Thursday, July 30, 2015

Questions nobody asks - Part 1

Last week Amanda wrote this post to ninja some of Alison's Questions Nobody Asks. There were some really great questions on the list!

To borrow Amanda's phrase, I am re-ninja-ing the questions to link-up to Amanda's Thinking Out Loud Thursdays.

There were a total of 43 questions in the original list. I'll cover them over a series of posts.

1. Do you go by a nickname?
I previously talked about my nicknames in this post - but in short, a few nicknames I go by include Em, Emmers, E-Dog or E, and Emzo. My friend Helen also calls me "M" (phonetic shortening of "Em.")

2. When driving, do you listen to CDs, tapes, the radio, or nothing?
I usually default to the radio. I'll flip around a selection of music stations (80s, classic rock, and "Top 30"-type stations), a local news radio station, or one of the sports-talk radio stations (God help me).
If I can't find anything good amongst those stations and/or I get bored, I'll switch to CDs. I think the car currently has a stash of Tori Amos, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Eagles, Journey, Disney, and some Beethovan and Chopin.

3. Are you a window person or an aisle person?
Window. I love seeing the scenery, and I enjoy watching the take-off and landing.


In concept, I do like the aisle, though - especially when I'm in the window seat and need to go to the bathroom. Incidentally, though, I read somewhere that the aisle is statistically the most dangerous seat. You have a higher likelihood of getting hit by a bag falling out of the overhead compartments, being elbowed in the head by people walking by, getting clocked by the beverage carts, etc. But hey, I guess some would argue that the probability that you'll need to go to the bathroom is much higher than any of those stats, right?

4. How do you relieve stress?
Working out, watching something light on TV, talking to a confidante. I do instinctively want to stuff myself with pizza, ice cream, chocolate, or some kind of crunchy, salty snack, too - but I try not to go overboard.
Yummy yummy... especially when I am stressed.
5. What's your favorite childhood TV show?
As a child and still to this day, I love the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air!


Honorable mentions: Bugs Bunny cartoons and Full House

6. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
So many things. Astronaut, scientist, vet, teacher, concert pianist, psychologist, journalist (newspaper or magazine), guidance counselor.

When I was in college (i.e., a big kid), I was a finance major. In those years my dream, like many finance majors, was to work in investment banking, consulting, or one of the big accounting firms.

Perspectives definitely change over time! These days, my dream is to be a travel/food writer (although I am sure it is not as glamorous as it might seem, either).

7. What is the best prank you ever pulled off?
Background information: Adam dislikes sweet potatoes. I don't understand why. I am even more confused because he LOVES pumpkin pie... and the two are not that different.

At Thanksgiving dinner one year, my mom and I made a sweet potato pie. We set it out on the table. Adam saw it and said, "Ooooh, pumpkin pie!" My mom and I didn't correct him. He got a big slice and started eating it and enjoying it. My mom and I began grinning. At that point, we told Adam what he was actually eating - and obviously it wasn't so bad, was it?

As you might expect, Adam was none too pleased! He claims to this day that he could tell that something was off and that it didn't taste right. But I believe that had he not known it was sweet potato, he would have polished off that pie without a second thought!
Sweet potato pie or pumpkin pie? You decide!
8. If you could have dinner with any three people, who would you decide?
I think I've answered this before - but I would choose Warren Buffett, Anthony Bourdain, and either Ina Garten or Julia Child.
Anthony Bourdain in Chicago!
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Your turn! I would love to hear your answers to any or all of these questions!

16 comments:

  1. I don't like sweet potatoes and love pumpkin pie. IT'S NOT WEIRD!!!! :) But that reminds me of a trick my mom and I played on my dad. He's always poked fun at how much I love beans, because he doesn't like them. So I made black bean brownies (awesome, btw) and only told my mom about the secret ingredient. And of course he loved them (and, like Adam, was sure there was something different ha ha).

    I used to be solely a window person on planes because I liked the view, but aisle is nice for going to the bathroom on longer flights (but also annoying, because you have to keep getting up for others in your row). Those stats are true though, I've been hit with many beverage carts over the years.

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    1. I remember when you talked about the black bean brownies! I actually made some black bean brownies myself afterwards, thanks to your inspiration. However, I made the mistake of telling Adam about the secret ingredient before he tried them. So of course he thought they were weird. =)

      Agreed on the annoyance of having to get up for others in your row! It feels like anytime I do sit in the aisle, I'm getting up about ten times for someone else. When I sit in the window, I try not to get up too much. Those beverage carts can be killer! I think all airlines should adopt the Southwest method where they take everyone's orders on a clipboard, then bring everything out on handheld trays. No drink carts at all!

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  2. My son LOVES Fresh Prince, as did my late grandmother :)

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    1. Fresh Prince is so classic! I think everyone knows the theme song by heart!!! It really is a show that appeals to all age groups, which is a very rare find these days!

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  3. I just asked the checkout person at Whole Foods if anyone ever buys the CDs they have for sale! She told me not that she can recall! I don't even have a CD player in my car. I listen to Spotify now.

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    1. My car is older so I do still have a CD player, but you are right - you hardly see CDs for sale anywhere anymore! It would be awesome to have Spotify capabilities in the car. You'd have endless choices and possibilities, unlike CDs or the radio!!!

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  4. I'd chose the other Buffett - Jimmy Buffett :) I like your choice of Julia Child though. I love watching her cooking shows.

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    1. Ahhhh, Jimmy Buffett! Anytime he does concerts locally, it's fun seeing all the Parrotheads paying homage to him around town. Isn't Julia Child classic? She's very inspirational!

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  5. I'm not sure which seat I like more on an airplane. Part of me likes being able to see out the window, but another part of me like the quick escape an aisle seat allows. Realistically, I prefer to just not be on the plane at all haha. Not a fan of flying!

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    1. I hear you - if I think about the mechanics behind flying too much, it gets intimidating to me, too. But since we're talking about statistics, I've heard that you are literally a zillion times more likely to get into a car accident than in a plane crash. Knock on wood and praying that none of us experience ANY type of crashes, though!!!

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  6. And now I'm going to have the Fresh Prince theme song stuck in my head all day :P And I'm totally with you on the window seat. I actually get a little claustrophobic and nervous when I can't see outside, because I feel like I can feel every motion of the plane a lot more and I have no idea what's going on. That and I like being able to lean up against the wall of the plane to nap.

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    1. Isn't the Fresh Prince theme song catchy? I played it last night when I was testing out the embedded video, and it's been stuck in my head ever since, too. =) I'm with you on feeling claustrophobic when you can't see outside, too. There's a lot to be said about knowing what is going on to aid the motions you're simultaneously experiencing!

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  7. In an ideal world, planes would only have two seats on each side and I would always travel with someone I know so I wouldn't feel bad asking to get up if I had the window seat and needed to pee. As it is, I prefer the aisle seat unless I want to sleep. Then I need the window so I can rest my head against it.

    As for what I listen to in the car, Jason and his awesome tech skills always manages to hook us up with the ability to plug in our iPhones and stream Pandora. Even in his 1995 Miata!

    Speaking of Pandora, I learned it is not available in Canada. Who knew??

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    1. I know most people don't like the regional jets that only have two seats on a side, but for your reasoning I do like them! The window is key for leaning your head when you want to sleep. Someone once said they believe that the middle seat should get to use the armrests since that is the only luxury they can get. =)

      Wow, Jason is quite the guru to get iPhone and Pandora capabilities in your 95 Miata! He definitely knows the priorities well. =)

      I had no idea Pandora wasn't available in Canada! I wonder why?

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  8. It's amazing how CD's have pretty much gone away. I do have a player in my car but it's ever been used. When you and Ina do lunch, invite me!

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    1. Agreed! I have a huge stack of old CDs at home that are gathering dust. I'm thinking about donating them to Goodwill (I don't think we even have a CD player at home anymore).

      If I am ever lucky enough to score a lunch with Ina, I'll definitely invite you!!! I want to go visit the Hamptons now just because of her! =)

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