Ask Cardine: Part IX - Jawbreaker

The creative juices for blogging are not flowing, so I am doing something that I haven't done in a while: I am bringing back the Ask Cardine segment of this blog. Last time I asked for suggestions on what to write, Sarah provided me with a good list of random topics that I could address on this blog. I already addressed Echoes, so I am going to continue on with her list. I now give you "Jawbreaker."

I have self-assessed ADD. When I am in a class, a presentation, or a meeting, I am so easily distracted by just about anything. The other day I was in a sort of meeting. There was a slide presentation, and they used a visual effect that was supposed to imply various layers. It ended up looking something like this:

And this is what I thought:

That looks kind of like a jawbreaker. I like those ones with layers. What are they? Oh yeah, Gobstoppers. Mmmm... Gobstoppers. Gobstoppers are good, especially the chewy kind. Flaur is like a chewy Gobstopper because she has layers. Oh wait, the what are they talking about now?

Yeah, that is totally me in meetings. Does anyone else do that? Or are you just craving Chewy Gobstoppers now, like me?

Ask Cardine: Part VIII - Living With Parents

Horker P. Slappy asked me if I would blog with suggestions or advice for living with parents. She will shortly be moving back home with her parents and is approximately my age. I'm also hoping that this could be useful for others to read who may shortly be in this situation again or who have recently found themselves in this situation. Here is a list of suggestions that I just made up because I pretty much think about it rarely.

#1. Don't become dependent and lazy. What this means to me is that I will not take advantage of my parents' willingness to care for me. For example, if I let him, my dad would cook me breakfast every morning. When my parents moved back in with me, I told him that he didn't need to worry about me ever for breakfast. I would get my own if I wanted it. This may not be a way in which you would maintain your independence. Find a way that works for you. Maybe you cook dinner every once in a while. Maybe you mow the lawn. Anyway, just don't get lazy because it's hard to break out of it once you are. Trust me, I know. But, also make room to allow them to serve you. Don't be so independent that you are unable to accept kindness.

#2. Laundry. Make sure your laundry habits don't clash with theirs. I know that you still have siblings at home, and I don't know what the laundry situation is for that, but be sure that you're finding a time to do your laundry that's not inconvenient for anyone.

#3. Get out of your house. Be sure that you are socializing plenty with the outside world. The last thing you want is to become weird and enclosed from only having socialized with about six people in any given week. There are added benefits to this. You could meet people that share a lot of your same interests and make good friends. Eating away from home as much as possible is a great idea, too. Just make sure that they know you won't be eating at home BEFORE your parents start cooking the meal, if you eat dinner typically with them. Of course, this depends upon your food situation in the first place.

#4. Make room for family. While I'm telling you to get out of there, I would also advise you to make some time that is specifically meant for you to spend with your family. If you have a habitual time set aside, such as Sunday dinner where they can always count on you being there, that's fantastic! I have a weekly game time with my mom. This is why I am so good at Scrabble. Hee hee.

#5. Your room is your apartment. I spend a lot of time in my own space. I like to have time by myself, and I believe that it is necessary to maintain sanity.

#6. Don't become a mom. With younger siblings in the house, it'll probably be easy to share your opinion on what works and what doesn't with regard to your parents' raising of the siblings. I suggest that you mostly keep your opinions to yourself. Also, don't become your parents' mom. You don't always have to share your opinion about everything. Let them figure stuff out for themselves, even if you disagree with it. Sure, there are some times when it's probably good to share an opinion, but I believe that it is good to let people choose for themselves, even if they're choosing poorly.

#7. Don't be the prodigal son's brother. When your siblings who have also moved out come home, your parents are probably going to spoil them or kill the fatted calf for dinner or perhaps get all excited about it. You will notice that they do not do these things for you. It's okay. They do appreciate you, and be sure that you're not jealous of your siblings and what is given to them. Remember that you are a separate person from them. Perhaps your siblings are 'given' more than you are or ever were as a child. It doesn't matter. You are you. A separate being. Allow your parents the liberty of treating you as a separate being. Be grateful for it, even if it means that you are getting the short end of the deal, or so it seems.

#8. Make use of the time you have with them to get to know them. Listen to their 'boring' stories. You may even want to write them down. Find out what sort of fantastic things they did as teenagers or in their single lives. Listen to stories about you when you were younger. These stories are priceless, I promise. They may be boring now, but you will appreciate them later. You may have to ask them specific questions. Trust me, it's some great material.

#9. Don't get annoyed by their inquisitiveness over your dating life or lack thereof. One of their parental roles is to worry about how you turn out. They want you to be happy. They think that they know how you can be happy. They are stressing over it. When they are freaking out over a date or whatnot, just remind them that you ARE happy in your life. Don't be afraid to bear your testimony of your own singlehood. They are probably also worried about you because you're living with them. I think that the best thing to do is to stay calm and reassure them that it is okay to be your age and single.

#10. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

#11. Say please and thank you. And when appropriate, tell your family that you love them and give them hugs. Okay, so I suck at it, but you should do it.

I think that's it. For now. Does anybody else have any suggestions?

Who Asked Cardine?

The answer: nobody. Nobody asked me any of this, but I'm going to share my opinion. This week I've been noticing stories in the news.

(I should warn you here that today I discovered that my "sence" of humor was completely gone and that I was not finding much pleasure, if any, in the musings of others. If you're expecting a happy post, you should know that this will be laden with ... complaining or bitterness or something of that sort. I would tell you to stop reading here, but I desire all people to be miserable like unto myself and to find no pleasure, so please, read on.)

Anyway, first story: On August 28, 2006, the oldest person in the world died. Her name is Maria Esther de Capovilla. She was born the same year as Charlie Chaplin and Adolf Hitler, which means that she was 116. That's nice.

Hello!!! Didn't the oldest person just die? Isn't the oldest person dying about every year? Is this news? They're OLD. After one dies, the next oldest person is still old. They're going to die soon, too. Is that news? Is it in the news everytime the youngest person is born? No! It's because it happens everyday! Now the presumed oldest person is Elizabeth Bolden of Memphis, TN. She is also 116. When will she die? Probably in the next year. Maybe not, though.

Just for fun, here is a list of the last eight oldest person deaths (all of this data is taken from various sources on the internet):

August 28, 2006 - Maria Esther de Capovilla - 116
May 29, 2004 - Ramona Trinidad Iglesias-Jordan - 114
November 13, 2003 - Mitoyo Kawate - 114
October 31, 2003 - Kamato Hongo - 116
March 18, 2002 - Maude Ferris-Luse - 114
June 6, 2001 - Marie Bremont - 115
November 2, 2000 - Eva Morris - 115
December 30, 1999 - Sarah Knauss - 119

Maybe it is interesting to note this stuff. Maybe people read those sort of news stories and are intrigued. Maybe it's because a non-oldest lady had a column about her earlier this month that I am thinking it happens everyday. Maybe I actually had a good time finding the oldest people and reading about them. D'oh! I'm starting to feel non-bitter.

Next up: Pluto is not a planet anymore. If you haven't heard, the International Astronomical Union voted to define planets differently, so now there are just the eight planets. Remember waaaaay back in elementary school when you learned that "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas (or Pine Nuts, depending on the year)? Well, there's no "P" anymore. What!?! You mean, there's no pizza? Don't worry, folks. I have decided that a good substitute for 'pizza' would be to switch 'nine' to 'nachos.' I think that it will be an easy way to remember the eight planets, even for the latino kids in the country. Council of Nicea, anyone?

Okay, but here's the kicker. Pluto is now defined as a dwarf planet. But they say that dwarf planets are not planets. Um, guys? If something is a planet, doesn't it mean that it's a planet? I mean, if it's not a planet, why are they calling it a planet? In this case does the word 'dwarf' mean 'not a?' So, did you know that there is a 'not a planet' that resides between Mars and Jupiter? It's called Ceres. But, it's not a planet, so you don't need to memorize it. It's just a dwarf planet. And then there's this mass that's called 'Charon,' but it's called a satellite. It is bigger than Pluto and was previously considered to be a moon of Pluto.

And then there's 2003 UB313. Yes, that's the name of it. It is also a dwarf planet. It's a good thing they didn't decide that 2003 UB313 is a real planet. Could you imagine trying to put that into the sentence? If all of those were planets, it would have to go "My very educated mother cunningly just served us nine cheese pizzas on 2003 UB313." Um, does that work? I should note that sometimes 2003 UB313 is called "Xena." Um, that doesn't work either. "... nine cheese pizzas..." ...uh... xylophones? X-rays? Xanthous? Xenophobia? Xerox? Xenobiology? Xystus? See, it doesn't work. So, I guess they were doing us a favor. Thanks to the 5% of astronomers for voting and keeping the elementary school kids in mind.

Lastly, but not news: So, have you ever noticed those advertisements for finding your classmates? They look something like this:

Do you think the one that says "SHE MARRIED HIM??!!" is really funny?

Did you ever see the one with the three girls? One of them had really weird sticking out hair and the one of them looked like this girl from my high school. Sometimes the pictures of the girls were slightly different? And did you ever see the one with the shifty eyes? That one was freaky. I haven't seen it around in a while. Do you think the above-posted middle girl looks like Katherine Zeta-Jones? Do you think people actually try to find their classmates on that site? Do you think that sometimes it's like the guy from the movie Fargo? What do you think?

*This blog was edited to include the above section of freaky girls who sometimes have shifty eyes. The girl on the left is the one who I feel like looks like a girl from my high school. The girl on the right is the one that I think has weird hair (not that the others don't have weird hair, but this one is especially strange).

Ask Cardine: Part VII - The Missing Link

I have six brothers and sisters. All seven of us were born between 1969 and 1979. We all went to universities after high school. Four of my siblings went to the same school. At some point during their schooling they each lived in the same apartment complex, not all at the same time, but at varying points. When my youngest sister arrived at that apartment complex, someone exclaimed that she was the missing link between my brother and sister who were living there at the time. Aparently they don't look alike, but my youngest sister was the missing link.

There is this site where you can upload pictures of yourself and they will "Find the Celebrity in You." Basically, it scans your face and tells you what celebrities you look like. Cash asked me which celebrities I came up with, and when I tried it the first time, these were the answers I got:

and

What do you think? Do I look like them? Anyway, I found it interesting that my top two were of different nationalities than me. I also found it very flattering because the picture I chose was not exactly a great picture of me, and both of these females are quite pretty, in my opinion. And now, for all of the humor, I will now list my other results. Some of them are pretty low percentages, but I thought it was interesting. I used three different pictures and this is what I got:

Photo #1:
Rani Mukherjee
Zhang Ziyi
Macaulay Culkin
Michelle Yeoh
Beyonce Knowles
Lucy Liu
Denise Richards
Shannen Doherty
The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson)
Judit Polgar

Photo #2
Mariah Carey
Gemma Ward
Denise Richards
Lana Turner
Song Hye-kyo
Jessica Alba
Sofia Coppola
Jang Nara
Miranda Otto
Anne Hathaway

Photo #3
Rani Mukherjee
Carole Lombard
Nicole Kidman
Nicky Hilton
Katrina Kaif
Timothy Dalton
Hrithik Roshan
John Cusack
Naomi Watts
Gillian Anderson

Interesting, eh? I thought it was pretty fun. I kept the settings so males could come up. I think it's funny that way. I have done other photos, too, and I get a few repeats, such as Zhang Ziyi and Denise Richards. Rani Mukherjee comes up quite a bit, too. I don't necessarily think that I look like these people, but it was a fun thing to see who would come up. It's also interesting that my sister and I get some of the same people. But, I don't think she got The Rock. Perhaps I am the missing link between Mariah Carey and The Rock or Shannon Doherty and Jessica Alba.

Ask Cardine: Part VI - Echoes

This “Ask Cardine” topic can be blamed on Sarah. I don’t know what to blog about, so I am resorting to the list she posted.

Echo, the sound: I suppose that the definition, according to m-w is: the repetition of a sound cause by reflection of sound waves. I, personally, am a fan of echoes. They remind me of the great outdoors. I think of standing, looking over a cliff, and yelling something ridiculous, just to hear my echo. The imagery is quite beautiful, really. Try it. Close your eyes and imagine your favorite outdoor location where you may be able to yell and hear an echo. That’s right. Ah… so refreshing. Now, yell something ridiculous at the top of your lungs! Do it! Ha ha ha! I bet if anyone heard you, they thought you were foolish.

Echo, the female: One time I met someone named Echo. She was a leader of some sort at my very first girls’ camp. I had moved to the town that very week (16 years ago, this week), and I didn’t know anybody. The camp could have been a lot worse than it was, considering that. I remember crying because I twisted my ankle. It’s true. My ankle had problems back then, too. Anyway, I don’t remember much about Echo, other than the fact that she was a leader. That is why I filled the rest of this paragraph up with useless information.

Eko, the male: Mr. Eko from LOST. He’s big. He’s a ‘priest.’ Okay, so he was actually a drug lord who impersonated a priest and sort of became a priest. He now carries a large stick with scripture on it. He is from Nigeria. He baptizes people and wants to build a church. The drugs that he was smuggling were hidden in Virgin Mary statues. It was heroin, which happens to be the drug of choice for Charlie, therefore creating a subplot for the show.

Sometimes Eko dreams about his dead brother who was the actual priest. His name is Yemi, which reminds me of "Yummy." If I were walking down a street and looked down a dark alley, and Eko were in it, I would be too afraid to go down that dark alley, especially with his clothes all ripped and torn like that, and especially if he had his big stick. However, if I were at war, and I thought he were on my side, I would totally want to hang out with him. He can do more with his stick than many people can do with guns. Yay, Mr. Eko.

Ask Cardine: Part V - The Dreaded Lists

So, about a week ago cjane's blog had a post, essentially requesting that I do a similar post. I suppose that since I did a little "Ask Cardine" bit a few posts back, I should probably consider this a part of "Ask Cardine." So, here are the dreaded lists (I think they originally had seven items to them per ~J's and others' blogs):

7 Things I want to do before I die: (finding my goal list)
1 - Go surfing
2 - Visit all 50 states
3 - Visit every continent (Antarctica is optional)
4 - Make out at the 'C'
5 - Try on lace-up pants
6 - Read an entire Ensign cover-to-cover (never done it, but I'm in the process)
7 - Own a house in which I live

7 Things I cannot do:
1 - Get a hole-in-one in golf
2 - Play the tuba
3 - Purchase $80 cords
4 - Eat at El Gallo
5 - Be normal when a male says something sweet/flirtatious to me
6 - Get up early without motivation
7 - Go to Wal-Mart before 10 p.m.

7 Things that attracted me to my spouse: (I'm not married, so 7 things that I'm attracted to in men, keeping all other attractions constant)
1 - When they say something sweet/flirtatious to me
2 - The ability to talk about stuff with them, without fear of insult
3 - When they cry about their testimonies, their families, or other endearing things
4 - When they listen to what I have to say, think about it, and intelligently respond
5 - Kindness
6 - Laughter with love
7 - When their eyes shine

7 Thing I say often:
1 - That's funny.
2 - That's hilarious.
3 - Excellent.
4 - Sweet.
5 - That's gay.
6 - What!?!
7 - Get out of town!

7 Books I am currently reading/are on the reading list:
1 - The Book of Mormon (the daughter of Jared is naughty)
2 - Human Intimacy: Illusion & Reality
3 - The Twenty-One Balloons
4 - Number the Stars
5 - Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
6 - Bonds that Make Us Free
7 - Stuart Little

7 Movies I could watch over and over:
1 - The Star Wars Trilogy (is that one or six movies?)
2 - The Harry Potter Series
3 - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
4 - Sense & Sensibility
5 - Mulan
6 - Little Women
7 - The Fugitive

7 People I'd like to see do a list like this:
See links list. Thanks.

Ask Cardine: Part IV - Pontifications on Home Design

This one is going to be a little long because the questions were long. I will put the question portion in italics and the answer portion in regular type.

Cash asked:

I want to know your opinions on home design. By that, I mean I want you pontificate on many things. Do you hate stucco?

No, I don't hate stucco, but I don't feel that a house that is 100% stucco is very beautiful. If a person were to have an entire house of stucco because they're going for a Southwestern look, that's fine with me, but I don't want to live there. I think that stucco should be accompanied by something else, such as brick or stone of the fake or real varieties.

What about siding?

Actually, I've noticed that a lot of people are siding snobs. They think that siding is ugly and cheap. I think that sometimes siding can actually be quite cute. If I get time I will go around and take some pictures of siding houses that I think are cute. Some of them (probably most) aren't 100% siding houses, but I am not adverse to siding.


Do you think fake stone will be hideous in just a few short years?

No, I don't think that it will be hideous; however, I think that the fake stone will probably date the house. Sort of like certain color-schemes or brown wood houses scream the time period in which they were made. Right now I've noticed that everyone is all about the brown houses around here. They look nice and everything, but why is every new house the same color scheme? I have no idea.


Do you think it's good that cheap materials have made it possible for families to buy larger houses for less money, even if it's not built to last?

I am a fan of following building regulations and of people who are experts in fields doing their jobs. In other words, I am going to trust that building inspectors will ethically perform their duties so that a future purchaser of a built home can trust that their home is free of material errors that would cause the home to be unsafe. Other than that, if someone wants to put cheap doorknobs on their doors, that is fine with me. Did that sufficiently answer the question?

Or do you think modern technology makes it stupid to build houses to last just because we'll want to update and upgrade so much along the way we might as well raize the building and start again?

Oh, I don't think that it's stupid to build quality homes. I think that updating and upgrading is optional. I really think that this question is more for people who are rich and put all sorts of new-fangled gadgets in their homes and not for me, the girl who only uses TV to watch LOST that she taped on her VCR. Yes, I typed VCR, not DVR. And, I think that there will always be people who like old homes, such as the treehouse and would rather restore as opposed to destroy and build anew.

Do you like modern styles?

Some of them. I'm not much of a fan of all of the brown that's going on around here. Something that should give you a clue is that usually when people say that they like the architecture or coloring of a building, I am thinking, "Ew, that would drive me crazy." Needless to say, I know that I am not a trend-follower. There are some looks that I just don't like, such as salmon-colored stucco commercial buildings. In fact, I don't like most of the architecture of the commercial buildings around here that were built post-1920. But, I do like a lot of newer architecture in other cities. I have no explanation for this.

Do you think garages should be detached or attached?

Really, in my opinion, it depends upon the size of the house. If it is a gigantic house, I think that it could go either way. For convenience purposes, attached appears to be better, but I am fond of a carriage house-type garage. If the house isn't very big, I think that the garage should generally be attached or hidden in the back so as to not make the house seem small. I hadn't really thought about this, so I just made it up while I was typing.

On the front, back, or at the side?

If the garage is going to be on the front, then there should be a substantial amount of house front to go with it. If it is in the back, then there had better be a substantial yard to go with all that concrete. If it is to be at the side, then there had better be a large area in which to maneuver into the garage, plus sufficient yardage.

Do you think home furnishing should be like Ikea -- slightly funky,slightly junky, but mostly affordable?

This is entirely dependent upon the homeowner's situation and style. Their personality would have something to do with it, too.

Or should they, too, be built to last?

I think that quality is always a good thing, but a person would have to weigh the pros and cons of the amount of money spent vs. what they are able to afford, given their situation. If possible and reasonable, quality and built-to-last furniture would be fantastic.

Do you worry that buildings are built in a more disposable fashion and that's dangerous what with hurricanes damaging the Gulf Coast and big earthquakes forecasted in both Utah and California?

Sometimes I think about buildings and wonder about the quality of the workmanship that has gone into the structure. I always hope that the structure is of good quality in case some sort of a disaster strikes. However, I am aware that there are many people who choose to dwell in dwellings that are less than sturdy. I would not want to tell those people how to live their lives, so I just hope that those who choose more disposable building materials will be okay if they are ever faced with disaster. Again, I will have to trust building inspectors that buildings are being built in such a manner that would not compromise the safety of individuals.

Or do you not care?

I would like to live in sturdy dwellings.

Do you think people build too big of houses?

I don't know how to answer this one, except to say that people are free to choose the house in which they live. I don't want to clean it.

Do you think it's good for siblings to share rooms or do you think it's better for them to have privacy of their own room?

There is an opportunity cost to both situations. I think that in many cases it is good for siblings to learn how to share space/respect others' space in a shared environment, but I think that there are many cases in which it really is better for siblings to have their own rooms. It's situational, really, but when siblings get to be older, I think that it's just probably a relief for them to be able to have their own room.

How big is too big?

8000 sq ft. Just kidding. I don't know. I suppose that if there were space in a structure that is only used for the housekeeper to clean, that would be too big. What's too big for me? If I murmur about how big it is, it's probably too big. I don't know how big that is. I have often wondered how I could find a balance between a house that is large enough for parties or to entertain people, but not so big that when I'm not entertaining people I think ... whoa, what's up with this big house I have to clean?

There are so many questions here and because you've recently considered buying/building a house, I'll bet you've thought of these things. What are your opinions?

I am too lazy to want to take on yardwork by myself. A yard should be somewhat easily-maintained if those who live there are working full-time. Kitchens should be large. Bedrooms should be separate from community living areas. I like 3+ floors, but I don't want to clean them. I like having a basement. I am a fan of wood furniture, especially dark woods. I haven't figured out how to have both an indoor and an outdoor pool. People like large jacuzzi bathtubs. I don't care much about those. I think that a bedroom is a sanctuary. Most people put their beds there, plus a tv. I don't really want a tv in my room. I like white walls. If there's not going to be white walls, I like crown molding. I like a room with four different colored walls, one of which is somewhat bold or dark. I also like light yellow walls. I am not a huge fan of tile. I like it when people have sufficient places to sit in their living areas (hee hee). I like pianos in houses, separate from a room where there is a tv. I like the idea of a reading room/study/computer room. I think it would be okay for the windows in that room to be full West. I like the sun beating down on me when I'm reading books, just as long as the sun isn't in my eyes. I think that a yard should have quite a bit of lawn. A yard should have the means in which you could play a rousing game of croquet. People should be able to play night games or day games in the yard, without fear of ruining the landscaping. I should always have access to a riding lawnmower. Flowers are pretty. Trees are pretty. I don't like rock art so much in yards.

I will be editing this someday and adding photos. It'll be great. Stay tuned. Thanks for the questions.

Ask Cardine: Part III - The Transporter and The Da Vinci Code

Banana asked:

"What is your review of the movie, "The Transporter"? Would you recommend it to me? Are you planning to see the movie, "Di Vinci Code"?"

I thought that The Transporter was actually pretty funny, in a way. I had seen The Transporter II previously and had heard that The Transporter was better. Now, there's something that you should know about me. Sometimes I am a fan of gratuitous violence. Sometimes it goes way too far and is gross. I don't like to be grossed out. I am more of a fan of The Beauty and the Beast type of violence. So, perhaps they're at war in the castle, but the furniture is using its drawers, etc. to fight the war. And if someone dies, it's because they do something stupid, like fall off the roof. You know? Anyway, sometimes action flicks are great. This was not one of them. There was quite a bit of far-fetched, I mean, amazing stuff that the main guy did, though. There was a funny, very funny comment at the end, but I don't recommend spending time to see the movie. It's sort of a waste of time. I found myself thinking, "Why am I watching this?" while I was watching it. More specifically, I don't recommend this movie for you. I would recommend it probably to some other people if I thought that it were a movie that they would enjoy.

No, I am not specifically planning to see the movie, The Da Vinci Code, but I may end up seeing it anyhow. I'll likely rent it and exercise while I watch it.

Thank you for your questions.

Ask Cardine: Part II - Pet Peeves

Booklogged also says, "I've always wanted to write a post about my pet peeves. Do you have any?"

Yes, I have probably quite a few of them. Here are ten of my pet peeves, in no particular order:

1. The grouping of people into general categories based on traits that really, likely have no correlation with the reason that a person is grouping them. A recent one I heard was: Oooo, those rich, white males... they hoard all of their money and don't give to the poor single mothers. What? Does gender or race really have anything to do with it? Shouldn't the anger be towards those who are rich (or, at least, have more than they need) and don't give (i.e. are selfish), to the poor, without regard to race and gender? Is a rich, asian female who hoards all her money without giving to a poor, married male better than the rich, white male? Grrrrrrr... Another popular one is: Oh, how I hate those (insert political party name here)'s. They are so(insert huge generalization here).

2. Crusaders for homeschooling or people that think that they are better because they have been/are/will be homeschooling.

3. When there's not a right turning lane and there's enough room for one.

4. When I go to a restaurant and they get my order wrong. I said no cheese, not no onions!

5. When LOST goes more than five minutes past nine, and I only set the tape to record until 9:05. Grrrrrr.

6. When I drip food on myself or write on myself and don't have time to go home during the day to change my clothes.

7. Shopping for jeans. I'm not sure they make them for me. Most of them aren't long enough for my legs, unless the waist is too high or the crotch goes halfway down my thigh.

8. When I am forgetful, especially when it's something REALLY important. Someday when I eventually get married, I'll probably wake up that morning and get ready for work. It is all quite embarrassing.

9. Being friends with a hundred married males and the inability to get much acknowledgement from the single male population. Actually, I like the part where I'm friends with people (females, too!), but I get frustrated by the obvious lack of balance in the area of females or married males vs. single males, meaning, I want more attention from the single male population, in general.

10. When people are blatantly rude, impolite, or hurtful to others. It's just so unnecessary.

Ask Cardine: Part I - The Headless Cupid

Wow. That was fast. I was like, I'm sure nobody has checked my blog and commented yet. Wow.

Booklogged asked:

"What is The Headless Cupid about? Did you like it? Would you recommend it?"

My response:

The Headless Cupid is a book by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. The book is written in third person from the perspective of a boy whose father recently remarried. His new wife brought a daughter into the family with her, and the daughter is fixated with the occult. I am just in the middle of the book, but I think that I am now really getting to the plotline (strange stuff is starting to happen).

I like it so far. I had to stop reading it the other night because it was starting to creep me out, and I don't like to be creeped out at night because I don't have a sister at home anymore whose room I can go into when I have watched a scary movie or whatnot.

I'll let you know if I recommend it after I'm done, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to like it because I'm a fan of other works by Zilpha (we're on a first name basis).

Thank you for your question. I will be addressing the other submissions shortly.

To Blog, or Not to Blog

That is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of questioning friends,
Or to type on one's blog when one has little to say...

I guess I'll type. Why? I cannot say. Where? You cannot know. How I will get there? ...I haven't decided yet. But one thing I can tell you, any time I hear the wind blow, it will whisper the name...

...and this is what happens when I have nothing to say. I steal and twist words from other people. That's really sad, but I really, really can't think of anything to say. I need a topic. Suggestions, please? I know, please e-mail me or type in my comment box questions that you want to ask me, and I will try to answer them. It will be called "Ask Cardine." Ready? Go.