188.2
Well, I guess I won’t complain that I’m holding steady, since last night we went out to eat at CiCi’s Pizza. What was I thinking? I was thinking that it was Friday night, and I was hungry, and not only that, but I had a BOGO coupon. So…what a deal! Tho not a good deal on the scale.
Well, the wonderful thing is that every day we get to start afresh. So here I go!
If you could be another person for a day, who would it be and why?
It only took me about three seconds to come up with the answer to this one. I would want to be J.K. Rowlings, because I would want to know what it feels like to be an excessively sucessful writer. Also, I’ve heard that she has currently been spotted in coffeeshops in Scotland, writing her latest novel. I would love to be able to sit in Scottish coffeeshops all day long, writing my latest novel, and not have to worry about whether or not I could afford to get a piece of cheesecake and a mocha something-or-other with whipped creme on top, if I really wanted it.
I would also love to know what it feels like to have the stories I wrote turned into excessively successful movies. I imagine, though, that there must be some anxiety on her part, about now, since she has just finished her Harry Potter series, and is now venturing into unchartered territory, and of course she must be wondering (as we all are wondering) whether or not she will be able to keep up the momentum. For that reason, I would only want to be her for this one DAY. I could ward off those concerns and self-doubts for a day, I’m sure. Especially if I had some cheesecake to sooth my spirits as I sat there writing.
188.2
Wow! What happened? The weekend happened. And I slacked off a little bit. A diet coke (poison!), a couple of bagels, some muffins. And certainly not enough water. I find it difficult to drink enough water over the weekend, when my routine is different.
But it’s Monday, and back to business, and back to the gym, and hope to see some positive results by tomorrow morning’s number.
I hope everybody has heard Al Yankovic’s song “White and Nerdy.” It’s a take-off on some rapper song. I don’t know the original song, but I always get a good chuckle out of the Al Yankovic rip-off.
And whenever I hear it, I see myself, and so many people I know, in the lyrics of this song. So I decided to use it as the measuring stick against which to measure an individual’s “nerdiness.”
Take this quiz to find out how nerdy you are. You’ll need a sheet of paper, a pen or pencil, and a little time, since Al was exceptionally generous with his lyrics.
By the way, if you decide to skip the paper and pencil, and instead add up your score on any device which requires batteries or electricity, give yourself an additional 2 points.
Okay then! Ready to begin?
THE WHITE AND NERDY QUIZ
1. They see me mowin’ my front lawn
Have you EVER mowed your front lawn?
Give yourself 1 point if yes
0 points if no
2. First in my class here at M.I.T.
If you have ATTENDED M.I.T., 1 point.
If you are/were first in your class at M.I.T., 10 points.
If you have never even heard of M.I.T., 0 points
But…2 points if you were ever in the Top 10% of your class, any class.
3. Got skills, I’m a Champion of DND
If a Champion, 5 points.
If you have EVER played DND, 1 point.
If not, 0 points.
But…subtract 1 point if you don’t know what DND is.
4. MC Escher that’s my favorite MC
If MC Escher IS your favorite MC, 0 points.
If you don’t know who MC Escher is, 3 points.
5. Keep your 40, I’ll just have an Earl Grey tea
If you don’t know what “40” means in this instance, 3 points.
If you have ever enjoyed Earl Grey tea, an additional 3 points.
6. My rims never spin to the contrary, you’ll find they’re quite stationary.
Stationary rims, 2 points
Spinning rims, 0 points
Walk or ride a bike, neither here nor there. 0 points
But subtract 1 point if you ride the bus regularly
7. All of my action figures are cherry
If yes, 3 points.
2 points if you have at least one action figure, but it’s not “cherry.”
If you think action figures are dolls for little boys, and no kid of yours would ever be caught dead playing with one, subtract 1 point
8. Steven Hawkings in my library
If yes, 3 points
If you KNOW who Steven Hawkings IS, 1 point
If not, 0 points
9. My MySpace page is all totally pimped out, I got people begging for my top 8 spaces
Do you have a MySpace? Add 2 points.
If not, 0 points
BUT… if you’ve ever Cyber-Voyeured in MySpace, but not posted anything there, you get 3 points
10. Yo! I know Pi to a thousand places
How many places do you know Pi to? Add that number into your score so far.
If you don’t know Pi, 0 points
11. Ain’t got no grills but I still wear braces
If you have or have ever had braces, add 3 points.
12. I order all of my sandwiches with mayonnaise
If mayonnaise on ALL sandwiches, 3 points.
If only sometimes, 1 point.
If you never eat mayonnaise on a sandwich, 0 points.
If you could spell mayonnaise correctly before looking at this quiz, give yourself 1 extra point.
13. I’m a whiz at Minesweeper I can play for days
Once you see my sweet moves you’re gonna stay amazed,
my fingers movin’ so fast I’ll set the place ablaze
If this is you, add 3 points.
If you’ve ever played Minesweeper at all, 1 point.
If you’ve never played, 0 points.
14. There’s no killer app I haven’t run, At Pascal, well, I’m Number One
If you believe this describes you, or is even close, add 3 points.
If you don’t know what Pascal is, 0 points.
15. Do vector calculus just for fun
If so, give yourself 5 points…NERD!
16. I ain’t got a gat but I gotta soldering gun
If you have a soldering gun, you get 3 points.
If you don’t know what a gat is, you get 3 more points.
17. Happy Days is my favorite theme song
If so, stop right here. You are King (or Queen) of the Nerds!
But if you have ever watched Happy Days, give yourself 2 points
18. I can sure kick your butt in a game of ping pong
Championship level, add 3 points.
Ever played, add 1 point.
19. I’ll ace any trivia quiz you bring on
If you can ace ANY trivia quiz I bring on, stop taking this quiz immediately and apply to be a contestant on Jeopardy!
If you have expertise in a PARTICULAR area where virtually nobody you know can beat you in a trivia quiz, add 3 point.
Add an additional 2 points if your area of expertise is Lord of the Rings.
20. I’m fluent in Java Script as well as Klingon
2 points for Java Script
3 points for Klingon
21. They see me roll on, my Segway!
2 points if you know what a Segway is.
22. I’ve been browsing, inspectin’ X-men comics you know I collect ’em
5 points!
23. The pens in my pocket, I must protect ’em
Another 5 points
24. My ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
If you have an ergonomic keyboard, add 3 points.
If you don’t have one, but know what it is, you get 1 point.
25. Shopping online for deals on some writable media
2 points for shopping online for ANYTHING
4 points for shopping online for writeable media
25. I edit Wikipedia
5 points for editing Wikipedia
2 points if you have ever visited Wikipedia
3 points if it is in your Favorites
27. I memorized Holy Grail really well, I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL
If you enjoy Monty Python’s Holy Grail, 1 point.
If you have memorized ANY lines from it, 2 points
If you have a T-shirt depicting a scene from the movie, 3 points
5 points if you have ever written “ROTFLOL” in an email or blog entry
28. I got a business doing websites
5 points, if people pay YOU to do their website
2 points if you pay for website space
29. When my friends need some code who do they call?
If anyone has EVER called you for computer advise, 1 point
If they called you for “code,” give yourself a whopping 3 points!
30. I do HTML for them all
2 points for knowing HTML
4 points if you know what the letters HTML stand for
31. Even made a homepage for my dog!
Again I say… STOP. You win.
But if you want to keep playing, give yourself 10 points
32. Yo! Got myself a fanny pack, they were having a sale down at the GAP
1 point for owning a fanny pak, if you are a girl
3 points for owning a fanny pack, if you are a guy
5 points if you’ve ever bought anything from the GAP
33. Spend my nights with a roll of bubble wrap
POP POP! Hope no one sees me gettin’ freaky!
Don’t lie! If you’ve ever done this, give yourself 2 points
34. I’m nerdy in the extreme and whiter than sour creme
I was in AV club and Glee club and even the chess team!
2 points for the AV club
2 points for the Glee club
3 points for the chess team.
5 points if you can only name ONE person who can beat you in chess.
6 points if NOBODY can beat you in chess.
1 point for liking sour creme
35. Only question I ever thought was hard
Was do I like Kirk or do I like Picard?
3 points if you like Kird
1 point if you like Picard
36. I spend every weekend
at the renaissance fair
1 point for every time you’ve GONE to a renaissance fair
3 points for every time you’ve WORKED at a renaissance fair
5 points if you would “spend every weekend at the renaissance fair” if you could
37. I got my name on my underwear
10 points!
Okay. How did you do?
For whatever it’s worth, there is POTENTIAL to score *about* 200, for the really, really nerdy. My score was 54, so I’m about 1/4 nerd. I feel comfortable with that.
(And btw, feel free to share this quiz with anyone you like, but a nod would certainly be appreciated.)
Russ and I just got back from the Mall, where we have been “people watching.” It’s a lot of fun, noting trends, seeing what people are wearing, trying to guess what their stories might be. What’s amazing to me is that no matter where you are (at least it makes no difference if you are in South Florida or West Alabama) you still see the same kinds of people.
The most interesting to me are the Goth kids. They kind of remind me of Mary and Joey when they were younger. I kept saying things like “See the girl with the buttons all over her purse? That was Mary,” and “Joey had a friend who looked just like that.” In fact, I saw a kid that reminded me a lot of Joey, tall and thin, but his hair was bright red, like Ron Weasley’s. And apparently kids are still wearing those really big, really baggy pants that used to piss their dad off so much.
Anyway, I proposed to Russ that we get ourselves a couple of marble notebooks and go up to the Mall to “people watch” and write down our observations. I also think it would be a neat writer’s exercise to pick a person and write a quick little story about them, maybe a drabble. Keeps the mind active, keeps the creative juices flowing. You never know where you might find inspiration.
187.4
I made some progress this week, then backslid, and now I am pretty much where I was last Friday morning. I hate this! All this effort, and not really getting anywhere. Of course, the good thing is that the weights I am upset with are in the 180’s, not the 190’s, so yes, overall I’ve made progress, but not really this week.
Of course, here come the excuses: this morning I feel all bloated, and it’s either because my period is due in a few days, or because I had linguini for dinner last night. I think it might be due to both. So…are these excuses, or reasons? Well, there was no excuse for eating linguini. That’s my fault. Can’t do anything about the period, except go thru it, get thru it, and lower weights should be on the other side.
But this has been an important reminder about carbs. When I lost all that weight a couple of years ago, the way I recall it, bread and noodles were barely present in my diet. I just kind of cut them out, for the most part. I think I really need to keep that in mind again. The focus needs to be on fruits and veggies. That’s when I do my best.
Also, as I recall, when I was losing all that weight last time, I was also eating a lot of salmon. Got to go shopping and get some good salmon!
Anyway, the plan for tonight, our Friday night eating out, is to go up to the mall (we have some things to do there) and then eat either at the Appleby’s or the Food Court. Appleby’s, of course, has those wonderful Weight Water meals, and in the Food Court there is a Wendy’s where I can get a salad. So hopefully I will get thru this Friday night without doing too much more damage.
And now, off to work, where I shall drink copious amounts of water!
