TMI Questions: Memorial Day Weekend

TMI Questions: Memorial Day Weekend

I am looking forward to the extra day off.  It’s arriving at a good time.  Things at work are in overdrive at the moment and key people are grinding my gears the wrong way. 

A day away from them?  Sounds good to me.

I hope we have good weather – that is critical in order to have a good time, as I like to be outside as much as possible. 

I failed to renew my parking pass for the Minneapolis park system this year, so going to any of those will be problematic, as parking is always a problem. 

But, never fear, I’ll manage to have a good time.

There’s a bottle of gin in a freezer waiting for me somewhere…

TMI QUESTIONS:

Questions designed to reveal Too Much Information

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TMI Questions: Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day is a day of remembrance but it also signifies the ‘official’ start of summer.  What are your plans this weekend?

Sitting with my Dad.  Sitting with my dogs.  Playing video and board games with my very understanding boyfriend.

This has become the norm for my weekends, based on my sibling’s schedules and unavailability.  Everyone else in my family apparently has plans, which means I don’t get to make any.  I’m sure I’ll get a lake walk in there, sometime, and sneak away for a meal here or there, but, no… no big-time fun planned this year.

Maybe next year.

What is your most and least favorite thing about summer?

Most Favorite: Going camping. Hiking.

Hoping to go to Cave of the Mounds, in Wisconsin for a long weekend.  The boyfriend said he would go.  It’s been a while since I had someone willing to do so. 

There are trails there, of course, and the caves.  Plus it’s near The House on the Rock – a Lloyd Wright designed house that has morphed into a museum of the bizarre.  The house, of course, is intact, and comes to a point that juts out beyond the edge of the cliff it is perched on.  Next to the house is a weird conglomeration of buildings that house the original owners ‘collections’, featuring a calliope room, among many, many others. 

It is an example of hording done well (if a tad creepy) – clean, organized, and very, very diverse.

Can’t wait.

Least Favorite: Bugs

Hate them.  Especially mosquitos, the scourge of hikers everywhere.  They ruin everything.   They don’t bother me, so much (though they do), but the people you are with end up having a miserable time because of them. 

I know they are a necessary evil, but, yes… they are evil.

What do you think of when I say "Bar-B-Que?"

I think meat, something I no longer eat.

I do like the taste of BBQ sauce.  I even like the smell of it.  But, other than dipping bread in it, or say a chunk of potato, I can’t think of how to incorporate that into my meal anymore.

What is your favorite summer food?

As the summer progresses it is all the wonderful things you can make with the produce that is so plentiful at the farmer’s markets.  Stir fry, soups, and salads, all decked out in the seasons finest.  It’s a bit of a chore, cleaning and chopping it all up, but well worth it, because nothing tastes like ‘fresh’. 

I plan on getting a bit more adventuresome with my salads this year, working with tomato and cucumber (which I can eat again) – big chunky salads with interesting,  light and fresh dressings.

There are things to avoid, of course.  When I pick up something I am unfamiliar with, like say bitter melon, and ask the purveyor how to prepare it, and all he says is ‘put it in soup’ – then I know enough to pass on it.  Been there, done that, and it was an absolute train wreck of a soup.

Are you in swim suit shape yet?

Yes (and no).  The body is ready, but the spirit, this year, is weak.

The past three years I was like, hell yeah, bring it on. I used to love to show it off while sunning at the local parks.  But common sense tells me that my tanning days are over, as I don’t want to put myself at risk of skin cancer any more than I already have. 

Plus, I seem to have a renewed sense of modesty. 

Well, at least in public.  

I still love strutting around in the buff at the boyfriend’s place, making coffee on Saturday morning. 

And, yes… the mirrors at my gym get quite the work out, too.

Given the choice, which do you prefer: ocean, lake or pool?

Ocean, depending on where the beach is… when I think of Santa Monica, I want to hurl.  It was, and probably still is, so gross.  However, when I think of Miami, or Jamaica, or Key West… the answer is ‘yes, yes, yes’!   

Jamaica is a horrible place to go if you are gay, as in, no fun, but the water was spectacular.

Key West is my favorite snorkeling destination.

And Miami?  OMG.  The best people watching, best water, best… everything.

You know, except for all those crystal meth queens.  The club scene down there was rather frightening.  But it’s been awhile since I’ve been, so maybe that has all changed.

Which summer blockbuster movie are you most looking forward to seeing?

Maleficent, with Angelina Jolie.

The boyfriend is gaga for this character, and he typically has good taste.  Should be a lot of deliciously evil fun.

Godzilla

The buzz on this is great, and I can’t wait to see it.  I rarely see movies in the theatre any more, but this will be an exception – big monster, big screen.  I know it’s already opened, but the boyfriend refuses to see movies on their opening weekend.  So we will wait two weeks and avoid some of the tourists.

Summer reading: What? Recommendations?

I recommend Anne Tyler.  No matter where they are set, there is something very pastoral about Ms. Tyler’s writing.  She possesses a keen eye in regards to the human condition.  Her stories are character driven and almost always end up somewhere unexpected.  In a way, they serve as a kind of self-help book, for you inevitably end up learning something about yourself, as well.

I will be reading: not sure

I did this big library purge about six months ago, and tried to be fairly ruthless with myself, discarding books I had no intention of every reading and those that I had read and disliked.  Typically, I’m very good at passing on a book to someone else after reading it, but at some point I began hording again. 

So, now my shelves are leaner, but it’s difficult for me to choose. 

The boyfriend also keeps thrusting books at me – required reading, according to him.  I’m doing my best with those, but they are a bit of a chore.  And reading should never be that, unless you are in school.

So, I predict something light and breezy – character-driven and modern.  Something a woman would typically read, I bet, as I simply enjoy books about women; how they navigate the world, how they manage relationships, and how they think.

Vacation Plans? If you can't, what would you do if you could?

Can’t.  Won’t be.  Well, I will get away for a few weekends of camping, but that is the extent of it.

If I could?  I would go to Quebec.  Or Ontario.  Or Seattle, again.

I am actually going to make a list of all the states I have been in and plan on eventually visiting all fifty.  Not looking forward to some of those southern states,

Did you ever have to go to summer school?

In college, yes. 

That was the summer I had my mountain biking accident and broke my neck in two places.  It was awful, in a way, but I think all the sympathy got me a pass from the instructor, who then became my advisor.

I recommend taking college courses in the summer months, as long as the course does not require any kind of team work.  People are incredibly flaky during summer and should not be trusted with your GPA. 

However, professors are more relaxed and some subjective courses can be pretty much a cake walk, if you are clever enough.  That is not true for accounting courses, however.

Those are going to suck no matter when you take them.

Bonus 

Sex on the beach?

Had it.  Can’t recommend it.

Sand really does get all up in there!

And like Stewie Griffin says, “Once you get it in there, you can’t get it out.”