Crazy Little Thing Called...Life

There's been this fun little MEME going around where you ask one of your readers to interview you, and ask you 5 questions. I asked my friend The Flying Mum to do this, and she obliged! Here are her questions and my very lengthy answers.



1. The year is 2032 and everyone is being relocated to Mars. You and Ed have your tickets for the Mars Shuttle and are packing to go, but due to limited cargo space, sentimental keepsakes must be limited to 3 items per child. Which 3 things would you pick to remind you of Caitlyn? Eddie?

Wow, I’m going to Mars! This is hard for me because everything is sentimental with them still being so young. For Caitlyn: her pink blanket, which I’m sure by the year 2032 will have all but disintegrated because she drags it around and sucks on it constantly, her pink Old Navy baseball hat that she loves to wear backwards, and her yellow giraffe that we bought her on her first vacation to Virginia Beach. For Eddie: The photo of him in the frame he made me for Mother’s Day last year, with the “fake” smile for Mommy grin, his blue fleecy blanket that he has slept with since birth, and his Spiderman sunglasses.

2. Is there any artistic piece (can be a picture, music, or film / book) that can instantly alter your mood either for the better, or worse?

I have 2. Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, which was the first piece of classical music I was ever exposed to. I get lost in the music. When I was a kid, I would picture myself conducting a huge orchestra performing this piece. To this day I can hear the entire symphony in my head.

The second is Handel’s Messiah. Handle’s use of music and harmony was phenomenal. It is my favorite thing to sing along with and pretend that I am a soprano, alto, tenor or bass singer as I choose. Plus I get strange looks when it is blasting from my car window.

3.You have mentioned that you've never been on a plane, but if you had unlimited finances and could pick one place to visit in the whole world, where would you go?

One place, Jeeze. Part of me wants to say New Zealand because I have some internet friends there, but really, I think I’d like to travel to Italy and see Rome, Venice and Tuscany. There is so much history and culture to be seen there.

4.When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up, and how does it compare with what you are currently doing?

This is a great question. What I do now does not compare at all to what I wanted to be as a child. As a very young child, I wanted to be EITHER a go-go dancer, or a bus driver. High aspirations, right? What a life of luxury to drive a bus in the morning and then strap on some knee high boots and a short dress and dance the night away……As an older child, middle and high school, I was sure that I would be teaching music. I took all of the music classes, voice lessons and piano (which I sucked at). Took the college courses, and then up and quit. I’m still not sure why—then I blamed it on working 3 jobs and not having the time it took. Today, I’m not so sure.

I do, however, use my voice in my work today. My main job is to manage a team of 16 associates who handle any mortgage related escalation/problem for the largest bank in the world. On the side, I record our automated system. Soooo, if you call my bank about your mortgage or home equity loan, it will be me you hear in our VRU.

5. Favorite color, what & why?

My favorite color really varies by day and mood. More often than not, it’s pink. Pink makes me happy, makes me feel girly. Reminds me of my baby girl. Other days it’s orange or yellow because those are Eddie’s favorite colors. Sometimes it’s green because that was my favorite color while I was growing up, and still other days it’s red because it reminds me of my wedding and the beautiful dresses and flowers. Today I have on green to celebrate this beautiful, 80 degree, spring day we’re having!!