1) Read the meme that was dumped assigned to you. Answer the questions.
2) Add TWO new questions to the list. Answer those questions.
3) Forward Dump this onto the next blogger victim (and list their name and link to their blog).
4) This series will conclude when we get 50 questions - so yes, it’s 25 bloggers in the chain.
5) Please make sure that the next victim in the “link” doesn’t have a password protected blog.
[Optional 6] Update the links so people can follow along (this is similar to the method I used in the Why China series).
[Optional 7] When you see an update, down the chain, update your own page with the new questions and answers.
[Optional 8] Copy these micromanaging instructions into the top of your meme post.

1. What secret/surprising/personal goal (that is realistically achievable within the next 15 years) would you like to fulfill?

I would love to learn how to really hike. I don’t mean just a stroll in the woods, but how to hand rock scrambles, which terrify me, and how to carry gear and get water, etc. I want to be able to take a day or 2 day hike without being terrified.
 

2. Can you list an event in which you made a last minute decision or guess that significantly changed the path of your life?

I was planning to work on an undergraduate research project with a grad student. However, over the winter break, I discovered I would be a Resident Assistant. I decided to skip the research project. When the time came to tell the grad student that I wasn’t going to do it, I suddenly changed my mind. The grad student was Jay….

3. What is one unrealistic goal (but your total secret
dream) that you would love to come true, but are pretty sure it won’t
ever happen?

Writing a book and/or opening a bakery.

4. Who has had the most influence on your life and what did they teach you?

Honestly, I have to say Jay. He came from a completely different upbringing and it opened a whole new way of looking at the world. We do disagree on some basics, but I find that I now view some basic human interactions differently than I did when I was child/teen.

5. You are on a deserted island. You are stranded with
someone from any point in time for 2 months (they are coming to rescue
you but are busy right now). Other then family/friends/naval engineers,
who is it?

I would want Albert Einstein. He had an incredible philosophy of life. I would love to just talk with him and not about physics.

6.Name and describe 3 things on your mind lately. Is there any particular reason why you’re thinking about a particular thing?

1. My work. I am working on a complex code right now. The people I work with think I am a gifted programmer. I am terrified that it is going to fail in the basic job it has to do because I don’t completely understand the math.
2. The party. Jay’s parents have their 50th anniversary on December 1st. We’re holding a rather large party in Cleveland for it.
3. My parents. Mom just got news that she has a genetic clotting factor so she has to take heparin shots whenever she travels. We were hoping they would visit us late December, but I don’t think it is going to work out.

7. If you could go back to one moment in time and change it, what would the moment be and what would you change it from and to?

If it was something out of my control? It would be the day Corey died. I would somehow prevented that first truck in the convoy from going over the train tracks. If the first truck hadn’t gone, then Corey’s wouldn’t have gone, and he wouldn’t have died.

In my control? I guess it would be a date with an ex-boyfriend. I couldn’t explain something well enough and it led to our breakup. I wish I could have explained it better at the time.

8. What is your biggest pet peeve and is there anything that you can do or not do to stop other people from doing it? 

Not listening. Too many people yell at each other and don’t listen to the other point of view.

9. Who has been the most influential teacher in your life
and why did he or she have such an impact on you? Have you sent them a
note?

Doc. He was my math teacher and he ran the musicals/plays at school. I talked to him every time I saw him. He was a person who really challenged students. He knew who could do things and how to challenge them. And he taught me that "arc" in trig just means "AngleWhoose" as in "arc cosine" means "AngleWhoose cosine is". He died 2 years ago. 

10. What three things do you regret not learning to do?

1. Continuing learning French in College
2. Swimming well (I can swim, not well)
3. Taking more art classes

11. What is your biggest fear?

The house burning down. Every time we go away, I have a mental image of the house burning down. I know it goes back to me being a kid and having a sleepover where the house caught on fire, but it’s still a bit extreme.

12. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Having more willpower.

13. What is the answer to life, the universe, everything?

42.

14. If you knew, beforehand, that the wait for your child
from China would take this long and drastic a time frame, would you
still go through with it or would you choose another country

N/A

15. What is one food that most people like that you do not like at all?

Mushrooms. I used to call them "slime critters from outer space". My argument was that when you eat them, they embed themselves in your brain so us  non eaters would be the ones to save y’all when the mother ship calls.

16.  Name one place in the world you would love to spend at
least one month visiting?  Is there anywhere on earth that is so
repulsive to you that there is no amount of money that could convince
you to visit it?

Hawai’i

No. I really thought hard, but I think I could even visit Iran/Iraq and the hot beds of the world right now.

17. What book have you just finished reading and why did you pick it up?  Would you recommend it to others?

I just finished "The Bourne Ultimatum". I picked it up because my flight to Cleveland was delayed in August. And I love the Bourne series. Yes, I would recommend it to others.

18. Share a relatively quick and easy recipe for Fall.  One pot/dish recipes given extra credit.

The Crockpot cow

• Stew beef or pot roast.
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, diced
• 1 can of low sodium cream of mushroom soup (shut up! I know my answer above)
• 1cup of old sour red wine
• 1 package of onion soup mix

Saute onion  and garlic in olive oil until clear,

toss can of soup & soup mix in crock pot. Mix it up. Add wine,and onion/garlic mix. stir.

Add meat and cover meat with the mixture. Cover for 6-8 hours on low. Serve with egg noodles and veggie of choice.

19.  Would you rather be financially well off, but unhappy or a happy person who is always in need of money?

I would rather be mentally healthy and deal with the money issues. I find that our society is big on how much stuff people have, but I find a good time is better than a new ipod. OF course, too little money can affect one’s happiness, but  I think I would rather have the financial troubles.

20. What is the most comforting sound in the world to you and why?

I love the sound of the ocean. It has to be waves. Ocean waves, not those wimpy lake waves. The ocean always leaves me longing for something. I don’t know why, but if my soul is sad, the ocean makes all of the difference in the world.

 

The next victim is still Mrs. Figby . So she moved across the country, has school issues with her middle child and is buying a house, Plah-lease. As if the rest of us don’t have drama! (Just kidding Mrs. F! I know you are busy). Please go over and
harass her until she posts the next installment.