Answering The Liebster [Not The Lobster] Award Questions

October 2, 2015August 29, 2018 / Ally Bean / 24 Comments

Introduction

Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest.

I feel like a bit of a fraud accepting this award by answering these questions. The point of this award is to showcase new up-and-coming bloggers to your readers.

And if there is one thing I am not, it is a new blogger. [Read more here.]

However, be that as it may, I like to do blogging memes like this one because they challenge me to think differently about my life. And because I’m alway honored to be included.

So when charming delightful DearLilyJune nominated me for the Liebster Award [which my spellcheck insists on changing to Lobster], I thought to myself:

Sure. Why not? It’ll be fun.

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The Rules, Or As I Choose To Think Of Them, The Guidelines

Here are the rules for the Liebster Award. If you’re nominated and choose to accept it – you:

answer 11 questions given to you by your nominator;
leave a link back to the person who nominated you;
nominate up to 11 blogs that are relatively new (usually less than 200 followers);
notify your nominees; and
create 11 questions for the nominees.

# # #

Here are DearLilyJune’s questions with my answers

1) Here’s the Lorelai question, posed to her daughter Rory every year on her birthday: What do you think of your life so far?

I like my life so far. Living in suburbia this far out of the city is not where I thought I’d end up, but I’ve come to accept it and enjoy it. Life is quieter here than in the city, and allows me to center myself in nature, write when I want to without distractions, and pursue my love of design. I’m comfortable being a low-key suburban person who watches the parade go by and cheers on those who need to march in it.

2) What’s the cruelest thing you could do to another human being?

Cause them pain, physical &/or emotional.

3) How do you avoid doing #2?

Pay attention to your behavior, know why you do the things that you do, make a conscious decision to play nice– and remember the golden rule.

4) What’s the kindest thing you could do for other human beings?

Support other people in their dreams, listening and guiding them to make good choices, helping them understand that you can only control the process. The results will be what they will be.

5) How do you get motivated, or motivate others, to do more of #4?

I used to think that modeling the behavior you wanted to see in other people was the answer to that question. But now, older & wiser, I’m not so sure that kindness happens that way. Meaning, I don’t have an answer to this question. Do you?

6) What do you dream about at night?

I rarely remember my dreams at night. The little tidbits that I do remember revolve around houses or dorms or hotels– being safe, seeing friends, getting rooms.

7) What do you daydream about during the day?

My daydreams are pretty benign. Walking on a beach. Being in a city park, enjoying nature. Traveling to other countries with friends.

8) If you could go back and choose it, what would your first word be?

Neato.

9) If there were anything you could remember about your life as a baby, what would be your chosen memory?

My grandmother died before I was 1 y.o. I have a photo of her holding me, but I’d like to have met her when I was more aware. They tell me that she was kindness personified.

10) Why are we so quick to pose questions, and so slow to listen for the answers?

In a word, screens. Our society brainwashes people into thinking that distractions via screens, such as social media, TV, movies and video games, are more important than real interpersonal relationships. So waiting to hear a real person answer a question becomes irritating, irrelevant– and not worth wasting your time away from the precious screen.

11) If you had to ask yourself one question each day to take stock of your life, what would that question be?

What have I done today to help my spirit grow?

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Care to play along? Here Are my 11 questions, or writing prompts, for you

1. Which day is your favorite day of the week? And why?

2. What color do you find the most annoying?

3. You’re going on a short drive to run errands around town. What will it be: radio OR personal tunes OR silence?

4. What novel has had the most influence on how you express yourself?

5. Do you like the traditional Thanksgiving feast? If so, what in particular do you like? If not, what do you think is a better meal?

6. When asked to do something that you do not want to do, what do you do?

7. You have a favorite TV show, right? Tell me about it.

8. Is the TSA the most over-rated, self-important, inept government agency around? If not, what is?

9. Guacamole is ________ .

10. To what are you allergic?

11. How much do you love my questions for you?

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Conclusion

Once again Linus, of Peanuts fame, sums it up perfectly.

If you’ve made it this far down on the post, I applaud you. You are a true bloggy friend. Meaning that if you want to do this meme, please feel free to do it.

Do it like the “rules” say you should.
Do it like I did, in the spirit of the thing, using the rules as guidelines.
Do pieces of it as writing prompts for your blog.
Do it but never publish it.

All I ask of you is that when you choose to do this, please make sure you’re saying to yourself:

Sure. Why not? It’ll be fun.

# # #

We Didn’t Fit In, But We Had A Good Time: Go Bucks!

September 29, 2015July 1, 2025 / Ally Bean / 21 Comments

If you go to OSU, the only red that counts is SCARLET.

On Saturday afternoon we joined our closest 105,000 “friends” and went to a Ohio State football game. The game was in Ohio Stadium, aka The Shoe, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is located on The Ohio State University main campus, which is in Columbus, OH.

The Shoe was packed.

After exiting from the highway, getting to our parking place, which was beside The Shoe, was an adventure in dodging ~~drunk~~ psyched fans, driving hither & yon on surface streets– and highlighted by a bomb squad checkpoint.

We passed.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Gray, however, is GRAY regardless of your OSU allegiance.

Then getting to our seats on a box level, accessible via huge dual-door elevators, turned into a lark. Fortunately the arena’s staff kept us laughing all along the way, as we two confused outsiders tried to find our box.

Very pleasant people.

The OSU marching band, aka The Best Damn Band in the Land, did script Ohio, which I maintain is the real reason anyone goes to these football games. And the home team won. So all was good.

Yay football.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Here’s my takeaway:

Every person who attended this event, except us, was wearing team colors, scarlet & gray. I MEAN EVERYONE. And though no one dissed us for not having any team merchandise on our bodies, I felt odd about it.

I’m not one to wear showy clothes, nor have I ever felt comfortable in team apparel, so despite wanting to be part of the group, I couldn’t bring myself to spend monies on any of the ~~over-priced~~ shirts, hats, shorts, sweatshirts, scarves, et cetera, that were available for purchase.

This wasn’t a problem, but it’s an observation that marketing has taken over the game. Meaning that looking the part of a fan is now as important as, if not more important than, being a fan.

This reality made for a visually weird overly enthusiastic-looking crowd of people wearing, what they hoped was scarlet but in actuality was multiple shades of red, emblazoned with the iconic Block O.

Fans? Perhaps. Followers? Definitely.

~ ~ • ~ ~

Of Chips & Buns, Making Small Talk At The Dinner Table

August 25, 2015 / Ally Bean / 27 Comments

I. The scene

Zen-Den and I went to dinner at a Tex-Mex place. Sitting there at our table, me sipping a frozen Texas Twister, him drinking a Dos Eqius, waiting for our tortilla chips to arrive, we got to talking.

II. The Subject

Thinking about the recent news story that I’d seen that day, I asked Zen-Den what he thought about man buns. Specifically, the man buns of Disney.

I figured that the sports babble radio guys who he listens to during his daily commute would have had something to say about man buns. But apparently they’re not as aware of male hairstyles as one might hope.

Zen-Den had no idea what I was talking about.

III. The Conversation

He asked: What kind of buns? Ones that you eat?

I said: No!

He said: Buns with your hair? On men?

I said: Yes, the ones on your head.

He asked: Like granny buns?

I said: No, not like Granny Clampett. More like sumo wrestlers.

He said: The guys are fat?

I said: No. I don’t think so. Maybe some are. The photos show thin guys.

He said: There are photos? Where?

I said: Online. In a blog or something, I think. I read an article.

He said: So these thin guys pull their hair up and twist it into a bun?

I said: Yes!

He said: How?

I said: I don’t know. It’s just up there. Maybe with a scrunchie? Or bobby pins?

He said: Why do they do it?

I said: It’s probably a thing like being a hipster with your hat. Or those “git r done” guys with their shaved heads. It’s cool, I guess.

He said: Why?

I said: I dunno. Because men are stupid?

He said: That’s true… that’s very true.

I said: I’ll send you the link to the article.

He said: Nah. I don’t want to see it. Sounds weird. That’s why I like listening to radio. I don’t have to see any pictures of stupid men.

IV. The Conclusion

The conversation ended when our server brought us fresh homemade chips and salsa. They captured Zen-Den’s attention, so he was no longer interested in cross-examining me about man buns.

I stopped talking about them, but will admit that I enjoyed watching a middle age business guy struggle with the idea of men wearing their hair in an up-do… just because they can.