A RANDOM MEME AND OTHER RANDOM THOUGHTS

By Jamie Evrard

(A random painting to go with a random post,

chosen just because I like it so much!)

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Kate over at "Meanderings" challenged me to do a meme on seven random things about myself, so here goes:

1. I am a really good parallel parker. Why do people think that women can't parallel park?

2. I went to a one-room country school my first six years. I think I received a good education there.

3. I always used to hate pumping my own gas. Dan thought going to full serve was an awful waste of money but I considered it a cheap luxury. When gas prices skyrocketed a few years back, I started pumping my own gas. Funny how I don't mind it anymore.

4. When I was a sophomore in college I won a scholarship to attend summer language school in France. Another UND student and I went to the Summer University of Bordeaux-Toulouse in Pau, a beautiful city in southern France. We loved Pau but hated the school. We skipped all the afternoon sessions and went roaming about the city.

5. I hate wearing sweatshirts. I think they make me look extremely dumpy and frowzy.

6. I played with dolls (fashion dolls) until I was 13 when I was shamed into stopping. I had the most beautiful doll, much more beautiful than Barbie. My mom threw her and all her clothes away.

7. When I was little I couldn't sleep with the lights off. Then for decades I couldn't sleep with the lights on. Now I can sleep either way.

I'm not going to challenge anyone else to this meme, but if you feel like doing it, let me know when you've done it. I'm curious, just never know how much people like memes.

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As long as I am thinking random thoughts today, here are some more:

I have absolutely no interest in Christmas this year. My fall decorating items are still up. Also, when I was at the antique mall yesterday, I had no desire whatsoever in purchasing the Gurley Christmas candles, vintage 1950s ornaments and "Christmas Rose" china I used to collect. Funny how our tastes change. In fact, nothing interested me. Maybe I was just in a blah mood.

Destroyed today: One baby (now dog) gate, while Dan was out and I was napping in the bedroom. The reason Gracie was confined to the kitchen? So she wouldn't try to get in the bedroom and bug me. Now Dan is pondering whether they make steel dog gates, and I ponder Gracie's future at our house.

I hate having carpal tunnel syndrome. It has become obvious that therapy is only a temporary measure. Every other malady/injury I've ever had has gone away or been fixed or been cured. My irritable bowel syndrome just went away, my depression is medicated away. My fractured elbow came back 100% and my severely bruised kneecap is almost normal. Even my acute arthritis attacks go away. I expected CTS to go away as well, and it hasn't. I know I could have something much worse. When I was at therapy on Friday, I watched another woman painfully try to screw nuts onto bolts and unclip clothespins. "Last year at this time I could still write," she told the therapist. Not be able to write? What would I do?

After I left therapy on Friday I ran up to Lowe's to look at light fixtures for my bathroom. As I was driving there, I realized that the light snow and freezing winds had made the streets slippery. I crept to Lowe's and afterward crept home, lightly tapping the brakes to judge the slipperiness. On the news that evening I heard about the dozens of fender benders in the city. This happens every year! My question is, "Do people forget how to drive in winter?"

Do you dislike Sundays as much as I do? When I was a kid, I hated Sundays, even though I did well in school. And back then, the stores had to be closed so it seemed like the most boring day of the week. Did you know that North Dakota and Maine were the last two states in the nation to do away with Blue Laws (Sunday Closing Laws?) But still, even with stores open, there is a certain feeling to Sundays. Instead of "back to school tomorrow," it's "back to work tomorrow." After a rare four-day weekend for me, the feeling is much worse.