The Person Below Me #40 - that's forty, not fourty. Don't ask me why; that's just the way is

Heard of them? Why do think my cholesterol was so incredibly high when I was first tested for it? I LOVED them, but I haven't had one in almost 25 years now.

TPBM played with an Erector Set as a young'un.

Link to the previous post in #39

no, I always wanted to though, the closest I got was legos or tinkertoys.

TPBM remembers Tinkertoys and believed they never had enough pieces to REALLY build what you wanted...

I do remember Tinkertoys and loved playing with them. Even if they originally came with enough pieces to build most of what you could think of, pieces got lost quickly.

To continue the theme, TPBM played with Lincoln Logs.

Those were fun. I had a friend who was only at her grandmother's in the summer, but the grandmother used to let me come play with the Lincoln logs even if Tit wasn't there.

TPBM used a building set we haven't mentioned yet.

I used to play with Construx. It was my brother's, but I didn't care; building stuff was fun! I made furniture for my Barbies.

Construx was kind of like Tinkertoys, only instead of wooden dowels and wooden cylinders to join them, they were plastic sticks with plastic cubes to join them.

TPBM is another girl who played with her brother's toys.

#6 - we seem to be tripping over each other!
Well, no. I think, based on my profile picture, and other clues, that I am most decidedly male. As far as playing with any toys that belonged to any of my 7 siblings, it's kind of hit-and-miss. I recall using (any of) my older brother's telescope, or chemistry set, or Erector Set, but my next-older brother always managed to "accidentally" break any and every toy that the younger kids got - even, for a while, my sisters' dolls. He outgrew it eventually and went off to college. Thank you very much for reminding me of such painful memories. I hope you get a paper cut!

#5
Not exactly along the same line of construction as edifice, but when my kids were young , we used to build some rather elaborate Brio Train routes - around furniture, up to 4 levels high (paperback books make excellent risers). I've still got the post-construction "plans" I made while the kids tested the integrity of the job.

Somehow, the ex got them (the tracks, not the kids) in the divorce.

TPBM likes Ravensburger puzzles.

Well, I'm sure I would if I knew what one was. Puzzles are fun.

TPBM prefers sudoku to crossword puzzles.

It's a toss-up. I like doing both, and couldn't say which I prefer more.

TPBM is a gud spelr. (sic)

ETA: Ravensburger - high quality jigsaw puzzles, designed for both kids and adults alike.
Adult puzzles are usually elaborately-illustrated scenes and fairly challenging. Kid's puzzles have interchangable pieces. Someone riding a bicycle in one puzzle can be swapped out with someone walking a dog in another.

In my native language, yes. In English... not as often as I would like to be.

TPBM has taught English in High School(s) or College(s). No, tutoring doesn't count.

No, I haven't. But if you ask nicely, I might teach you how to knit.

The person below me has created a lol (one of these), either with cats or another mammal.

I have! But they've never been voted onto the boards. I just found that site last winter and still check on it.

TPBM has designed a house or extension to a house.

Well... I designed and built several Lego/Lincoln Log houses when I was a kid.

TPBM is/was really good at sand sculptures.

I liked to sculpt piles of sand at the beach; that is the end product was a pile. I haven't been to the beach in a long time although I can often see one as I drive around so there hasn't been any recent sculpting.

The person below me will post solely to get the thread into "Your Posts."

No I won't and you can't make me. (I already have.)

TPBM is dreading the heat on the way home.

as hot as it's been I wish I had time to go to the beach and enjoy the um, scenery

TPBM has been to the beach at least once this year.

Yes.
Once.
Won't be going there again soon, if I can talk my husband out of it.

TPBM prefers a different type of scenery like, say, the river, or the mountains.

Or... MrsHouseLibrary, perhaps?

ETA: #11 - When the balloon mortgage I had with my house in NJ came up for renewal, I refinanced through a bank, and added about 50% more on to what I still owed in order to do some remodeling. The contractor was willing to do everything, except provide the building plans. The renovations included removing the pier-mounted front porch, pouring in a foundation where the porch used to be, knocking out two walls of the living room, adding 8 feet to the front of the house, a front stoop, 4 windows, a radiator, electrical wiring, and creating a closet where the front door used to be. The construction had to take into account the fact that the house was built when 2x4s were actually 2" by 4 ".

So, using all of my Mechanical Drawing tools and wits, I set about making individual pictures of each area of the house that would be affected, and included ground elevation views for the exterior, wiring in the walls, the spans of pipes for the radiators (avoiding the old gas pipes that were still in the walls from 100 years ago) - about 8 drawings in all.

I got a phone call from the fellow who handled building permits for the town. He just wanted to talk to me about the fact that he had never seen anywhere near the detail in anyone's specs as I had in mine. He said he was going to make photocopies of them and hang them on his walls. What impressed him the most was that I had drawn every nail in the right place.

TPBM likes to sketch - not doodle, but ~really~ draw things.

I wish I could really draw things, but alas, all I can do is doodle. Le sigh.

TPBM will tell us the goofiest thing he/she has ever done in public.

I don't think I could possibly settle for only one.

TPBM has outgrown their goofiness. (I haven't)

If you don't take that back, I'm going to hold my breath until I turn blue!

TPBM hopes that girlfromshangrila won't dawdle.

Oh, I don't know about that, WHL. I think your LT profile picture would be ever so cool if it showed you with a blue face!

The person below me thinks so too and is figuring out how to make it happen using Photoshop!

Oh, I hope not! I'm really not into Smurfitude.

TPBM will distract us.

Hey, look. Shiny stuff!

No, really. Shiny costumes on America's Got Talent.

TPBM wishes magicians would shows how they DO those magic tricks...

Yes, so I can explain to the gullible that it's not really magic.

TPBM has recently had a midnight snack.

I'm about to. Well, more like a post-one-am snack. I should go to bed. But I'm not tired.

TPBM went to bed at a reasonable time like a sane person.

And what, pray tell, would be the point of ~that~?

TPBM isn't ruled by convention.

No, I'd rather trust my own judgement - but I make allowances for those who are more conventional and try to rub along ...

TPBM has a bad habit.

More than one.

The person below me has eaten pizza recently.

It's been years! Can't eat tomatoes, so getting a pizza shop to leave the sauce off has gotten to be a hassle. And being Diabetic now, I can only have a single slice due to the carb consideration.

TPBM is looking forward to that eleventh cup of coffee.

Well, depending on when one starts counting, I'm certainly about to have my eleventh cup of coffee in ten days, anyway. And I am looking forward to it.

TPBM also has a DVR that's nearly full with programs they haven't watched yet.

No, I've pretty much given up on recording stuff since we got a digital telly. The signal breaks up and I lose great chunks of whatever I've recorded.

TPBM thinks digital televisions and radios are a con.

Yeah, I've been recording whole series which I don't have time now to watch. Also, Spousal Unit is now a prisoner of his hospital bed in the living room, so I have been reluctant to inflict my guiltly pleasures on him.

TPBM knows if "Work of Art:The Next Great Artist" is worth watching or if I should just delete the whole darn thing.

Never heard of it (sorry).

TPBM intends to sleep in tomorrow morning.

I just checked it out online and I'd watch it to see how full of beans the judges were.

TPBM has bought work from a local artist.

I sleep in practically every morning. I'm retired.

The person below me has bought work from a local artist.

Yes, and if it's OK I'll pay you nothing up front and 40% of the box office to film 8 hours of you sleeping. We'll call it '15 Minutes of Fame- Snooze Button'. We'll make a fortune I tell ya! A fortune!

TPBM takes public transport and is dreading the commute home.

If there ~was~ public transportation in this part of Texas, and if I had the choice, I would GLADLY take public transportation rather than deal with over an hour of bumper-to-bumper traffic to travel the 8.5 miles home (from my last job, for example).

# 35 - I would have if he would have been willing to be reasonable about his prices...

TPBM has spent more than $100 for a book, and will tell us why.

Nope, the closest I've come was $80 for the complete Far Side and $96 for The Complete Calvin and Hobbes I did a lot of looking to get them for those prices too! I think it's obvious why they were worth the money.

TPBM also thinks it's obvious.

Well, I have both of those; I don't remember what I spent on them. I have some reference works in single volumes that cost over a hundred dollars or in sets that cost over a hundred dollars per volume. I have them because they interest me. There's a history of English lexicography, a history of languages, a replica of Johnson's dictionary, an atlas of the classical world, a world atlas or two...

The person below me has paid more than $100 for a book based on some notion of rarity and can explain that to us.

No, but I have sold a book on Amazon for more than $100; it was a children's book in lovely condition with a very good dust jacket. Something about witches . . .

TPBM has not spent more than $100 on a single book but has gotten some fabulous deals, like my two-volume OED (the one with tiny print and a magnifying glass) that I got for $15!

I don't recall spending more than $100 on any book; back in the day, living in NYC where there were terrific used book stores, I never needed to do so. (Although now I'm reminded of an original copy of a title by Olive Higgins Prouty that I didn't buy *regrets*)

The person below me loves older books from previous decades.

Oh yeah! My ~next~ book is The Pleasures of a Bookworm by J. Rogers Rees, printed in London in 1886. It's in remarkably good condition considering its age. The covers are beveled.

TPBM also owns some aged tomes.

I have a 1908 copy of Do and Dare that I'm afraid to touch because I don't want to damage it, as well as some other books from the 1910-1945 range, all picked up at a little used bookshop in Naperville, IL six or seven years ago.

TPBM only reads current works.

Obviously not.

TPBM could (also) care less about the Lebron James decision nonsense.

If you meant couldn't care less, then you're right.

TPBM wants to know who the zark are the Kardashian women that one sees on news pages and in ads for "reality" television shows. What have they ever done to deserve such attention? Are they kin to that Kardasihian who was one of OJ's attorneys?

They "deserve" the attention for the same reason Paris Hilton does. They have money and know how to insert themselves into places where they'll garner all that attention. According to Wikipedia, yes, they are related. He was their father.

TPBM is sleeeeeepy...

Yes. Normally I'm in bed reading by 9:30 and lights out by 10-ish but tonight we volunteered at the thrift store til 8:30. Daughter was working and I can't relax until she's home and she didn't get home til 10:30 and I'm STILL up but yawning and it's time to go to bed. G'night all.

TPBM just got up from a nap or to start the new day.

No, but my brain is always in overdrive at this time of night, so I'll be up for several hours yet.

TPBM knows where I can find a Flux Capacitor. I need to go back about a week and schedule some bills to be paid before today.

I believe Doc has one--now cunningly fitted into a train for time travel in comfort.

TPBM has watched at least one TV program tonight that qualifies as a guilty pleasure.

I finished watching the last episode of Top Chef but it just isn't as good this season, in my opinion.

Phae> I've been watching "Work of Art." Is it worth watching? I'm not sure. It is interesting to see how differently we view art, what is good, mediocre, etc. I'm appalled at some of the art shown and impressed by some pieces. I record both it and Top Chef and I watch Work of Art first, if that tells you anything.

The person below me has some piece of Asian art in his/her home.

Well, I don't know if it's considered art, but I do have a Japanese doll on display, which I've had since about 1970, when we lived on an Army base near Tokyo. She is holding a Samurai helmet, and wearing an orange kimono. At one time I had a beautiful Japanese silk screen, but then moved to a house where there was no place to display it, so now my sister has it.

TPBM has a piece of furniture owned which is considered a family heirloom.

Well, no. My husband's not a hoarder, like me, but my family gets itchy feet if we've been in a place too long, so (despite my hoarding instincts) I've not had much chance to collect things. However, since we bought a house of our own a couple of years back, we commissioned some nice wooden pieces with brass inlay, so hoping they'll at least stay with us for a long time, even if they don't become heirlooms.

TPBM takes the opportunity to get rid of loads of stuff whenever they move.

Haven't done well in the past, but am determined to this time around, and have already gotten rid of my entire vinyl record (300 or so) collection, as well as the stereo and record cabinet. Trying to unload about 1500 books (not my personal collection, books I've acquired to sell).

TPBM has considered embracing minimalism but rejected the idea.

I think it's an excellent ideal, like communism, and should be practiced by others.

TPBM worries about the 'right' ism.

No. "Popes and princes are the death of the people. And isms." Bertolt Brecht/Ferris Bueller. Although I do worry about the future, more than I ever have in the past.

TPBM has seen the production of a theater piece now considered iconic, definitive or unsurpassed.

Why YES, I HAVE seen SPAMALOT! How did you know?

TPBM enjoys live theater (or theatre, if you prefer).

I saw Robert Goulet in Camelot--is that iconic?, and yes, I did enjoy it! But probably the performances I've most enjoyed are some of Shakespeare's plays that I've seen.

TPBM is also enjoying the smart kids on Jeopardy! this week.

Jeopardy! is just about my favorite program. Unfortunately, can't watch it at the time it airs here, and my VCR is broken.

TPBM likes television programs that make one think.

Most television programs make me think I'd be utilizing my time more productively if I were to repeatedly stab myself with a sharp knife.

But there are a few that encourage me to think happy, nice, courageous things.

TPBM likes to have some sort of background noise while reading.

White noise only. I run a beeg fan if the telebizhun is on or guests are vying for last drunk standing.

TPBM likes to listen to music while reading.

I'd rather not - it seems to be a disservice to the artist in question to only half-listen to their work.

TPBM has terrible trouble typing when someone's watching them.

I have terrible trouble typing period. I never learned to use a typewriter BC (before computers) and AC I just gradually worked my way up from two fingers to four. It's enough for me but a spectator sport it ain't.

TPBM wishes they were beside the sea right now.

Aak! Leaped.

No, the only day this week I don't. It's cooler and rainy today, but the rest of the week has been 95 and high humidity.

I'm not a great typist at any time. (I was at a party a few weeks ago and someone I just met asked me how many words/minute I typed. Weird.)

Today TPBM will do something completely different.

Not on a rainy Saturday; that's not the best day to go to the beach.

The person below me is contemplating lunch.

Well, more like late breakfast, but food is on my mind. I cooked up some ground turkey patties last night so I'm thinking fritatta.

The person below me has forgotten to make an important phone call recently or (edit) will give me a good ground turkey recipe. (I've never cooked with it before.)

No on the phone call, but I did forget an appointment with the eye doctor. Oops.

TPBM will give TPAM a good ground turkey recipe (I don't eat meat, so I don't have any - sorry!)

I have, I guess you could call it a recipe, but it involves a wood chipper so it's more of a dare than something you'd find in a cook book. (BTW, always, point the chipper away from the pool. You'll thank me for the heads up one day, trust me.)

TPBM believes in what some people call a conspiracy theory.

They all say I do. So far, they haven't been able to prove squat.

TPBM used a fountain pen some time in the past year.

Yesterday; likely today -- that is to say that if I write today it will almost certainly be with a fountain pen, the only kind of writing instrument that I will be carrying with me. (They don't work so well on thermal printer charge slips, so if my writing is limited to signing off on one of those and if the ink doesn't flow I may use a ballpoint -- yuck.)

The person below me doesn't carry a writing instrument with them in their normal day.

It depends. I have a couple of pens in my purse but I don't put any writing implement in my pocket. So if I'm going somewhere where I need money or a driver's license, then I have one.

The person below me uses lip balm of some sort.

Always. I'm very prone to dry, cracked lips.

TPBM bites their nails.

Never, when I get anxious I have to take a walk.

TPBM is going on the water today.

Probably in it, tomorrow or the next day--want to go swimming in the town pool when I hope other folks will be at work and the pool will be relatively empty.

TPBM is thinking today is a good day for a nap.

Heat of the summer is always a good soporific.

The person below me is biting his/her nails over the final outcome today between Spain and the Netherlands. (Hup, Holland!)

Today is a good day for a nap, but I probably won't get one. We're watching the World Cup final in 10 minutes, then I have to bake sugar cookies for a bake sale, THEN have to do more cleaning, planning, and packing for our 12-day driving tour through the Midwest. We leave Wednesday and I'm not exactly panicked, but I do have to work tomorrow and Tuesday and have lots of stuff to do.

So I don't think I can indulge in a nap.

TPBM will make use of their hammock this afternoon.

If I were, I'd have to find it first. I haven't had it out in at least 10 years.

# 74 - I'm not at all concerned about the outcome, although if I had to choose a "favorite" sport, Futbol would certainly be in the top 5. Football, though, ranks pretty close to last.

TPBM gets excited over a Checkers game.

Nope, but I can get very shouty over a game of backgammon.

TPBM always wears matching bra and knickers.

I figured I'd better post before Mr. Whole House Library saw that! I'd have to say that sometimes I wear matching, but most of my bras are either black or white, so not always, as the other part runs the gamut for color.

TPBM hasn't been to a doctor in a long time.

Let's see. The last time I saw a doctor for a checkup, beyond the one allergic reaction that we never figured out, was shortly after my son was born, and he's 4 1/2. So yeah - it's been a while.

TPBM is better about having their "preventative maintenance" handled.

No but the next time I go I'll wear a bra and knickers. Should be good for a few Rxs with an amusement factor.

TPBM is looking forward to deer hunting season.

Sort of. I'm not a hunter. I detest the "sport". But, since most of the deer in the area hightail it for my back yard during hunting season, I look forward to confounding the hunters because they can't find any deer. Four of them (deer, hot hunters) bedded down in my yard just last night.

TPBM will admit to having a tattoo in a relatively private area.

On the inside of my right ankle. I wear shorts and sandals almost all the time that I am dressed at all, and people who have known me for years finally discover it after all that time.

The person below me believes that tattoos are vulgar.

While I have seen tattoos I'd consider vulgar, I do not condemn all to that label, especially since I quite like the 2 I have.

TPBM likes piercings in places other than the ears.

No, I always heard that if you had anything other than your ear pierced you couldn't be buried in an Episcopal cemetery.

TPBM has met the Pope.

Jeffery Pope, yes.

TPBM is related to someone named Smith.

Maternal grandparents and uncles; aunts by marriage.

The person below me is related to someone named Wolfowicz.

No, I'm about as WASP as they come.

The person below me has Anglo-Saxon antecedents.

pretty much Scots-Irish-English all the way. But, my grandmother's grandparents were (supposedly) a French trapper and Indian wife, but no idea what tribe.

TPBM does has traced his/her genealogy to someone famous, or at least semi-famous.

Oh, yes, we've found all sorts of folk. There was the guy who was a lookout on the Titanic, for example, who testified at the hearings afterwards. Or the ancestor who ran with the Jesse James gang.

TPBM knows exactly what time they are going to bed tonight and getting up tomorrow.

Going to bed, not so much. Getting up, 7:45 am. No matter what time I get to sleep.

TPBM is craving something salty.

Not right this minute. All I want is a shower and the bed. It is pretty late, or early depending on your point of view.

The person below me will be going out to dinner at least one night this week.

I sure expect to. We have a family tradition visiting a local fun park once a year. The oldest family member pays for the whole thing including dinner at a restaurant inside the park.
A very nice tradition especially since I'm not yet the oldest.

TPBM also have a traditional gathering place once a year

Christmas with my parents, every year that I was in the States.

TPBM has another annual tradition.

Gooseberry pies for Thanksgiving. My kids won't let me forget.

TPBM has never tried gooseberries.

Correct, I never have. But I have had dewberries, eaten as a cobbler at the Dewberry Deli in Cameron, North Carolina.

TPBM just can't wait to get their hands on the next book in a wonderful series.

I'm waiting for the small paperback of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon. I'm told it's due out in September. I saw the big paperback a couple weeks ago, but I prefer my books to be of a manageable size, lol.

TPBM has a favorite series as well.

Several, Wheel of Time is one I've been reading for almost 20 years, Alcatraz Smedry is a lot of fun, especially if one has read a lot of the popular YA books like Harry Potter, His Dark Materials, Series of Unfortunate Events etc. Sister Fidelma is my favorite Mystery series. Those are just the ones that are still being written off the top of my head.

TPBM has read a book in at least one of the listed series above and will inform us as to which.

I've read His Dark Materials.

The person below me has eaten grass.

Ummm ... well, yeah, man, that's how you make magic brownies, y'know?

TPBM knows.

Of course I know ;) It was the 70's, after all.

TPBM has fond, but more legal, memories of that era.

The fondest memories of the 70s for me were the birth and infancy of my three children. Not much in the way of drugs and rock-and-roll in my life.

TPBM has hard-to-manage hair

Yes, it is thick and straight, and can't be held by any hair gels, sprays, or other goo. Thank goodness I'm not the type to want to bother with perms and such.

TPBM knows a good way to beat the heat on these hot summer days.

I have cowlicks and flyaways when it gets long. I like long hair so I sometimes put up with it. But in December, 2008, and January, 2010, I had my head shaved, and I've found I liked the manageability of that for the first four or five months afterwards. I have a friend who starts chemotherapy tomorrow; I told her that if she loses her hair I'd have my head shaved. The only management difficulty there is that parking is hard for that barber shop.

The person below me saves their hair, like in a box or a jar, after they get a haircut.

(Bwah! I defer to your post, Mr. Durick)

The only hair I ever saved was my son's baby curls after his first haircut.

My sister works at a salon that is donating all hair clippings to the oil spill clean-up efforts - turns out that hair's really good at absorbing oil. (I think our dog groomer is doing something similar with pet hair clippings.) I haven't had a haircut in over a year, but I'm considering getting my hair all to one layer again and will probably go there to do it.

TPBM has donated hair to some cause or another.

My sustainability initiatives are limited to recycling and drinking for all the poor sober kids in China. I do, however, wish that whoever the hell it is who leaves that greasy spot on the subway windows would cut their hair off and donate it. Ew.

TPBM has spiked the punch at one time or another.

I'm pretty sure I've made a champagne or wine punch at some point, but I can't remember the specifics (it wasn't today, if that's what you were thinking . . . ).

TPBM has given flowers to someone within the past month.

I gave my sister a geranium to thank her for helping me through a patch of techno-idiocy. Which may have been a bit stingy - possibly the going rate for computer consultancy is a little higher?

TPBM will make a prediction.

I predict that in another 300 posts, give or take a few, we will start thread #41!

The person below me is very creative.

I suppose it's how you would interpret the word "very". In some ways, I like to think I am. But I can't draw, or sing, or read music. I can ~write~ music, but I can't read it. Go figure.

TPBM has participated in a Pun-Off.

Just won, I lost.

TPBM knows someone with orange hair.

Yep. Happens when you try to use henna on blond hair:) Well, for the first couple of days, anyway. Then goes reddish.

TPBM is running a zoo these days.

Perish the thought!

TPBM has an at least semi-decent picture on his/her driver's license.

I used my driver license picture once for a promotion at work. My boss came out and suggested I never do that again. I mumbled something about my sympathies for Ted Kaczynski and didn't get the promotion.

The person below me thinks distribution of technology is insufficiently regulated.

I hope it grows so fast that it can't be regulated. It comes down to this people, will you trust Google or will you trust politicians? And let me say that there never was a politician who allowed you to access free porn (unless you were an intern.)

Something happened to TPBM that made their freakin' day.

Not today yet. But it will, I'm sure. After all, I still have to go to the library.

The person below me did have a lovely thing happen today.

Not yet, but later I'm off to Covent Garden to see Placido Domingo sing Simon Boccanegra - that's lovely enough for me :)

TPBM has viewed the strange 'tributes' to killer Raoul Moat on Facebook.

I haven't gotten acquainted with Facebook yet. My niece is telling me that she is coming to my house and won't leave until I am indoctrinated.

The person below me is very electronic and twitters, tweets, ipad's, facebook's, etc.

Not really - I'm a half-hearted Facebooker with a dusty blog. I spend all day on my computer typing for a living, so I'm usually fairly eager to switch the darned thing off and go and do something else ...

TPBM will tell us their favourite Gary Larsen cartoon.

I've always called it blah blah Ginger.

The first panel says What we say to dogs: The dog owner is telling Ginger "Okay Ginger, I've had it! You stay out of the garbage! Understand, Ginger? You stay out of the garbage or else!"

The second panel says What they hear: The dog hears "Blah blah Ginger blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Ginger blah blah blah blah blah..."

TPBM doesn't believe dogs are that dumb.

I know Border collies who could easily rule the world, if they weren't so focused on squeaky toys.

TPBM has used intelligence and opposable thumbs to solve a problem.

Yes, to tie an extra half-hitch with the loops of a bow to keep my daughter's shoes on as a toddler. It is now known as a "Katie Knot" in our family.

TPBM has used intelligence and opposable thumbs to solve a more substantial problem.

Yes, I saved the world with a couple of paperclips, a toothpick, and some spit. I'm modest though, so I won't go into any more detail.

TPBM will brag about something.

MrsHouseLibrary. That pretty much says it all.

TPBM understands.

I do, but I'm not sure my husband would get it. Or he might.

TPBM got flowers this week.

I did not, and I'd want the cash equivalent, anyway.

TPBM speaks a little-known language.

I speak fluent toddler.

TPBM is apprehensive about something lately.

Yes, a few things. A high definition transmission of La Boheme at a nearby theater diverted my apprehension briefly last night, but it's back.

The person below me wears spats.

No, but I would certainly admire a man who did and who could carry it off!

The person below me is trying to accept and respect the business community for the value it contributes to human society -- however imperfect that value might be. (Customer service is always a trial, isn't it?)

Yes indeed, between a politician and a CEO, I'll take the CEO every time because I know or can guess what their primary motivation is. It's easy to follow the money, very hard to follow altruism, happy thoughts, or BS.

TPBM knows that the revolution will be televised and is wondering what to wear.

No, because I'll be busy reading and miss it.

TPBM owns a t-shirt with a revolutionary slogan.

Not unless you count a plain t-shirt as having a revolutionary slogan.

The person below me has had their commute recently seriously messed with lately. As in signal problems halfway through making it take twice as long.

Oh yes, my commute this morning was terrible. On that long slog from the bedroom to my office next door, I was delayed by an overly-affectionate cat. Put me back by at least ten seconds ...

TPBM is also smug about something.

If anything, it would have to be my innate sense of equality for all.

TPBM is looking forward to getting Friday behind him/her.

No. Time passes too quickly as it is. I'm having company next week and have to do the old cleaning thing.

The person below me hates to clean bathrooms.

I hate to clean ANYTHING and I very rarely do. When my little cat was alive, she used to make pawmarks in all the dust, as if to say 'It's about time you got the duster out again mum'. I am out of the house working and commuting 15 hours a day, at weekends I have all sorts of other chores to do, so I reckon housework can take care of itself - or not! Life is too short for all that. I watched my mum and aunts dusting and polishing and hoovering their life away - that's not for me.

TPBM would die of shock if they walked into my unhouseworked house

Nope. My house is fairly unhouseworked, too, but purely because my family is lazy. My mother works 50 hours a week and doesn't want to do any cleaning when she gets home. sisters left for a week-long misson trip on Wednesday, leaving bend a sinkful of dirty dishes, a disastrously messy countertop, and filthy floors. I let the dishes sit, figuring I'd "teach them a lesson" and let them deal with it when they got back next Wednesday, but I got sick of looking at it. Plus I need the roasting pans to cook the chicken on Monday. So I tackled the kitchen this morning.

PS, Carrotlady - our cat leaves paw prints, too, but hers are cat litter dust. She sticks her paws in her water dish, walks in her litterbox, and trails little kittyprints all up and down the hardwood floors.

TPBM hires someone to do the cleaning for them.

No way, I don't like to have strangers in my place, even maintenance gets on my nerves. I like to clean, so it's OK. But I hate to mow the grass.

TPBM likes to tend their yard.

Whereas I feel a sense of civic pride in maintaining the lawn to community standards (more or less), I would prefer to do so when temperatures are at least in double-digits. Its current condition - early-tropical-rain-forest - is getting plenty of nutrients provided by the dozen+ deer that have decided to call it "home" every evening.

TPBM has her/his Orkin person on speed dial.

No. I called Orkin once, and that good-looking guy in the commercial who said he'd be right over didn't show up. I decided then that I would use another company or do it. myself.

TPBM believes in Fairies and will clap to keep one from dying of disbelief.

I clapped my hands. The fairy looked at me in disbelief, but then she went about her business apparently fully alive. There are other fairies at the foot of the garden, but I can't see them from here.

SRedRose, I think you need to contact Cats Against Clay.

The person below me leaves out clean kitty litter for the fairies to do their business in.

Well, sort of: I use clean kitty litter in ziplock bags to take the smell away from smelly books, which sounds to me as though fairies might be involved.

TPBM has exciting weekend plans.

We are going to attend the festivities for our township's 175th anniversary. Tonight we went to a play and a baseball game. Tomorrow there will be a parade, a school reunion, another ball game, and a barbeque. There's also a dance but by then I'll have had all the excitement I can handle.

TPBM enjoys dancing.

Believe it or not, I used to go into NYC and watch Ballet rehearsals, and (much less often) recitals. So, in that sense, yes I do.

The motorcycle accident I had back in '73 did enough damage to my sciatic nerve that I still have to think about walking. Sometimes I can actually run, but it still looks awkward.

Dancing is definitely out - just as well - I was never good at it.

TPBM is able to walk across a room carrying a cup of coffee (or tea) in his/her subordinate hand without spilling it (the coffee/tea, I mean...). No fair using a lid.

Why, I believe I can. I used to think of myself as being so right-hand dominant that I wondered whether my left hand was useful for anything, but I've taught myself to mouse left-handed, so I am now sure I could become ambidextrous!

TPBM is a lefty and believes the world is a cruel joke perpetrated by righties.

Yes, and the greatest abominations are can openers and drinking fountains.

TPBM has inherited a physical trait from his or her parents.

From my father's side - indecipherable penmanship due to a lack of fine motor control muscles.

From my mother's side - extreme feet - the 8 siblings have AAAA or EEEE width feet, but nothing in between.

TPBM has a family heirloom from at least 3 generations back.

Two. My great-great grandmother's gold bracelet any my great-grandmother's gold ring. I seldom wear them because I don't wear gold jewelry, but I don't want to get rid of them. They *are* heirlooms, after all.

TPBM has passed on a non-physical trait to his/her offspring.

It is my sense of humor apparently.
I can say this with much civic pride because if the had gotten it from their mother's side, they'd all be doing time. Don't ask.

TPBM has family s/he'd rather mot talk about.

So mot it be. Good manners demands that one not talk about family; it's okay to talk about the neighbors though.

The person below me is still thinking (some 24 hours later) about clapping one's hands very hard in order to keep Tinkerbell alive. (See 141 above).

Somewhere in here it says, "If you believe in fairies, clap your hands."

The person below me accidentally clapped their hands when there was a fairy between them.

eta: or "clap your hands; don't let Tink die"

I posted that because I had just finished reading Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg by Gail Carson Levine, and one of the Fairies died of disbelief. Le sigh.

TPBM also believes in Unicorns.

My stepdaughter had a unicorn that protected her when she was little. That also meant collecting various unicorn pictures, stuffed animals, ceramic/metal/etc. incarnations. She had a lovely collection. But, darn it, she outgrew it. Oh, yes.

The person below me had (or has) a special invisible friend.

You're never alone when you're schizophrenic...

TPBM is in the process of weeding the Library.

Weeding the library?! Never!

TPBM is on a mission to find some of their favorite childhood books.

Only trying to remember the title. It was about a little girl's life in ancient Egypt. I think it's what set me on the path of polytheism.

I already found a listing for another well-remembered favorite, Si, Si, Rosita. Then there was the one about the basset hound I read in first grade. When I found it again on the bookmobile, I was perhaps a grade older and was so disappointed when I re-read it. It was no where near as magical.

TPBM has had a disappointing re-read.

I haven't re-read anything in a while; been too busy! My last re-read was probably 6 months ago and I can't remember if it was disappointing or not.

Was it about a modern girl discovering her own reincarnation, perchance? Or just about a girl in Egypt? I had a book called Sisters, Long Ago when I was younger. I had this obsession with Ancient Egypt from third grade on and the cover art caught my attention, and then the story held it.

TPBM has read to a child recently.

Yes, I have. The most recent book was The Adventures of Lowly Worm.

TPBM has eaten fruit fresh off the tree lately.

The abbess popped out to the PYO (pick-your-own) farm recently and came back with a large box of cherries. Now I have an oral birch pollen allergy syndrome which makes eating most stone fruit, including cherries, uncomfortable.

TPBM has an idea as to what she is trying to tell me.

She wants jewelry and increased attention that doesn't involve sex. This is a blanket solution and applicable to more than your situation.

TPBM is the black sheep of the family, the dark figure traveling under a curse who is called in to make difficult decisions on the most sensitive matters; for example, one pertaining to to an aged insane relative who...has gone rogue, let's say. As usual, TPBM knows what needs to be done to bring peace to all and the help that the AIR needs but may not recognize, and opens his speech with the quote from Poltergeist, 'And will you do anything I ask, even if it comes contrary to your beliefs as a human being and a Christian?'. And finally today, on the spot TPBM's family has inhabited for 400 years, TPBM got the curt nods that TPBM desperately wanted, as well as nervous, inquiring glances- doubtless regarding other machinations being considered in such a terrifically efficient head. And that's what TPBM did this weekend.

... ... ... Ack.

TPBM wonders what SGIV has been drinking/reading/watching lately...

Nah. I figure he just finally put his foot down and insisted on putting away the AIR.

TPBM figures the same thing and wishes SomeGuy luck.

Now that you mention it, I do if I may. She was already under supervision but has apparently shuffled of that mooring coil as is currently at large. In the past this hasn't been a problem because she's quickly given her location away with acts of a spontaneous and somewhat dramatic nature. Fingers crossed. This time she really has to be put down. I mean away. Your correspondent has gotten much too little sleep this weekend and is kind of dreading tomorrow.

Edited fer spellin an sich.

TPBM mas met Bill Gates.

No, but my job, when I had one, put the fingerprints of his father in my hands.

The person below me is a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Shhhh! They've said I'm very special.

TPBM is perfectly at ease being mundane.

I am perfectly at ease pretending to be mundane. There are those out there who would use my talents for evil if I were to flagrantly flaunt them...

TPBM has special 'secret' talents.

Yes. but if I told you about them I would have to kill you!!!

TPBM has known someone who has been on the FBI 10 Most Wanted List

I know someone who should have been on the FBI 10 Most Wanted List.

TPBM is planning to take over the world.

Any news, SomeGuy?

I have taken it over, and, as a measure of my success, nobody who doesn't need to know knows about it.

The person below me is taking advantage of being my clandestine lieutenant in part of the world.

The problem with the office of Clandestine Lieutenant (Canadian Division) is that, being clandestine, I can't step forward to claim all the perks inherent to the job without blowing my cover.

The person below me thinks that world domination is overrated.

Absolutely! Dominate the world, and you then have to go to meetings and plan things, squash rebellions, make sure roads and bridges are maintained. And let's not even ~start~ on deciding what to have for dinner!

TPBM has milked a goat.

No, but I've had goat cheese. And goat meat. Ick on both counts. (When on mission trips, you generally have to eat what your hosts offer, and being vegetarian doesn't excuse you from eating critter if that's all they have to give you.)

TPBM has raised goats.

Yes, using the power of my mind.

TPBM has been in the news lately.

I've never been in the news, ever. I have also never appeared on TV, even when I KNOW I was at the front of the crowd at the Cambridge Folk Festival - if Andy Warhol was right, then someone, somewhere, has stolen my 15 minutes!

TPBM has had more than their 15 minutes of fame and is therefore the culprit. Own up!

Not me. I recently appeared on telly for about half a second as a background yokel in a documentary. (I didn't see them filming or I would have taken another route).

TPBM has made a more lasting appearance in the media.

My son was cast in a Disney ad, but was feeling a bit shy, so I sat next to him for the rehearsals. Then, because the crew was already running late, they just drafted me in (to play his mum) & there I was, on TV.

TPBM has big plans for the holidays.

Summer holidays? Not really.

TPBM will do something interesting for summer vacation.

Well, interesting to me...going to my nephew's wedding in Missouri next week. And then, I have tickets to Antiques Roadshow in Des Moines, Iowa next month. This is the third time I've scored tickets to AR, but the first time I will actually be using them.

TPBM has eaten ice cream in the last 24 hours, and will tell us what kind.

Vanilla with hot fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry. I shared it with my preschooler:)

TPBM is having a sleepover this weekend.

No, thank goodness. That would require entirely too much cleaning. But my children have been sleeping in the living room so that they can feel like they are at a sleepover.

The person below me is looking forward to doing something fun.

MrsHouseLibrary and I are going to a museum in Austin tomorrow.
We are accompanying her sister and her grandchildren.
Opportunities for fun and wonderment abound.

TPBM likes to watch science and nature shows on TV.

I love science shows when they are brain-twistingly complex. I hate them when they explain science as if the audience were four years old.

TPBM is a bird-watcher.

Not the kind who puts twigs in their hair and sits for hours in a camouflaged hide, but I have lots of feeding places for birds in my garden, and have a large variety of birds who visit, which I love to watch. In particular, I have a family of four woodpeckers, and one of the sons is a bit daft. He sits for hours pecking loudly at the metal roof of a birdhouse and hanging upside down on a piece of rope outside my window, watching me.

TPBM keeps or used to keep fish.

yep! in my freezer! Walleye and Northern Pike.

TPBM is a catch and release fisherperson.

Hell no, if they're legal size I'll keep them.

>>163 Boobalack: Boo- the AIR is back on the grid and will now, hopefully, get the help she needs. Someplace else.

TPBM has more than three animals in the house.

Insects, lizards, and the occasional visit of the cat, assuming I wasn't to be included in the count. I also suspect the occasional mouse.

The person below me lives in a sterile bubble.

Well, I have an 18yo boy, 3 cats, and we've seen evidence of mice, so nope, no possible way ...

TPBM can't imaging living with 3 cats ... but is it too many, or too few?

ET correct for simulposting.

Three cats is four cats too many.

TPBM will change the subject from "domesticated" animals, please.

Three cats would be too many for me. Unlike Mr. House, I like house cats, but would rather have to deal with one at a time.

TPBM enjoys afternoon naps.

I do, but I only get them infrequently on weekends

TPBM does something they enjoy everyday.

No. Weird.

TPBM has recently had an epiphany.

It was a little too syrupy for my taste. I like my epiphanies on the savory side. But it wasn't as if it were unpleasant.

The person below me had something important, even lifechanging, announced to them recently.

Would that be the announcement of the car accident or the cautious explanation of how the couch got broken? Living with the "male animal" is always interesting...

The person below me is the only one of his/her gender in his/her household.

And damned proud of it!
Of course, I could also say the same for MrsHouseLibrary.

TPBM can speed-read.

Yes, but I'd rather read more slowly. Passes more time.

TPBM handles stress well.

SomeGuy ~ Thanks for the update on the AIR!

Well, I hope I would handle it well if it ever happened - but life at present, thank heavens, is pretty stress-free. Long may it continue.

TPBM bites their nails.

Only my toenails.

TPBM always has beautifully manicured hands (and that can apply to either sex!)

I've never had a manicure, but I do keep my nails neatly trimmed (and unbitten) and clean. I do have a chronic onychmycosis affecting 2-3 mm of one thumbnail - but you didn't want to know that!

I would love to be able to bite my toenails - I wouldn't, but I'd love to be that flexible.

TPBM believes that medical records should be completely confidential and worries about what's on the doctor's computer.

I do think medical records should be completely confidential, but I doubt they will remain so with governments now assuming a stake in the data.

TPBM has that ringing in the ears thing.

Tinitus - not fun, but liveable.

TPBM is as yet unwed.

Yes. I saw a woman I used to go to dinner with fairly often twenty five years ago at the high definition broadcast of the opera last night; she didn't seem to recognize me.

The person below me is anonymous in general and prefers it that way.

What's a noni mouse? Is it a crosbreed between a plant and a rodent? Then I'm not one.

TPBM has had pet gerbils or hamsters.

And mice and rats. We love us some rodents. Rats were the smartest and most fun.

TPBM doesn't like four-footed friends.

I like critters, and not just because they make WHL turn interesting shades.

TPBM has contributed to the OED.

yes, but my teachers were unimpressed with my artwork

TPBM has been in a wikipedia edit war.

Not really a war, but I did delete on a page one "fact' that I knew was in error.

TPBM knew what onychmycosis meant without having to Google it.

No, I didn't, but I had my suspicions.

TPBM wonders why there are mosquitos.

Mosquitoes exist to spread pestilence and disease and kill off people and animals. Because apparently we need that, or something.

TPBM has a less morbid view of the weird balance that Nature has.

I have a less morbid view of nature when it's animal nature, but I have an extremely morbid, cynical and sceptical view of human nature.

TPBM wishes they could buy the sweets/candy that was around when they were a kid, and that seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth now

I can't think of any, which surprises me. I love(d) chocolate and most of those bars are still around.

The person below me has a favorite candy bar.

Look candy bar. Nougat with nuts, dark chocolate on the outside. We used to get them for 5 cents when I was a kid.

We're on vacation now, and I actually saw Look candy bars in the Kandy Kitchen in Galina Illinois. Should have bought one...

TPBM also has a favorite candy bar.

I have a favorite bar, but they don't have any connection with candy that I know of.

TPBM doesn't drink alcohol.

No, but more because I don't like the taste than for health or moral reasons...

TPBM enjoys a cold beer.

Well, if you insist...back in a half hour.

TPBM has their own website.

Had one. Abandoned it when I decided that I didn't really have time to work on a business.

TPBM is about to embark on a time-consuming project.

Next week the floor for my new garage floor should be laid, and then I'll be spending most of my free time building the garage on top.

TPBM knows a garage is never big enough...

I heard a rumor once that your car is supposed to go in your garage, but I've never been able to pull off that trick. My current garage is so full you have to take things out to get to the back of it.

TPBM rents extra storage space.

Heck no. I can't afford it.

TPBM makes fresh pasta.

Can't say that I ever have. Just as well, as I'm not supposed to even ~eat~ it.

TPBM can pretty much eat whatever s/he wants.

When I was younger, I could. But middle age is cruel to a woman.

The person below me is willing to work at staying slim.

Pfft. I'm too lazy. Heaven knows I should work at it, though - I'm about 20 lb
too heavy and the excess weight is affecting my health in some negative ways.

TPBM is hyper today.

Leaped! No, but I am in a good mood.

I hit the gym at least three times a week (when I go at all). I've seen the end of a lot of people and it ain't ever pretty, the best you can hope for is fast, so I gather me rosebuds while I may.

TPBM will tell us what their superpower would be/is.

My superpower is continuing to breath every day. Mundane, I know.

TPBM is also excited about continuing to breath every day.

It helps...

TPBM can recommend a good endocrinologist for me. Mine is an idiot.

Note to Mr. House - I guess they all are. My son has diabetes, also, and he gets told one thing by one and another thing by another. Sheeeeesh.

That is all. Please continue the game. lol

I might, if I knew one, but they're unlikely to be in your neighbourhood, anyway. Try WebMD or similar ;-)

TPBM is planning a picnic this weekend.

No, but I plan to be a contributing part of two dinners at church this weekend. Saturday I'm taking 10 pseudo-half gallons of ice cream to a potluck birthday party for a fellow who turned 100 on July 5 and likes ice cream. I volunteered to wash the dishes for spaghetti dinner after services Sunday evening; we have an excellent electric dishwasher. Pretty much all of it will be indoors.

The person below me prefers to eat outdoors.

It depends on what, when and with whom, but I do enjoy it when all is right.

I like my endocrinologist.

The person below me likes to picnic too.

I used to, but Scotland in summer is usually (a) too midge-heavy or (b) too cold and rainy for outdoor anything!

TPBM loves cheese.

Yes, but not very many types - mostly mozzarella, cheddar, jack, provolone, and feta.

Sad to say, I don't even particularly like brie. And I can't bear blue cheese.

TPBM loves brie.

Yes. Makes me hungry just thinking about it.

And I detest all forms of bleu cheese. It is very fashionable now to crumble bleu cheeses on everything, as if it were a treat instead of something found in an old sock drawer.

230> Many years ago in Chicago, I was walking in a downpour with a British-born friend. I mentioned that 50 degrees and raining was my least favorite weather. She looked at me for a long moment and said, "Never summer in Scotland."

TPBM has chosen another place for the summer.

Chicago, actually! My dad's folks live up there and I used to go every summer. The weather's perfect in July - MUCH better than here in Florida!

TPBM is going to a birthday party sometime soon.

This afternoon. One of the congregation is celebrating his one hundredth birthday today; he actually turned 100 on July 5. A couple of years ago he invited us all to a party to celebrate his hundredth birthday because he wasn't sure he'd be around for the real thing and for his memorial service because he wanted to hear what people would say about him once he was gone which he couldn't do if his memorial service was after his death.

The person below me has a disloyal cat.

Not yet, but maybe soon. A decrepit old tortoiseshell with unsavoury lumps in its fur is moving ever closer. It prepared the ground, literally, by defaecating on my front lawn and path - not, you notice, on the turned flower beds. It now has taken to crapping elsewhere and sleeping within five feet of our front door. I guess it sees that as a come-on. It belongs to neighbours a few doors away and I think is about to explore disloyalty. I don't suppose that they love the animal and who can blame them. I will NOT be a party to its chicanery.

TPBM believes that having evolved a large fore-brain and opposable thumbs, mankind has a responsibility to keep on top of furry creatures.

Heavens no! Bestiality is a big no-no in my view of the world.
I also don't believe that the "lower" animals exist for us either.
We eat them; given the opportunity, they'd do the same - non-carnivorous species excepted.

TPBM finds the concept of non-domesticated animals being kept in cages and/or confined areas a cruel treatment.

That's why I hate zoos and have only been to one.

TPBM thinks even domesticated animals need to be free to run around outside, though fenced to keep them from being squashed by a passing vehicle.

You must allow them to move about, of course! Always on a leash isn't good for animals (or humans, for that matter...)

The person below me reads bits from books aloud to whomever is sitting in the room.

MrsHouseLibrary and I used to do that often.

It came to an abrupt end when she would read excerpts (entire chapters minus a sentence, usually) from those inane effeminate vampire/whiny girl "romance" books, even after I protested that I didn't want to hear anything about them ever again. It began a phase of avoidance reading that I'm not particularly proud of.

We have just recently gotten back to where we were because she's reading reality-based books again.

TPBM prefers non-fiction books over fiction novels.

It's pretty much even for me. Lately I've probably been reading a little more non-fiction, but it can just as easily swing the other way.

The person below me will give us a good zucchini recipe.

I haven't got one, but I LOVE zucchini bread. As a side dish, I like it cooked with bacon, stewed tomatoes, onion and chilis (mild).

The person below me will give us a good zucchini recipe, preferably one for zucchini bread.

Take one zucchini, shellac it, print out a pasteboard card that reads 'Letting the Outside In IV' in a sans-serif font, sell it through a gallery to someone who's drunk or angry.

TPBM doesn't live in Scotland and is enjoying cool weather.

Yes, and no. I am, however, enjoying ceiling-fan-enhanced central air conditioning.

TPBM can trip the light fantastic.

I tripped her just last night. There went that relationship.

The person below me has found that the ability to dance is an asset.

I haven't found that the inability to dance is a liability.

TPBM likes ballroom dancing--either watching or participating.

I like to waltz, I can't stand watching ballroom competitions (look, you wear that much makeup and dress in something sparkly, you should stop at lip-syncing Abba and not make it into a floor show.) Or ice skating, for that matter. But I love the ballet. So go figure.

>>xor, I'm the wrong guy to give recipes. I use the stove top but have yet to fire up the oven.

TPBM me has hardwood floors.

I did, till I moved last week.

TPBM misses someone.

Yes. I miss the guy who revs his loud motor every time I shoot at him. Drats.

TPBM is a much better shot.

Acquitted!

TPBM has can break a $50 for me.

Sure, send it over and I'll put the change in the return post.

TPBM knows how to make money.

Also acquitted.

TPBM knows how to do that ~legally~.

Well, I tried alchemy, but it didn't work. Now if only I could turn all that zucchini into gold...

The person below me has a sculpture in their garden.

Several. The deer made them.

TPBM has an armillary.

Nah, don't like having weapons around the house ... ooops, thought you said "armoury"!

TPBM has a more sensible response.

WHL is just forcing me to become smarter and Sophie236 is encouraging the behavior. I do have an armillary. I didn't KNOW I had one, but apparently I do.

The person below me likes learning new words.

Okay. What is an armillary, then?

TPBM can tell me how to remove glue from frosted glass without scratching the glass

That's a toughie without knowing what kind of glue. If it's soluble, then use the solvent. Otherwise ... I don't know.

TPBM has a better idea.

No, I don't. Well, I have ideas; some might be better, but they have nothing to do with removing glue from frosted glass. I'm thinking... world peace... 100% employment... cooperation among nations...

TPBM thinks I've had too much coffee today. If so, s/he'd be wrong.

You can sleep when you're dead. I just went to get another cup.

TPBM wonders why dystopia is more likely than utopia.

because of negative attitudes like that! If you think you can or you think you can't, you're RIGHT!.

TPBM thinks that was a self delusional statement and knows life is just out to get them.

"Don't talk to me about life." - Marvin, the Robot

TPBM find s/he makes references to The Princess Bride or The Hitchhiker's Guide a lot more often than almost anything (or anyone) else.

Alls I know is it's a bad idea to get into a land war in southeast Asia.

TPBM will tell us the most quotable movie of all time.

if it's not the Princess Bride I'd have to go with Monty Python and the Holy Grail

"Oh but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"

TPBM would also guess that movie as being the most quoted.

I believe that would be Silent Movie, by Mel Brooks.

TPBM also says "No!" a lot.

ETA: OOH! RaF and I simulposted, and my response still fits!! I'm going to go out and buy a lottery ticket!

Well, now that my kids are grown I don't say no as much as I used to ... but I do use it at work a lot - "no, what you sent in isn't what we needed" "no, we can't pay based solely on your receipt" ad infinitum, ad nauseum ...

TPBM also likes to throw a little Latin into everyday speech.

Senito aliquos togatos contra me conspirare. =^..^=

TPBM loves the words ad nauseam but finds he/she uses mea culpa more often.

So true!

TPBM has not gone on vacation yet and is about to explode.

I've been on "vacation" for almost three years now; and you've mistaken me for a penguin.

Contrary to popular belief, TPBM has been expecting the Spanish Inquisition.

Well I certainly hope so, or else I'm going to have to take back all this leather gear and tear up the rubber tile in the sewing room.

TPBM finds a lot of money on the ground.

Mostly in the washing machine. Since we share the machine with The People Upstairs, no one is sure from whose pockets the money dropped, so there's usually a pile of loose change on top of the dryer. Everyone's too polite to claim it for themselves.

TPBM has a hi-tech clothes cleaning system.

We got a beautiful matching front-loading washer and dryer set a year and a half ago. The first service call was still under warranty. The second service call cost us $85 for a man to come out and reset a high tech switch. I have never before had a washing machine that required even a single service call.

TPBM owns an appliance that has set a record for long-term reliability.

I graduated college in 1976. Prior to getting married, I bought a refrigerator for $20 from another guy in my dorm. It was large enough to hold a half-keg, so the fact I was able to get it for that piece was remarkable. The fact that I don't drink was remarkable to everyone in my dorm.

I sold it to another classmate in 1977. Like me, he was also married. Unlike me, he was staying in the area, so I got my $20 back. Before we transferred it to his house, I vacuumed the grill in the back, and found an envelope postmarked March 14, 1955. The last time I spoke to him - 2002 - he still had it, and it was running fine.

TPBM likes to listen to Classical music while reading.

I do, usually the local public radio station. Sometimes the announcements are annoying, but usually I can live with them.

The person below me drives erratically.

I'm an excellent driver! (Were we still doing movie quotes?)

Other things I do erratically.

SGiV, I thought you'd told us that you do have some recipes that are quite good?

The person below me is claustrophobic.

Not so you'd really notice BUT you won't catch me potholing - No Way! And just thinking about that movie where a guy is trying to find his girlfriend and meets up with her abductor and does a deal (how stupid can you get?) to discover her fate and wakes up in a coffin ..... Ugh! It gives me the willies.

TPBM remembers the name of the film that I'm describing.

No, but even thinking about it gives me the screaming abdabs, so I'm unlikely to want to watch it ...

TPBM fears locked-in syndrome more than he/she fears death.

(ETA hyperbole)

No, unless I were locked in with a television that wouldn't switch off tuned to daytime television...

TPBM has shouted insults at an inanimate object.

Does the cat count? (Only to ten, Mudhead.)

#275, I believe the movie was called The Vanishing or maybe Vanished. My boss watched it on cable the other day and gave me a long recitation of the plot, then spent the rest of the day trying to remember the title.

TPBM gets the parenthetical reference.

Well, I googled it, and I don't understand the google answer either, but it seems to be a track off an album that college kids go wild about?

TPBM laughs uncontrollably at things noone else gets, except maybe their partner or best friend. Everyone else is busy ringing the men with straight jackets.

Wait, how would you wring someone with a straitjacket?

The person below me has many itchy bug bites.

I have bites alright, but I don't know if the bugs who caused them were itchy at all.

TPBM will share a "knock knock" joke with us.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
(pause)

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
(pause>

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
(pause)

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say banana?

ba-da-boom.

TPBM is looking outside their windows and seeing rain.

Nope, just supposed to be hotter than blazes. no supposed to rain for the next couple of days, which should be good for getting my floor poured, it is supposed to rain this weekend when I was hoping to begin framing the garage.

TPBM wonders where all the time goes.

No, but I do wonder where have all the flowers gone. Then I remember the generation before mine smoked them.

>>xor- I can't imagine what I meant. I have both my grandmother's cookbooks and their recipes, and they were really great cooks so maybe that was it, but the last time I used an oven Clinton was president. I can also do about 100 things with ramen noodles.

TPBM went to Comic-Con.

No, I didn't.

The person below me went to Sock Summit.

Is that like DEFCON? I get mixed up between imminent nuclear war and a music festival with VERY VERY LOUD MUSIC.

Whoops! Leapfrogged. Didn't go there either, although there is a pile of socks in the laundry basket.

TPBM owns an armadillo

Nope - no cons in my area. Went to the Garden Festival last week, if that helps.

(279: When I got married, I migrated, and nobody here seems to get my sense of humour. My husband openly proclaims I'm weird, and for a while, I was keeping an eye out for those strait jackets (no snarky comments, please). But I've worked out I'm the only normal one.)

TPBM has also travelled a long way for a reason other than work / education.

Yes, for vacation. I've traveled for vacation all the way to London and back. Twice.

The person below me has never left the time zone in which he/she(/it) was born.

nope, while I know people who've done that, I've been as far West as Xian province in China and as far east as the Czech Republic and many place in between.

TPBM also knows (or is one) a person who has never left their state/province or small country

I know one person who's never left her home state. One. Come to think of it, she's barely left her homeTOWN!

TPBM has plans tonight.

I'm going to cook some meat balls in tomato sauce while listening to the Prom on BBC Radio 3. I might manage a glass or two of Shiraz as well.

TPBM prefers another red wine

Not directly. A friend of mine, who moved from NJ to Az some 30+/- years ago, met her future husband online. He lived in Tennessee, and according to all accounts, had not ever traveled outside the county (not country where he was born. His first time away from the farm was to get on an airplane to fly to Az to visit her. They married less than 2 years later, and remain so.

The above was in response to #289, which I was woefully lagging in reply to.

I can't drink red things (so vampirism is definitely out as a lifestyle for me), and I can't touch alcohol.

TPBM has also tried to meet a potential love interest using the Internet Machine.

And I've done so, with great success. After a few duds, I met my boyfriend two years ago, and we're still together. Success!

TPBM never needed to use the Internet for dating.

nope re-met her through some friends, but i did use the internet (email) to woo her into a false sense of security...

TPBM can't imagine going on a blind date.

Can't imagine going on a blind date again, even if I weren't already married.
Some experiences just scar you for life.

TPBM can read braille.

Edited for clarity. Did it work?

I just know a few letters, but I grew up in a house full of Braille. Both my parents were blind, and my mother was a professional Braille expert.

TPBM has some Braille in their home.

I did when I was younger. I had a book about Helen Keller that had the Braille alphabet on the back cover.

TPBM knows sign language.

Only a very limited vocabulary.

TPBM is the head of the household (clan, tribe, articulated social unit of carbon-based life forms.)

Yes, I am, but I let my husband think he is.

TPBM likes Brussels sprouts.

Yes. I realize that is a minority opinion.

TPBM is opinionated.

Who isn't?

TPBM owns a corset.

I'm not saying.

TPBM saw a movie (in a movie theater) in the past week.

Yup, went to our dinky l'il two-screen cinema to see Toy Story 3 - and it was rather darned good, and not too mawkish.

TPBM really wants a home cinema.

Only if it came with red plush seats, a mighty Wurlitzer rising through the floor and a girl to sell me ice cream off a tray - all or nothing.

TPBM could have bin a contender

Nah! I'm not into pugilism.

TPBM woke way too early this morning.

yes, like almost every morning...

TPBM has paid a contractor recently to do work around the house.

No thanks, I married a contractor precisely to avoid that sort of bankrupcy-inducing payments.

Well, okay, I'll admit it: I also kind of liked the guy.

I mean, still do.

TPBM owns goldfish

ACCCKKKKK! A simulpost!!

About a month ago - to replace the dishwasher.

No I don't. I made sure my ex got them in the divorce.

TPBM would gladly pay someone to cook h-is/er meals at home, if s/he could afford to do so.

Heavens, no - we both enjoy cooking far too much! There is a certain delight in occasionally getting a takeaway, though ...

TPBM reads in the bath.

Oops! simulpost!

I do not read in the bath, not only for the safety of the poor book, but because I do not enjoy baths.

TPBM would gladly have someone pay them to cook said someone's meals at home, and produces meals of a quality that is well above average.

Edited to clarify antecedents. I think it worked ...

Sure, send me a check and I'll be right over.

TPBM is going to a party or church on 12/21/12.

No need to. They hadn't taken into consideration that it's a Leap Year, and they'll be off by a day.

Last tile I was in a church, the ground shook.

TPBM got rain today.

Yes, a sudden downpour. But the next few days are supposed to be dry, so my husband should be able to finish the wheat harvest.

The person below me cooked something on the barbeque.

Hamburgers.

TPBM does most of the summer dinner meals on the grill.

No, we don't do the barbeque thang - it rarely stops raining here for long enough!

TPBM recently heard a song that took them back years (mine was "Jet" by Paul McCartney and Wings, playing on a radio across the street).

Indeed I did....Daydream by the Loving Spoonful. It was one of my and my schoolfriends' favourites back in the 60s, and when it came on the radio it took me right back, made me wonder where on earth all those years and all those friends went, sigh.....

TPBM is still in touch with one of their best friends from school.

Not on the radio, but I've been listening to old mix-tape cassettes which I recently dug out of the attic, singing along to Big Country and the Waterboys...

TPBM has been listening to the Proms on the radio.

316- Yes, and I have to remember to phone her today.
317- No, I've never heard of them.

The person below me is forgetful.

Yup. This is why I have a calendar that I carry with me, AND all my appointments in my cell phone. Because otherwise I'll forget things.

TPBM has a clownish pet.

Do my kids count?

Last night my toddler wouldn't go to sleep, so I was watching TV while I kept him company. Then he stood up in his cot and made noises to attract my attention, because he had the soother in his mouth and he knows I don't like it (but I can't break my husband of the habit, and we've gradually lost the caps). I was quite pleased when he took it out as soon as I asked him to, but I should have been suspicious of the big grin on his face ... because he put another soother in, which he'd been hiding in his other hand!

What can I say - they keep me young.

TPBM doesn't mind my anecdotes.

Actually, I love them.

TPBM has no children, but loves to spend time with other people and their kids.

If they're (reasonably) well behaved. Same goes for other people's pets.

The person below me has no pets, because somebody else is allergic.

well I'm pretty sure that's why we don't have a cat. My wife reacts poorly to them, otherwise she most likely would have brought one home by now.

TPBM knows a better and safer way of getting ride of a (large) hornets nest in the peek of a building other than a long stick (not on your life) or what I might try, my paint ball gun from a slightly longer distance.

Well, I get rid of such things with a torch: long stick + fire. Since you would rather put a certain distance between you and your hornets, you should use... hmm... a flame thrower?

TPBM has a more sensible suggestion.

They make a bug spray that will kill hornet nests. We always do it at night when the bugs are least active.

TPBM has recently started rereading an old favorite.

I just finished re-reading Dead Until Dark and started re-reading Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris. Nothing new seems to be right, so it's off for a light-weight fun read.

TPBM recently went to a museum.

I haven't, which is a shame because one thing DC has is museums.

>>323 readafew: raf- I'd have to try the paintball gun just to see what happens, but it probably won't knock something that big down first try and you could only get a few shots off before the hornets swarmed. I'd fire from a car so I could jump in and split pronto. (Perhaps I lived in DC too long.)

TPBM would take Stephen King's advice from The Shining and wait until after the first freeze.

Can't right now it's a little bigger than a softball, but this fall it will be basketball size or larger. already there 'flight pattern' is halfway down to the door. If I can find any left over paintballs I'll be trying that this weekend. Keep your fingers crossed.

TPBM would like to watch this fiasco from safely behind windows.

So long as no one aims AT the windows...

TPBM is about to go do.... something.

Maybe. I may go check the mail. On the other hand I may just hang out here on LibraryThing for a couple of more hours.

The person below me doesn't actually spend a whole lot of time on LibraryThing.

Only enough time to read all my favorite groups :-) One of these days I'll get more work done on my books.

TPBM knows tomorrow never comes.

Just now I catalogued This Was Tomorrow by Elswyth Thane. Therefore, tomorrow has already passed, and I missed it!

The person below me has a time machine.

It is my brain.

TPBM advises readafew to use the long-range insect spray. You can spray it from 20 feet away, and as SRedRose said, wait until all the little beasts have gone into the nest for the night.

I'm afraid to, but I don't have any first hand knowledge. When bees move into my house, I hire a beekeeper (who kills them because they say that they might be Africanized). It's too bad we can't post signs that bugs can read, "You're not welcome to live IN my house."

The person below me has used an unusual ingredient in cooking. (I'm signed up for a prickly pear cactus cooking class.)

I just moved in with my Indian fiance and his family. Half of what I'm cooking these days could easily be considered "unusual."

TPBM has a more expanded knowledge of other cultures' cuisines.

Although I've never had it, I know all of the ingredients that go into making a McDonald's "Big Mac".

TPBM is amazed at my depth of knowledge.

Amazed at the depth AND breadth! (Don't tell us what goes into a Big Mac, BTW - I'd rather live in ignorance ...)

TPBM is a vegetarian.

No, meat tastes and chews way too good. However, if I had to kill my own meat, I'd revisit my stance.

The person below me doesn't understand why everyone can't be as sensible as he or she is.

Not me! We all have individual degrees of sensibility.

TPBM blogs.

No. Nor do I use Facebook or Twitter. I don't believe the world has that much interest in my opinions or the minutiae of my life. I prefer just to force my opinions upon my close friends and family who have no choice but to listen.

TPBM follows a particular blog closely.

I follow a couple of authors' blogs.

TPBM has a slight flaw in their character.

A slight one? No, my flaws are as tall, thick and wide as most people's.

TPBM has manicures done in a regular basis.

nope, I consider that a waste of money.

for those suggesting the long range spray, the hive is already 15 feet in the air, so I'd have to stand almost directly below the hive to spray it, not happening.

TPBM has a live and let live policy.

Yes, definitely. I may well be scared witless by moths and butterflies, but that's hardly their fault, so I simply exit the room/garden, making incoherent gibbering noises, and hope they take the hint.

TPBM has a more logical fear of insects (ie, the ones that can actually do harm!)

Absolutely - spiders. They have eight legs, you know. (So, obviously, that means ... that means ... well, you know what that means)

TPBM knows what I mean ...

Yup - that mean's they're just WRONG! Anything with more than four legs is ... well, WRONG, and should not be allowed to live inside with me.

TPBM has no insect phobias.

None at all. I like to retrieve bugs from the surroundings and bring them in for my kittens to play.

Except for roaches. I hate roaches, but have no fear whatsoever of stomping on them until they make disturbing, crunching sounds.

TPBM thinks killing bugs is still murder.

So, my sister the Swami tells this story of a gal from her temple who was very much into "do not kill anything" until she moved into a roach-infested city apartment. After much anguish and soul searching, she began whacking them with her shoe, crying out "Back to the Godhead! Back to the Godhead!"

TPBM can't stand that crunchy sound, either.

I am a FIRM believer that we all have an equal responsibility here on earth for keeping the cockroach population in check. I do not apologize for that crunchy sound (although it's preferable to own a cat who likes to hunt and play with them until the prey dies of fright.)

*watches as WHL frowns at the reference to pets*

The person below me is slowing down this Friday afternoon.

(ugh - you just reminded me of the time I stepped on one barefoot.)
((ps - apparently, if you squash them with your shoe, you then just transfer their eggs all over the place. Karma, I suppose)

Ew ew ew ew roaches. Only thing worse than roaches? Palmetto bugs! They're GIANT roaches, and the nasty buggers can FLY! It's summertime so they're finding their way inside more often looking for cooler air and water. I don't squish them because that just gets bug guts on the floor and I still have to clean them up. I scoot them into a plastic cup with a piece of poster-board (paper is just too thin) and take them outside, as far from the house as I can get, and shake them out of the cup (which is then thrown away).

*ahem* back to 349...

Slowing... down? *shrug* I guess. I have a preschooler home from his last day at summer school and he's contentedly playing with his drum (which he's turned upside-down, of course), so I don't have to give him every single second of my attention. It's nice to have a break every now and then.

TPBM wants to go to the fair next time it's in town.

State Fair is in October and I don't need to go this year. Pigs, cows, horses, produce, flowers, etc. Rides and fattening foods and all expensive.

Maybe in another 5 years or so.

And the county fair! Eep.

TPBM loves roller coaster rides.

I do! But considering what the roads in my neck o' the woods are like, I hardly need them anymore.

TPBM loves his or her commute.

No. At it's best it's noisy and smelly. At it's worst, it's like standing in an elevator that's noisy and smelly.

TPBM drives to work.

40 minutes one way. I'd like it shorter but not likely to happen anytime soon.

TPBM doesn't even have a drivers license.

I just checked. It doesn't expire until next year, so I guess I do.

The person below me has an official government identification card that is not a driver's license.

Of course. It's mandatory in my country. Everyone over 10 years of age must have an official, government-issued ID, and the minimum legal age for driving is 18. You do the math. ;-)

TPBM is really good at remembering numbers.

Is it weird that many of my passwords consist of a letter or two, and the phone number my parents had while I was growing up? That I still remember my high-school sweetheart's social security number? (he was in the army, and they were still using SSNs as part of the address.) The first thing I did when I got a new license plate was figure out whether the 3-digit number component was a prime number, and the second was to figure out what the prime factors were. Yeah, I remember numbers.

TPBM would never bother to find the prime factors of a number, outside of a math class.

I. do. it. constantly! If I could figure out a way to stop, I would; but at this point, I'm doomed.

TPBM has had a run-in with h/is/er credit card company.

Parted company with ALL of them about five years ago. We have the mortgage and the car and you'll have to judge our creditworthiness from that and the ordinary bills.

The person below me is readily irritated by the banking industry and their capacity to talk out of both sides of their collective mouth(s).

Nope, not anymore...thankfully we paid off EVERY credit card we owned a couple of years ago except for a small balance at a certain home-improvement store. And that was only to make some improvements when putting the house up for sale. It is SOOOO nice not to have creditors calling. Never, never, never again!

TPBM has owned a reptile as a pet.

I had a snake once. I had to sell him when I moved because my mother wouldn't take him in and my new apartment didn't allow for ANY kind of pet. :( I plan to get another hissling eventually, but that's probably a couple years off yet.

TPBM wants a nap.

I had a snake once. I had to sell him when I moved because my mother wouldn't take him in and my new apartment didn't allow for ANY kind of pet. :( I plan to get another hissling eventually, but that's probably a couple years off yet.

TPBM wants a nap.

I do not, it's the weekend and I can sleep when I'm dead.

>>360 jillmwo: jmw- I am sick of the banking industry, I put them in the same category as I do politicians (I'll just call that 'Really Really Low' but the bankers stand to lose more than the pols because they've got more money in the game. Pols and bankers- one group of rich liars talking to another group of filthy rich liars.

TPBM is freaked out by dogs with blue eyes.

Here it's bedtime, so I guess I do. I've had too many late nights recently scanning and entering my CDs and DVDs - not with my books but under my other user name. Just about finished.

Arrgh - too slow.

Generally I don't get close enough to dogs to check out eye colour, but blue sounds scary.

TPBM gets a feeling of satisfaction from putting in their own cover pictures rather than accepting Amazon's.

Yes, I do. I have no Amazon covers now. In the beginning I picked a few low quality member-uploaded covers, so I still need to replace those with my own scans.

TPBM is panicking.

OMG! Now everybody knows! What'll I do?

And How did you know? Did you bug my house? Now I've got to find it! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

TPBM was aware that schizophrenics are never alone.

Yes, and people with OCD always manage to stay busy.

>>raf- Two words: Flaming arrow. Weather's great here, I had my balcony door and windows open for the first time in almost a month. Few minutes ago I find what looks like a wasp in the bathroom (they're all over this building.) I can't go to sleep with that, so I shut the bathroom door and grab a can of Right Guard. It takes a whooole lot of spray deodorant to bring down a wasp. Also, a wasp is a very pissy sort of creature and not afraid to invade one's space.

I alone live to tell the tale.

TPBM can think of another way that neurosis can be made to work for the chosen few.

Ummmm, no? Maybe I can spray some politicians with deodorant and they won't do such stinky things?

Phae, I'm still laughing over 348. And SGIV, a flaming arrow? Holy Robin Hood, Batman.

The person below me has raised his or her voice recently, for any reason.

Nope, I never raise my voice. Even when I'm extremely angry (which has happened exactly three times in my adult life) I just go awfully quiet and sarcastic. My fury scares people delightfully, due to its sheer rarity, and I win the argument! However, I do laugh very loudly and often :-)

TPBM is allergic to antiperspirant/deodorant.

No, but I've been around some folks who must have been.

Still laffin' at 348, also!

TPBM wishes he/she had the wit that some here display.

Do I EVER!

TPBM will wow us with an original piece of witticism.

Tomorrow's church service will be about humor led by a couple of congregants whom I know to be pretty much humorless. Discussing dishwashing on Wednesday with the wife of one of those congregants I commented that I would not be at church tomorrow. She mentioned that it would be about humor and that her husband was one of the leaders. I said to myself, "Oh, oh!" Then to her I said, "What I like about humor is how it sometimes makes me laugh, but I'm afraid I won't be there Sunday."

The person below me is all caught up with Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes entries.

I have, but I'm way behind on my Green Stamps- another book and I get a portable cassette recorder.

TPBM will tell us what attribute s/he would most like to have, or enjoys having.

I'd love to have an early retirement, but I don't see it happening.

TPBM types just fine with a cat in front of the monitor.

Yes, but it is harder with the cat on the keyboard.

I have a lamp that my mother got me with green stamps. I also have some silverware acquired with Betty Crocker coupon thingies from cake mixes. Oh, and some gas station glasses. I also still use the mugs that I got when I opened my very first savings account many years ago.

The person below me remembers getting stuff with stuff.

Well, yes. We still have glasses from the year the Disney Pocahontas premiered. I think, maybe through Burger King or McDonalds?

The person below me is using cookware/bakeware from thirty years ago (or longer).

Lots. Including a cast iron enamelled casserole from Scandinavia that was exported to Canada and then carried back to the UK as a wedding gift from my sister in law. Well travelled and still going strong after 38 years.

TPBM worries about cadmium (or aluminium or anything else) leaching out of their cooking pots.

Ack! Simulpost (despite the 3-minute difference in timestamps)!

When I moved out of my parents house, they gave me the wooden cutting board and other items that were ~mine~ - had never been 'contaminated' with foods like peppers or onions, etc.

When my folks finally sold the house in NJ (in 1984), I ended up with a lot of the bakeware (I was the only 'baker' child, and a turkey platter that originally belonged to my great grandparents. My mother presented it to me, and gently placed it on the kitchen table. It chose at that moment to develop an 8" crack - more than 1/4" wide at the edge.

I took it home, applied some glue to it and employed two strap clamps to it to close the gap. I've used it every Thanksgiving since then.


Not really. I'm pretty sure I've absorbed enough of it that the damage has already been set into motion.

TPBM has a cherished family heirloom.

I have a necklace that my grandmother left me when she passed away.

TPBM is going to a family reunion sometime in the next year.

I only wish. Missed the one this year where my mum's entire family from all around the world (she's one of 7 siblings) went for 2 weddings, and we were the only ones not there. I'm still annoyed with my husband, and will be reminding him of it about once a month for the next 10 years or so. Please, feel free to put in your 2 cents to him.

TPBM enjoys family reunions, too.

My family reunion - sheer bliss. His family - not so much. I don't understand it, my husband feels just the opposite!!

TPBM has been in a parade

What is it with my posting skills today????

Usually.

Unfortunately, we are already two years beyond the last planned one (which didn't happen).
There will be a mini-family reunion in November, though.
MrsHouseLibrary and I will be going to my high school class' 40th year reunion in November. We've tacked on an extra day to visit one of my sisters (terminal, with cancer) and other siblings who are still in the NY/NJ area. It's going to be a bittersweet reunion.


Once, maybe three times. Not very eventful moments for me, apparently...

TPBM wouldn't be caught dead wearing something purple.

Red purple or yellow purple?

TPBM has perfect memory.

I've forgotten whether I do or not...

TPBM is searching for something.

Autonomy.

The person below me has found it.

I have, and I am unanimous in that.

TPBM bowls.

Nope! Never done drugs in my life (except the ones that are prescribed for me).

TPBM is a redhead.

Strawberry blonde when I was little, more red until about my 40s when it started fading to .... light brown. Ugh.

My daughter has deep auburn hair, courtesy of my husband's mother.

TPBM was a tow head whose hair turned black.

Nope - just the opposite! I was a raven-haired baby and my hair fell out and came in blonde when I was about 6 months old. Then by the time I was 6 years old, it started going brown and just kept getting darker brown. Now it's auburn, but only because I dye it.

TPBM is watching the clock today.

I can't turn my back on it a minute or god knows what it will get up to.

TPBM has song running through their head.

I didn't at 6:58 last night, but I do now. Side effect of having a preschooler - the songs are annoyingly catchy.

TPBM has a health-related test coming up.

I'd see it as an illness-related test myself. A check to make sure that the medication I take for hypertension isn't rotting my kidneys or shrivelling my liver and that my lipid levels haven't risen to levels where even I would be convinced that statins are good for you. Hey ho, the wind and the rain..

TPBM finds it easy to cast aside the concept of mortality.

Most times I do. I'm feeling pretty good right now and I consider 95 "old", so 57 is a spring chicken.

TPBM just recently got a new cell phone and it's much more complicated than their old one.

I can't seem to configure this phone's Internet services right. It's depressing.

TPBM owns an iPhone and hates it.

No, I have an iPod Touch and like it a lot.

The person below me will now vent about a company seriously <expletive deleted>ing with them.

Nah! I canceled that credit card a couple of months ago.

or:

Nah! When they started messing with my accounts, I move everything to a more responsive bank and refused to explain why (beyond stating that I wasn't going to let them screw me over anymore).

or:

Nah! After the second time they cleared my check for a different (much larger amount) than it was neatly written for, I made a big stink in their store, cancelled my service, and scared away four potential customer.

I feel much better now. Thanks very much.

TPBM has done similarly.

Yes, but afterwards, "remorse inevitably follows".

You see, I was raised to be "nice", and whenever I fail to be so, I can almost see the disapproving look my mother would give me, and cower.

The parents of TPBM were also experts on giving guilt trips.

Edited to correct quote

The Five Fingers of Death (a.k.a., Mom) often did not have to resort to violence to keep us, or any of the neighbor's kids, in line. My parents were of the religious leanings I refer to as "Pathological Catholicism", so yeah, I deal with a lot of baseless guilt. It's what kept me married to a narcissistic sadist for almost a quarter of a century. Rebellion has its rewards.

TPBM has also overcome adversity.

Every time I get a credit card solicitation, I put scrap paper in the prepaid return envelope and mail it back. Fight the power!

TPBM likes graffiti.

With meatballs.

TPBM usually has spaghetti the same night every week.

Why would you want to do that? It's like putting the same numbers on your lottery ticket every week.

TPBM puts the same numbers on their lottery ticket every week.

no, lottery tickets are a tax on the mathematically challenged. I only buy them about twice a year unless work is pooling, can't be left out there since if by some miracle we won this little company will probably die, and I don't want to be left holding the bag.

TPBM also won't buy a lottery ticket unless the prize has passed some limit.

Nope, I would never buy a lottery ticket, no matter what.

TPBM knows that he/she is more likely to be hit by lightning twice than win the lotto.

Ignorance (as rebellion - see #399) has its rewards.

TPBM needs to get the lawn mowed... maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after.

My lawn is 12x5 and needs to be swept.

>>I always buy a lottery ticket and I never use the same numbers because if I didn't play and the numbers won, I'd have to open a vein. It's worth the $4/week just to dream; winning is going to be the icing on the cake.

TPBM is probably going to watch a movie tonight.

It has been so dry in S E England that my lawn has hardly grown at all - very brown. I suppose I should run the mower over it to cut down the 'bents' and dandelions which seem to need little water.

Pshaw! I've been pre-empted.

I shan't watch a movie but I'm just going to look at yesterday's episode of 'Sherlock ' on BBC iPlayer - a 21st C. re-creation of Conan Doyles stories.

TPBM eats dandelion leaves, regardless of their diuretic effect.

No. My husband mowed it right before this dry, hot spell. It is now 106 degrees here. So, it probably won't need it for a while. My A/C ran all day long yesterday, and it was still a little warm in here. Anything above 75 degrees is too hot for me.

No, but I've heard they're delicious. Need to pick some out of my yard and try them.

TPBM is also enduring a heat wave.

Whoa, whoa, slow it down, will ya?
Let's see:

> 406: Nope, no movie. Tonight it's shop-for-food night.
> 407: No, but I absolutely love chewing on clovers. And sunflower seeds. Darn, now I'm craving.
> 408: I'm too young for "the change".

TPBM will have a delicious dinner tonight.

I can always hope, but most likely I'll get leftovers

TPBM would like to give me a wad of cash to help pay for my garage construction

Yes, I would, but I can't afford it.

The person below me has lost something valuable recently.

The watch my husband and daughter gave me for mother's day two years ago. The clasp was loose and like an idiot I didn't get it repaired before it fell off sometime on February 21st when we were at a funeral. Sigh.

TPBM doesn't wear a watch.

Not in YEARS!

TPBM has trouble reading analog watch dials now.

Nope; I can still work with the big hand and the little hand. And even more importantly, I can still count by fives.

The person below me wonders what our descendants will make of us on LT, what with our 40-thread games and virtual pubs with water buffalo.

No. I can work with the big hand and the little hand. And I can still count by fives.

The person below me likes the sound of a ticking clock.

The answer is here.