If Challenge (8/23)

Question: If you had to be the reporter to have broken one news event during your lifetime, what would you like it to have been?

Answer: That's easy...First Man on the Moon.

While I was barely alive for this, so obviously do not remember actually watching the moon landing. However, when I was a kid I briefly wanted to be an astronaut so when I first saw the challenge topic I immediately thought of the moon landing and then when searching for a picture to use I did a search and came across Walter Cronkite's reporting of the moon landing and where he removes his glasses because he is tearing up...I started crying as well. Wow! Good job America!!

If Challenge (8/22)

Question: If you could master one type of cuisine, which one would you choose?

Answer: There are sooooo many wonderful cuisines out there and I'm probably taking a bit of a cop out by selecting this cuisine, but I have to say it is one of my favorite and there are so many different styles and regions and tastes and so much so much....and the best is having all fresh ingredients and they aren't necessarily expensive ingredients. My mouth is watering just thinking about the different flavors. There are salads and main dishes and desserts and so many different options. What am I talking about? Italian, of course!!

 

If Challenge (8/20)

Question: If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?

Answer: My immediate thought was that I wanted to be a high-flying trapeze artist like my friend Abigail Munn co-creator of Circus Bella, which is a small, classic circus troupe that performs in the San Francisco Bay area, among other worldwide locations.

But sadly, I would more than likely end up just being a clown.

Or even just be a carny...

 

If Challenge (8/16)

Question: If you could enact one law in your country that does not currently exist, what would it be?

Answer: My first thought was to come up with a law that if you drive slow in the fast lane that an alien ship would descend from the skies and blast you out of my driving path, but I think that would be something really hard to enact, and how would we pay for the alien ship and what if I'm the person driving in the fast lane, while going fast but not fast enough for somebody else, would I then get blasted?

I then decided that I would enact a law that could possibly actually have some impact on our country. I would put term limits on Senators, Representatives, and Governors. Part of the reason that the country doesn't change is because we keep electing the same people into office because we are familiar with their name when we go into the voting booth and maybe they haven't done anything uber-controversial so their opponents don't really have much to bring up when time comes to re-elect them. If we don't allow the President to reside in office for longer than 2 terms, I think the same rule should hold for ALL elected offices.

Of course, if I'm going to tackle politics, then I'm going to include a whole bunch of riders in my law that addresses the lobbyists and the donations by corporations and wealthy individuals. I'd like to make this country of the people and by the people and I mean ALL the people not just the ones with deep pockets.

Enough soapbox?

If Challenge (8/15)

Question: If you were invited to join one current musical group, which group would you want to be a member of, and what instrument would you play?

Answer: Simple...Blue Oyster Cult...

And the instrument I would play....Cowbell!!!

 

If Challenge (8/13)

Question: If you had to spend one year alone in the wilderness, where would you go?

Answer: This is very apropos as I am currently reading the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

In this book she takes off hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, which goes from Mexico to Washington across the tops of the Sierra and Cascade mountain ranges. She carries everything she needs on her back and just hikes and camps and then comes to little outposts where she has mailed a fresh supply of food. She is doing this hike to 'find' herself. I find it to be really fascinating and sometimes wonder if it is something that I could do. I've also wondered what it would be like to hike the length of the Appalachian Trail. Both trails are well over 2,000 miles (2,663 and 2,200 respectively), and since I am very much not a hiker or camper, I doubt if I would ever do it. Besides, with my luck, I'd get confused and lost (I mean I do that whenever I step outside of a hotel room and turn the wrong direction) that I would end up like the guy (Christopher McCandless) from the book Into the Wild.

But whether I could do it or not isn't really the question. Therefore, I really think taking a year off and hiking along both of these trails would be fun. I mean, each would take probably 6 months for me to complete and the question doesn't say if it has to be a consecutive 12 months, does it? It would have to be somewhere that I could have touch points with civilization as I do not think I could completely live off the land and kill for my survival, but rather, if I could carry food on my back and know that I would be able to refuel periodically (and hopefully stay in a cabin or motel and maybe get a shower once in a while) then I might be up for it.

Is this now on my bucket list? Maybe....

If Challenge (8/12)

Question: If you had to lose one of your five senses, which would you give up?

Answer: Once again, this is a toughy. I've actually talked about this before with my family on some car ride long ago. My first thought was to give up hearing, but now I am rethinking that. I love to listen to music and books on tape and streaming podcasts and all sorts of things, so I think it would be really hard to give up hearing. Of course I also love the sound of silence, but I think constant silence with just the voices in my head would drive me insane. Plus, I'm not certain I would be able to learn sign language at this age.

I KNOW I couldn't give up vision because I read too much and there is the quilting and use of color that requires sight.

That leaves the sense of smell, taste, and touch. Well touch is out because there are so many things that I do that rely on my sense of touch, like feeling for pins when quilting or petting Leo.

We are now down to two...smell and taste, which are intimately entwined. The sense of smell plays a huge part in being able to add to the flavor of so many things. But, if I had to give up one of my senses, I really think it would be either taste or smell. I mean, if I don't really enjoy the flavor of food any longer, would there be the desire to eat as much?

(By the way, I did a search for a picture of a tongue to include in the post to accentuate my choice, but they were really gross and sadly, there are now some tongue images that are burned into my retina that I just not not see now...sigh...maybe giving up my vision wouldn't be so bad after that....)

If Challenge (8/8)

Question: If you were instantly able to play one musical instrument perfectly that you never have played before what would it be?

Answer: Part of me would love to be able to play the piano without any issues, but I've had piano lessons in the past so that is ruled out. I have also played both the flute and the bassoon and a mean air guitar and drums, so all of those are ruled out.

I then started thinking about some of the music that I love and what instruments are prominent (and a little quirky) in that music. I opted to research Bluegrass music because it is an interesting, unique, and beautiful musical genre. I would probably want to be able to play the fiddle first, because I could cross over into classical music and call it a violin, if need be:

Then, once I knew how to play the fiddle, I could move onto the mandolin:

The banjo:

And then to REALLY step out of the box, the hurdy-gurdy:

Of course, I might decide that I need to channel my inner Lara and learn to play the balalaika:

And if I still have time and strength, I think it would be amazing to play the bagpipes (although that would probably drive the poor dog insane):

 

If Challenge (8/7)

Question: If you could be sculpted by any artist in history, who would you choose?

Answer: My original thought was that I would want to be sculpted by Michelangelo or Botticelli or Rodin or one of the other classic sculptors of the past as I knew they would make me beautiful and tragic and cold in marble, like this beautiful sculpture by Rafael:

But, then I reconsidered and started thinking about some of the more modern artists. Maybe an action sculpture by Remington done in bronze...oh wait, I'm not really much of the western-theme type. There are really SOOO many different sculptors out there that it is hard to decide on a single one. Instead, I think I would rather put my sculpture into the hands of a realistic artist who would find the truth in me, however, unbecoming it might be. I think being done by the likes of Duane Hanson.

 

Funny story....the Museum of Modern Art in Fort Worth had a Duane Hanson exhibit in 1994 that I went to with my parents. Throughout the exhibit are all of these life size, realistic sculptures. At the end of the exhibit, mom and I were in the gift shop (because we cannot go to a museum without stopping in the shop) and dad went to wait by the window. As mom and I finished up, we were looking for dad and completely missed him because he seemed to just blend in with the other sculptures that were around. Okay, maybe it isn't funny to the rest of you, but mom and I get a good laugh out of it.

There is another amazing sculpture that I think would be great to sit for as well, Ron Mueck:

 

And then there is Madam Tussauds...

 

If Challenge (8/6)

Question: If you could inherit a comfortable home in any city in the world that you could use but not sell, where would you want it to be?

Answer: This is a tough one. I first thought that I would go for San Francisco because I really do love that city. But then I thought, of all the cities in the world...there is so much variety and choice and options. Maybe I'd like to have a house in Paris or London and then I'd be right there at the jumping off points to see visit all of Europe. Maybe Rome or Florence with easy access to amazing Italian food and great architecture and culture. But, if I went to one of the wonderful European cities, I would only have the house provided for me...I would still have to figure out job and make friends (and we all know how bad I am at that) and I would see incrementally less of my family and friends (although they would have a reason to visit and place to stay). But, I don't know if I could really live as an ex-pat. Therefore, I think I should stay in the US. Maybe, a house in Hawaii...then I'd have access to beaches and a completely laid back lifestyle...but I'd miss out on some things that just wouldn't be available on an island, plus, I don't know if I could really deal with having sunny weather all the time. Therefore, I think I would have to circle back to my first option, which would be San Francisco. If I could have afforded to have a house there, I'm not certain if I would have moved away in the first place.

 

If Challenge (8/5)

Many, many moons ago, I purchased a book called The Big Book of If...

In this book, there are pages and pages of "If" questions that are to be used to spark conversation.  Since I have been incredibly inconsistent with my blogging, I decided that I needed to go to my big book and just start pulling questions out of there to respond to. Therefore, I'm going to attempt, whenever I have nothing else to blog about, to respond to a question from this book.

Question: If you could permanently alter one thing about your physical appearance, what would you change?

Answer: Okay, maybe this is a soft pitch for my first one, but this is a really easy one....I would make my body smaller, permanently. I struggle constantly with losing weight and it just keeps on creeping up. If I could permanently get rid of the jiggle and jelly from around the waist, and the double chin, and the bat-wing arms, and the lumpy legs, and Oh My Goodness...the cancles....I would be really happy. And I know that I could do at least some of it if I just really, REALLY made myself work at it...but I am weak, but I keep picking myself up and trying again.