There and Back Again

Pondering: One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. (Elbert Hubbard)

I got tagged, so I had to…. The rule is, once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits or goals about you and tag other people to do the same.  So if you are reading this, consider yourself “tagged.”

1. I absolutely love the color blue and all its shades, except aqua blue.
2. Just my luck, aqua blue was the motif of my dear sister Marizza’s wedding.  As bridesmaid, I had to wear a satin aqua blue dress, which was just horrible, in my opinion.
3. I love to read mystery books, especially espionages, but only if the characters are not too old.
4. I am not a big fan of Radiohead or U2 and for that I feel something’s wrong with me because everyone seems to really like these bands.
5. I absolutely enjoy watching a good TV series on DVD – commercial free is the best way to follow a TV show.
6. One of my all-time favorite books ever is Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane.  The other one is On Chisel Beach by Ian McEwan.  This is the book I wish I wrote.
7. I dream of one day going back to Austria.  The first and last time I was there was in 2001, in the Tyrol region.  I fell in love with the place and I dream about it all the time.
8. I would like to spend the rest of my days after retirement in Paris, France selling flowers to tourists at the Notre Dame Cathedral…
9. … Or in a cabin in Lake Tahoe or some other coastal town in California just reading or knitting sweaters in the morning and writing crappy stories in the evening.
10. My drink of choice when out for a nightcap with friends is gin and tonic.  Either that or wine.
11. I absolutely hate summers and love the fall/winter season.
12. I love the month of October because it’s the fall season, because of Halloween, and because it’s my birthday month!
13. If I weren’t doing what I’m doing now, I would have been a college instructor.  Teaching, I just realized, is one of my greatest passion.
14. I love crossword puzzles.
15. If God descended from heaven and told me I could have dinner with anyone – famous or not, dead or alive – I would pick songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane).  Brilliant, brilliant person, in my opinion!
16. I am so tired of Beyonce – can she shut up already?
17. I’ve never been to New York.  In fact, I’ve never been to the East Coast of America.  I should, one day.
18. My favorite cities to visit are Paris, Vancouver and London.  Least favorite – Seattle, Washington (no offense to Seattle natives).
19. My ideal day is spent in bed with a really good book or a good horror movie while outside it is raining like crazy!
20. I would love to have a dog.  A big dog, if possible. Though beggars can’t be choosers, so a small dog will do as well.  My dream dog is a Golden Retriever named Griffey.
21. I am the youngest in a family of seven.  My brothers and sisters names are: Marizza, Mike, Mercedes, Bong, Jun and Mi.
22. At a recent staff retreat, we were asked to jot down three words that either define us, motivate us or that we live by.  My three words were: Think. Options. Travel.  I truly believe that one always has options to consider and if one would just think about these options before proceeding, one is better off in life.  I also believe that all work and no play makes everyone dull, so every now and then I think about traveling and just going away.
23. I believe in God and all His goodness, but I am hardly the devout Catholic I was growing up.
24. “It’s not always a misfortune being overlooked,” by J.R.R. Tolkien is one of my favorite quotes.
25. The thing I value most in life is freedom.  I can’t imagine a life where I am not free to think and decide for myself.