Red-Handed Jill

^ I have cross-dressed for battles. As in I bound up the breasts put on real men's garb, tied my hair back and wore no makeup. < When I was young and invincible, I used to chew up and spit out Alpha males. I'm much kinder to them now - mellowed with age, I guess. V Do you sail?

^ Sometimes, but typically no. < I used to spend so much time in the water my nickname was "Gills". V How many swords do you own?

A. 3 B. 4 C. half historic, half fantasy D. I sail and fight with edged weapons, but I mostly do the piratical thing to entertain and educate the public.

^There are so many things... Probably my pragmatic problem-solving abilities. < Had a gig over the weekend, one tonight, two sword rehearsals and one skit rehearsal this week, a parade on Saturday and the Disney event on Sunday. Then I go to Phoenix to teach a class. Gonna be a busy couple of weeks. V Passing on Red Cat's question.

^ Anything or anyone that interferes with my ability to get something done. < I can count on one hand and have fingers left over the times I've actually yelled at someone, but one of those times I made them cry (their constant incompetence cost our region A LOT of money and even after several requests, the issue was still unresolved. I finally raised a HUGE stink and let them have it. Fortunately, the powers that be listened and restructured the department, getting rid of the dead weight.) V Anything you do to unwind for the weekend?

Hot portabella and mozzarella sandwich on rosemary focaccia.

^ Work. I'm the first one here, so it's up to me to check and sometimes fix what mayhem occurred over the weekend. < If I REALLY lose my temper, I let loose when no one else is around. 95% of the time, losing my temper is manifested in a mildly sarcastic remark. V Who do you respect the most?

^ Sunny and warm! < Best water EVER was at the Columbia Ice Fields in Alberta, Canada. Can't get better water than straight from a glacier. V Do anything exciting this weekend?

^ Kind of. I lived in one of the storage rooms at Steinhart Aquarium for awhile several years ago. < Supposed to be warm this weekend and no rain. Yay! V Besides pirate/nautical (or Star Wars), if you could theme up a room, what theme would you use?

^ For my clothing, in the store (need to try something on before I buy it.) Just about anything else that is non-perishable, I buy on-line. < I have bought corsets on-line, though. They are tough to find outside of the UK. V Favorite place to shop on-line?

Yep - I'm performing at the San Francisco event. We haven't been told which cast member will be emceeing it, though.

Wow - nice! Goes with the necklace, right?

I recently checked out the website for the California Academy of Sciences. They moved the Academy to a temporary location, obliterated the original building and have been building a new one from scratch. It had to be re-built, due to the massive amounts of seismic retrofitting needed and the fact that it was rapidly aging. I like the new design, but I really miss the old building. It was my home. And by "home" I mean that literally. It was the only constant for me during a time that brought many changes. And for awhile, I actually lived there. If you visited Steinhart Aquarium from the mid-70's to the 90's, you probably saw the Fish Roundabout, a donut-shaped tank that allowed visitors to stand in the middle of it and watch the fish swim around them. The building that contained this round tank was square, which left the corner areas, one of which I appropriated for my apartment. I was quite snug there and the white noise of the water rushing by was very soothing (although it did make me want to use the bathroom quite often.) And I knew the rest of the aquarium like the back of my hand. I felt more comfortable there than any place in the world, before or since. I also spent a lot of time inside the tank itself and to this day, when I'm standing outside a huge aquarium tank, I feel an almost visceral need to be on the other side of that plexiglas. At any rate, my home is gone. That scene in Gross Pointe Blank where Martin Blank goes to the house where he grew up and finds that it's been replaced by a mini mart is very evocative to me. I can sympathise with this situation in a big way. The one place that meant home to me - and still does - no longer exists.

^ Don't own a teddy (I've been told they get in the way), I snore if my sinuses are congested, don't wear socks to bed and occasionally snack in bed (Jack and I have been known to occasionally have milk and cookies before sleep - and no, that's not a euphemism...) < Drinking lots of Gypsy Cold Care tea and it's really helping with this cold. V What time do you consider "sleeping in"?

Yep, that was mine. Words to live by!

I'll get to see the trailer on the 18th! Disney is holding screening events throughout the U.S. and I'll be part of the local pirates terrorizing - um, entertaining - the public prior to the screening. Then I'll get to watch the special early screening of the POTC3 trailer. Yippee!

1. Malai kofta 2. Turkey vultures circling above the local Walmart (telling? Perhaps...) 3. Anupama, a co-worker 4. Margaret, a friend from Vancouver

^ I get migraines from tobacco smoke so NEVER NEVER NEVER. < After dodging virus bullets for months, I'm finally sick for real. Damn! V Breathe underwater, run as fast as a cheetah or fly?

^ It's situational. If the situation is unresolved or the person is still an unrepentant jerk and continues to be a thorn in my side or a friend's, then the grudge remains. If it gets resolved, then it's forgotten. < Most things are situational for me. V Allergies?

O Brother Where Art Thou has some GREAT lines: "You two are just dumber than a bag of hammers." "I had to be up at that there crossroads last midnight, to sell my soul to the devil. " "Well, ain't it a small world, spiritually speaking. Pete and Delmar just been baptized and saved. I guess I'm the only one that remains unaffiliated. " "Well, ain't this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere!" "A woman is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man."

The bad one was the house I grew up in. Whatever was there was unhappy and unfortunately, used my closet as home base. At the oddest times the house or just a room would be filled with a strange or nasty smell and at times malevolence would emanate from my closet. In the other house, I saw the ghost more than once, as did my roommate. In fact, one evening as my roommate was washing his wetsuit in the garage, the ghost looked over his shoulder and startled the bejesus out of him. Later that evening, I was working on my car and saw the ghost walking across the garage about eight feet from me. He was benevolent, a blue-collar kind of guy. A friend of mine who was a shaman was able to help him on his way and we never saw him again. I've seen ghosts a-plenty in other houses and locales. They seem to be drawn to me for some reason.

^ Fairly fast. Been a computer geek since way back and have done my share of writing code, web design, tech writing, etc. < Still think Token-Ring has Ethernet beat hands-down. Too bad it was prohibitively expensive. V How many computers do you have at home? Networked?

^ I tend toward holistic remedies. Most cold medicine leaves me feeling worse than the sickness. Only thing I take is Nyquil before bedtime so that I can sleep, but I have to be pretty bad off to take it. < I'm starting to feel a bit icky as well. Lots of echinacea and Gypsy Cold Care tea for me, then. V How was the weekend?

Phil - where ya be, lad? Wherever it is, I hope you're having a good one today!

Snow? That calls for some hot cocoa with rum! Happy birthday Merrydeath!!