Friday, July 23, 2010

5 Question Friday

Unable to come up with my own creative post for the day, I'm linking with Mama M for 5 Question Friday.

1. What were your school colors?

HIgh school: Green and White. I was always very happy about this because some schools have the GOD AWFULEST colors that no one looks good in. People look pretty good in green.

College: Black and gold. No one looks good in that pea-gold color they use for clothes. I hated those colors.

Masters: Who knows, I never went to the campus!

2. What's the best compliment you ever received?

People seem to like my teeth. I like them too. They are pretty straight though big and not yellow or nastified. I have a thing about people's teeth, it's one of the first things I look at. It's a good thing I have a decent set of my own.

3. Do you buy cheap or expensive toilet paper?

El Super Cheapo for me. I try to get recycled which is even rougher than rough, but I don't care. Recently I visited my sister who had, what I was pretty sure was a quilt on her toilet paper roll. I have never felt such thick toilet paper in my life and was truly not sure if I should flush it. Shocked at her lack of thrift, lack of concern for the septic system and blase attitude about the amount of paper being used, I commented that I was quite surprised. She claims that in the frenzy of moving, they ran out and were at The Home Depot and this brand was all they carried. My nether regions have NEVER seen such softness.

4. Have you ever had a surprise party thrown for you? Or have you had one for someone else?

Sadly, I have had 2 surprise parties thrown for me. I DO NOT like surprises. I'm not one of those people that says I don't like surprises but then secretly hopes you will surprise me. I really really really can't deal with surprises of any sort. Both were in college. The first totally blind sided me. We were having a meeting on our hall and everyone was out sitting on the floor and then halfway through some presents were produced and I just about DIED. Just about crawled through the floor. I tried to be cordial and explained that it was nice but DO NOT EVER do this again. I guess they thought I was kidding because they did it again next year. This went over much more poorly and I was not nice about it. I know, I was supposed to smile and say that it was so nice. When I tell someone I don't want them to do something, I expect them to respect my wishes and not do it. THinking that I really meant I wanted a surprise and doing it anyway is just disrespectful.

I have thrown a couple of surprise parties. You may find it odd that I condone this behavior toward anyone but myself, but really, I do find that most people enjoy the surprise. Permit me the luxury of telling this story, it's a bit long. If you have to go away and come back, I'll understand.

The best was our parents' 25th wedding anniversary party. We TOTALLY shocked them. It also showed how easy it would have been to lie to our parents for all those years and they'd never have known. Hindsight.... We had a big party in our yard and there were some guests that were quite unexpected, including a couple from out of town that we'd always heard about but never met. This was in the early internet days, so it was hard to just go look up strangers, but I managed to do it by phone and invite them out. That was surprise number 1 but our parents didn't know we had anything to do with it. Now, they were total strangers to us, but we asked them to help with the surprise, so they were very game and did an outstanding job. My parents had taken them down the river on the boat to show them a few things and as they started to come back (way too early), they used some great stalling tactics. At one point, the wife called me on the phone, and as I think of it now, this was really pre cell phone. We called them "car phones" back then and they were NOT common, so I have no idea how she called us. But she called to tell us they were coming back and early and WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?? Remember, this woman was basically a stranger. So, she feigned interest in some birds that are rare here. Then, I guess my father had been going ON about his truck, so they next thing they know, the husband JUMPS in the truck and says "Hey, I'll take it for a spin and see what it's all about" and somehow managed to slow things down. I guess this meant that my mother and the wife were in the car and I'm not sure what she did to stall them. when they came back, somehow together, they walked in to find the back yard full of people. This was really great.

I was just out of college and my sisters were pretty young, but we managed to get the food and decorations together without help. The coolest part for us was a video we had put together. Yes, it was a VIDEOTAPE. We took a million pictures that people sent us from when our parents were growing up and we had them put to music on a "movie". Then we somehow finagled borrowing a VCR and played it out on the deck for everyone. It seems like this kind of thing is so commonplace now, but digital pictures were just beginning, so slide shows like this were a phenomenon. The amazing part was that not one person spilled the beans. Later, my parents said there had been some strange things going on but they never put it together until afterward. We thought we were done for when an old man called my parents to wish them a happy 25th. Did I mention the party was a full month before the actual date? They thought that was the strangest thing of all but didn't know why he'd do it and thought he was having some kind of moment.

I have had a few little surprise parties for people but nothing compares to that. I think the thrill of doing all the sneaking around is what I like. It freaks me out that I like the sneaking and leading people astray. Does this mean I am a serial killer in the making?

My sister is DYING for a surprise party. She tells us every year how she would LOVE to have one. For her 30th, I really was going to have one. But I forgot! How could I forget that??? So her friend had one instead. I don't think it was as grand as she was hoping for: no sneaking around for months, creating elaborate settings and such, but I think she was happy. And I had nothing to do with it if she wasn't.

5. What is one material possession that you "can't live without"?

Books. Not a particular books, but reading material. I get panicky if I finish a book and then have nothing to read.

In case you were trying to read behind the lines, I REALLY DON'T LIKE SURPRISES. If you think I am just saying that and try to have a surprise anyway, you have been warned.

1 comment:

  1. Ha! I hate surprises too. I had a bf once who I already suspected of two-timing me, and he planned a surprise party for my birthday. I spent the whole month he was planning being ticked off and paranoid, because I thought he was cheating on me.

    I mean, he probably still was. But he was also planning a party. I didn't handle it very gracefully.

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