275th Friday Blog Roundup
I can’t believe it has been a week since I’ve left the house (with the exception of the harrowing and pointless trip to the food store). I feel like I’ve aged fifteen years. Literally, you don’t want to skype with me and see what my eyebrows look like and how much my hair has greyed.
I would like to return to the words I infamously wrote this time last week:
Snowmageddon is happening at some point today, 24 inches of snow dumped on the greater DC area. I could not be more excited to be stuck inside our house. I gleefully stocked up on movies and books from the library, purchased art supplies from the craft store, and braved a two-hour visit to the food store to get baking essentials. Every two minutes I turn to Josh and crow, “we are going to be snowed in, baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybee!”
Can you believe that I was ever that stupid? Who was that Melissa? Why was she such an idiot? This week has seriously sucked my non-functioning ovaries.
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The only good thing to come out of being stuck at home is that we did a lot of baking when we weren’t crouching in the corner and wringing our hands over the fear of losing our power. Which means that it is time to consult the random number generator and see what number it pulls out of its tiny little ass…
Baby Smiling in Back Seat, come on down! By which I mean, send me your address–you’re getting a big box of cookies and candy. I will most likely send the box on Wednesday, which means it will be a Friday or weekend delivery. Or I’ll send the box on Tuesday if the next snow storm (because they have predicted another snow storm for Monday which makes me cry when I think about it) doesn’t shut down the post office.
Didn’t win and are weeping at your desk? Cali is doing a raffle of another one of my baskets and the money will go to Michell’s FET. So you possibly get something sweet and you’re doing something very sweet.
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Speaking of sweet, I really loved the last Secret Ode Day. And if you wonder if your words mean something to the person receiving them, all you need to do is read Apron Strings for Emily’s post after reading the kind words someone wrote about her. She writes:
Wow. That just totally blew me away. I feel like I should be standing up behind the magic mike stand (you know, the one that disappears once the person is done speaking?) to thank the entire blogoverse for allowing me to write as freely as I do. And specifically to thank everyone for actually reading my words. Oh, and did I mention this was all done anonymously ?! So … seriously, *THANK YOU* to whomever wrote such beautiful words about me. You honestly don’t know how much it means to me …
I do have a critical mass in hand, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still write one or eight or fifteen. Looking forward to a random Secret Ode Day springing out at you when you least expect it.
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I’m still trying to figure out StumbleUpon and loving the process. I stumbled all the posts in the Roundup (so if you see traffic coming from StumbleUpon, that is why. It sometimes takes time for it to show up over there). I installed the toolbar and now I’m stumbling like a crazy woman. It’s a nice way to honour all the great posts I read that don’t make it into the Roundup and hopefully drive some traffic towards them.
If you are on StumbleUpon and I’m not following you yet, let me know. And er…follow me?
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Weekly What If: Imagine the person on this earth who annoys you the most (and if you have more than one, feel free to pick one from many). Have that person in your head? What if you could get a week long, all-expenses vacation to anywhere in the world but the only catch was that you’d be going to this relaxing or exciting place with the person who annoys you the most and you’d be expected to spend at least 20 hours a day together (you could have a four hour break from each other during waking hours, but for 20 hours, it would be just the two of you). They would not know how much they annoy you, therefore, you’d still have to be polite and friendly on the trip, even though you’re seething on the inside. By the way, they’re paying, which is how you get to go on this trip. Would you take the ticket (think of the beaches, the mountains, the museums!) or would you rather stay home knowing there would be no chance to do this trip on your own later (it’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime type trips).
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And now, the blogs…
I Can Haz Bebe has a post about internal strength. After hearing from people who tell her that she’s so strong, she responds with honesty, “I think that I am a person who has had to endure a difficult situation. Have I done so with grace? No. I have been kicking and screaming the entire way. I am jealous. I am angry. I am bitter and resentful.” But she does something so beautiful in the post that it becomes the yin and yang–the bitter heart chased by the enormous love it also holds. And perhaps that what strength simply is–allowing those two things to coexist with each other without denying the other’s existence.
Edenland has a post about truths of life. The wisdom ranges from the profound: “You can’t plan happiness. It happens, unexpectedly, in the oddest of places. And it bubbles over in your soul. And it’s real” to the personal. And it is an amazingly honest post–the best that blogging can be.
Roots & Wings has a post about those moments before the beta. It is not just fantastic writing, it is a dissection of that anxiety that is born out of hope–that understanding that while it may not be your chance right now, it equally could also be your chance. That something could be starting or something might not, but at least there is something to know soon.
Lastly, Communiqué has a post about her father that made me cry. I don’t know if I can explain it much more than that because it is such a sigh of a post, a tiny moment of a girl remembering. And it is so beautiful that it will break your heart.
The roundup to the Roundup: We are still snowed in. There’s a winner for the Purim basket giveaway, but a chance to win another one. Secret Odes make someone else’s day. Still trying to figure out StumbleUpon and loving the process. Answer the Weekly What If. And great blog posts to read.
21 comments
Would I go on that once-in-a-lifetime trip with the person I loathe the most? Right now, and I’m sure for a long time after, that person will be a particular student that I teach. My answer is not no, but HELL NO. In fact, I would pay NOT to have to go anywhere with her. EVER.
I’d probably go. I can put up with anything for a week. Also, the only person who I can still stand after spending more than 12 hours with him is my husband, so it’s not like I’ve never done this before. 🙂 Everyone else seems to get on my nerves at about hour 8 (or earlier).
I think this next round of snow is going to just miss us, which I am thrilled about. I was much like you, “YAAAAAAAY!!!! SNOW DAY!” and then, we got seriously trapped for a few days. Um, no more. Please, Mother Nature. No more.
Of course, considering that last winter my MIL was trapped under 7-8 feet of snow that hit the northwest, I feel like a total wuss complaining about it. And the fact that this year, northern Europe is getting slammed and so my FIL hasn’t been able to drive down his street in about 5 weeks (because they only plow the main street in his tiny town. And no, nothing closes, and yes, everyone has to continue to work as usual… except apparently the Haflinger wool-clog-making facility, which has been delaying my order since some time in mid-December…), makes me also feel pretty wussy. And the fact that your area, just a few miles north of us has been so much worse off than we are, makes me feel some severe wussitude…
BUT, digression aside, I would rather stay home than take a trip-of-a-lifetime with the most annoying person in the world. Then again, H and I’s vacation philosophy is much more “get away together to wherever” than it is “let’s go somewhere fabulous and stress out the whole time about getting there and paying for it, etc.” With the exception of our Germany trip this past summer, our “vacations” are almost always closer to home. We’d rather spend money on a decent hotel than on travel to get there. Our idea with get-aways is to take ourselves out of our normal routine and just spend some serious time together without day-to-day distractions. I suppose we could just do this at home, but inevitably, we’d end up working or reading blogs or doing chores rather than just enjoying each other’s company.
So no. I’d never enjoy a fabulous destination if I had to share it with the most annoying person on the planet!
Q of the Week: No. Fucking. Way.
I wish I could say that I were the kind of person who isn’t bothered by anyone. I probably take myself too seriously.
Would I go on a trip with THAT person? No. It’s early in the day yet (still on my first bucket of tea), or I might try to describe the pain-filled lengths I would go to in order to avoid even a phone call from her. I have had enough of being the bigger person with her to cover several lifetimes. Faking my way through a trip with her sounds like hell on earth to me, she’s pushed me that far. Probably the only way I’d do anything with her alone is if someone held my husband or one of my kids hostage and threatend their well-being as blackmail.
PS. Where did you find the butterscotch flavor? Did you order it online? I’m trying to make those sweet-salty cookies for V-Day (so no time to mail order) and I’ve been to two stores so far. No luck. Now I am going to look online for substitutes ….
nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! as soon as you told us to “have the person in your head” I began to shake. So the idea of being trapped (because that is how it would feel) with the is an actual nightmare. shudder. big time shudder. I’d rather stay home and watch supermarket sweep. Which I am re-obsessed with these days and wishing it would come back so that I could be on the show.
but I digress…
I’ve traveled with that person (my boss). And a big HELL NO to that one. Never again. Nothing is worth spending time around him ever again. He would ruin any beautiful sights and amazing experiences.
I have to ask – why is the person I loathe the most buying me plane tickets? :0)
That said – I would probably go. Who knows, I may find something redeemable in them during the trip which changes my opinion.
Would I go somewhere with the person who annoys me the most? I don’t think so. All I can imagine is spending a whole week feeling like I’m listening to fingernails on blackboards. That is truly a horrendous thought.
Thanks for the love Mel. I heart you <3
I don’t think I would go on a trip with the person who annoys me most even if it was paid. Of course I really would have to stop and think about who it is that most annoys me and then decide.
Oh hell no. I’d stay the frick home!
Absolutely no way could I spend an entire vacation with someone who annoys the heck out of me. I worriedly began a vacation with my bestfriend who has a very different travel personality than I, and it was the worst trip of my life. A big part of vacation is relaxing, and I can’t do that when I’m on edge because I can’t stand being with the person I’m with.
I would say yes because I’m cheap and would want a free trip and then spend the whole time regretting the choice. So, my imaginary hindsightandwillneverhavetheopportunity self says no, I wouldn’t go. I think.
I don’t think I have a person that annoys me enough to say I wouldn’t travel with them. And you know me. Plenty of people annoy me – I do not suffer fools lightly.
Hooray! Hooray! Hooray! I am sooo excited about the mishloach manot! This is way better than being called on The Price Is Right.
As for the What If, no. I actually am sometimes forced to spend 20 hours a day with her (my MIL), but it is somewhat better with the babies or other adults to buffer, so alone is no good. Plus, I would never want to owe her anything. I work hard never to owe her anything, because she is the type to try to cash it in.
Enough of that. This will be the best Purim ever!
I would have to say maybe. The optimist in me says maybe a vacation would make them less irritating.
Mate, I’ve been watching all the news reports on your Snowmaggedon …. it looks pretty cool on the TV, but I’m not sure how I would handle it.
Probably eat a lot.
Thank you so much for including me in your roundup Mel. It sure does mean a lot.
XOX
The thing is, I can’t think of an outstandingly irritating person. Various people irritate me at various times for various reasons, and some of those reasons would be compatible with travel, and some wouldn’t so much, but I’d get a whole 4 waking hours off a day, so… tough. I’m probably pausing more because they’re paying, and that has much longer-term consequences. I have got a loooooong list of places I’d like to see, and I can’t see them all, so I’d probably just satisfy myself with aiming at another trip instead, which is a luxury, but I think (sooner or later) I could pull together something just as cool.
Unless it’s to the moon.
But. No. But then they’re paying an awful lot. So no – I think it would still end up that way on balance.
Bea
I used to work mental health, and have spent time with some VERY annoying people. I wonder if everyone else’s version of annoying is as annoying as I’ve experienced?
Would I like to spend 20 hours a day with someone who flicks their boogers publicly across the room, or scratches their crotch and squeezes the peaches at the grocery store?
I think I’ll pass. My vision of a beach vacation in imagination land is waaaay better.
Thank you Mel for the roundup love.
xxx