Friday 5 for June 30: Shape of Things To Come

I haven't done a Friday 5 post in quite a while. This week's theme is all about the shapes of things:

1. What shape is your mood today?

I was going to say blob-shaped. Then I saw the last question, and don't want to be ripping anybody off. So, maybe sort of fractal-ish.

2. What snack comes in a fun shape?

Goldfish crackers, of course. (Never eat them.)
And gummy bears. (Can't stand anything gummy.)
Animal crackers. (My favorites when I was a kid.)
Pretzels. (The twisted ones — those "pretzel sticks" aren't really pretzels.)

3. Someone’s building your dream house, but it has to be in the shape of a letter of the alphabet. Which letter do you choose?

Which alphabet? Actually, I'm already living in my "dream house," and it's built in a sort of modified L-shape. So....

4. What’s a great song with a shape in its title or lyrics?

"The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell.

5. What’s something in your line of sight that can reasonably be called blob-shaped?

Not really anything in my line of sight. Everything here in the living room is pretty well-defined, as far as shape goes. But if I turned around, I'd be looking at the kitchen and I'm sure I could find some blobby content there. Especially if it was something I cooked. 

Friday 5 for May 19: Malfunction Junction

...Time for another Friday 5. This week the theme is Malfunction Junction, all about things going wrong.

1. When have you had a wardrobe malfunction?
   I am female and over 65. I have had many, many (many, many, many, MANY) wardrobe malfunctions down through the ages. In real life, and on stage (I used to do a bit of amateur theater stuff). Once I lost an item of underwear during a big scene in a school production. (Yeah, I know — one of those theater myths, but it does happen sometimes.) I was not center stage, and was able to step over said item, kick it under a sofa, and go on with the show. No one laughed, so I'm assuming no one noticed. If you were there, and did notice, please don't tell me about it.
   
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2. When did you last have a problem with your alarm clock?
   I have a problem with my alarm clock everyday — the darn thing keeps going off right on time! Seriously, I can't remember any problems. Both M and I are pretty OCD-ish, and if we really need to wake up at a certain time for any reason, we usually have more than one alarm set. Also, M has a weird built-in alarm system and hardly ever oversleeps.
   
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3. What was most recent computer problem, and what was the fix?
   We recently bought a new iMac. The old one had started behaving oddly and some things just didn't work on it anymore. So I guess the problem was obsolescence and the "fix" was BUY NEW.
   
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4. What’s something about cars you know specifically because you had to have one repaired?
   OK, I don't know anything "specifically" about cars. Well, not really true — I know how to get in, adjust the seat and mirrors, turn the key in the little key slot, and get on the road. But repairs? Hmmm. The car we have right now is pretty dependable and the only repair work it's required has been caused by other drivers running into us. But some cars we've had in the past have needed a lot more work to keep them going. When we were young marrieds, several eons ago, we had an MG Midget which M worked on all the time. All. The. Time.
   
   
   
   
   But he seemed to enjoy that. And it was such a cute car, and so much fun to drive and ride around in (and we were young and stupid), we were able to ignore all the trouble. Well, until I had to start helping with the repair work. After I spent several evenings assisting in a brake job that just wouldn't take, the cute car got traded in pretty fast. (Hello, Plymouth Volare!) Not sure if I learned anything specifically about cars from that, though. Maybe just that I wasn't meant to be a mechanic.
   
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5. Have you had any brain malfunctions this week?
   Hmmm. No more than usual, I guess. Had a dental appointment that I remembered to go to. That's encouraging, right? I've had some physical malfunctions this week, but the brain still seems to be working OK. Thanks for asking.

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Friday 5 for May 12: Guestimation

Time for another Friday 5. This week the theme is Guestimation, all about traveling and being away from home.

1. How well do you adjust to sleeping in an unfamiliar place?
   Depends. I'm usually OK in hotel rooms. And when we're on the road, I'm generally so exhausted by the end of the day, it's not hard to just crash. But if I'm staying in someone's home, I can have trouble getting settled down.
   
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2. When were you recently someone’s guest, and when were you recently someone’s host?
   Actually, it's been a really long time since I stayed with anyone. In all the traveling I've done recently, I've stayed in hotels. Most recently, I was a guest of the Sheraton folks. (They were lovely hosts.) Our most recent hosting job was last summer when we had a bunch of old friends staying with us for a group reunion/birthday bash. (We were lovely hosts.) Spent most of one day trying to take a group photo to commemorate the occasion. Old people are so adorable, aren't they?
   
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3. What’s the ickiest place where you’ve ever showered or bathed?
   Gee, I don't want to step on any toes here. And the hotels we stay in always have clean baths or we don't stay there. But many years ago, the Hubs and I were staying in one of the Oxford University colleges (long story — Hubby had a summer teaching gig at the University), and the (shared) bathrooms were pretty grubby. Had to do a thorough cleaning on the tub before using it. Can't really remember any other icky places. If it's disturbingly icky, I just stay unwashed. Ooh, that sounds pretty icky, too!
   
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4. What’s something you don’t need but insist on taking when you travel?
   My travel doll, Kayla. Here she is on a train from Chicago to Washington DC:
   
   
   
   
   And enjoying the view from a high spot in Shenandoah National Park:
   
   
   
   
   
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5. Who’s got a comfy couch?
   Me, me, me! In fact my couch is so comfy I frequently fall asleep on it at night and then wake up in the wee hours wondering what the heck happened. Bad habits are very hard to break.

So long for this week!

The Friday 5 for April 28

Ready for this week's Friday 5? The theme this time is Bizarro Chliché. And here we go....

1. The Magic Word is “please,” but what’s the magic gesture?
   
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   I have no idea — maybe a waving hand? Actually, I kinda hope there is no magic gesture. I might use it without knowing it.
    
2. “Big D” is Dallas, but where is Big G?
   
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   Hmmm. Well, I guess Big D is called BIG D because it has so many people in it. Can't really think of a "G" city with a huge population. Maybe Guadalajara? In Texas, it would probably be Galveston. Or Garland. Or Grand Prairie. Or Grapevine. Never been to any of those cities except Big D.
    
3. Elvis Presley is the King of Rock and Roll, but who’s the king of your personal music collection?
   
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   It's been a long time since I actually had a personal music collection. Back when music was on vinyl, we had a huge record collection. But these days, I mostly listen to jazz on Pandora or Sirius Audio, and don't really "collect" it. However, we do have an enormous number of Miles Davis CDs given to us by a friend. So I guess you could say Miles is the King of My Collection.
    
4. The motherland is wherever you consider your family’s origins, but what’s the cousinland?
   
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   Where your cousins have ended up? Well, most of my cousins are in the San Antonio, Bastrop, and Fort Worth areas, so those must be my cousinlands.
    
5. CBS calls itself the Tiffany Network, but what would you call the Walmart Network?
   
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   I almost said FOX News. But hey, I like Walmart, so I wouldn't want to insult it by equating it with anything cheesy. I never heard the "Tiffany Network" nickname before.  But I like CBS, too.

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The Friday 5 for April 21

Trying out a new meme this week: The Friday 5. Well, new to me anyway. Actually, it's been around for quite a while, it seems. This week's theme is "Ssssssh!" And here we go:

1. What’s something sneaky you’ve recently done?
   Guess I'm not much of a sneak. Can't think of anything sneaky I've done recently. Probably the sneakiest I get is hiding gifts at Christmas.
    
2. Who or what do you feel the need to tiptoe around?
   Again, I'm not one for tiptoe-ing around things or people. Although, when the Spurs lose a game, it's a good idea NOT to try to talk to the Hubby for a while.
    
3. What’s the dirty secret about the field in which you work?
   Retired. No work, no field, no dirty secrets. Before I retired I worked for a non-profit think tank in Washington DC. I guess the closest they got to "dirty secrets" was the fact that they'd do just about anything to keep their clients happy. But then, that's pretty standard in DC — not really a secret.
    
4. What was the subject of your last whispered conversation?
   Probably real estate. ??? Or maybe the play we saw recently. I don't have occasion to do much whispering.
    
5. What’s recently snuck up on you?
   April. And now May is getting ready to do the same thing!