Fessin Up x 5

Hello all,

Yes, I have returned to my languishing blog.  In my own defense, the kids and I did just return from a 2 month visit to California, where we badmittoned ourselves from house to house, person to person, making it a wee bit difficult to pull thoughts together enough to write coherently.

So in celebration of our grand (and horribly jetlagged) return to Kyoto, Japan (where, it must be noted, the weather has moved on from frigid winter to lovely Spring.  Yahoo), I am now going to do some good ole' Fessin Up.

That's right.  I'm going to fess up.  I'm going to let you all in on five of my personal weird foibles (oh, I have far more than 5 foibles, I assure you.  For now, however, I'm just sharing 5).

Yep, Just in case you thought I was some paragon of magnificence, I'm going to prove I'm really just a strange, strange person.

Like everyone else.

1. Sometimes if I'm really, really tired, I'll drop things and just leave them on the floor.    I don't mean large or potentially disgusting things, like dropping eggs on the floor.  I'll clean up the egg (mostly because I'll have to clean it up sometime, and let's face it, eggs are easier to clean up while moist, as opposed to chiseling them off the floor once dried.)  I tend to drop small things.  Spoons.  Spilled salt (within reason).  An earring back (I always always regret this later).  A hair elastic.  Bread crumbs.  Bottle caps.  Just call me Gretel, leaving my trail of tiny junk as a trail so you can all find me.

But, you may ask, do you eventually clean this stuff up, or do you just leave it there?  Well, duh, of course I clean the stuff up.  Eventually.  But when I'm tired at the end of the day and gravity hits....well, I just can't be bothered.

2. When I clean my hairbrush, I never cease to be amazed by the massive hairball that results.  Honestly, how does one medium-sized hairbrush glean such a huge hairball?  I could have crocheted  a poncho out of the gleaned hairbrush hairballs I've acquired.  And why is it that no matter the color of hair on the head of the family member who has used my brush, the hairball is always brown?  Is it because my hair is brown so the hairball automatically reverts to the haircolor of the owner?

Oh, and no, before you ask me, I do NOT save the hairballs.  I throw them into the garbage like a regular person.  However, if you pay me enough, I would be happy to save the hairballs in a cleaned out spaghetti sauce jar and send them to you.

3. I am a champion at sprouting new plants from clippings, but an utter failure at replanting them.  No matter where I live, I always have a spot where I grow indoor plants, such as philodendrons or tiny ivy.  And these plants sprout and send out shoots and tendrils.  And I clip off these shoots and stick them in water in cleaned out soda bottles and jelly jars.  And these shoots grow new roots in preparation for being replanted in soil in a nice new pot.

And this, my friends, is where I fail.  I have, at this moment, no fewer than 8 small juice bottles in my window, each of which contains a beautifully sprouted and rooted new indoor plant.

Have I planted them?  No.
Do I want to plant them?  Yes.
Will I plant them?  Most likely not.

4. I always carry a small Moleskine notebook with me, in which I write new story ideas.     It will not surprise you that I write.  I write and I write.  I have stuffed clip drives, bursting hard drives and a  Cloud full of....stuff.  Short stories.  Observations.  Poems.  Three completed books (Yes.  Books. Each one 400-600 pages long).

And still I cannot stop.

So I always have to have a small notebook with me.  Moleskine preferably since they tend to be sturdy enough to withstand being dragged around.  And in these tiny notebooks I write story ideas.

And ideas are everywhere.

 In snatches of overheard conversation in random Starbucks cafes.  On billboards and advertising signs.  In stores.  While riding on trains, shopping for tomatoes, putting on my shoes, brushing my teeth.  I find new ideas in quotes. In Youtube videos.  In snatches of music in elevators.

I probably have enough scribbled ideas to fuel stories for several lifetimes.

....now if only I could read my own writing.....

5. I watch the same shows over and over and over and over and over.....  I've always done this.  Sometimes I re-watch things because I'm in the mood for enjoying something that does  not involve suspense or plot-driven surprises.  Knowing the storyline can be comforting and relaxing.  I can tune out, doze off, and rejoin the action, sure in the knowledge of what will be going on.  

Other times I start up a video or a movie to use as background fodder when I write or work.  If I feel my energy drifting or I get stuck for ideas, I can turn my head and watch for a few minutes, then return to my work, a bit refreshed and refocused.

For what it is worth, I also re-read books (which is not a bad thing when living in Japan, where obtaining new books in English can be an expensive endeavor).

Of course, few people understand my joy in re-watching and re-reading.  Which is a-okay.  I may be a bit odd, but just think how eco-friendly I'm being in reusing all my books and DVD's.
(At least, this is what I tell myself).


So there you are folks.  5 of my personal foibles.

Now don't you feel sane and together after reading this?  Sure you do.

Until next time.