Pseudotherapy

Didn’t get much participation in my music quiz. There were only three contestants (Eden’s guesses were placed after the Tuesday midnight deadline), so I put each person’s name in the bowl three times. The winner of the $20 Amazon e-certificate is Adena. Congratulations, Adena — check your email! Hilly, Nat and Eden, thanks very much for your guesses —all of which were correct.

Here are the answers:

1. Message In A Bottle - The Police
2. Heaven Beside You - Alice In Chains
3. My, My, My - Rob Thomas
4. Numb - Linkin Park
5. Now - Def Leppard
6. Knights Of Cydonia - Muse
7. Sober - Tool
8. Conversation Via Radio (Do You Ever Wonder) - Blue October
9. I Want You - Savage Garden
10. Dust In The Wind - Kansas
11. Highlife - The Blue Hawaiians
12. Pressure - Staind
13. Don’t Speak - No Doubt
14. Haunted - Type O Negative
15. Come Anytime - Hoodoo Gurus
16. Calling All Angels - Train
17. Pearl Necklace - ZZ Top
18. Tango Till They’re Sore - Tom Waits
19. 21st Century Digital Boy - Bad Religion
20. Sex And Candy - Marcy Playground

I’ve put off participating in this music meme because, judging by the other versions I’ve seen around the blogiverse, I’m dancing to a somewhat different tune than most of you. But what the hell, you may recognize more of these than I think! For any cave-dwellers among us, here’s how it’s done:

• Set your music player on random/shuffle (or in the case of Media Monkey, Auto DJ).
• Post the first four lines from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song may be (skip instrumentals, repeat artists or songs; I also skipped any song in which the title was part of the first four lines).
• Let your readers guess what song and artist the lines come from. Try really, really hard to NOT use search engines, please.

Everyone (even you, Juli) who posts at least two correct guesses by midnight Tuesday PDT gets their name in a random drawing for a $20 Amazon gift e-card! Ready? Here we go …

1. Just a castaway, an island lost at sea
   Another lonely day, with no one here but me
   More loneliness than any man could bear
   Rescue me before I fall into despair
2. Be what you wanna be
   See what you came to see
   Been what you wanna be
   I don’t like what I see
3. The light from the window is fading
   You turn on the night
   The sound from the avenue’s calling you
   Open your eyes
4. I’m tired of being what you want me to be
   Feeling so faithless, lost under the surface
   Don’t know what you’re expecting of me
   Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
5. I wanna know you better
   Let’s spend some time together
   I wanna be what’s on your mind
   Look in my eyes, they’re calling
6. Come ride with me
   Through the veins of history
   I’ll show you how God
   Falls asleep on the job
7. There’s a shadow just behind me
   Shrouding every step I take
   Making every promise empty
   Pointing every finger at me
8. You must be broken
   By a thousand ways of wasting time
   Get to the point
   And off a hundred lines a week
9. Anytime I need to see your face I just close my eyes
   And I am taken to a place
   Where your crystal mind and magenta feelings
   Take up shelter in the base of my spine
10. I close my eyes
    Only for a moment, then the moment’s gone
    All my dreams
    Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
11. Eve said, I’m tempted by what I see
    There ain’t no witchcraft voodoo, no mystery
    Eden is a jungle and it’s getting wild
    So why don’t we just go out in style
12. I just need this to be all right
    I can’t feel this another night
    I can’t take this, I come unglued
    I might break down in front of you
13. You and me
    We used to be together
    Everyday together always
    I really feel
14. A swollen sun melting at the horizon
    Between the sheets where I wait for her to come
    A living flame, impossible to resist
    Burning me deep with every bite, kiss and lick
15. What is it you want from me?
    There isn’t much I will not do
    If it’s only company
    You know I might need that too
16. I need a sign to let me know you’re here
    All of these lines are being crossed over the atmosphere
    I need to know that things are gonna look up
    ‘Cause I feel us drowning in a sea spilled from a cup
17. She’s really upset with me again
    I didn’t give her what she likes
    I don’t know what to tell her
    Don’t know what to say
18. Well ya play that Tarantella
    All the hounds they start to roar
    And the boys all go to hell
    Then the Cubans hit the floor
19. I can’t believe it, the way you look sometimes
    Like a trampled flag on a city street, oh yeah
    And I don’t want it, the things you’re offering me
    Symbolized bar code, quick ID, oh yeah
20. Hangin’ round downtown by myself
    And I had so much time
    To sit and think about myself
    And then there she was

You may pick up your pencils and begin.

Found this little meme somewhere …

The idea is to respond to each prompt by writing a short scenario that includes your answers.

The perfect outfit: I pulled a peasant blouse on over faded jeans, slipped into flip flops, and hung my favorite silver hoops in my ears. No makeup. He was mildly pleasant, but hardly mascara-worthy.
The perfect meal: I set a steaming plate of my made-from-scratch chicken enchiladas on the glass table, tinted peach by the vibrant sunset. Even the tumbler holding Bret’s Perfect Margarita was sweating, moisture trickling down its sides. The intoxicating aroma of Brenda’s Coconut-Pineapple Cake wafted out from the kitchen, teasing our tastebuds toward orgasm.
The perfect beverage: Wiping sweat from my sticky neck, I tilted my glass, spilling the minty crispness of Bret’s Perfect Mojito across my rejoicing tastebuds.
The perfect hangover cure: Cradling my throbbing head on my hand, I gulped down a B-Complex tablet with Alka-Seltzer fizzing in orange juice. It worked like a charm. Within minutes, I had emptied my guts into the toilet bowl — after which I felt remarkably better.
The perfect facial feature: Looking into Juli’s eyes, I see unconditional love reflected within the green depths. Mother and child — there is no stronger bond on earth.
The perfect song: He stubbed out his cigarette and swiveled toward me. As the smoothness of Rob Thomas’ voice drifted from the speakers, Bret held out his hand. I rose, moving into his arms in time to the sensual throb of All That I Am. His lips nuzzled my neck as I breathed in the scent of his skin.
The perfect sign of affection: We are walking, me a step behind, lost in our own thoughts. He reaches back with open hand seeking mine, clasping tightly as I slip my palm against his. No words, no glance, undeniable love.
The perfect weather: A hellacious thunderstorm raged outside, rattling windows and punching through the gloom with strobes of eyeball-impaling brightness. When the power flickered out, we grabbed beers from the fridge and adjourned to the breeze-cooled sunroom for a few rounds of Texas Hold-’Em by candlelight.
The perfect afternoon: The weak sunshine of late October angles through the window, kissing my cheek while I nap under a quilt, my book fallen from my grasp.
The perfect road trip: My camera captures each glorious vista as the serpentine curves of Pacific Coast Highway seduce us north to Big Sur and Bixby Bridge.

I am exhausted and feeling mildly braindead. That’s my excuse for resurrecting a week-old meme for today’s post, which I wrote last night when I was even more tired than I am now.

Accent: I loved it on popcorn when I was a kid! Who knew it could kill us?

Breakfast or no breakfast: I seldom voluntarily skip ANY meal. (SHUT. UP.) I love big breakfasts with bacon, eggs, fried potatoes and biscuits.

Chore I don’t care for: When I come up with a chore I DO care for, Bret will announce it on a billboard along I-5.

Dog or Cat: Bret often declares that he’s a dick in a houseful of pussies. He’s half-right.

Essential Electronics: My cameras. I am never without one.

Favorite Cologne: J.Lo Glow. Hate the name, LOVE the scent.

Gold or Silver: The only metal I can wear is steel. Everything else gives my skin a blistery rash.

Handbag I carry most often: My own.

Insomnia: I have narcolepsy. I can fall asleep while talking to you.

Job Title: Legal assistant/Gatekeeper.

Kids: I made more mistakes being a mom than in anything else I’ve done. Oddly, she turned out great.

Living Arrangements: Not here, so what does it matter?

Most Admirable Trait: I have a wildly vivid imagination.

Naughtiest Childhood Behavior: Sex in the family pool.

Overnight hospital stays: Three: Major surgery, childbirth, severe sleep-deprivation.

Phobias: The Dark. And birds. Raise your hand if that’s news to you.

Quote: “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” ~ Plato

Reason to smile: Ghost Hunters International returns tonight!!!

Siblings: Some.

Time I wake up: 3 a.m. every day, almost as if a 15-pound orange cat jumped onto my stomach at exactly that time every morning.

Unusual Talent or Skill: I can tell when it’s 3 a.m. without opening my eyes. Bizarre, huh?

Vegetable I Refuse to Eat: Okra. You absolutely cannot fry the slime out of it.

Worst Habit: Jumping to the worst possible conclusion.

X-rays: Of every part of my body, scalp to sole.

Yummy Stuff: Dark chocolate peanut clusters. Oatmeal raisin cookies. Macaroni and cheese. Shredded beef tacos. Peanut butter, pickle and ketchup sandwiches. And PIE.

Zoo Animal I Like Most: Ugh, NOT a fan of zoos. And most animals smell BAD. If I *must* pick, I’ll say iguanas.

Hey everyone, don’t forget my 5th Anniversary of Blogging Celebration (aka The 5th) kicks off tomorrow! It’s going to be a fun week for me, and hope you’ll all help me celebrate. My new self-therapy is working well, and the Dark Dearth Of Joy mood has passed. If you guys enjoy reading this week half as much as I’m enjoying putting the posts together, my time will be well-spent! In the meantime, here’s a meme thing I’ve been working on in between 5th projects.

If you only look at the questions for this meme, it’s pretty blah. What makes it delightful is the way it’s getting “twisted” as it circumnavigates the blogiverse. Clever and talented bloggers are taking this barebones meme and fleshing it out with their imagination and creativity. Take a look at kat!’s, Vahid’s and Hilly’s, and you’ll see what I mean (and if you’ve also done this one, be sure to leave a link in the comments!).

Being the lover of memege that I am, I couldn’t let this pass by without taking it for a spin. And me being me, the spin I gave it was inevitable. Here are the mundane questions (edited by me because they changed person for no good reason):

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
2. What five things are on your to-do list for today?
3. What snacks do you especially enjoy?
4. If you suddenly became a billionaire, what would you do with your fortune?
5. Where have you been all your life?

And my answers are (click images to view larger):

1. Ten years ago …

2. To do today …

3. Snackalicious …

4. Billionaire dreams…

5. Been there …

See you all tomorrow for the festivities kick-off!