Word Association

3 CommentsFriday • December 29, 2006 • by michelle

Saw this on italian trivia a little while ago.

The rule is that you can type just one word–no explanations. I won’t tag anyone, but feel free to play along if you like.

1. Yourself: clever
2. Your partner: thoughtful
3. Your hair: manageable
4. Your Mother: telephone
5. Your Father: Blazer
6. Your Favorite Item: Internet
7. Your Dream Last Night: couch
8. Your Favorite Drink: cappuccino
9. Your Dream Car: hybrid
10. Your Dream Home: secluded
11. The Room You Are In: kitchen
12. Your Ex: niente
13. Your Fear: losing
14. Where You Want To Be In Ten Years? mommy
15. Who You Hung Out With Last Night: P
16. What You’re Not: flaky
17. Muffins: blueberry!
18. One of Your Wish List Items: SKY
19. Time: 3:42 p.m.
20. The Last Thing You Did: laundry
21. What You Are Wearing: sweater
22. Your Favorite Weather: autumnal
23. Your Favorite Book: many
24. Last Thing You Ate: chicory
25. Your Life: wow
26. Your Mood: up
27. Your Best Friends: American
28. What Are You Thinking About Right Now: dream
29. Your Car: Invisible
30. What Are You Doing At The Moment: breathing
31. Your Summer: uneventful
32. Relationship Status: engagedish
33. What Is On Your TV: nothing
34. What Is The Weather Like: sunshiny
35. When Is The Last Time You Laughed: “baby”

National Association of W Lovers

13 CommentsWednesday • December 20, 2006 • by michelle

Over at Red Red Whine, Guinness Girl was tagged to make a list of ten things she loves starting with the letter G. She then generously offered up other letters for fellow bloggers to play, and I have received “W.”

If you’d like to play along, use the first letter in your name and then please leave a comment directing me to your list.

And, incidentally, if you think I’ve made up the title of this post, get thee to Sesame Street!

Now, the list:

1. Wine. Well this is kind of an obvious one, isn’t it? I love red and tolerate white, but I use white more for cooking than for drinking. For the most part, we imbibe P’s father’s homemade brew, which, thankfully, does not at all resemble vinegar like so much of the paesano wine around here does. The second most popular in our house comes from Cirò, another Calabrian town. Yeah. We keep it real.

2. Whiskey. Staying with the alcohol theme, I do love me some whiskey. Preferably Jack Daniel’s. Preferably with Coke. Yes, I’ve been known to bring this with me from the States even though they have it here. It’s cheaper there, in case you wondered.

3. Winter clothes. I would live in turtleneck sweaters, jeans, and boots if it were at all possible. As I live in southern Italy, alas, ’tis not.

3. Words. Writing. Writers. These are grouped together for obvious reasons, but also because I didn’t want to be considered a cheater for my very first meme as a blogger. I am fascinated by words, how they evolve, who uses them, and why. I love putting them together in ways that no one ever has, sometimes making them up myself, and, most of all, I love reading other writers doing the same thing. I’m a wordgeek and proud.

4. Walking. I used to live in a city, so walking was a forced kind of exercise, and I didn’t always appreciate taking a stroll. Here, though, I’ve learned to love it, especially when accompanied by Luna. Our favorite routine takes us down a mountain road that, 10 kilometers later, would land us in the next village. Although we haven’t gone that far just yet, on this Road Less Traveled, Luna and my mind both run free. Lovely.

5. Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Although Willy Wonka, not so much. He’s kinda (a lot) creepy. But oh how I long to lick the wallpaper and have the Schnozzberries taste like Schnozzberries.

6. Wendy’s. The fast food chain. I’ve already mentioned this, but let me add specifically how much I enjoy Wendy’s fries dipped in an Original Chocolate Frosty. To die for. Someone, somewhere, please do this for me and report back with the tales of glee.

7. Watching movies with P. We watch only in Italian, so he acts as my real-time interpretor. It’s quite handy. Yeah, there’s the closeness and bonding time, blah blah, but really it’s more about the live dictionary thing for me. Shh.

8. World Wide Web. Three W’s for the price of one. This little invention made my moving to another continent, an ocean away from everyone I knew, a heck of a lot easier. I can’t even imagine what it was like for people like my ancestors who left their homes and were able to exchange only letters and photos at the most.

9. Weekends. No explanation necessary.

10. Women friendships. As I’ve gotten older, I appreciate more my relationships with other women, my mother included. Bottom line is that we get us, and no matter what else is going on in life, I know that certain women will always have my back. Grazie!

And now some things I don’t love starting with a W:

W, a.k.a. Dubya; war (beauty pageant answer); weapons of mass destruction (assuming they exist); washing windows; whiny adults (children have a certain leeway with me); “wazzup” just in case anyone is *still* saying that; weathergirls in Italy (yes, we have them); weddings; and winkers who insist on winking even though they physically cannot close only one eye at a time.

OK, who wants to play?

100 Things About Me

37 CommentsWednesday • December 13, 2006 • by michelle

The obligatory blogger list so you can get to know me better:

1. I’m 30.
2. And I’m OK with that.
3. Really.
4. I think I would be slightly less OK with that if I weren’t in a serious relationship.
5. That’s admittedly pathetic, but it’s the truth.
6. I hear a slight tick of the biological clock.
7. But not enough to go ahead and get knocked up.
8. I’d like to have 3 children if it’s in the stars.
9. All of my high school girlfriends got married waaaaay before I had my first serious boyfriend.
10. And I’m OK with that.
11. Really.
12. My parents’ divorce was final on my 3rd birthday.
13. I grew up in a house with my father and his parents.
14. But I have an extremely close relationship with my mother.
15. Seriously, we have that weird thing where we literally feel each other’s pains even though we’re an ocean apart.
16. It’s freaky.
17. I have one older brother.
18. I didn’t know at the time, but now I realize that he shielded me from a lot of the chaos happening at the time of our parents’ divorce.
19. I’ve never thanked him.
20. My brother has created a lovely family despite our relationship role models, and I hope that I will too.
21. I miss my niece and nephew more than words could ever express.
22. I wish my family would visit me.
23. Oh, I live in southern Italy.
24. In my ancestors’ village.
25. It’s on a hilltop that is charming, quaint, and all those typical “small Italian village” adjectives.
26. It can also be annoying as all hell because nearly everyone is related.
27. And up in your business.
28. But I love it.
29. And I love my life with my P and doggie Luna.
30. Luna was a gift from P and is also called Luna Balloona.
31. Or Sboopers.
32. Or Luna Balloona Sboopiter Boppiter Boopiter.
33. I love nicknames.
34. I once had a dog named Maverick.
35. A.k.a. Mavericka-Rony-Ravy-Doodle-Noodle-Bug.
36. I never said I was normal.
37. P plays along with the silly names, which is smart of him.
38. We don’t call each other by our names.
39. But they’re disgustingly sweet or anything.
40. No, I’m not going to tell you what they are.
41. Well, except for “Amò,” short for “Amore.”
42. Which is quite common among couples here.
43. I do use his proper name when I’m annoyed.
44. So far in making this list, I’ve only cried once, but smiled many times.
45. I’ve become a drop-of-the-hat crier.
46. I don’t know when it happened.
47. I used to make fun of my mother because she cried so easily watching movies.
48. Now I’m my mother.
49. And I’m OK with that.
50. Really.
51. I’m writing this list before I even have a blog.
52. But I promise it will appear in its original format (with edits for age references) when I finally do take the plunge into the blogosphere.
53. I have a law degree.
54. But I don’t practice law.
55. I did pass 2 state bar exams on the first try, though.
56. So there.
57. I’ve never wanted to practice law.
58. I’ve always wanted to be a writer.
59. I wish I would’ve had the courage to pursue it from the moment I arrived at Duke.
60. Ah yes, I graduated from Duke University.
61. If you went to UNC, you know where you can go.
62. I still won’t wear crybaby blue.
63. Even though I don’t really follow what happens at my alma mater very much.
64. Except for the lacrosse rape scandal.
65. I can’t believe that made it into my 100 things about me.
66. I wish the Duke Gardens were still a walk away.
67. But the Ionian Sea ain’t half-bad either.
68. Before Duke, I was valedictorian of my high school class.
69. Which is cool to say and all, but it means precisely nothing.
70. Especially when your high school is in Podunk, PA.
71. Not that I don’t love The Region.
72. If you’re from there, you know what I’m talking about.
73. If you’re not, you’ll never get it.
74. Sorry der butt.
75. I lived in Philadelphia for five years.
76. I love the Phillies, the Eagles, cheesesteaks, the Art Museum, and the Italian Market.
77. The rest I could probably do without.
78. If I eat salty chips, I crave a Hershey bar.
79. If I eat popcorn, I crave red licorice.
80. I love peanut butter and banana sandwiches, but I’ve never tried peanut butter and pickle.
81. I’m saving that for when/if I’m pregnant.
82. I’m a pretty good cook.
83. I have a knack for knowing what a dish “needs.”
84. I’m also a pretty good baker.
85. Neither of those things are suprising as both my mother and paternal grandmother are/were excellent cooks and bakers.
86. I read a real, real lot.
87. This is an odd hobby in Italy because it’s considered anti-social.
88. Reading has helped me learn Italian, as has watching crappy Italian television.
89. Italian television often simultaneously annoys, entertains, and offends me.
90. I came here knowing how to say only “ciao” and “buon giorno.”
91. P speaks no English (except for “how are you?” and “wow”).
92. This was a big incentive to learn Italian.
93. I can now even speak the local dialect when pressed.
94. But I feel kinda silly doing so.
95. It’d be like a foreigner coming into The Region and asking if “Dey got dem dere haluski at da Ack-a-me.”
96. It’d just be weird.
97. I know I’ll never be considered a true paesana here.
98. And I’m OK with that.
99. Really.
100. Because I’ll always be a Coal Cracker.