Odds 'n' Ends

First of all, I have to put this out there: Can you pass the third grade?

A friend sent this to me (coincidentally, she's a lurker of this blog...hi Mo!), and I have to say it made quite a splash in both my and the CC Times newsrooms. My CCT friends were e-mailing me saying, "Thanks a lot, the whole newsroom has been playing this game for the past few hours."

Hours? Well, I guess that means not many people were passing. Hey, I have to admit that it took about 10 attempts using trial and error to get to a point where I finally passed. NOW I can pass it every time. But a few days ago? Pssh. Where the hell is Missouri.

Complaints: Why the freak can't Delaware and Maryland be one state? Why can't Maine just engulf N.H. and Vermont? How scary is it that I had NO idea where Iowa really was? How many people ever even THINK about Iowa? I know it comes to my mind about, oh, say, once every six months. It's just not a memorable state. Sorry if I've offended any Iowans out there. Wait, you have Internet in Iowa?!

Heh heh. Well, go on. See if you pass. If not, I'm sure you'll have lots of company on the short bus. And Mo, if the East Bay news industry was remiss in reporting anything yesterday, it's your fault. ;0)

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I was musing the other day in the shower (because apparently I am given to pondering such things while performing routine, mindless tasks such as showering) on how the words "parting" and "departing" are virtually the same thing. I usually think of the "de-" prefix as being the opposite (negative) of something, such as "detract" and "attract." But here we have "part," which basically means to separate, and "depart," which means to leave. If you de-separate (de-part) something, it becomes a double negative! Essentially, de-separating would mean "putting back together." So how do we arrived at "departing" meaning to leave? I don't get it. Maybe I should've rinsed and repeated on it.

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So I discovered a new nervous habit last night. I already know that when I sing in front of audiences with my chorus, I have a reallllly hard time maintaining the "performance smile." Y'know, that fake smile you have to keep pasted on for like an hour and a half so that it's not boring to watch a group of people just stand there and sing. The fake smile tends to make my lips sort of twitch when I'm nervous, which I feel like everyone can see! Anyway, I also have a habit of getting a little weak-kneed when nervous, and having to pee. But guess what, that's right everyone, last night marked the appearance of PITS. Which I will henceforth call PITS!!!.

PITS!!! showed up last night when the small group I've been singing with had to get up and run through our song in front of the other 130 people in chorus. It was fine...we nailed it and sounded good, but dammit, I don't know if it was the shirt I was wearing or what, PITS!!! arrived with almost a sort of fanfare. "Ta-da! Kim is nervous! Mwahaha!" I had to keep reminding myself not to lift up my arms. Damn you, PITS!!!, damn you!

Speaking of which, oh yeah, I'm singing with a small group. It's called Special Blend. There are five of us, and the group is usually a special guest at our chorus concerts. It also usually schedules other gigs, but they had to be canceled when a member suddenly dropped out recently (thus my addition to the group).

Anyway, PITS!!! WTF? I'm really not a big fan. Maybe it was the shirt. Gah, I hope that doesn't happen with my choir dress on. It's uncomfortable enough as it is.

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Well, happy T-giving, all. Eat well, and pass the yams. BTW, I really like the word "yam." Especially if you whine out the first part of it. Yyyyyyammm. Heh.