Hello and happy Friday the thirteenth! Let’s once again talk about some truly random stuff, shall we?
What’s your biggest superstition?
I’m a big “knock on wood” kind of a gal. If I say something that the universe has a chance of overhearing and refuting, I will quickly add, “Knock on wood!” as protection against retaliation. For example: “No one in our family has gotten sick this year, knock on wood!” (I feel okay writing that here because we’ve all already been sick.) My husband has a similar superstition, in that he does not feel comfortable commenting on the level of chaos he’s facing when he’s on call. Saying something like, “It’s been pretty quiet” is 100% going to result in a bunch of emergency procedures and some of the sickest patients he’s ever seen.
What is the worst animal?
I love animals, but there are some I love less than others. Chimpanzees and all non-human primates are right up there. Too Uncanny Valley for my taste. I also find sloths to be horrifying.
Which method of getting from one place to another do you dislike the most?
I dislike flying because I am afraid of crashing, but I think the method of conveyance I dislike MOST is boat. This is not the boat’s fault, it’s the water’s. I do not like large bodies of water and do not want to be on or in them.
What is your favorite conspiracy theory?
I don’t believe this, necessarily, but I love the conspiracy theories that posit some celebrity has been replaced by a body double. Like Fake Melania or Avril Lavigne. Possibly these theories are neither fun nor fascinating for the people they’re about, but I find them both fun and fascinating.
Who was your hottest teacher?
Middle school art teacher. Kind of weird to drool over a guy for three years and never know his first name.
What basic skill you once had can you now only accomplish with the help of technology?
Math. I used to be good at math! These days, I feel like even the most basic components of basic math feel unfamiliar and uncertain to me. Which sign mean “greater than”? What’s an integer? How do I solve for X? If Carla is working on math homework and needs help, I second guess every single step I do.
What’s your favorite road trip fast food establishment?
Fast food has its place, especially when you have a kid with extracurricular activities, and especially when you’re on a road trip. My favorite fast-food establishments are Jersey Mike’s and Chick-fil-A. When my husband and I were in Canada this summer, we couldn’t find either of those options! (Google claims there are some Chick-fil-A locations in both Alberta and Ontario, and that Jersey Mike’s has a presence in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba as well as in Alberta and Ontario. Not where we were driving, I’ll tell you that.) What seemed to be plentiful, however, were DQ Grill and Chills and A&W Restaurants, neither of which I have ever tried. I also enjoy Shake Shack now and again, although I’ve never stopped at a Shake Shack on a road trip.
If you were to invent an app that had a Very Specific Purpose, what would it do?
I want an app that tells me which of the many, many local hiking areas have paved trails and/or real bathrooms. Some apps and/or websites have this information, in and among other information. But I have yet to find an app/website that has details about BOTH of these things in the same place.
What’s your favorite dinosaur?
Maiasaura. I had a book about these duck-billed dinosaurs when I was a kid, and I remember that their name means “good mother lizard.”
What’s your favorite kind of pants?
Carla and her friend were talking about this recently. One of them asked, the other answered: underpants. No arguing with that, that’s a great answer. I would say my favorite pair of pants is situational. If I’m at home, leggings are my pants of choice. If I’m out and about, I’d go with jeans.
Your turn:
- What’s your biggest superstition?
- What is the worst animal?
- Which method of getting from one place to another do you dislike the most?
- What is your favorite conspiracy theory?
- Who was your hottest teacher?
- What basic skill you once had can you now only accomplish with the help of technology?
- What’s your favorite road trip fast food establishment?
- If you were to invent an app that had a Very Specific Purpose, what would it do?
- What’s your favorite dinosaur?
- What’s the best kind of pants?
I just find sloths to e so overhyped. I cannot help but be disappointed every single tme I go to the zoo, and she’s just… in her hammock. We met one at the library, and it was similarly boring, Also really smelly.
“Math. I used to be good at math! These days, I feel like even the most basic components of basic math feel unfamiliar and uncertain to me.”
THIS IS ME. I had the highest grade in the entire province of New Brunswick on a high school standardized test assessment for math in Grade 11… and now I cannot help my children with the most basic of basic math. What IS an integer, Suzanne??? I can’t remember? Prime numbers? I can’t do basic multiplication in my head. It’s so dreadful.
I was good at memorizing and did very much understand the concepts but only for that exact time. I feel the same about basically any factual knowledge from my university degree too. It makes me feel like a huge fraud. My kids will ask me a science question and I’ll have no idea and my husband will chime in with the answer (his background is International Relations, I have a Masters in Biology). A FRAUD.
OMG I am so here for this weirdly random post. I, like you, have a real concern about saying something in a bad karma, knock on wood way. Even thinking “wow, everything is going so smoothly” gets me a bit nervous.
I love all animals in theory but in reality baboons are terrifying. AND I HAVE SEEN THEM IN THE WILD.
I hate driving. I do it, obviously, but if I was a billionaire I would have a chauffeur. I don’t know if I have a conspiracy theory that is my favourite. Our guide for a day trip in Barcelona was a huge conspiracy theorist and he told me that the World Cup was fixed and that Spain should have never won and someone was really on the take.
Hottest teacher: okay. So. When I was in grade 11, we had a student teacher for Social Studies and he was super hot, and I guess he would have been only a few years older than we were, which feels like RED FLAG RED FLAG. I can only imagine being this hot 21 year old man in a room that had all these 16 and 17 year old girls with hearts in their eyes. Anyway, one day he was helping someone at the desk next to me, and I nudged my friend on the other side. I made a gesture like I was going to grab his ass which was RIGHT THERE and Suzanne, he turned around. He turned around and there is me with my hand RIGHT AT HIS CROTCH. I shrivelled up and died.
I don’t know if I ever had navigation skills but I am completely useless without my maps function
Subway, hands down, favourite fast food.
I don’t have an answer for the app but I do like stegosaurus, even though they were supposedly really stupid. Best kind of pants? I’m all in on anything with an elastic waist these days, but underpants are pretty great too. (do you call them underpants? I always say panties, but maybe that’s cringe?)
I love these questions!! I always had such a weird take on the hotness of teachers because my mom worked in the school district and I’d overhear what made them human vs hot, haha. But, I had a professor in grad school that I refer to as the “hot lit professor stereotype” to this day; the blazers, the line readings, etc. My favorite type of pants are soft (not hard or scratchy) and still make sense for whatever situation I’m in.
Can I say pajama pants? If I have to go out of the house, then joggers.
Hmmm. I would say my least favorite way of getting from one place to another is by bus. It’s um, definitely the least luxurious way to travel and it takes forever.
Does Chipotle count as fast food? I usually have it once a week, and don’t really eat anywhere else. If I were on a road trip though I would be on the lookout for a Subway.
We are very different in our tastes, Suzanne! I adore sloths, hate Jersey Mikes and Chick Fil A (OK, I’ve never had Chick Fil A. The anti LGBTQ stuff came out before one opened down the street.)
I would totally use that app. I was just at a hiking trail that had no bathrooms at all AHHHHH. I would invent an app that said what the train is going by and what is on it. I am very curious.
Are you afraid of crashing into the ground? Or another plane? Or both? 🙁
I‘m in Costa Rica right now to learn Spanish and let me tell you… my teacher is hot! Does this count?!
I very much dislike flying. I often get sick and I don’t like being cooped up in the seats. My legs get cramps sometimes from not being able to get up and move around.
As a family, we’re most likely to stop at Taco Bell or Panera on road trips, but if it was up to me and I didn’t have diabetes, I’d love to be able to eat Subway again, but that much bread isn’t feasible.
I am enjoying wearing corduroys today because it finally feels chilly enough, but I wouldn’t say they are a favorite at all times.
I’m wearing my fav pants because I’m at the airport about to fly to visit Curly. They are comfy, black, stretchy, no wrinkle but they can look dressy. Hiking pants maybe? Made by royal robbins. Love.
I don’t mind that Wendy’s serves baked potatoes, but I like or require a good salad – so I will eat at a fast food with a good salad option.
I also do not like to ride a boat. Sea sickness is real!
Interesting questions:
I am HERE for random topics!
I just came up with another app that I would like. I would like an app where I could link all of my blog friends, and then do a search to let me know who it was that reviewed a particular book. I mean, I could just keep track myself, but I don’t, so that would be a very handy app for me.