho mom through my childhood cake, only it turned into psycho gramma in Walmart.  All the same, I always enjoyed going out to eat with them.  Dad once picked his teeth with one of those long skewers from a sticker pot at a really nice Chinese restaurant.  That was probably the closest those waiters had ever come to a genuine cowboy.  I could tell we were being watched.

Have they ever embarassed you?: You mean before that when they were sorta saner and younger?  Con-stant-ly.  I did my best to embarrass my mom right back with subtle but odd mannerisms in public places. 

Have you ever lied to your parents? If so.. About what?: It's an interesting bit of trivia that even though aspies are born feeling compelled to be truthful, I learned to lie to my own parents to survive, especially my mom.  I'm a pretty good liar.  It doesn't come naturally, and I don't like it, but I'm serious about the psycho-nut thing.  As for Dad, sometimes you just have to get the guy to stop talking or change the subject.  You can't imagine how exhausting it is to talk to someone who really truly believes that the overweight epidemic in this country is because people use too much lotion.

How often do you talk to your parents?: I cringe when Dad calls up and says "Here, talk to Mom" and then hands the phone to her.  I challenge anyone on this earth to keep up a running dialogue for ten minutes straight with a parent who never before let you actually do the talking, when you know they are on the other end staring at a wall and don't remember who you are.  Between that and Dad's latest obsession with public television channels being a complete and unchallenged source of world information that is severely lacking in UFO research nowadays, maybe about once a week.

Are your parents cool, or do they suck?: I've got everyone else's weirdo parents beat hands down.  Give me some sunglasses and call me cool. 

Do you ever start a fight between your parents?: If my parents were somewhat more normal, maybe we'd have had fights.  Mostly it was just this mental thumb wrestling with aliens from other planets.

How many brothers/sisters do you have?: I was the oldest and totally displaced by each successive progeny (which other aspies also seem to take personally), so I refuse to count.    It's ok, I'm over it now.  *walking off without numbering them...*

Do they get more stuff than you?: The more I was displaced, the more attention and goodies the others got.  But nowadays it's completely reversed, because I should be showing more support as the oldest child, but I live the furthest away and feel too yucky to get over there.  So the others GIVE more of themselves than me.  That feels strange.

Let’s get to know MOM & DAD a little better...

How old is MOM?: 67, far too young to be completely disabled and vegetablized in a nursing home.

How old is DAD?: He'll be 80 in a year and a half.  No medications, doesn't believe in doctors.  Has some pretty weird ideas.  He thinks the reason he's NOT diabetic is because he lived with Mom so long and became immune.  Yes, he believes diabetes is contagious, that's why so many people have it.  He's the last of a dying breed...

Do your parents work? What do they do for a living?: Dad drives in to 'work' every day to eat lunch with Mom at the nursing home.  All the employees there greet him like one of them.  He has a shining reputation for being the only man who has come in every day to see his wife for the last 3 years, practically unheard of.  The staff treat him like royalty.

Do they fight about money or anything else?: OH, man, they used to fight.  The arguments over every jot and tittle of the bible were ~end~less~, even though they both agreed on 95% of it.

Does MOM hang out with friends?: Dad cruises her around in her geri chair and they 'do lunch'.

Does DAD hang out with friends?: After Mom goes back to bed, Dad chases down the visiting preacher to argue the finer points of Revelations.

Do either of your parents go to church?: I grew up with major debates over what the definition of church was, and whether 'going' to one was actually wrong since God's people are the church.  Mom went, Dad didn't.  That made Dad bad, and Mom made sure that got hammered into our heads.  I think she was evil in a tormented soul kind of way, innocent in her mental illness, although I was the first to break the ice and suggest such once I hit my 30's.  In the end, I decided that if the 'good' Christian tortured the 'bad' Christian with anger and accusations for not performing a faith correctly, the 'good' Christian was worse than the 'bad' one.  Aspie logic.  Whether either one sits on a pew with any regularity is rather irrelevant in that light.

Have either of your parents ever been to jail?: Been TO, or been IN?  There is a big difference.  They were never arrested for anything as far as I know. 

Have you ever drank alcohol with your parents?: I used to drink narcotic cough syrup behind their backs.  That's about as wild as it got with my parents.

Would you like to follow in either of your parents footsteps?: Let's see, psycho nut or rebel psuedo-science Mennonite.  Tough one. 

Have your parents ever taken drugs?: Mom lived on darvocet for awhile and nearly destroyed her nose with dristan.  Dad accidentally drank gasoline once.  Do those count? 

Do they have other children?: Yes, I believe I confessed the problem I had with other siblings showing up in my life.  Or this could quite possibly be referring to kids from other marriages...?  I couldn't have been so lucky.

Have they ever lost you in the store? Or misplaced you?: This is TRUE.  They deliberately walked away from me in grocery stores to see what I'd do, at several different ages.  I can't tell you how devastating this is to a child with autism spectrum disorder.  Dad wanted to 'experiment'.  He wanted to train me to think.  I eventually got the point, and I've been very careful to teach it directly to not only my own children, but others as well-- if you are lost, STAY PUT.  The more you walk around, the harder it is for someone to find you.  Now, how hard was it to just SAY it???

Have either of your parents been divorced or married before?: Nope, there was complete and utter lack of experience on both sides. 

Do they complain and nag at you alot?: Not any more.  Not sure if Dad's 'advice' should be listed here, though. 

Do they support things that you are interested in?: Dad thinks making a chicken blog is crazy.  Why in the world would I want to do ~that~?? 

Do they encourage you to follow your dreams?: See above... 

Do you sometimes wish that they would divorce?: I used to *pray* for them to get divorced.  Don't get the wrong idea, it never got violent or abusive between them, unless you count Mom throwing something once in awhile.  I was just sick to death of the constant seesaw of Dad's really skewed 'logic' vs. Mom's emotional roller coaster. 

Anything else you think your friends should know about your parents?: "They were humans once."  HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!  I got that from the last survey taker, but you don't know the story.  Anyway, I guess after all that I should insert that I had a lot of fun around holidays growing up because Mom kept us busy stringing popcorn or decorating cookies or eggs.  I wish it could have been like that all the time, although it was still just busy work, not really interaction on a personal level.  And I think you should know that I am so surprised that Dad actually buys and eats pizza now, after all those years he spent growing his own fruits, veggies, and animals, and worked us half to death processing it all to eat on all year.  That just cracks me up.  It's so weird to even think about, a 78 year old Mennonite farmer eating pizza.

Mom’s weakness?: She really sucked at being a drama queen. 

Dad’s weakness?: It never dawned on him that Mom was trying to be a drama queen.

Hmm, nice place to end...  No strengths?  Oh, well.

From a private blog on Nov. 24, 2007.

This was created before I found out I had a very severe case of cytomegalovirus that took me down for month, and doing silly surveys is pretty much how I got through it. After reading this, you'll see why the idea of covid doesn't shake me.

Looking back over this survey, I can't tell if I'm being sarcastic and think it's funny or what.  It's weird looking back on something and remember being in the moment, and then seeing it from outside the moment.   I just know my pain level went to 50 (Princess Bride) several times this weekend.

 

1. What's one thing thats heavily weighing on your mind?
Day 4 on antibiotic:  We've deteriorated to exploding into unstoppable coughing spasms within a minute or two of dozing off throughout the day and night, even sitting up.  Robitussin for cough and cold suspiciously making it worse.  Resultant fibro in neck up to skull and slamming headaches when I cough no longer responding to skelaxin.  Full blown occipital neuralgia on top of it will soon be turning me into a slavering werewolf, despite the codeine.  I'll try not to eat Scott when I morph over.  If I suck on one more cough drop I'll have to kill Willy Wonka.  Throat spray only helps when I miss and hit my eyeballs or nose or whatever.  Glands still extremely tender, throat still sore.  Scott wants me to go back to the doctor.  Thus concludes my 9th day since onset.  I'm ready for morphine.  If this were 100 years ago, I'm pretty sure it would kill me, if I didn't run screaming into the woods first and plunge off a little cliff onto some rocks.  I'm ready to drink the entire bottle of vanilla and then move on through the almond, mint, and orange flavorings.  Don't laugh.  A couple of those bottles are 80 and 90 proof.

2. What's one thing you've learned from a good friendship gone bad?
When you run into someone in a mall or library 5 years later, and you find out the email or phone number they swapped you isn't any good, you wonder why in the world did they act so happy to see you again in the first place.

3. What's one thing you've learned lately from love?
True and abiding love is not expecting your husband to sit up and baby you through # 1.  True love is telling him not to feel guilty and to go on to bed.  True love is realizing that two crabby people during a health care mess is not a fun ride, and that when the tables are turned, I'll want to go to bed, too.  Oh, MAN, I'll want to go to bed.  I've got several days of sleep to catch up on as he gets this coming on.  He says his chest is hurting now...  :edit later:  He says now it was just heartburn.  Go figure.

 

I just looked this up.

 

from http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/students2/shs/flu.htm

Should I Call My Doctor?

In most cases, you don't need to see your doctor when you have a cold or the flu. However, if you have any of the symptoms below, seek medical advice.

• A cold that lasts for more than 10 days
• Earache or drainage from your ear
• Severe pain in your face or forehead
• Temperature above 102° F
• Shortness of breath
• Hoarseness, sore throat or a cough that won't go away

I'd call that a big yes...  I have the first 3 and the last one.  Don't know what else a doctor can DO for me, except maybe tranquilize me.

 

4. Is there anyone special in your life in general at the moment?
Besides kleenex?  My ears are starting up a jihad, so we need to get past this mushy stuff.

5. What's a happy time you've had in the past week or two?
Let's see...  Ah, yes, the sweet nostalgia of rediscovering Vicks.  It's worthless, actually.

6. Is there anything in your past that you'd like to try again?
Do you mean do it again now at this age?  I'm not really getting any bites here.  My brain is in the kitchen humming to itself.  Last time I saw it, it was nestled in the paper pile by the blender.

7. Who do you like to spend most of your nights with?
I spend ~all~ of my nights with Scott.  He keeps showing back up after work, and I keep making stuff for him to eat.

8. Are you an emotional person?
It's hard to tell.  I went into total aspie freak out last night, which I haven't done in quite awhile, after a super nasty coughing fit in the middle of a dead sleep, and I was on the floor rocking and crying and flapping my hands and not making a lot of sense with Scott while I dealt with unbelievable pain.  To other people, THAT looks like I'm terribly upset.  To me, it's not actually feeling an emotion so much as being so overwhelmed that I lose control of my logic center and my brain scrambles for neurological feedback that it can hook into and get around the other stimulations.  About ten minutes and I was ok.  It was kind of odd because that was the first time Scott had actually seen me blow completely out after knowing me for 17 years.  I held so much in while I was raising the kids because I didn't want to scare them or weird them out, because we didn't have a name for all that until quite lately, and I didn't know it was actually normal behavior for me.  So actually, this is the first time as an adult that I've been able to get feedback on my behavior, and amazingly, Scott was real open and calm about it and didn't try to interrupt the process or snap me out of it.  I asked him if he'd seen me do any of that before, because I usually don't notice when I do, and he said yes, in bits and snatches over the years when I'd get stressed, just not all at once before.  I told him when I was a kid, Mom would shake me and yell at me to stop because it scared her, and I never understood what I was supposed to stop, exactly, so I learned to just don't move at all around her.  I grew up being a really stiff person in school and church and everywhere because I was afraid to move and attract attention to myself, because my mom would freak out.  Scott said he noticed that I am like that, like I'm really tense.  And I was like yeah, if she'd just let me be weird and touch things and flap and rock and all that stuff, I'd easily be a happier person all my life, because that's just how I de-stress.  It didn't bother him one bit.  All these years I've been afraid to 'act out' in front of my own family, and he's fine with it.  He couldn't believe how much that affected my whole life, having to feel like I couldn't even fidget in public and holding myself so still any time even one person walked into a room.  I'm very different now since I found out I fit in a particular sort of normal.  Much more relaxed.  Funny how long it took to find out I'm really ok.  Anyway, it's hard for me to tell sometimes if I'm being emotional or not when others might think I look like I am.  I hold a lot of reactions back over simple things like misunderstandings and being surprised and stuff, and sometimes I go ahead and react and I seem angry and look angry, but I don't always feel angry or upset as much as just a little flustered.

9. Are you self conscious?
As per # 8, you would think I'm terribly self conscious, but I'm actually not very self aware at all.  I know this sounds incredible, but there have been times I've actually forgotten I still have my pajamas on and caught myself putting my shoes on to go somewhere in the car.  Even to church.

10. Do you think of others before yourself?
Constantly.  It's kind of automatic after spending so many years feeding and cleaning up after other people and taking care of them when they're sick.

11. What's something that can always make you feel better?
I can't tell ya how badly I would love to have even just a two hour nap tonight that is blissfully uninterrupted.

12. Who was the last person you had a crush on?

 

There was a video here that has been deleted, and I don't have a clue what it was.
 

13. Where do you see yourself this time next year?
Good morning.  I started this survey Thursday evening.  This is now Friday.  Day 5 has started off much better because I actually slept last night.  Well, that sentence looks dang optimistic, so don't get the idea I'm cured.  Let's just say at this point the whole werewolf thing is less likely now.  As for next year, I don't know whether to hold my breath or just give up and laugh.  I would so love to feel better than I have this year.

14. Do you tend to make relationships complicated?
I can jump into anyone's whining and quell any complications that arise, but thankfully, I really don't do that very much.  Everything boils down to a few simple variables, and the reason they become complicated is because things get overlayed with stuff like guilt, pressure to conform or change, selfish whining or insecurities, making excuses for someone being abusive, stuff like that.  When you strip away the passive aggression and learned helplessness, the path becomes clear.  If you don't like the path, you just cover it back up and quit whining about it.  Yes, as you can imagine, no one comes to me for advice.  My children claw the walls to escape, and everyone else ran away screaming a long time ago.  It's a peaceful existence, rarely being dragged into soap operas.

15. Who do you feel the most comfortable around?
Scott tolerates me amazingly well without question and helps steer me when I go a little too aspie, and I've come to I trust his judgment completely, so I hope the rest of our marriage is something he never regrets.  I wouldn't trade him for any other guy on the planet.

16. Is there something that you're waiting for?
I'm trying to wait patiently to feel better.  I slipped up a little yesterday and got kinda crabby and whiny.  It's very challenging to act nice and sweet when you don't feel well.

17. One thing you're not looking forward to?
I've got a pile of dishes looking at me every time I walk through the kitchen.  Normally that doesn't bother me, but I feel so crappy that I can barely keep up with the house at all lately.  That really gets me down.  Scott has decided that we ARE putting up a tree this year, a little one on the kitchen table to put in the bay window, so we've gotta clean off the table today, too.  After 6 hours of sleep for the first night in a week or more, I'm hoping a nap is possible, and that I don't get crabby during Scott's Christmas tree enthusiasm.  Last year we all missed Christmas completely because Twinkles was in the hospital for 11 days, and we nearly lost her.  The holiday was very depressing.  I think this year Scott wants to feel the ol' fun come back, even though he's been saying all year that we're taking the year off, and even though he's griped through every single Christmas we've ever had in this house.  He's a funny guy.  I think he would love to be jolly and really enjoy it, but there are so many memories over the years that get in the way.  He has a love/hate conflict thing with the whole season.  Me, I'm just tired.  I've been too run down all year to feel enthusiastic.

18. How do you feel about change?
I resist all change that I can't personally control.  It's an aspie thing.  I've gotten better about it through the years, though.

19. What are you most looking forward to?
I think I'd really like to try going back to sleep after I finish my breakfast.  Scott is out shopping a little with Twinkles, the house is quiet, my coughing seems to have subsided a bit...

20. What are your plans for your next birthday?
I never make plans for my birthday, unless it's to feed people.

21. Do you even care about your birthday?
Not any more.  Cake is always good, though.  Good thing there are birthdays so we can have cake.

22. Do you think anyone in the world loves you?
I think everyone does, they just aren't always clued in to that.  I've noticed that people who are easily irritated by me are easily irritated by other things, as well, so they drag around their own stuff.  I don't take it personally.

26. Why do you drive the car you have right now?

White sorta looks storm trooperish, and I like it.  For me, white is the 'new black' ever since Star Wars came out.  And at the time it fit me pretty good. I've driven old junky cars all my life, that one was the closest I've ever come to nearly new and fairly nice.  In the nearly 10 years since then, it's getting a little junky itself, but it's still my baby Lamborghini.

27. Have you ever seen your best friend cry?
He tries not to let me, but I've seen it, yeah.  It takes an awful lot to devastate him, but once it happens, he's a real lone wolf type.  I am one of the privileged few who has seen a couple of tears here and there.

28. What kind of vitamins did you take as a kid?
Don't talk to me about vitamins as a kid.  While other kids took a Flintstone, I had handfuls of junk stuffed down my throat.  I'm sure I came pretty close to vitamin A toxicity one year during one of Mom's delusional driven spells to cure me of something imaginary and show the world ~she~ knew more than the doctors who shrugged me out the door.  When you know the difference between stearates and oxides in mineral molecular construction at the tender age of 12, among many other bits of health food store trivia, you're a little too immersed in the vitamin culture.  And I'm here to tell you, vitamins *do* *not* *stop* illnesses like diabetes or lupus.  Mom gambled and lost.  She went into a nursing home before she even hit 65 and is already so deficit she's not much more than a vegetable, and she's not even 70.  And my adult life has been pretty miserable with illness.  So if you're cramming vitamins down your kids' throats, lighten up.  One Flintstone a day is plenty.  And I don't mean to insult anyone, I'm just saying if it adds up to more than 40 pills a day, that's a tad excessive.

29. Did you get any compliments today?
Scott noticed I'm a tad perkier and gave me some nice hugs before he went shopping, and said he'd be back as soon as he could.  That, to me, is better than compliments.  His concern is the best feeling I get in the whole world.  And I bet he brings me back a surprise of some kind.  :edit later:  Yep, he bought a set of various little Christmas candles.  Unfortunately, my nose is so plugged, all I could smell was a strong glue smell all evening after I lit a little red one called "Christmas Eve".

30. Are you friends with your neighbors?
I normally show up for food, but this year was just too rough for that, between being so sick and their personal problems.

31. What were you just thinking about?
I really should go try laying down now while I have the chance.  See ya.

32. Name the places you have lived in?
Ok, that was nice.  I think I got a little over an hour of light dozing with no coughing.  Still feel incredibly tired and weak, and now I have a microwaved potato in front of me.  All the places I've lived, eh?  I'm just not in the mood to dredge up my whole life right now, sorry.  But I will say NW New Mexico and SW Missouri.  How's that?  And if you've been around, you know those are like night and day.  Both are in my heart and soul.

33. When was the last time you drove more than 15 minutes?
3 days ago.  Geez, I live outa town, I have to drive at least 20 minutes just to get to the closest Walmart and doctor.  3 days ago I drove about 120 miles round trip to see my mom.  I used to do that once or twice a month, then it got to every other month, then every 3 or 4 months, then twice a year, and now it looks like I'm just about to the annual point because my chronic fatigue has gotten so bad over the years.  Seems like every time I plan a trip out I either get sick or wiped out.  This time I made it come hell or high water because it's possibly the last Thanksgiving I'll see her.

34. Have you ever had a crush on your sister's/brother's friend?
I am SO glad I've never had a crush on a 'local'.  All my crushes are unreachable, which keeps me out of a lot of trouble.  Maybe it's the Asperger's, but I very rarely crush on people I can actually smell or touch.  I really dig Scott, but I'm otherwise terribly asexual, another byproduct of the Asperger's.  I just have no interest in sharing myself with other people like that.  If you've never heard of this, or wonder about yourself or a friend, here's a couple of places to start.  And don't assume asexuality and Asperger's always go hand in hand, because they don't.  The key word is 'spectrum', ~all~ our brains are on a spectrum of developmental and chemical types.

http://www.asexuality.org/home/

ABC News: Sexless and Proud

35. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
I haven't looked in a mirror yet.  Last night I got the flashlight out and looked at my throat in the mirror.  I've had all kinds of sore throats, but this one was different.  I didn't get the usual tonsillitis or strep or all the other stuff, and it didn't even look very red or swollen until just lately, but man, it has hurt like heck all week.

36. When is the next time you will make out with somebody?
I'm having such a wave of weakness, I've gotta go lay back down.  I spent the last 3 days unable to really lay down and almost completely sleepless because I was drowning in phlegm, so I guess I'd better do what my body tells me right now.  It would be cruel of me to force it to stay up just to do this survey.  Later, taters.

37. What's a word that rhymes with "LUCK"?
Hello again.  Not even sure why I'm here.  I can't get over how weak I am today.  I remember some years back, maybe around 20 years ago, both my parents got pneumonia or something, and, neither one a big doctor fan, they stuck it out at home.  It took 6 weeks for them to get as back to normal as they were going to get.  I cannot even imagine feeling this weak for 6 weeks.  Wait a sec.  I was this weak with the Bell's Palsy.  I was actually worse.  But this is different, the Bell's didn't involve my lungs at all, but it knocked my nervous system offline.  I discovered awhile ago one of the glands on the side of my neck is getting kinda hard.  We used to raise goats, and anyone familiar with goats knows that they get swollen glands all the time, and in goats, the glands literally rupture and drain, very gross.  Yes, it ruptures toward the outside, so there is a big lump of hard stuff under their skin high on there neck just behind the ear, about where my swollen gland is, and it eventually ruptures and drains and then heals up.  Goats seem to pick up every little virus out there and can get just as snotty and gross as any human, but I never saw any of that slow them down.  They didn't lay around lethargically malaised, like I'm feeling.  But then, I never saw a goat get a lung infection, either.  Anyway, I think I'm going to go back to the couch.  I was able to eat a little and putter a little trying to clean off some of the kitchen table for the tree later, but that lasted about 10 minutes in very slow motion, so I thought sitting here would help me rest.  I guess I was wrong.  It's 2:00 right now, maybe I can get another little nap in.  See ya.

38. What's your favorite planet?
Nunchuck.  Answer to last question.  It's after midnight now, so we're heading into Saturday morning.  Had reached a point where I actually thought the coughing was about done, but around 10:30 it all came back, and nothing is stopping it.  I could literally sleep with my forehead on my arms at this desk and cough in my sleep.  Anyway, favorite planet...  I think I answered this in another survey and forgot what I wrote.  I think it may have been a fiction planet from a book or tv show, so it's anyone's guess right now.  I think I coughed my brains out.

39. Who's the 2nd person on your missed calls list?
I don't think I've missed a call in days.  Everyone knew I lost my voice, so no one is calling.

41. What shirt are you wearing right now?
Wow, same shirt as the last time I was asked this in a survey.  Don't worry, it's been through the washer since then.

42. What do you "label" yourself as?
Right now, "puny".

43. Name the brand of shoes you're currently wearing?
I don't like wearing shoes in the house.  I need my freedom.  Besides, it's nearly one a.m.

44. Bright or dark room?
My monitor is trying to turn pink again.  Aside from that and a very small lamp, it's dark in here.

45. What do you think about the person who last took this survey?
I nabbed it off a bulletin from someone I really don't know, but the answers seem to be short and sorta boring.  Once in awhile I see a glimmer of thought, but not often.  I don't know how these people can put so many surveys up on bulletins and keep being so boring.  I'm not saying I'm a genius, but these things could be a lot more stimulating if someone really had a go at it.

46. If you're alone in a room with two beds, which one do you sleep in?
I'm on the couch again tonight.  I can't see putting Scott through all this torture.

47. What were you doing at midnight last night?
Working on this survey... a long and arduous task while one is sick.

48. What did your last text message you received on your mobile say?

People who answer questions like these aren't the sort of professionals who can keep client info to themselves, like a private eye or psychologist would.  It's strange to me that people are so ready to blurt out other people's words to them.  If I had gotten this survey off a friend or relative and had seen an answer right off the phone, I'd be less inclined to text them in the future, knowing they'd so freely share anything I privately say with a whole list of strangers.

 

It's weird when surveys end on unrounded numbers, but I guess it's better than trying to reach a number and the questions getting stupider and stupider trying to fill up space.

Christmas Surveys

From a private blog on Dec. 4, 2007. This is a two-fer.

Christmas survey

1. Get kissed under the mistletoe or in the snow?

Hmm, dilemma...  Scott's nose runs out in the cold, and we don't have any mistletoe in the house.  Maybe we'll snuggle on the couch or something.   

2. Santa or Rudolph?

Wait, was this for the kiss question?  Because I'm really not the Santa type, and I don't need Rudy thinking he's funny and sticking his nose in my mouth to watch my cheeks glow, you know?

3. Stocking or presents?

Around here we call them 'socks'.  And socks hold more stuff, especially like candy and gift cards.  What if my present is a sweater or something?  Yeah, definitely sock.

4. Eggnog or hot cider?

Homemade, or from a carton or mix?  I'll take homemade, if you've got it.

5. Angel or star?

Angels like it homemade, too.  Put the star on the tree and offer homemade drinks to all the angels in the house.

6. Decorating the tree, or putting lights on the outside?

This year, nada.  I love it when we do the house, because our back deck looks like a canteena, and the front and side rails look like a gingerbread house.  The tree is fun when it looks like it's just dripping with all kinds of colorful goodies.  But this year, neither one.  We're taking a break.

7. Warm cozy fires or sleigh rides?:

Oddly, I've never had a sleigh ride.  But I have had a carriage ride.  I hate to say it, but the fleas ate me up, kinda killed the whole atmosphere of the ride.  I remember we had this cool fireplace when I was growing up.  I do miss that, but I don't miss the mess and the smoke.

8. Family time or friend time?

My family ARE my friends.  I've tried having friends outside family.  It gets too complicated.

9. Expensive presents or presents that come from the heart?

No presents at all.  I used to think it was fun, now I'm just terribly burned out.  There is so much worry and guilt and pressure over money being tight and people standing in return lines and being thought inconsiderate if the gift isn't right, it just really turns me off now.  I guess working in a high traffic department store didn't help.

10. Snow ball fight or snowman?

The coolest thing we ever did as kids was make tunnels through the snow.  I always wanted to make my own igloo.

11.Coal or present?

Food.

12. Open presents quick or slow?

Avoid opening them until everyone else is done and then it looks like I'm rich with a big pile of presents.  It's funny how the gift wrap makes people drool to see what's inside.  Everyone hates it when I sit there and don't open something.  I get a bigger kick out of watching everyone else.

13. Diamonds or rubies?

Are you insinuating I'll get a pile of one or the other if I but choose?  How generous.

14. Caroling or Christmas stories?

Watching Scrooged with a big bowl of popcorn.

15. Snowy days or ice days?

We had way too much ice last year.  I'll settle for a very light dusting of snow this year, but that's all.

16.Red or Green?

The Red Green show!!!

The Red Green Show

QUESTIONS

1. Best Christmas present received?

I've had plenty of really good ones, but the best present is getting to hang out with Scott.  He's pulled in so many directions like taffy, it's rare and precious to have him to myself for a little while, even just to yak while we're going somewhere in the car.

2. Whats the number one thing you want for christmas?

Peace and quiet.  No calamities or accidents.  No hard feelings or big messes.  Oh, and good food.  Can't forget that.

3. If you were going out with someone, what would you want them to get you?

I want Scott to get me some really good food from Harter House.

4. Have you ever been kissed under mistletoe?

I didn't even know what mistletoe really was until a few years ago.  Not sure I get that whole tradition.

5. Age you stopped believing in Santa Claus?

When I was in the first grade, some big boys in the lunch room told me he had died.  I can still remember the shock, the smell of my leather coin purse that held four pennies for my milk, and the smell of my peanut butter sandwich that I was unable to eat because I started crying so hard they had to call my mom.  I learned early on that the Christmas season is cruel and hard, and filled with the laughter of ugly mean children.

6. Do you send thank you notes?

Once in awhile, yes I do.  I'm kind of old fashioned.

7. Do you wake your parents up early to open presents?

I never had to.  The other kids were all over it.  And it never worked to try calling them early once I had my own kids, because they were still already up.  In fact, I think one Christmas they even called me up out of a sound sleep at the crack of dawn and asked why the kids weren't up yet opening presents.