11 because it's better than 30

As a kind of apology for forgetting to link up for ISPY I decided to do the 11 Questions Dazee put up on her blog for people to answer.
I'm supposed to pass it on to someone else but I think I'll do the same and leave it open to whoever wants to.

1. What is your corn-on-the-cob etiquette? I eat it like an old type writer alternating stuffing my face and dipping it in the drippings on my plate.

2. Have you ever won, or has someone won you a stuffed animal at the fair? Actually Jex got me a stuffed spider at the 4th of July Bash we had every year at Bitburg. I love that thing.

3. What is your pet peeve? People putting things on the dashboard of the car! AAAAAHHHHHH. I'm not talking little things, I had a mini rubber duck (about 2 inches cubed) that sat up against the window. I'm talking sheets of paper, wrappers, stuffed animals and the like... also anything that dangles from my mirror when turning, that's a sure fire way to piss me off.

4. What is your favorite Disney movie? Hmmmmmmm.... that's a tough one. Are we talking cartoons or some of the recent disney live actions? If so I really liked the first and last Pirates of the Caribbean. Beauty and the Beast is also a close runner up.

5. Have you ever had a feud with your neighbors? Nope.

6. What do you order from your favorite Chinese/Thai/etc, restaurant? Flat noodles with bean sauce. Mmmmm Thai food makes me happy. Egg Fu Young and hot&sour soup. Tako Yaki and Seaweed Salad. I'm so hungry now, I think I'll go home and make something fun to eat for lunch. Maybe a cute Bentou (Japanese lunch box).

^Cute Bentou. google it.^

7. What was the best field trip you went on as a kid? The German class field trip to Koln (cologne) was my favorite. We got to tour the chocolate factory and speak German all day and punk people with 99% cocoa chocolate. Yeah, probably one of my favorite days.

8. What is the fastest you've ever driven? It's more impressive in Kilometers but close to 105.

9. What season of the year makes you the happiest? Autumn, I love the colors and the smells and the nip in the shade of the warmish days. The fresh veggies come to the last harvest and let's not forget Thanksgiving! And all the things that abuse my poor immune system are either dead or dying.

10. What do you think other people think of you? Other people think of me as nice, a little scary, but accepting. Not particularly intelligent or stupid though all of them concur that I can be quite clueless at times. Sometimes I'm mockingly called brave for not conforming to social norms of dress (If I want to wear a yukata one day and a gothic dress the next followed by a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt on the weekend then I will! Damnit!) and for some reason beyond me people tend to think I'm creative.

^ Yukata ^

11. A)Do you like your name? Yes and no. I like my name but I hate that I share it with so many other people. B) What would you name yourself if you could? I used to think I wanted to be named Cora, then that passed and I liked Garnet, and then I got hooked on Rinoa. I don't know, Corriander sounds nice.

I spy: Frozen

I'm Back! Hopefully I can keep up till April when we move again. What you don't believe me?! One can always hope. *pouty face*


This weeks prompt was hard because NOTHING HERE FREEZES. I considered taking a picture of my ice chest... it is however devoid of anything that makes one think "frozen" with the exception icecream and cheap pizzas.
Thus I've decided to broaden the interpretation of the word for my own means.


Here is the picture that froze me in my tracks. I had to get within 2 meters of this guy to get a decent picture.
This is the new alligator that has taken up residence in the pond by our apartment.




I keep telling Jex not to make faces like this, otherwise his face may get frozen that way. He doesn't listen.





My choice:
My brother Rocker. I love him to death and really want him to come live with us or near us when he graduates next year. Gah! I can't believe he's almost 18!!!!

Contemplations of the Infirmed

I have decided that Strep is the DEVIL. No not the cute little devil in red pajamas, or the sexy devil with his trident, I'm talking the huge scary Tim Curry Devil from Legend. You know the kind that drinks the blood of unicorns and is best friends with Cuthulu.

Lucky me contracted Strep from my dear friend C8lyn while helping her with babies while she was dying ill. Apparently we have more than just similar personalities we also seem to have similar immune systems. Never in my life have I had Strep, I've been around it, even shared drinks with people who've been carriers and never once has it got me. Till this year.
I had a sore throat the last Friday of January, but didn't think much of it. Come Sunday I had a fever that I'm pretty sure fried part of the language center of my brain. Monday went something like this:
*Wake up bleary eyed and groggy in a pool of drool* "Huh?" I think to myself. "I don't usually drool." And then I try and swallow.
OH MY GOD!
I was pretty sure that some one poured shards of glass covered in acid and agony down my throat (slight overdramatization but close).
*Run to the bathroom and pull out the hand mirror and flash light to see if there is anything left of my throat* To my horror my tonsils had sprouted little red tentacles that felt like fire and my uvula didn't look like it was supposed to.

Needless to say I ended up at the SandLand's Urgent Care Clinic after rasping my information over the phone. Showing up with my SARS mask garnered a lot of wierded out looks from the other occupants of the waiting room and several outright frightened ones. It was funny when I opened up and said something that should have been "Aaaahhh" but sounded more like the hungry gurgle of a Zombie the Doctor visibly recoiled. She stepped back and pulled out the longest Q-Tip I've ever seen (my dad is an ICU nurse I've seen a lot of medical supplies) and said: "Yeah, you have strep. This test is just a formality for the paper work to get you your meds." (not an actual quote, but it was the jest of what she said)

Here is where I would like to interject that I have NO IDEA how medical establishments and insurance works outside the military stations I've lived on the majority of my life. I didn't know what to do once the visit was over. Do I report to the front desk to pay? Do I have to wait for them to print out my Prescription? When do you need my sponsors last 4? What you want My SSN? Oh ok.

No one has called me so I think I did fine.

I haven't had antibiotics in several years. The last time I had Amoxicilline I was in middle school and they gave me the liquid crap. To this day the taste of it haunts my nightmares. Good thing they gave me pills, I only hoped the tentacles in my throat didn't keep them for an afternoon snack instead of letting them down.

Did you know that Antibiotics can give you weird dreams. Dude it was crazy, I felt like I'd lost my mind. Antibiotics also make you bruise easily. I barely moved from the couch and still ended up with all kinds of cryptogenic little blue and green spots. I blame the dog, she weighs too much (She's almost 40lbs! *cries*)
Thank goodness it's over.

It's nice to know that the FAFSA waited for me. And just in time for house hunting too (ah, if sarcasm could kill).

To all you sickies, Like Marianna, get better soon!
To the rest of you, don't get sick! The bugs this year are mean.