Challenge Catch-Up

I am so bad at this. I started the month of April off with what was supposed to be a 30-Day Challenge, and promptly forgot all about it. Now it's seven-days later, and I've still only done that first day's challenge. But never fear, faithful minions, I shall catch up, with today's post, which contains seven days: Day 4, 5, 11, 12, 14, 19, and 20.



Day 4: The meaning behind my Tumblr name. My Tumblr name is "BossyBookworm," (which is my profile name on most social media) and the meaning is just what is sounds like--- I am bossy, pushy, dominating, even intimidating, I've been told! And oh, yes, I am a bookworm. Like Scout Finch, I was born reading. Simple as that...

Day 5: Five places I want to visit.  My dream vacay involves visiting great libraries & museums, especially the Smithsonian Institute, The Louvre, The Metropolitan, The British Museum, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. That's just ONE trip, someday...  Now I want to go to Universal Orlando so I can see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (and maybe run into Draco Malfoy....) . I'd like to go back to some of the places I visited as a child, like Mount Rushmore, or the Grand Mesa, or the Colorado National Monument. And I want to visit Albuquerque again. I miss New Mexico.

Day 11: What's your favorite quote?  "Fall seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese Proverb

Day 12: Screenshot your desktop: 

Day 14: Provide pictures of 5 celebrity crushes: (so ( I couldn't choose just 5. big deal..)

[caption id="attachment_1976" align="aligncenter" width="241"] Been crushing on Bruce since his Moonlighting days.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1989" align="aligncenter" width="221"] As far as I'm concerned, Vincent is the ONLY Thor. [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1984" align="aligncenter" width="274"] Dwayne Rocks my world.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1990" align="aligncenter" width="347"] Alexander is the reason I love vampires. And Swedes. [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1988" align="aligncenter" width="236"] Oh, Captain, my Captain... Sasha is the reason I'm keeping Portland Grimm. [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1968" align="aligncenter" width="253"] Tom just won 10,000 points for Slytherin! [/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1979" align="alignnone" width="454"] Daniel & Darren: they're Harry-Fucking-Potters!!  [/caption]

Day 19: A list of all the places you've lived:

Born in Custer, South Dakota. Topeka, Kansas until I was 11, then Grand Junction, Colorado until after high school. I lived here in Portland for a year, then went back to Colorado and went back to college; after another year I moved to Nampa, Idaho to go to school there. Two years later I followed my family to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where my younger sister was attending the University of New Mexico; our folks moved down there so she could get in-state tuition, and so did I. New Mexico was home for enough time that I was finally able to finish my BA. After that I moved back up her to the Pacific Northwest, which has been home ever since. Mostly the Portland area, but in Vancouver, as well. That's it.

Day 20: Concerts you've attended:

Barry Manilow was the first, back in 1985. The Monkees, in 86 or 87.  Reba McEntire & Brooks & Dunn.  I had tickets to see Chris Isaak at the Portland Zoo, and was so excited about it, but we didn't get to see the show; my ex got sick, and we had to take him to the ER. And Jimmy Buffett.  (This doesn't count all of the choral and choir concerts & recitals I've attended and performed in over the years!)

 

 

List It Or Lose It

I like making lists, but if you've read many of these posts, you've probably noticed that. Lists keep me sane, or at close to it as I come. I make lists of things I need to do, things I want to do, things to buy, things to sell, and all sorts of other lists. I have entire journals filled of lists: what I'd like my dream home to look like, what I'd like my dream man to be like (that's actually the most difficult list), lists of items I'd have in my dream wardrobe, the songs I'd record if I made a cover album, favorite books & movies & songs, things I love, things I hate, things I cannot live without, and things I'd be happy to never see again. Sometimes at night when I can't sleep and my brain just won't shut up, I lie in the dark and give myself a topic to make a list. For example, bands from the 1970's, going from A to Z, or a list of 25 female characters I really disliked. I usually go in alphabetical order on these lists at night, simply because it helps me keep things in order, and I seldom get all the way to Z before falling asleep.This is how obsessive I get about lists: when I was taking the medication Topamax, my neurologist would give me a quiz each visit to test how it was affecting my verbal skills. He'd give me a letter, and in 60 seconds I had to come up with as many words (no proper nouns, nothing that I'd just said with a modifier --no green then greener) beginning with that letter as I could. I usually did very well on this test, not as well as I thought I should, but I stayed in the top percentile until I'd been on Topamax for several years, and then I started having real trouble finding words. But the lists--after each visit, I would spend my ride home on the bus making a list of words; I'd have always asked the doctor for the list he wrote down as I said them during the test, and then I went from there, until I'd have pages of my journal or dayplanner filled with words. It annoyed me so that I only got a minute to do the first list, and I knew I could do better. When I told my doctor about this, he asked me two questions: "does it make you feel better?" and "how many words do you come up with?" Since I was worried he'd tell me this was a sign I was crazy, I was happy to tell him that yes, it did, and for one letter I came up with nearly 250 words before the bus got to my stop.

My lists are almost always on paper; I've tried the list-making apps on my phone and tablet, and it just isn't the same. I use one occasionally for my grocery list, because it's easier, and I don't lose it. But for my other lists, those that are for my soul, I need the feel of a pen on paper, or hands on a keyboard. I think this is one of the reasons I like sites like Pinterest so much--it's essentially a bunch of lists of stuff people like! I can spend hours just reorganizing my own pins, just getting lost in nothing... Wow.

So. There's a site called listography.com and I love it. Reading other people's lists is fun, and I just signed up, so now I'll be posting my own! https://listography.com/readbetweenthewhines?m=6404158689 That's me. And I have a list posted, so go and read!

The Real World: Portland

The last month has been nothing but drama at my house. If I wanted this much drama in my life, I'd have stayed in the theater--Shakespeare's got a much better vocabulary than we do around here.  His insults are better, too.  Half of my family seems to be convinced that we're the cast of some over-the-top reality television show, including swearing-screaming-crying-tantrums,  death threats, drunken parties, random sex,  mood swings and come close to fist fights. Our wardrobes are nothing like the Real Housewives (we're much better dressed than Honey Boo-Boo), but I'm betting our theatrics are equal to theirs any day.  
Yes, I love my family. And right now, I am actually pretty happy living with them, even with all of this going on. Things are better in this house, mostly, and I don't feel the need to escape like I did a few months ago. I do, occasionally feel a strong urge to duct tape one or two family members to a chair in the garage, and gag them so I won't have to listen to them anymore!

Families are always messed up, I guess. Nobody is perfect, or even close. I'd be miserable if I had to be part of some sitcom family. The Brady Bunch always annoyed the hell out of me, all so damn perky & blonde! Only Jan was a normal person, and they were awful to her! The Cleavers were even weirder as far as I'm concerned. I'd probably be happy with the Addams Family: all the black clothes and weirdness would make me feel right at home.

There are other things going on in my life. I discovered that the pain in my arm is tendonitis, which will get better, apparently. I managed to make a total fool of myself in front of Dr Jeff, and will be embarrassed about it for a while. I had a birthday. It sucked. The anniversary of Michele's passing came. That sucked even more. (I've a post half ready about that...) I was reminded that so many men are jerks, no matter their age, and that really sucked. And, I read a couple of books that I haven't reviewed yet.

I am having lots of computer issues, which is why I haven't posted sooner. In the next week I will hopefully have some of those issues fixed, and will be able to write a bunch at ya'll. I know you're waiting for it!  I'll be back.

 

Talk Nerdy To Me

Let's talk about nerd-dom. My nerdiness. It's my blog, nobody reads it but me, I'll talk about what I want, and you can't do a thing to stop me, nyah-nyah-nyah. I can write all about how I spend way too much time reading Drarry fanfiction, or watching Glee (or listening to music from Glee while reading Drarry stories--that's the best!), and nobody would care! Ah, the joys of the internet.

But first, I must point out that I am not a geek, or a dork. A geek is smart enough to create and fix things like computers, etc., and I am not. A dork doesn't really get anything. A nerd both understands and is into really cool stuff. That's me.

Yes, I do enjoy Harry Potter fanfiction, and I do not care if you think that makes me a nerd, because I embraced my nerdiness way back in Junior High when I sang a Barry Manilow song in front of the entire school. Yes, I am THAT big a nerd. I am a Barry Manilow-loving, Doctor Who-watching, Firefly-missing, Sherlock-worshipping, fanfiction-reading, nerd. And I am damn proud of it. In some respects, I guess this makes me a hipster, because I was dorky long before it was cool, and I was happy being this way. I've never really wanted to be anything but who I am.

In high school, I had good friends, and while we weren't the popular crowd, we got along with everyone, and we had a ton of fun. We were primarily choir and theater geeks, and most of us made good grades as well. At the time I thought we were all staying away from drugs and alcohol, although I know now that wasn't true for all of us; either way, we had a lot of fun just being totally stupid, as teenagers tend to do. I never remember wanting to be any "cooler" than we were; I thought we were fabulous then, and I still do. Mostly. Except for the friend I've since discovered was stoned pretty much since eighth grade. That just pisses me off, although it does explain a bit about him.

In college, it was pretty much the same. Weird friends, just older. Different states, different things, and eventually, a bit of that alcohol. Either way, we were all some kind of misfit toy, and it worked.

Anyway. All these years later, even with Michele gone, I am still listening to Barry, still spending most of my Friday nights watching bad movies and occasionally eating pizza. Not the same movie anymore, thank god. And nobody will let me get Hawaiian pizza anymore, which is okay, since I've had my fill.

I'm still a nerd. If I had friends nearby, I'm sure we'd be sitting around a coffee shop somewhere, laughing until one of us spit coffee out our nose. Heaven for me will involve lots of time in cozy cafes with Michele, Elissa, Louis, Doug, Andy, Demere, Marina, Christopher, Lori & Don, Marty, Eric, Kathy, Karen, Leslie, Kenny, Wes, Teri, Monica, Fay, and so many more. Lots of time just being nerdy with the friends I love.

Tell Me a Story

It's been nearly two months since my last post. I am a slacker. In my defense, I DID spend two weeks of that time without vision, after I scratched my eyeball and had to go without contacts while it healed. Since I don't have a pair of glasses at the moment (and for some reason, we never found time to make it to the nearest vision center), and I am blind as the proverbial bat (without the great hearing), I was pretty much stuck in a chair, doing nothing.

"But, Jonna," I hear you ask, "How is that any different than your normal, everyday, vision-filled life?"

Yeah, shut up.

I know I'm a slacker, you know I'm a slacker, we all know, Jonna's a slacker. Old news. They don't call me the Queen of Procrastination for nothing! My friend and fellow blogger/slacker, Tara of tarapieceofpaper went seven months between posts, and she actually has a life and stuff to write about, so I don't feel so bad!

Anyway. While blind, or blurry, I discovered that audio books are actually kinda nifty, if the person reading them doesn't sound like Daffy Duck. Until now the only experience I had with them was listening to a few celebs read their memoirs, which I enjoyed. Craig Ferguson, my favorite comedian and talk show host, has written two books, and I own his memoir on tape. This time, I broadened my horizons, first trying a book I was halfway through reading. I had to give that up, because the reader was terrible. I am assuming she is related to the author or sleeping with the producer, because otherwise, nobody would hire her to read for a living. Remember the actress with the horrible voice in "Singin' In the Rain?" Yeah. This was her, only younger, and with a Southern accent.

So I gave up on that book and moved on to others, all of which were better, I am happy to say. My choices ranged from new age (Depak Choprah) to Stephen Fry reading short stories, to poetry collections, and podcasts. And I listened to Carol Burnett read her memoirs, too. She's always been one of my hero, so that was wonderful!

Now, I can see again, but I've not given up on audio books. It's so nice to have someone else read to me for a change. When insomnia strikes, as it often does, I just slip on my headphones, lay in the dark, and a soft voice tells me a story. Who wouldn't love that?

Hey, Girl! Internet Addiction and Me!

Yes, I am an addict. There, I said it. I am a junkie. I loooove my internet connection. I love reading ebooks. I love Pinterest. I love Tumblr --especially the wide variety of "hey girl's" that exist  My favorite is Nathan Fillion. Although if a Bruce Willis exists, that may beat him out, because Bruce always wins. '

I love Facebook, and email, and Twitter, and all the other millions of things. I love reading random blogs about somebody's kids, cats or DIY projects, or sex life. These seems to be the main themes for blogs, along with celebrity love/hate, politics, fitness/weight loss, and religion-- all of which I avoid as much as possible, except for the aforementioned tumblr's.

Recently I came across this Forbes article about the newly listed Internet Use Disorder listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-V). Turns out I may actually have a problem. Of course, not like those parents who let their kids starve while they play online games...of course, I do consistently "forget" things when deep in the Pinterest wonderland! Yikes...

My only solution is to turn this bloody machine off and walk away.

Now.

Do it!

Maybe later. Gotta see if there is a Bruce Willis "Hey Girl" out there...

Then I'll go outside...

Oh, Captain!

Insomnia

I really should be in bed. Instead I'm sitting in the living room, watching 'The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson' and writing. I haven't been sleeping well lately. So, I apologize if I begin to ramble. Sleep deprivation will do that to you!

Insomnia isn't a new thing for me--it started way back at the dawn of time, when I was in high school. Always the same pattern. I fall asleep easily enough, and sleep well for a few hours. Then, usually about 2:30 a.m., I wake up, needing to pee, and after that, I'm awake for hours.

Sometimes I'll be able to fall back asleep for an hour or two, but my twitchy feet usually watch me back up.

Oh, yeah, did I mention I have RLS? Restless Leg Syndrome. It's a pain is the ass (or rather, legs) neurological condition that causes a tickling feeling in the legs or in my case, the bottoms of my feet. It makes my legs jerk so hard sometimes that I kick like a horse! Nobody is really sure what causes it, but we do know that many things make it worse; among these are the anti-seizure medication that I'm on. Yep. Finally found a med which will control my seizures (whoo-hoo!), and it makes my feet go crazy, causing an increase in insomnia. Wouldn't you know, lack of sleep is a BIG trigger for me & seizures...

Anyway.

I've tried all sorts of insomnia remedies: medication, bedtime yoga, Sleepytime tea, self-hypnosis, melatonin & Valerian, and a white noise machine. Not many have been successful for long. I've heard all the advice, and have tried most of it, to little avail. I simply don't sleep.

I've also tried many many remedies for RLS, most of them home remedies found online. So far none have worked for long. I've taken magnesium citrate before bed; I've rubbed my legs & lower back down with apple cider vinegar; I've done a series of strange exercises in the dark. The thing that worked the best was eliminating caffeine & sugar from my diet, which I did to get rid of migraines. Discovered it helped the feet. Of course, now I'm back on the coffee wagon, (or did I fall off the wagon?), so I may have to fix that... I do know there are a couple of medications available for RLS, but so far, I haven't tried them. Didn't want to add one more med to my already large collection. If things don't improve, I may change my mind.

There was a time when I'd get out of bed and clean my apartment in the middle of the night, but those days are gone. (We have neighbors here who are very sensitive to noise, and even running water after ten seems to annoy them, so no more scrubbing the bathroom or rearranging kitchen cabinets!) Some nights I turn on my bedside lamp, pick up my book and read; other night I get online and discover strange new blogs. Most nights I simply lie in the dark, listening to the fake ocean sounds from the white noise machine, trying to count backward from one hundred, as I take deep, even breaths, and hope I'll relax enough to to fall asleep again.

Tonight I'm going to finish watching Craig Ferguson, then stay up as late as I can, in hopes that I can reset my inner alarm clock a little, or at least throw it off balance. And then, with any luck, I'll get some sleep, dammit!