Mindorcise

These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with straight answers. Try this out and then tell me how many you got right by leaving me a comment!

1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons. All other vegetables must be replanted every year. What are the only two perennial vegetables?

4. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

5. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get inside the bottle?

6. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters " dw" and they are all common words. Name two of them.

7. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you name at least half of them?

8. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

9. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet beginning with the letter "S."





Answers To Quiz:

1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends . . Boxing

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward . . Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush over it every minute.)

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for several growing seasons . . Asparagus and rhubarb.

4. The fruit with its seeds on the outside . . Strawberry.

5. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe, they are snipped off at the stems.)

6. Three English words beginning with dw" are dwarf,dwell and dwindle.

7. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar . . Period, comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis, braces, and ellipses.

8. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh is lettuce.

9. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with "s" . . shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates, snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

Roadtrip!

I'm a huge fan of sites like MapQuest, GoogleMaps, etc. and use them all the time to navigate the Memphis streets. For all of the maps that I've pulled up for recent interviews, I've had a few with directions that were less than ideal. I had blamed this entirely on Memphis' deplorable road system. After checking out this Google map, I may have to reconsider. (Be sure to check out step 19) Thank goodness I'm not planning a roadtrip to Rome any time soon... I don't think my swimsuit is ready for a trans-Atlantic swim.

"Pathetic," Eeyore said. "That's what it is. Pathetic."

I didn't get the Uof M editor position. I have plenty of other interviews, but I couldn't care less about any of the other prospects thus far. I'm definitely in an Eeyore sort of mood. I'm glad I'm not in the classroom anymore - I know that wasn't where I belonged - but until I can see the path in front of me, I can't help but feel like I'm just caught in a never ending eddy, going nowhere. Please don't let me get stuck in some quicksand sales position!

"This writing business. Pencils and what-not.
Over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it."

Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh

Brown + Blue = Brownie

Brown + Blue = Brownie
Originally uploaded by empress e.

All together now, "Ahhhhhh!" I have yet to meet this adorable pup, but I'm in love already!

Thanks, Ashley, for the picture - even if it *did* take a full lunar cycle to transfer the file! :)

Claws and katana

While perusing the web in my quest to vanquish boredom, I stumbled upon this picture and just *had* to share it. What could be more fearsome than Samurai Snuggles-sama?

Reading the End of the Book

Love it or hate it, I am one of those people who always reads the end of the book first. Apply this concept to movies - if somebody has already seen it, I'll be begging them to tell me how it ended. My logic runs thus: if there is a happy ending, I am free to emotionally attach myself to the characters; if there is not a happy ending, however, I at least am prepared to steel away my heart. I need time to prepare myself for bad endings, to give myself time to adjust and come to terms with everything.

As you can imagine, I do not like waiting to hear back from the I-SATE position. I mailed a follow up letter immediately after the interview and just a few seconds ago called to confirm it's delivery. Well yeah, ok.. so my real reason was to see if I'd gotten the job or not, but I needed an excuse to call. When I called, however, I got no usable information. The assistant to the director, who was on my interview board, was quite personable and friendly, thanked me for the follow up letter and said that they really appreciated it, etc. All I'm really thinking at this point is, "blah blah, get to the point, blah blah..." She never got to the point. She told me that, basically, everything was now in the hands of the Human Resources department for background checks, etc. and that she wasn't sure if they would contact me if I didn't get the job, but that she was sure that if I did, they'd get hold of my by next week sometime.

Seriously, how am I supposed to interpret that?! I mean, would they really have HR go through affirmative action and background checks for all five candidates? I'd like to think not, which would be good. But then, why would she say if I didn't get the job...? In case I didn't pass the background check? And, if all of that points in my favor, why wouldn't she just come out and say it?!?! That's what makes me really doubt myself and feel like I'm no closer than before.

Why can't I just read the last chapter and save myself from all this stress? I demand a new publisher!!

Junjou Na Kanjou

Today's title is directly pulled from the Rurouni Kenshin song I was listening to as I began this post - "One-Third Junjou Na Kanjou" which basically means "True Feelings". Although a literal translation of junjou implies a pure heart and naivete, I still think it's a pretty title for this post. (btw - click on the aforementioned title to read the song's Japanese and English lyrics.)

Anyhoo...

Week two of being without a job. Waiting to hear back from I-SATE (editor job) sometime by the end of the week. It's my only real prospect. Everything else is in sales, eh, not looking forward to settling for something like that. I'm just not a salesperson! Whatever... as long as I can reclaim my sanity and earn a decent paycheck, who am I to complain? So along those lines, I have an interview tomorrow afternoon. No idea what this place is about except that I'd be working way downtown - we're looking at an hour commute. Hoping that I won't have to take that job. Another interview Thursday in Cordova. Another sales position. At least the communte would be tolerable. I hate having all of my eggs in one basket, which, since I've got more than 1 interview, technically I don't... but still.. I guess you could say that I have all of my good eggs in one basket though.

I've added some of my favorite anime songs to the blog. (Mom, I guess you'd probably have to have headphones since you're in the library) :) If you scroll down the right-hand column, you'll notice a little mp3 player. You can listen to around 20 songs that I've uploaded into the little player. You can click on the little blue boxes with the image of a cd case to scroll through the various songs. The current song will be the blue box in the middle; clicking on the blue box peeking in on the right will go to the next song. Let's see... that means you're currently listening to "Unmei No Kaikok" from InuYasha (a great feudal anime series). Isn't it just divine?! Notice that the song titles in tiny print under the blue boxes. InuYasha has some of the best music... so romantic! Of that category, "Dearest!" has got to be The Best romantic InuYasha song. Every. Single. Time. I listen to this song, I am compelled to close my eyes, sway to the rhythm, and sing along. I love it soooo much that I've actually memorized the song! Which, considering the fact that I don't speak nihongo (Japanese), that says quite a bit!

I've also started a new blog - Anime World:Rurouni Kenshin. I don't really have much up yet, but I'd eventually like to start writing some RK fanfics which I would post there.

And now for something completely different.

A toast to Jack
(And don't worry, this has NOTHING to do with Aaron's and my relationship)

Here's to the men we love,
here's to the men that love us.
Since the men that we love
aren't the men that love us,
screw the men.
Here's to us.

Re: Love Letters - An Animated Proposal - v2.0

Ok, so if I had to post the last video, I had to post this one too! And it's not just cuz this guy's adorable, lol. ANd I also love that this one doesn't have such a sappy ending, lol. Anyhoo, enjoy!

Love Letters - An Animated Proposal

Ok, so yes... I'm being a COMPLETE bum today... and yes, I've already posted far to many blogs ... but when I found this video, I just *had* to share it with everbody, ne? Could it be any more adorable if it tried?!

A Cause Worth Fighting For

LOL - I just had to share this short, A Genleman's Duel, with everybody. Only 35 seconds, but already such a great commentary!

Stillframe

As a side note, I thought I'd share a comment I received from one of my former students. Her comment is in response to my post on Literary Origami that I was leaving. All typos, etc. are original.

Mrs.W-B,,,
i am so srry for anything i have ever done! This was a rele amazing expirance with you and mrs.isaac. i truly am sorry you are leaving, i was talking to rachel armbruster, and i wa slike she was my fave teacher! i may have given ya laot of trouble, but you are my fave teacher even tho i was always tormenting you i rele did love you! i hope that you will come to visit us soon or i hope you have a great time away,,, and i hope that you get to teach soon or when you want to. idk why you have to leave but i hope that you have a good time. i love you and please remember me! i rele do. i love you mrs.-w-b! if you get time email me.

Observation

The interview I had scheduled for today is no longer. Firstly, I'd like to precede my post with a justification. They called me. They are the ones who saw my resume posted online, called me, and requested an interview. They are the ones who should have noticed that Nashville is a little far for a daily commute.

So here I was this morning, decked out to the nines. Imagine my surprise when I go to Yahoo! Maps to pull up driving directions and, what do I discover but a three-hour drive. Now I'm completely bummed. Not only did I just read the storyline for how the Rurouni Kenshin series ends (Reflection is the quintessential example of how the Japanese can't let a drama have a happy ending)... but then this. I needed this interview, even though I viewed it only as practice for Friday, to alleviate my mind from that pathetic excuse of an ending...so un-Kenshin. I REFUSE to believe anything other than happily ever after.

I just got off the phone with Aaron to explain basically what I've just related. I wish I could call Rogie, but he keeps such odd hours.

Fanfics and Regained Conciousness

Yare yare... You'd think that a jobless bum like me would have posted a bit sooner, *shrug* Gomen nosai!

Blame all of this Japanese on Rurouni Kenshin - my current all-time favorite anime series. Poor Aaron, although he loves the series, is nearly Kenshin'd out. My every waking second (I'm not kidding) is consumed with with that adorable red-head. And when I can't watch another episode of Kenshin, I'm barreling through as many RK fanfics as I can lay my mouse on. And the lemony, the BETTER! *rolling eyes in angst-filled adoration* I didn't think it was possible to have such a huge crush on an anime character! I mean, just look at him with that sweet rurouni face. He's the perfect guy - on one hand he's the legendary battousai that can handle any situation with lightening fast moves that send a shiver down your spine when you catch a glimpse of his amber eyes - and on the other hand he's the self-less, tender rurouni whose amethyst eyes reveal love and protection. How is it possible to have such a furocious crush on an imaginary character? And is it really that wrong to want to have his little hentai babies?!

I blame all this on Dr. Bob. I'm not sure if my 6-year-old mind could yet fathom the levels of devotion I would one day carry for Himura Kenshin... but back in the day, Dr. Bob was my man...er, dog. He had brains, a sense of humor, and obviously all the ladies wanted him. Just look at Nurse Janice and Nurse Piggy swooning over him! ... ano ... What is Nurse Janice, anyway?

Ah well, I'm doomed to worship at a distance, especially since I don't think Aaron wants me smooching the monitor. But it's just torturous that the Japanese are not very demonstrative. I LIVE for the romance scenes...and all I get is a glance, a fleeting hand press every ten episodes. A hug is so major that it gets dream-played over and over. Is it so wrong for Kenshin and Kaoru to kiss?! Why is that asking so much?!

***** Rushes off to read lemony RK fanfics *****

*sigh* Much better. Although Kenshin consumes pretty much my life, there technically are other events in motion. For those of you keeping tabs, yes, Friday was my last day as GMS 8th grade English teacher. Although I miss many aspects, I can't say that I currently want to ever teach again. Maybe if there had been different circumstances this time around, I would have stayed the course and enjoyed it. But "what if's" are cotton candy dreams and only good for short sugary bursts. I already miss the collegiality with Nancy, Robin, Debbie, Gaithor, Heather, and Wendy... and yes I feel obligated to mention them by name as some sort of visible token that I am thinking about them. Even if they'll never see it.

But I don't miss what I became this year, always tired, deadened to my own senses, not able to enjoy what I cognitively knew should make me happy. Each day for the past week or so, I've shed a layer of dead skin until I finally recognized myself again. I didn't realize the transformation as it occured, although (in retrospect) Aaron did point it out a few times. It was simply, I woke up Saturday morning, bright and alert, and noticed how beautiful it was outside. It amazes me even now how beautiful and refreshing each day is, how awake I feel. Heh... Aaron jokingly teased me this afternoon that he needs to find a way to keep me as a housewife. Who can blame him? It's the first time he's seen his wife in quite some time.

Of course, until he discovers a way to earn that extra $40,000 a year, I continue my job hunt. I have that interview tomorrow which I using more as a practice run than anything. I honestly can't even remember the position for which I'm interviewing. Notwithstanding that lack of enthusiasm, I am desperately hoping to get the editor position at Uof M. I hand-delivered my resume, letters of recommendation, and writing samples last week to the assistant to the director who told me that the director was out on spring break and that I shouldn't worry if I didn't hear from him until the end of following week. To plainly state it, I didn't expect to hear a call back until the end of this week. I was so happy when today the assistant called, said the director was impressed with what he'd seen, and scheduled an interview with "The Panel" for this Friday! You must immediately wish me luck! Repeat after me: Bonsai! Bonsai! Bonsai!

Three days to go, and the interviews begin

Tomorrow is Wednesday which means only three wittle days, and I'm taking tomorrow off to drop some information off at U of M, so really it's more like two days left. My replacement will be hanging around my classes Thursday and Friday, somehow to learn the ropes through osmosis.

So far I have two interviews and another prospective message on the answering machine. I'm hoping and praying that the editor position at UofM will pan out - same pay, university life, reduced stress, writing, editing, and doing what I do best... cross your fingers and toes for me!

Cat Napping

Cat napping
Originally uploaded by empress e.

As you can see, we're an exciting household around here. The book on the chair's arm was too arduous of a task, I suppose. :) Faithful mrow that she is, O-ren tried to assist as best she can by instructing Aaron in the proper kitifu (pronounced kitty fu) technique - 猫の睡眠 - Sleep of Cats, pronounced nemuri no neko.