How do I prefer to travel?
Is “for free” an answer?
No? Okay, then. Let’s take a look and see what we’ve got here. There are two different ways to answer this question, the first is by looking at modes of transportation and the second is by looking at the travel experience itself. Continue reading “How do you prefer to travel?”
This is a story about the importance of words and their meanings.
For a while now, Rasa has been thinking about getting a plant for the house. Not a flower, mind you, but an actual plant. She had even been thinking of a tree, musing out loud, while going through various online circulars, that “hey, this shop has lemon trees for sale.”
Now, my first thought is “why do we need a lemon tree?” followed closely by “where are we gonna put a lemon tree?” I mean, look, I’ve got nothing against lemon trees, I even like the song, but in the house? Naw. Of course, this didn’t stop her from wanting a tree and then, last week, she bought one. Not a lemon tree but some kind of Dracaena and it now sits in the corner of the hallway, just outside the office. Continue reading “On Losing Words”
I love this question. The fact that they have to clarify “as a child” makes me wonder how many people got in trouble at school as an adult, which, honestly, could be a whole different kind of trouble than I think they were actually thinking of. But okay, let’s give this one a go.
Getting into trouble in school* was a no-brainer for me. I got in trouble all the time. But I also got myself out of trouble. I was the Ferris Bueller of my friend set. My locker held a treasure trove of hall passes, student requests, and whatever other bits of official documentation I could snag from the desks of secretaries or others in official capacities. Thinking back now, though, I’m struggling to remember more than a few specific incidents.
A couple of years back, we got a car. It was a much needed balm at the time and over the past few years, it has been a real life saver. Our little “Silver Car,” as Monki dubbed it, allowed us a freedom of movement which was vitally important.
Sure, Kaunas has public transportation, but the car let us go and explore places public transportation made extremely difficult to reach, if they went there at all. This was how we were able to visit the beaches and hiking sites in nature and even make day trips to the zoos and dino parks which aren’t in our backyard.
I love learning things. No, that’s not my motto, at least not my main one, but it’s still a truth I live by. I have a feeling that while I write this particular response, I’m going to come up with several of these truths, all of which could be considered as mottoes. Anyway, to get back to that opening line. I love learning new stuff. For example, just now while looking up the specific definition of the word “Motto” on Wikipedia, it says that the word itself is derived from the Latin muttum, ‘mutter’, by way of Italian motto, ‘word’, ‘sentence.’
This I did not know. And that’s pretty cool. Continue reading “What would you consider your motto?”
So, what places are worth a repeat visit? What are the locations one can return to and find enjoyment again and again? My first, immediate response would be an amusement park, a place designed for visiting. Basically, my knee-jerk answer is Disneyland. Continue reading “What places can you travel to over and over again?”
As is my wont these days, I tend to analyze the question a bit before answering. One of the things living in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, has taught me is how America-centric things are. Now granted, I do spend a fair bit of my time looking at and reading things in English, but still, there’s this huge bias about things which would be incredibly easy to do/see/acquire/accomplish were I in the States, but that become incredibly difficult on this side of the Atlantic. Continue reading “What are some of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?”
I almost skipped this question. What were your friends like in high school? I’m not even sure how to approach this one, considering high school was some 35 or so years ago. Twice as much time has passed since I’ve been there than I was when I was living the experience and thought I would never get out. Weird the places life takes you, huh? Continue reading “What were your friends like in high school?”
When you stop and think about what you have in common with anyone, let alone the person you have chosen to spend your life with, it seems like it should be a no-brainer, right? Here, the question is looking for the “top 5 things” which implies there are at least 6 and probably many more. Of course, after my recent post about the qualities of friendship, this seems like a rather strange topic to me. Continue reading “What are the top 5 things that you and your spouse have in common?”
Friendship is such an interesting topic. It seems like there should be a checklist someplace you can go through to decide if someone is a friend or not. I mean when you’re asking yourself what qualities you value in your friends, wouldn’t it make sense to have a list of qualities in general? I did an article once, about online dating services, and in several of them, the participants had to answer extensive questionnaires which were then matched up according to a mystic algorithm and involving the sacrifice of a rubber chicken. Continue reading “What qualities do you most value in your friends?”
At the time of this writing, I am 53 years old. This means I’ve celebrated my 21st birthday twice at this point, which in turn means the original celebration, way back in 1988, was a long time ago and my memory is going to be faulty at best, revisionist at worst, and most likely completely wrong. Continue reading “How did you celebrate your 21st birthday?”
“What is art?”
“I can’t explain it, but I know it when I see it.”
It’s an old joke, to be sure, but it’s kinda true, especially for me. I know very little about art, especially intrinsically. What I mean is that everything I do know, I’ve had to seek out and learn on my own. I have no built-in sense of the technicalities of art beyond the most basics. I think this is partially true because I have no artistic abilities, pretty much at all. When I was directing my short film some 25 years ago, I tried my hand at doing storyboards and they ended up looking like anemic stick figures. Even longer ago than that, I tried to teach myself special effects make-up* (thanks to Tom Savini’s seminal books) and was so excited when the sculpture that took me days to finish looked vaguely like a cat person (which, to be clear, was actually my goal). Continue reading “Who are your favorite artists?”
We’ve got ourselves another deceptively simple question here. As a journalist, I have a fundamental problem with these closed questions. Queries about “favorite something” or “tell me about your” prompts are great for sparking a lengthy answer or discussion, something which can get to the heart of something bigger, perhaps, but “Did you have a car in high school?” A simple yes or no, followed by what kind (if the answer was affirmative) or maybe what you desired (if the answer was negative) and you’re done. Continue reading “Did you have a car in high school?”
Again, we’re faced with a “what are your favorite X?” type question. This time around it’s movies instead of books, but the storytelling aspect still holds tight. And again, I’m left trying to decide to answer with a straight-up list or to approach it as some sort of esoteric exploration of life and art.
Odds are, when the answer finally emerges, it’ll be a combination of both. Continue reading “What are your favorite movies?”
You always know.
When you get a message from someone using someone else’s account or phone number, you know. “Hello, this is so and so, can you call me back?” You get that pit in your stomach that something is wrong with whoever owns that account. I’ve been that person in the past, the one charged with updating the social media of a friend who was involved in a serious accident and was undergoing brain surgery.
But yesterday, I was on the receiving end of that message. “Jaq,” the message read. “Call Gail.”
I knew. I didn’t know the details until I called, and the phone was answered by someone else, but this wasn’t going to be good news. I just didn’t know how bad it was going to be. Continue reading “Gail”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 