Friday 5: Taboo

In order for you, my readers, to understand this week’s challenge, I need share a bit of information from the Friday5.org blog:

“This week’s 5 is inspired by the party game called Taboo, in which players must make their teammates utter key words by giving them clues. The twist is that each key word is assigned five Taboo words, and players are forbidden from using the Taboo words in their clues. For example, one key word might be milk, and its Taboo words might be dairy, cow, drink, white, and carton. Your clue might be something like, “It’s a beverage from Bessie,” or “You add it to coffee,” or “The land of BLANK and honey,” or “It comes out of breasts.”

Your task is simply to answer these five questions without using any of the Taboo words or phrases. Challenge yourself not just to avoid using the words, but to think of fresh, new answers to these sort of cliched meme questions!”

Now that you know the rules of the challenge, on to my answers!

1.  Who’s making a positive difference in your life?
Taboo words: friends, family, husband/wife/spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend.

I think right now I’m making the most positive difference in my life.  I’ve pulled up my big girl panties and dedicated myself to truly working on being a writer.  As a result, those around me have become more supportive, offering feedback and encouragement at levels that just continue to propel me forward.  If I had ever had an inkling it could be this wonderful to be a writer, I’d have made the commitment long ago!

2.  Where would you like to be right now?
Taboo words: home, bed, anywhere but here.

I’m torn on my answer to this question. Part of me would love to be somewhere that is described with words like ‘windswept’ and that has rocky sea cliffs, heather and endless views.  Another part of me yearns to be in Indiana, where my best friend lives, so that we could spend some serious quality time together- its been years since we’ve seen each other and the internet, while great for keeping up with each other, just isn’t the same.

3.  What’s the first thing you’d do with a $5,000 (or your local equivalent) gift?
Taboo words: save, debt, vacation, payments, invest.

No questions here- I would buy a new computer (mine has SO many issues!) and a new camera.  I’ve wanted both for quite some time, but never seem to find the money in the budget to allow me a guilt-free purchase.

4.  What super-power would you really like to have?
Taboo words: invisibility, x-ray vision, flying, strength, transform.

My first instinct was to say empathy, but the more I thought about it, I realized how painful it could turn out to be.  So instead, I’ve decided on super-speed. That way, when I find I’ve procrastinated to the point of danger, I can catch up without worry! On the down side, I’d eventually become accustomed to the super speed, thus procrastinating even more.

5.  What’s your favorite sound?
Taboo words: laughter, music, ocean, wind, ____’s voice.

Well, this is a pickle. I can’t use any of my favorites, which are all included in the Taboo words, so I’m at a loss. Wait! I know! The sound of fingers typing quickly on a keyboard- the sound of writing, of progress. Yep, love it!

Goodmorning? Maybe…

Its early; too early, I think, for the time I went to bed last night.  This being the summer, my internal clock has reset and my body has decided that I should be awake from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.; tough hours to stick to when you have three kids. Now I’ve got a bit of a headache and I’m drinking my first cup of coffee, reflecting on the day ahead of me. I actually feel somewhat guilty that I didn’t do the Friday5 last Friday; the questions didn’t suit me.  Instead, I worked on my WIP and on Saponifier, which is what I’m working on today.

I’m using Google’s new Task List, a part of Gmail.  As a serial email-checker, every time I look for new messages, I am now confronted with a list of things I need to accomplish by the end of the day.  I’m hoping that the little notes will remind me of all the things I have needing done, thus making me more effective as both a writer and Managing Editor, but we’ll see.  I have superhuman powers to stubbornly procrastinate.

I snapped a picture that I want to share with you;  I thought it might help generate a little inspiration for someone.  Its a picture of the sunset and the moon, as seen from my driveway at about 8 p.m. on July 23rd.  Being of the sort that needs inspiring, I’m also going to share a poem, one that seems to fit the mood I’m in today.

The Moon
by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792 – 1822)

I
And, like a dying lady lean and pale,
Who totters forth, wrapp’d in a gauzy veil,
Out of her chamber, led by the insane
And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,
The mood arose up in the murky east,
A white and shapeless mass.

II
Art thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,
Wandering companionless
Among the stars that have a different birth,
And ever changing, like a joyless eye
That finds no object worth its constancy?

And with that, I’m going to finish my coffee (and perhaps a Blueberry Pop Tart) and start on my day.

Friday 5 for July 17: Scattergories

This week’s 5 is inspired by the party game Scattergories, in which players have to come up with items, all beginning with the same letter, in several categories. The letters used in today’s 5 will be generated randomly by an online generator. So, without further ado, the Friday 5:

What random letter was generated by the online random-letter generator? (this doesn’t really count as one of your five questions):

T

1. With what famous person, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, would you most like to be stuck on a desert island?

Hmm… a toss up between Mark Twain (for the conversation) and Donald Trump (since he’d get us rescued somehow..lol)

2. What food item, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, can always be found in your pantry?

tortillas

3. What song, whose title begins with the letter in question #1, always makes you feel good?

Thank You – Dido

4. What is your least-favorite film whose title begins with the letter in question #1?

Tarantula (1955) – pretty much anything having to do with spiders is a no-go for me.

5. What unusual animal, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, would be a fun pet?

Tamarin – like this guy:

Friday 5

From Friday5.org | This week’s Friday 5 Theme is Holes.

1. Where can you go for a really good bagel, and how do you like yours?

Flakowitz of Boynton. Its a drive to get there, but well worth it. I’ll have a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese, thanks.

Best eaten hot and fresh from the oven

2. What is your favorite style of doughnut?

Depends on my mood.  I really am partial to a Krispy Kreme fresh off the conveyor belt, but I also like to indulge in a Boston Cream every now and then.

3. What’s your favorite flavor of Lifesavers?

Butterscotch all the way!

4. What O-shaped breakfast cereals do you like?

Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks

5. How do you feel about onion rings, and where can you get some good ones?

I prefer onion chips, which you should only buy from Dales BBQ. It would be a cardinal sin to order them anywhere else.