My Digital Ghost

You can play along at Becca’s Blog.

Give Me Five of your favorite ways to be crafty or creative.
1) Taking icky looking furniture and attempting to make it look vibrant.
2) Putting together music electronically. I used to try to include my voice until I realized how horrifying it sounded recorded.
3) Putting my own twist on recipes.
4) Creating websites, although now that it’s a large part of my career I don’t know if it counts anymore as being crafty/creative.
5) Writing fiction, although it’s been way to long and I REALLY wish I had more spare time so I could return to my writing endeavors.

Play along! Either answer in the comments or post a link to your blog entry.

Today’s theme is comfort.

[Listen]  What is the most comforting album that you have?

[Watch] Which movie(s) gives you the best kind of warm fuzzies inside?

[Read] Which books have given you a sense of comfort while reading them? (If you want, explain why.)

I normally only look at my horoscope for entertainment purposes and put little value in the suggestions, but damn, was this one fitting! Being at the pinnacle of other important life decisions, the question weighing most heavily on my mind this week: how do I find balance between a completely structured lifestyle and a completely free-spirited lifestyle? And the Libra message:

“Having a carefree life doesn’t require you to forgo all your responsibilities and live like a free spirit. If you are trying to focus on just having a good time right now, don’t make the mistake of clearing your calendar to do it. Having commitments helps you appreciate your downtime all the more, so be sure to keep a healthy balance between work and play. If you have no reason to wake up in the morning, or no place to feel useful, you’ll never truly be happy.”

So thank you, random person sitting at a desk somewhere writing up generic daily advice.  You’ve actually given me some insight!

[Listen]  What is the music scene like in your area? Are you happy with it?

[Watch] Which show have you found yourself the most emotionally attached to the characters and scenarios?

[Read] Have you ever waited in line to get your book signed by a beloved writer? If so, who?

My answers:

1) Being just outside NYC, I have access to what’s probably the coolest music scene in the world! Recently while listing places I could see myself living in the long run, I included “music scene” in my criteria and of course had to give New York 5 stars. It has a combination of  majestic venues and small, casual venues, and a combination of local talent, larger names that have their routes here, and international acts that make stops here.

2) Six Feet Under. Often I’ll catch old episode I’ve seen before and I’m still really moved by them. They managed to have a set of characters who were all very flawed who you could still sympathize with, and storylines that managed to be clever and painful and touching at once.

3) Never have, most of my favorite writers are either dead, rarely make it to the states, or wouldn’t likely do a reading/signing.

Play along with the Media Mix by either leaving your answers in the comment field or posting them in your blog and leaving a link.

[Listen] What song/group of songs would you use as a backdrop to your nightmares? Do you ever actually have songs playing in your head during your nightmares?

[Watch] What is your favorite documentary?

[Read]  As a child, what was your most memorable character in a book?

My answers coming later!

Yikes, life has been such a whirl lately that I keep forgetting when it’s Wednesday! Onto this week’s media mix for your blogging pleasure:

[Listen] What music did your family listen to as you were growing up, and did that music end up influencing you in any way?

[Watch]  What is your most quotable movie? And if you want, share a couple quotes from it.

[Read]  Think about the last book you read. In what ways were you similar to the writer or narrator?

My answers:

1)  My parents mostly listened to country, and mostly listened to it in the car. I’ve never been a big fan of the genre, although there are certain select songs I’ll listen to on repeat. I wouldn’t say my parents tastes influenced mine, though certain tunes definitely bring back memories.

2) High Fidelity. Some awesome lines:
“Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?”
“If you REALLY wanted to screw me up, you should have gotten to me earlier!!”
“The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem.”

3) The last thing I read was a fluffy little piece called Holly’s Inbox, which was literally a book composed of someone’s inbox.  Holly and I have very similar mothers, similar obsessive qualities, and a similar sense of humor.

Play along at http://questions.vox.com/

What’s the worst story about a time you locked yourself out? 

One time I was waiting tables on New Year’s Eve. When my shift ended at the end of the night (around 11:30pm) and I went out to my car, I realized I’d left my keys in the ignition and locked the door.  Reasons why this sucked:

1) I missed some good partying
2) The hanger trick didn’t work, and then when I tried calling locksmiths, no one picked up for about an hour! Then I felt bad for having the locksmith come out and rescue me on New Year’s Eve, especially since it took like 30 min to open my car.
3) My manager couldn’t leave until I was able to leave safely, and a couple of my coworkers stayed around to make sure I it taken care of…so I caused OTHERS to miss some good partying, even worse.

So we all had this really lame moment sitting in booths in the restaurant, looking at someone’s cell phone and counting down to the new year.  Yay.

 Today’s questions will have a theme, and will focus on the memories we’ve collected when experiencing music, movies, and books. (If you don’t have any notable experiences in the following places, just talk about memories associated with those topics.)

[Listen] What is your most memorable concert experience?

[Watch] What is your most memorable experience in a movie theater?

[Read] What is your most memorable experience in a library?

[Listen] You can only take 5 albums with you to an island. Which ones would you pick at the moment?

[Watch] Do you think reality TV is capable of adding any real value to our lives?

[Read] What is your favorite memoir? Or if you don’t read memoirs, do you have a favorite autobiography, or is there someone’s autobiography you’d really like to read?

You can play along at thatsmyanswer.com

What are 3 things you did this weekend?  Played Indigo Prophecy, watched an episode of Twin Peaks Season 2, and got my purple glasses repaired

The cover of my Redbook magazine headlines: How to get more out of life. I haven’t read the article yet, but I’m wondering how do you get more out of life?  Try to find the humor in everything, even if it doesn’t always seem appropriate. Find something to be passionate about all the time, even if it’s a passion to paint your bedroom orange. Get laid a lot. Never stop educating yourself. Adopt a cat.

If you are in a pinch and don’t have anything for dinner, what do you make yourself?  Some old stand-bys in the kitchen include mac & cheese and Hot Pockets. Or I’ll try to throw random veggies/spices in a stir fry, or find some cheesy/saucy/veggie/fishy things to plop on top of pasta.