Liebster Award/Random Stuff About Me

Seeking Bazinga has honored us with the Liebster Blog Award:


Thanks! And by the way, I love the subtitle of your blog: "The Continuing Search for Epic Geekdom." It doesn't get much better than that. :-)

The Rules:

1. Thank the person publicly who nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award and link back to them
2. Copy & Paste the award image to your blog
3. Choose other bloggers with less than 200 followers and inform them of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog
Okay, this is where it gets different from blog to blog:
1. Answer the same questions the blogger who nominated you answered in their blog OR list 11 things about yourself, answer the 11 questions the person giving the award has set for you and then ask your own 11 questions.
2. Nominate other blogs that you enjoy to receive the award who have less than 200 followers – some blogs say nominate 5 blogs while others say nominate 11 blogs.”

Six Facts About Me:

1. I'm the mom of three unschooled kids -- ages 8, 14, and 18. A simple definition of "unschooling" is homeschooling without curricula. Or another way of looking at is is that everything serves as curricula -- board games, kitchen experiments, books, movies, the internet, conversations while you're driving in the car, video games, life experiences ... well, you get the idea.
2. As a teen, I was a wannabe rebel who never really had the recklessness -- or sheer nerve -- to jump too far off the beaten path. Y'know, didn't listen to the "cool" bands, but didn't go hardcore "punk." (This was the early 80's.) Used the "gateway drug" -- marijuana -- but never tried anything "harder." Showed up at school drunk then laid low, terrified I'd get caught. Got into all sorts of truancy problems for skipping school, and usually spent the time at the library reading. So I read The Color Purple by Alice Walker and Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut instead of The Scarlet Letter and Oliver Twist -- let's hear it for life on the edge. ;-) Anyway, it's a good thing I lacked nerve, because it would definitely be years before I developed much sense.
3. I've never quite outgrown living in a fantasy world, with books, movies and all sorts of wild daydreams. It's like full-on theater in my brain at least 50% of the time. I fought this side of myself for years. What a waste of energy.
4. My drug of choice is caffeine -- specifically hot tea. Lots and lots of it.
5. I'm a native North Carolinian living in Virginia, and I'm about to confess a radical act of heresy against my Southern roots. I don't care for sweet tea. I'll take my iced tea without sugar, thanks. :-)
6. To say that I'm physically uncoordinated is an understatement. High school gym was enough purgatory for me to cover a lifetime of sins, or it would have been if I hadn't skipped school so much. I once went to play basketball with my husband and sister-in-law -- I fell down on the way to the basketball court and broke my wrist. Even thinking about athletics is clearly too dangerous for me.

Seeking Bazinga's Questions:

1. What’s your favorite curse word and why? -- I've gotta go with a classic -- the "F Bomb" has always been my favorite. It's versatile, gratifying to say, and -- if used correctly -- always gets a reaction. I nurture my appreciation of this word by hanging around cops and watching Quentin Tarantino movies. ;-)

2. What sound or noise do you love? -- The sound of crickets chirping, especially in the fall when it's ubiquitous. It's calming, somehow.

3. What is your favorite painting, and why? -- I love art, and I really can't choose a favorite painting. My teens and I have an affinity for Surrealism (I'm sure that won't come as a surprise to anyone). I guess I love the fact that it bypasses the thinking part of the brain and appeals to the dreamy subconscious. What does this famous painting by Rene Magritte say about the human condition? Hell if I know. But I can't stop looking at it.

The Human Condition by Rene Magritte

4. If you could meet any person, alive or dead, who would it be and what would you discuss? -- Tweaking the question a bit, but my biggest wish would be to talk to my mom again -- she died, quickly and unexpectedly, nine years ago. She was quite possibly the smartest and funniest woman I've ever known. Hard to say what we'd discuss -- the kids, this painful presidential campaign, the pretentiousness of literary types who claim book bloggers are destroying literary criticism. What was really going on in her life during her last few years. How I never got to say "I'm sorry" and "thank you."

5. If you could live forever, would you? -- No way. Too much of a good thing.

6. If there is a God, what would you like to hear him say when you get to heaven? -- "Welcome to Heaven. The library is that way -- you'll find every book and film known to man. And your mom and grandma are waiting for you in there. Have fun!"