Relax; take it easy...

From this week's thefridayfive:

1. Do you really make wishes when you blow out the candles on your cake?
Yep. :-)

2. Have any of the wishes ever come true, if yes?
I honestly don't remember. I usually wish for silly things like, please let it snow next week so that I don't have to go to work!

3. How do you feel about birthdays? (e.g., love the attention, just another day, don't want anyone to know my real age, etc.)
I love having my birthday. It's something cheerful to look forward to in the middle of winter. I don't suppose I'll always feel that way, but while I'm still only in my twenties, I say, bring it on!

4. Tell us a favorite gift you've received, or something you'd really like for your next birthday.
My Galileo thermometer is definitely a favorite. :-)

5. What flavor cake?
Chocolate cake with chocolate icing and my mother's almond icing decorations. Yum!

From this week's thefridayfive:

1. Are you named after anyone? If so, explain.
Nope.

2. Do you have your children's names picked out already? If so, is there any significance?
I haven't picked out any children's names - I don't plan on having children.

3. If you were born a member of the opposite sex what would your name have been?
Daniel or David

4. If you could re-name yourself what name would you pick and why?
I have no idea! I rather like the name I have.

5. Are there any mispronunciations/typos that people do w/ your name constantly?
Nope; my name is nice and easy.

Half a cup of coffee and my heart's already racing. Stupid caffeine... but this pumpkin spice coffee is just too good to say no!

I'd better never try hardcore drugs; I have no will-power to speak of.

I ended up taping Nova last night. I just couldn't force myself to stay awake any longer. Thank goodness for technology, I suppose.

I have the whole day left ahead of me, and I'm not sure what to do. Should I go shopping? The Strawbridges near us is closing... I'm just not much of a shopper, though, and I generally dislike going to the mall. It's probably crawling with high schoolers who had a half-day, anyway. There are things I'd like to buy, but nothing that I actually need to get today.

It's not warm enough to go hiking, but if I don't go out soon, I'm looking at an enforced indoors stay this weekend as we're expecting a hefty snow storm tomorrow night - something like ten inches of snow.

Ah, decisions, decisions. At least I'm going out to dinner. And there will be birthday cake to be had. I do love having my birthday in the middle of winter - it's something to look forward to, and it breaks up the dreariness of the season (not that this winter has been terrible, mind you). Besides, there's Valentine's Day left in February, St. Patrick's Day in March, and Easter this year is in April. Any excuse for a celebration, I say. :-D

And the US vs Japan match is tonight! And the Winter Olympic games are starting! Happiness!

I really ought to stop rambling and go do something. :-D

( But first, the Friday Five and a quiz )

From this week's thefridayfive:

1) Name your fave song at the moment.
Siúil A Run from the album Celtic Woman (2004)

2) What is the most recent album/CD/Cassette you purchased?
Moulin Rouge OST 2

3) Which song will you never get sick of hearing?
Throwin' Stones by The Grateful Dead - it's been my hands-down favorite for many, many years.

4) What is your current fave music video?
I don't watch music videos.

5) If you could be a famous music artist, what type of music would you produce?
I'd produce Loreena McKennitt-esque music. It's all just so beautiful.

My brother's moving to Boston! He got the engineering job he interviewed for a couple of weeks ago! I'm so happy for him! And I'll have a place to stay to go see Revolution games next season!

::excitement::

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ETA: From this week's thefridayfive:

1. If you had all the money in the world and could choose to own anything, what you would get and why?
I would choose to own my parents' house; that is, I'd pay off their mortgage and buy it from them so that when it came time for them to retire, we could sell the house. Then my parents would be free to move wherever they wanted.

2. If you were to do something that scares you, what would it be?
...huh? You mean voluntarily allow something to happen? If that's the case, then I'd voluntarily allow myself to be abducted by aliens, as that's my biggest irrational fear (and I realize that it's really stupid and silly, but ever since I was a little kid, that's terrified me).

But since I'd probably die of fright, maybe you mean something like going hang-gliding to conquer a fear of flying or what-have-you. If that's the case, then I'd be a passenger in a car that my father was driving on the Autobahn. If you ever drove with my dad, you'd understand why.

3. What was your first pet?
We had loads of family pets, but the first one of my very own was a hamster named Jeremy. She was pretty entertaining, too.

4. What's the farthest you've traveled?
Paris, France and Glacier National Park, Montana.

5. If you were a season, which one would you be and why?
Spring because it's all about the return of life and good spring-smells.

Extra one: If you were a song, which one would you be and why?
I have no idea and choose not to answer. Song questions always seem a bit pretentious to me, anyway, mainly because more often than not I don't recognize some artist or composer that someone else has listed and wouldn't get the significance of the song, anyway. :-P

________________________

And:

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Which is a relief considering that I taught it for about nine days at the beginning of the school year... yay for having a leg to stand on!

From this week's thefridayfive:

1. What sport do you most enjoy watching on television (or tolerate most)?

I enjoy watching soccer (understatement).

2. If you could be really, really good at one sport (we're talking world elite here), what would it be?

Um, soccer? Not much money in it for women, but the coolness factor trumps that.

3. Have you ever been active in some form of sports?

Intramural volleyball a loooong time ago

4. Would you rather be a computer geek or a sports geek?

These days I'm happy if I can successfully download and install a program without screwing things up. I'm definitely a bigger sports geek now.

5. What teams do you cheer for?

Soccer: The US Men's National Team and a couple Major League Soccer teams - New England Revolution, Kansas City Wizards

Baseball: Philadelphia Phillies

Don't forget: US vs Mexico, Saturday @ 7:30pm on ESPN Classic and Telemundo. Talk about a rivalry, kids; it doesn't get any bigger than this in the US.

From this week's thefridayfive:

1. How much money is in your wallet right now?
$31

2. How much money would you need in the bank to feel secure? Rich?
$15k would definitely make me feel better. Thirty thousand, and I'd feel rich.

3. If someone gave you $100, no strings attached, what would you do with it?
Put it towards my $530/mo. summer health coverage bill.

4. If someone gave you $1 Million, no strings attached, what would you do with it?
Pay off my student loans, my family's car & house, and then move the heck out of Dodge.

5. How much does something have to cost before it starts counting as "real" money, as a purchase to be considered and evaluated, but below which you'll buy without really thinking about it?
Ten dollars for a non-essential item. The essentials had better be way less. I only pay ten dollars a month for my cell phone, for instance.

From this week's thefridayfive:

1. What made you happy this week?
I had Tuesday off from work, and it was a beautiful day that I enjoyed all to myself.

2. What made you sad?
I got sick Thursday morning and had to call out of work, thus breaking my perfect attendance for the school year. And, you know, losing a day's worth of pay. :-(

3. What made you angry?
Not being a Democrat or a Republican, I could only vote on the referendum in the election. Pennsylvania is truly backwards in its primary election policy. And, of course, one of the candidates I absolutely cannot stand won the primary. Fools.

4. What are you looking forward to in the next week?
Soccer Saturday (4pm on ESPN2) - the Revs are on national TV again. Joy! And next Friday is my mother's birthday... and there's Memorial Day weekend, too. Happiness. :-)

5. What are you not looking forward to?
Hmm. Making my next car and student loan payments. XO

From this week's thefridayfive:

1. How often do you get sick?
I rarely get sick; in fact, I can remember exactly when I was sick last (June 2004 - I caught a sinus infection after babysitting my infant and three-year-old cousins. There's very little defense against being spit up on by a baby, unfortunately). But really, I've got an incredible immune system. I've only had the flu once in my life, and that was only after I was sneezed on by a seventh-grader while teaching a class of the little squirts about orientation and pest management.

2. Do you take a lot of over the counter medicine?
I'll take Ibuprofen for headaches and the occassional antihistamine to combat the pressure in my sinuses. That's it.

3. Have you ever been in the hospital for an extended period of time?
I was dropped as a baby (shut up!) and thus spent three weeks in traction in the hospital for a broken leg. I was ten months old, so I don't remember a single minute of it.

4. Are there any diseases that run in your family?
Diabetes and heart disease.

5. What is the best remedy for the common cold?
Time and a positive outlook. If you mope about it, you'll only make yourself feel worse. Of course, it does help to have someone around you can commiserate with and count on to bring you fruit juice every now and again. :)

thefridayfive

1) What was your favorite toy as a child?
I only get one? Hmm... oh, my bicycle. That counts, I think.

2) What is your favorite toy now that you're "grown up"?
Erm. My computer. Yeah, I'mma geek.

3) What is the most dangerous toy you had growing up?
My brother and I both had these plastic mazes from Woolworth's that contained a ball of liquid mercury. The object of the game was to get the ball through the maze without the ball breaking apart. Or without breaking the maze and poisoning yourself. :^D

4) What is the most dangerous toy you have now?
I still have the maze. It's on the floor of my room as I type.

5) What one toy do you wish you had/have?
As a kid, I wanted to have a Lite Brite (remember those boards with the glowing pegs?). My cousins had one, but they never wanted to play with it when we came to visit. :-P

There's fun and excitement around every corner, I swear.

In the realm of not-so-fun, my cousins' dog was attacked and killed by their neighbor's pit bull in my cousins' backyard. They live out in the country where people let their dogs have the run of the yard, fields, and forest, so encounters between neighboring dogs are fairly common. Still, it's sad. So, here's to Keno, the nicest black lab/shepherd mix in Punxsutawney from 1994-2005. You were a good boy.