Do You Know How To Do These 50 Things?

I stumbled across a website (http://www.marcandangel.com/) that had a list of 50 things everyone should know how to do.

The list is no doubt created by a man (some of the references they use and reasons why they believe they should be learned are very patriarchal), but the list is useful.

So let's see how much of this I know how to do, feel free to keep score and see if I know more than you...it's quite possible.

1. Build a Fire – Yes! I have built fires...however whenever I think about my past experience building a fire I am reminded of the time I thought lighter fluid on a camp fire was a good idea.

2. Operate a Computer - I know that I'm not the worst and know my way around Windows...so yes. Another one for me.

3. Use Google Effectively – I think I've mastered Google...Google Chrome however frightens me.

4. Perform CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver – Heck yes I can! All I have to remember is the tune to 'Staying Alive' and I'm good as gold. And I'll have the paper proof when I re-certify in March.

5. Drive a Manual Transmission Vehicle – Of course. And I believe I'm the only Rodger daughter who does know this skill. I am SO ready for The Amazing Race.

6. Do Basic Cooking – Check! Thanks Mom!

7. Tell a Story that Captivates People’s Attention - Definitely. I'm the most captivating woman to listen to.

8. Win or Avoid a Fistfight – I'm so good at avoiding this...I truly believe my job made me better.

9. Deliver Bad News - I know how to do this, and I have had to many times...am I good at it? Jury's still out.

10. Change a Tire - Yes. I call my parents and they arrange for someone to change it. Easy-peasy.

11. Handle a Job Interview - I mastered this in Fall 2008. I believe I went on 15+ interviews between July and December 2008.

12. Manage Time - Still working on this, but things have a way of getting done.

13. Speed Read - Yeah, if by 'speed read' you mean 'lie about reading it'.

14. Remember Names - Never had a problem. For some reason my brain can retain names and plots of reality TV, but become a sieve when it comes to remembering what I need the moment I enter into the grocery store.

15. Relocate Living Spaces - Yes! Done twice, second time better than the first...dreading the third time.

16. Travel Light – This is one to work on for 2010.

17. Handle the Police - Handle? Almost! Pretty good at asserting my power.

18. Give Driving Directions – Depends on where you want to go! To my place downtown? Yeah! To my parents home in the mystical land of Oakridge? No. Anywhere in Elgin County? Try someone else, that place is like a black hole for me.

19. Perform Basic First Aid – YES!

20. Swim – I can do this...I'm better at treading water...

21. Parallel Park – Ugh. If I had the income I'd buy one of those cars that parallel park themselves.

22. Recognize Personal Alcohol Limits – Yes. Except at Oktoberfest.

23. Select Good Produce – Yes! Except oranges. I seem to pick the worst oranges.

24. Handle a Hammer, Axe or Handsaw – Hammer, check. Axe, no. Handsaw, how hard could that be?

25. Make a Simple Budget – Yes, I'm also good at making other people's budgets.

26. Speak at Least Two Common Languages – Bien sur! And thanks to the colonization record of France and Belgium I can converse with many people from West Africa.

27. Do Push-Ups and Sit-Ups Properly - No. Just no.

28. Give a Compliment – Hell yeah.

29. Negotiate - Getting there.

30. Listen Carefully to Others – I hope to high hell I can do this since it's a major part of my job.

31. Recite Basic Geography – Do you know where Timbuktu really is? Because I do.

32. Paint a Room – Yes! Painted a room blood red (that was the name of the colour!)...determined that it's messy, fun and never to ask Maggie to help unless you want your ceiling painted as well.

33. Make a Short, Informative Public Speech – Since this was my job for 18 months at WAYS, this would have to be a big yes!

34. Smile for the Camera – Yes! Still waiting to get my funeral picture. Hopefully I learn to 'smize' before it's taken. I fear what picture someone would use for my Facebook memorial group.

35. Flirt Without Looking Ridiculous – Most of the time I'm oblivious to flirting when it's happening, so perhaps no. The awkwardness really comes out.

36. Take Useful Notes – More is definitely the key for me.

37. Be a Respectful House Guest – Yes, just ask my grandma.

38. Make a Good First Impression – Yes!

39. Navigate with a Map and Compass – Map, yes. Compass? Just reminds me of orienteering.

40. Sew a Button onto Clothing – Heck yes!

41. Hook Up a Basic Home Theater System – This is why I have my Dad.

42. Type – The only good thing that came out of all those stupid keyboarding classes.

43. Protect Personal Identity Information – Hopefully, but I've heard some scary stories. Surely having a blog about my personal life doesn't put me at risk, right?

44. Implement Basic Computer Security Best Practices – Since I got a scary virus on my new laptop 30 minutes after purchase, I'll give this one a big no.

45. Detect a Lie – You would think because of my job, yes. But sadly I believe every word that comes out of your mouth. I want to believe the best. Sigh.

46. End a Date Politely Without Making Promises – I'm pretty good at getting out of uncomfortable situations.

47. Remove a Stain – Spray and Wash is my friend.

48. Keep a Clean House – Yes, maybe Mags could learn a thing or two.

49. Hold a Baby – Learned this on the job as getting babies shoved into my arms is not uncommon.

50. Jump Start a Car - See #10.

So I got 40/50, give or take.

How did you do?

My 2009 in Review

A summary of 2009

Breaking down the year 2009 in 35 questions!

I've been living in 2010 for two weeks now, and I think I'm finally ready to start processing what a roller coaster ride 2009 was!

1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Became a counselor! Went to Newfoundland, got a flat tire.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

No resolutions made in 2009, I thought it was unnecessary. Little did I know.
For 2010, be more assertive (yes, surprisingly I am not as assertive as I should be in parts of my life, excluding this blog).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Yes, a fellow book clubber gave birth this fall, giving us another book reader!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes.

5. What countries did you visit?

Las Vegas! Best 21st birthday party EVER! And in case it counts, I visited Newfoundland which has only been a part of Canada for 51 years...

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

A rocking apartment all year long, more time with friends and bigger travel plans (Scotland here I come!).

7. What dates from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory and why?

December 24th and 25th, I didn't work and was so eternally grateful for the time off. July 1st, watching fireworks from my new balcony.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Making some amazing new friends, continuing traveling on my own, reaching my one year anniversary at the shelter.

9. What was your biggest failure?

Losing my patience one too many times with those who didn't deserve it. Not taking my chances!

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

No, thankfully.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Um, my ticket to Newfoundland!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?

Me, I freaking rocked the house this year on self reflection.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Abusers that I spoke with and heard about.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Traveling.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

My trip to Las Vegas with my family, my trip to Newfoundland to visit Shannon and Danny, my stay-cation at home in December.

16. What song will always remind of you 2009?

The entire Lady Gaga album. And Susan Boyle's rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream".

17. Compared to this time last year, are:

a) happier or sadder?

b) richer or poorer?

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Blogging!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Stressing out.

20. Did you fall in love in 2009?

Many, many times.

21. What was your favourite TV program?

Glee, NCIS (courtesy of Dad), and Survivor.

22. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Hate is quite a strong word, probably not.

23. What was the best book you read?

Part of War and Peace, Cunt, When You are Engulfed in Flames, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Water for Elephants, Trauma Stewardship, Engendered Lives...there are more that I can't remember!

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Glee!

25. What did you want and get?

A permanent job!

26. What did you want and not get?

A Wii, a new television, and a new couch.

27. What was your favourite film of this year?

Sherlock Holmes, New Moon...sigh.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 27 and I had the worst menstrual cramps of my entire life.

29. How you would describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

Becoming a bit more profesh.

30. What kept you sane?

Myself.

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Channing Tatum (*horrifyingly embarrassed).

32. Who did you miss?

Joelene, Leah, Shannon, Maggie...

33. Who was the best new person you met?

So many, can't count.

34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.

I am capable.

35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

Oh the lights still on, we're dancing
Yeah the floor is shaking
In this disco heaven

7 Month Hiatus...What Can You Do In 210 Days?

Hello again...yes, it's me the absent blogger. After seven months I'm back, although I'm not too sure what my re-emergence may entail!

I left the blog for a while because of a very important reason. I was burnt out! There were many things that contributed to my stress (work, moving, work), but with a new year brings new strategies to deal with this stress.

And part of my way of dealing with stress was to begin journalling. However, writing in my little journal lost it's appeal about a minute after I started. It turns out I'm just narcissistic enough to rationalize my blog. There may be some pauses between blogs but I'm open to whatever happens!

I'll still be doing what I do best, complaining and ranting. But I will strive to include more exciting and/or positive spurts of energy. And, of course, the re-posting of some articles and interesting tidbits. If nothing else than just to irritate my dad.

To sum up my last seven months, I can do this in list formation of things that I found irritating, bizarre and blog-worthy, but never got around to;

1. Twilight saga
- Yes, the saga continues and it's second installment is just as horrifying as the first...look for my thoughts coming soon!

2. Olympics
- Definitely not on the pro side. This debate made me go a little bit on the aggressive side on Facebook (one of the indications to myself that blogging may be a more appropriate venue to vocalize my views). In short the Olympics are actually the exact opposite of everything they are espoused to be. Look for more to come as Vancouver 2010 approaches!

3. Justin Beiber
- I'm still not sure who this kid is, and I have strong suspicions that he is yet another manufactured pop icon, however his misogynistic lyrics are frightening when you see the adoration this 15 year old gets...

4. Glee!
- I'm not what you would call a "Glee-k" but I am a fan of anything that has a hint of a musical (and when you do a cover of a song from "Wicked" you are my new friend, immediately). I am a firm believer that the music is about 100 times better than then storyline, but I am loving the strong female characters.

5. Scotland
- Yes! Part of the Rodger clan is heading to our homeland this Spring! So expect planning posts to appear regularly.

Tweeting Away...

In my attempt to become reconnected with the digital world I signed up for the ever popular "Twitter".

If you haven't heard of Twitter, it's a Facebook like website. Except the only thing that you do with this website is update your status.

At first glance, I thought it was a tad narcissistic. Constantly updating people on your every mood. Kind of pathetic.

I became fully annoyed with Twitter when last month Demi Moore, the actress from such thought provoking films as Striptease, GI Jane and The Scarlet Letter, apparently saved a suicidal woman via Twitter.

Twitter? Seriously? I think we need to calm down here. Demi Moore, while I'm sure she is dedicated to her craft, is no suicide interventionist. And while it is honorable to suggest someone "get some help", that hardly qualifies you for a Nobel Peace Prize.

The most irritating piece about this was where I read this story. On CNN's website.

Yes, I know CNN is not exactly the a fountain of thought provoking headlines, but I do find my way to their website from time to time.

Anyway, after falling out of love with Twitter, I am now back.

So if you're on Twitter, I'm Jessie000.

I'll be putting up my own narcissitic musings on exactly what I'm doing at the moment, and I hope you find it as interesting as all of my followers (yes, followers).

Moving Along...

Hello Blog Visitors…

You may have noticed (or perhaps you haven’t realized at all that I’ve neglected my sad little blog in months) that my blogging has come to a pretty horrifying stop as of February of this year.

I would love to say that I have a reason why I haven’t blogged. And if you press me enough I do have quite a few good ones:

1. I got my dream job, however I didn’t realize that the first 2 months of my dream job would test my will power on a daily basis

2. I slept a lot

So, basically 2 reasons why I haven’t blogged in a while. Tsk, tsk. That’s why I decided to go at it again giving you my unsolicited opinion on all things that irritate and inspire.

New Blog To Read!

Alrighty, this campaign down South is sometimes annoying and "vicious circle" often comes to mind when I think about it, but-

I just found a really cool blog.

It's called "Margaret and Helen". They are two 82 year young women who are Obama supporters and have learned how to blog from one of their grandsons!

How awesome is that?

Their blog topics range from the overused "Bush-shit" to the clever "Maverick My Ass" to the very hilarious "The Straight Talk Express Just Drove Off the Bridge to Nowhere".

Enjoy this blog, it was sent to me from a friend- very cool :-)

And their photo of them in their scooters proves that age knows no limit- so Mary, get ready to blog!

http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com

Please Don't Pass The Nuts Blog

Ch-ch-check out the new fave blog, "Please Don't Pass The Nuts".

Whiskey sours aren't exactly the most nutritious, but better than Annie's long list of allergens.

Changes At VT

You may have noticed that I'm trying some stuff out here with the blog now that we've passed the two year period (and I have some time on my hands).

New templates and widgets may be popping up- and I would like to draw your attention towards the "Blog List" which is one of my favourites at the moment.

They're my favourite blogs out there (so far with many more to come) and they update as their authors do. I'm really loving "Feministing" right now. Its stuff on feminism and Sarah Palin are amazing and quite necessary as people seem to want to paste this label onto the govenor of Alaska. Quite frightening when you think about it- definitely check it out! It's mildly terrifying what people (and when I say people I mean 'men') are trying to create Palin to be. The video about Palin's inactivity surrounding Alaska's sky rocketing domestic violence rates (the clip talks about it being a real epidemic in the northern state) is pretty shocking. Her actions don't really read as 'feminist' even to the most loose definition.

Anyway- check it out along with the others (Five Blondes is a very good read as well!) and send me your faves.

Oh, and participate democratically on my blog! Ch-ch-check out the polls and get ready for Oct. 14th and stretch your voting muscles.

Comments Reminder

Just a reminder that I have enabled the comments.

You don't need to sign up to leave a message.

Sooo...

Please acknowledge me.

And don't be mean.

I reserve the right to bitch and moan however I please on my blog.

Blog's Back Up

Alright, so after my Dad messed up my browser I couldn't access my blog, but rest assured he fixed the problem and we're back up and running.

Shoveling The Day After Maggie Leaves

Ok, so everyone knows that here in London we had a green Christmas.

I didn't mind so much (Annie's complaining could be heard in Oxford County) because this meant no shoveling.

And when I was driving Maggie to the airport in the rain she commented on how funny it would be if it snowed enough the next day to have to shovel it from the driveway.

Wouldn't that be funny? Because she and Annie hadn't done any shoveling at all during their stay.

Well, the next day wouldn't you know I was out there shoveling. And cursing my sisters.

So thanks Mags, I appreciate your "help".

The one thought that consoles me is the knowledge that had the both of them been at home during any snow fall we ALL know that neither one of them would have picked up a shovel.

P.S. This is my 101st post on my blog! W00T!

A Word About Blogging

Ok, I know it's been more than a month since I've blogged, but let me remind you why I blog.

Because I'm alone.

During the holidays I'm not alone. It would be nice if people could be happy that I'm not on the computer writing about things that tick me off.

So be pleased that now I'm alone and am back to blogging.

P.S. I really don't appreciate the physical threats, Annie.