• What is your biggest pet peeve? Why? – I have so many! Karaoke (defined as “someone singing along to a recorded song”) is a big peeve. Just ask my poor wife, who likes to sing and is actually quite good at it. Not closing containers when you’re done with them, that’ll peeve me. There are others. I just told Wendi that I was answering this question, and she responded with, “My wife.” She underestimates herself, methinks. =)
  
• What irritating habits do you have? – You mean, other than jumping all over people for setting off my myriad peevish buttons? That’s probably the worst, really. Wendi chimes in, though, with “You suck on your tongue when sleeping… drives me nuts…” It’s just revenge for your snoring, dear. Nyah!
  
• Have you tried to change the irritating habits or just let them be? – Well, I can’t do much about the tongue-sucking thing. Sorry, Wendi-love. I have, however, made considerable effort on the whole “angry grousing” thing. It’s a work in progress to be sure. Hey, if I were perfect it would be boring.
  
• What grosses you out more than anything else? Why? – Let’s just say I could never be a doctor or other sort of medical practitioner. Internal fluids and parts, ewwwww! (Why ask why? I mean, really now.)
  
• What one thing can you never see yourself doing that other people do? – Driving. No, really. I’ve been behind the wheel of a real automobile twice, and I’m in no hurry to do it again. I know that normal people really do drive without any problems, but I’m just too jumpy and tense. I’d probably cause too many collisions because there’s no way I could ever relax enough behind the wheel.
  

Friday Five

• What’s your favorite piece of clothing that you currently own? – My 1992 blue denim KGON jean-jacket. It’s both nostalgic and comfortable. I bought it for $60 during my first year or so of part-time employment and internship with the station.
  
• What piece of clothing do you most want to acquire? – I want lots of pieces of clothing. If I had the finances I’d be a goddamned clotheshorse. I’ve always liked “dressing up.” You wouldn’t think it to look at me, of course.
  
• What piece of clothing can you not bring yourself to get rid of? Why? – Old vests that are too ratty or too small to wear. I love my old vests. And my old jackets… same condition, same story.
  
• What piece of clothing do you look your best in? – Back in the day, my best gear was the ensemble I purchased during one trip to the mall over a decade ago: Black fedora, black and blue paisley vest (see previous question) and a well-made black trenchcoat. The fedora doesn’t fit anymore, the vest can be worn but it IS worn, and the trenchcoat lost its buttons a couple of years ago in a freak backpack-putting-on accident. Leaving the past behind for a moment, what I look best in now would probably be one or the other of my short-sleeve cotton shirts, either the white or the blue. Ye Goddesses, I need more good clothes. And to lose some weight.
  
• What has been your biggest fashion accident? – It’s only an accident if it didn’t happen on purpose. During one stretch of time I was deliberately seen out in public wearing those absurd baggy-pants. You know the ones… brightly colored, flimsy material, tacky as all get-out. I had two pair. (Still do, actually. See question before last.) And I wore them outside of the house of my own free will. More than just a few times. (Now they’re strictly for ‘pajama’ duty, as they probably should have been all along.)

The Friday Five

Via the Cosmic Babe…

What Was Your PastLife?

Which flock do you follow?

• What is your current occupation? Is this what you chose to be doing at this point in your life? Why or why not? – *blink* Well, this is the first time they’ve tried to stuff almost all five questions into the first entry. I’m the lone computer wizard for a radio station facility in Portland, Oregon. It beats working for a living, and there are some outstanding perks.
  
• If time/talent/money were no object, what would your dream occupation be? – A mighty sorcerer. No, really. I’m talking nigh-unlimited power. You did say “dream” occupation, remember?
  
• What did/do your parents do for a living? Has this had any influence on your career choices? – Oh boy. Have you got a couple of hours? Let’s just say that no, they didn’t influence my career choices… and leave it at that.
  
• Have you ever had to choose between having a career and having a family? – In this gender-unbalanced world we live in, I’ve never been the one who has to make that choice. I’m counting my blessings, thank you very much.
  
• In your opinion, what is the easiest job in the world? What is the hardest? Why? – I don’t have an opinion about this. It’s hard to judge something like that without experiencing it first-hand. A job is as easy or as hard as you make it, some would say…
  

The Friday Five

According to the Thudfactor Polygeek Test,

You are 44% geek

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator. Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend. You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You’ll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines! Geek [to You]: I’m givin’ her all she’s got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals! You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

No, actually, I don’t look anything like David Duchovney. Thanks, though.

It’s the “on the road again” version of the Friday Five:

• Do you have a car? If so, what kind of car is it? – Oddly enough, I have a little late-80’s Subaru four-door. There, I answered two questions with one sentence.
  
• Do you drive very often? – I’ve driven twice in my entire life. Three times if you count the time I took over the wheel of the Beetle (or was it the Scout?) from Mom as we were driving down the canyon from Grandma’s place.
  
• What’s your dream car? – Seeing as how I don’t actually drive, I don’t think I’m qualified to answer this question. Many attractive cars exist in the world, but so do many attractive women. Doesn’t mean I could single one out for any particular reason as my “dream.”
  
• Have you ever received a ticket? – I used to get free tickets all the time. I really loved the time when I got a pair of tickets to the Genesis concert in Tacoma, and my old best friend Steve got tickets to the concert down at Dodger Stadium, and we road-tripped two concerts in three days. And then the next year I got tickets to Peter Gabriel’s concert in Tacoma, but Steve couldn’t make that one so I went with Jason… oh. Wait. No, I’ve never gotten that kind of ticket. Sorry.
  
• Have you ever been in an accident? – More often than I want to think about. Mom had a weird knack for getting her cars whacked into. She almost never caused these accidents, but they happened anyway. Two that come vividly to mind are the time we got rear-ended in Vancouver (guy was reading his map instead of watching the road!) and the time my step-dad’s Chevelle got nearly T-boned (with us kids in the back seat!) because it had stalled on the highway as we were turning into the driveway and the stupid woman driving the blue car a mile away down an arrow-straight stretch of the Bridgeport Bar couldn’t be bothered to slow down or avoid us in any way. That was just freakin’ weird. Some people are just too stupid for words.