September 23, 2003
The Goddess Inquisition
A WordGoddess contribution.
Introducing!!!
Robert Anthony was born at 7:26 this morning, weighing 8 lbs 1 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches. Michael and Lilly are doing wonderfully.
Baby boy, may your life be long and full of wonder, and blessed as greatly as your arrival has blessed us!
This month's WordGoddess collab is an exchange of questions among the members. My questions are from Danielle of Sincere Obscurity. I myself sent questions to Jenny of Guileless.
1. Why the name "Snerkology"?
Heh. Back in the day, my friend Archibael and I would e-mail quite a bit during the workday. He'd say something sarcastic, and I'd reply back with "snort". I'd say something snide, and he'd reply back with "smirk". We frequently accused each other of being "snarky". Soon, in order to portray all of that in one word, we started using "snerk". When trying to come up with a name for the journal, I batted a lot of things back and forth (none of which I remember now). I tried "Snark", and the domain name was taken. Then I tried "Snerk", but it was taken, too. So I thought to expound upon "snerk" and came up with ~Snerkology~, which is the study of things that make you snort, smirk, and be snarky.
Complicated, no?
2. What, in this world, is most important to you?
Having a stable and happy family life is absolutely what's most important to me. Making sure Calvin is happy, making sure Marie has everything she needs to grow into adulthood, being a part of Michael and Lilly's lives (and the baby's!). My relationships with my loved ones are what I spend the most thought and energy on - for every role I play in their lives. Wife, Step-mom, Grandma, Friend, Mentor... I want to be the best at each of those roles that I possibly can be.
3. What pet peeve agitates you most?
Just one? Oh boy, how to choose. Things that are a waste of time, I guess - or being forced to spend my time in a way that I don't want to. Which can mean a lot of things. Getting stood up for a meeting. Having to go to the store mid-cooking in order to get an ingredient I didn't have. Having to run errands after work when I just want to get home. Eighty bazillion commercials on the radio, followed by one song, followed by eighty bazillion more commercials. Presentations about things I don't care about that don't impact me. Telemarketers. Network downtime.
4. A friend has lipstick on her teeth, or food stuck in between -- do
you tell her?
Absolutely!!
5. You treat Michael & Marie as your own children. Was that always
easy?
What a great question. I will say that it's always been automatic, in that I never had to try to treat them like my own kids. With that said, no, it hasn't always been easy. And it never will be "easy", as parenting never is. It's very rewarding, though.
As far as finding myself in the midst of a ready-made family is concerned, I will say that the thing I had the hardest time adjusting to in the beginning was the sudden and abrupt disappearance of my privacy and alone time. That, and the lack of any silence in the house. There was always a conversation going, or a radio playing, or a TV blaring, or a phone ringing. I think I got rather testy there, on a few occasions, and everyone just left me alone in the bedroom for an hour or so until I was ready to re-join society.
Heh. I'm used to all of that, now.
I think it was Michael and Marie's ability to accept me into their lives and the fact that they wanted me to be a mom to them that made me a real part of their family. I've never once felt like an outsider, or an intruder - I love the feeling of belonging I get when we're all together. Family became much *more* important to me after the experiences I've had with these two great kids. And it gets more and more rewarding every day.
Sometimes I have very selfish feelings about having to share them with their own mom, while at the same time I try very hard to encourage their relationship with her. I hope I'm striking the right balance.
6. Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten?
The dreaded interview question!!!
By the time we hit 2008, I hope to be well out of debt, with several romantic and adventurous vacations under my belt - Greece, Aruba, skiing in Vancouver... I hope to see Marie in college, and I hope that I'm graduated from college. I hope that Michael and Lilly are living back in Arizona. Like, right next door.
In ten years? Good heavens, I haven't thought that far ahead. I'll be nearly forty. What kind of goals am I supposed to have?? I haven't the faintest.
7. Scariest thing that's happened to you?
Okay, this is going to sound stupid. When I was on my way back to the Boston airport a couple of summers ago, after staying with my sister in Maine for a week and dealing with Grandma's death, I got lost (damned rotaries) and ended up in downtown Boston. I was already overwrought with Grandma's passing, missing home and Calvin and the kids horribly, and I absolutely SUCK at directions. I ended up getting on this one-way road that lead to a toll bridge that went OVER the harbor or a river or some such thing, in the exact opposite direction of where I was pretty sure I needed to go. So I'm driving along this rush-hour crowded street, crying, repeating over and over, "I just want to go home." Really, it was ridiculous. I had no idea how to get back to the airport. Finally, I had to stop at a McDonald's and ask for directions. I got myself back over that bridge, and after that, it was smooth sailing. I was sitting at the gate with over an hour to spare before my flight left. Once I actually got to sit down and relax, I was terribly embarrassed at myself for being so reactive. And now I share my pain with you all. Feel free to tease.
Other than that, the time that X(m) forced his way into the house (after we'd split and I changed the locks) comes to mind. He chased me around with a knife, and I had to lock myself in my bedroom and call 9-1-1. That's when I decided to learn how to shoot.
The move to Arizona was pretty scary, too. Back in 1993, X(m) and I loaded all of our belongings onto the back of a 1/2 ton pickup with 150,000 miles on it. We drove cross-country from Maine for six days, dealt with flat tires and failing brakes, and landed on his sister's doorstep with $1,000 and no job prospects.
8. Your favorite guilty pleasure?
Spending the entire day reading in bed, in my jammies, and polishing off an entire bag of Lay's Salt-n-Vinegar chips, or a box of Cheez-Its.
9. If you could whisk Calvin off to any vacation spot, where would it
be?
If it was Calvin's choice, he'd say Hedonism II. If it were my choice, I'd say the next vacation I want to take is a really great ski vacation. Mammoth, maybe, or Whistler.
10. Do you have any regrets when it comes to your past? If so, what are
they? If not, why not?
I'm not really a regretful person - I tend to view most things as, at the very least, a learning experience. Though I definitely DO regret not spending more time talking with Grandma. I never really did the whole "life story" thing with her - talking about her childhood, what life was like for her through the wars and children and working in so many different professions as she did. What her parents and grandparents were like, her brothers and sisters, my mom when she was little. So yes, that's absolutely what I regret most.
11. I dunk (cookies in milk, sandwiches in soup)... Do you?
I dunk krullers in coffee, chips in dip, and grilled cheese sandwiches in tomato soup. I tend to take a bite-gulp approach to cookies and milk.
12. Name one of your short-term goals.
By the end of today, I want to finish the requirements document I've been working on for the past month.
By the end of the week, I want to have the checkbook balanced and a financial strategy for the next month's worth of bills.
By the end of the year, I want to be firmly enrolled in school, and going to classes.
Within the next six months, I want to have our finances and budget for paying off debt running like clockwork.
By my birthday next year, I want to be in the best physical and emotional shape that I ever have been in my life.
13. What actor/actress would you go see out of loyalty, even if it was a
bad movie?
Actor - probably George Clooney. Actress - probably Kate Beckinsale.
14. Describe yourself in three words. What words would Calvin choose?
Michael? Marie?
I would say busy, optimistic, and likeable.
Calvin might say I'm organized, mellow, and loving.
Marie might say I'm "the tough parent". Because Calvin's "the easy parent".
Michael might say I'm cool, but I don't know what else! I'll have to ask him.
15. If you were to offer one piece of advice to Goddesses everywhere,
what would it be?
Live every day like you're trying to wring life's experiences from it, to the last drop.
Comments on this entry? Head on over to Colloquial!  
|
