November 14 was 71 days ago. Officially, meaning what I say to myself in my head, I’m pretty much done blogging. For a variety of reasons and for no one reason in particular. I’ve been busy with what would have been “bloggable” things, but I’ve not blogged a lick about them. There was my birthday and Christmas and we took a trip to Mexico. Each of those items right there would have normally garnered at least a couple posts a piece. Then there’s the kids’ Christmas concerts, a bout of insomnia I’ve been struggling through, the books I’ve been reading, idle chit chat about the shows I watch. A weird health mystery with Avery, the mountains of birthday party invitations and playdate proposals, and a few new-found obsessions. All blog-worthy fodder, so this absence, whether it is permanent (pay no attention to this blog post you are currently reading) or temporary, is not due to a lack of material. At first I was lazy, then I figured if I’d gone a couple of weeks without a massive influx of emails from my legions of fans begging me to return to the internet, then I must not be missed, and then, at about the 30 day mark, it dawned on me that blogging is no longer a habit for me. It’s an addiction I’d broken, whether on purpose or not and whether I had truly wanted to or not. I’m not sure. All I know is that I’m not really a blogger anymore, not really. I still have this place, I obviously haven’t shut the whole thing down, but I just don’t use it. I know people have gone longer without posting than I have, but it really does feel foreign to me to be writing anything at all. I logged on to WordPress to find it completely changed. What the hell, WordPress? A fine how do you do to me.
“Uh…Jen? You’re here, aren’t you?”
Shush. I’m not a blogger anymore. I’m just a girl standing (sitting) in front of a boy (computer screen), asking him (it) to love her (writing a stupid blog post for a blog I don’t write posts on anymore). To be honest, I just can’t resist a questionnaire. I’ve always been a sucker for memes and what fun is a meme if you write the answers down on a piece of paper and no one gets to see them? No fun at all, that’s how much fun.
48 QUESTIONS:
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My name is Jennifer, which was the #1 name for girls every single year from 1970 to 1984, so, no. I wasn’t named after anyone, just like everyone else with the name Jennifer. Which is approximately 8 out of every 10 woman in my age bracket.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
With real people tears? It’s been a few days.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I don’t really have one style of handwriting. Sometimes, yes, sometimes, no.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
I don’t really like lunch meat, but I’ll eat it if it’s there. Probably roast chicken, I guess.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Yeah, I think there might be a couple midgets lurking around here somewhere…
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
No because I’m not really a big “having friends” kind of person. Or at least I’m not very good at making in-real-life, talking at each other’s faces, kind of friends. I think I’m pretty awesome, but in order for Other Person me to become friends with Current Person me, that would require some sort of inter-personal interaction and I’m not really comfortable with that, even if both parties are me in this equation. Maybe I’d be Twitter friends with me or something. I can handle that.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
It’s my greatest weapon of self preservation.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
I have a pretty serious fear of heights, so no. Then again, until a month ago, I would have said the same thing about zip lining and snorkling in the ocean, despite also fearing deep water, but I did both of those things in Mexico. But bungee jumping is pretty low on my list of things I ever want to do ever in my life.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
I love cereal so much, I want to hug it. My favourite changes because I grow tired of flavours pretty quickly. Right now I’m eating Multi-Grain Cheerios every morning, but that’ll change in a day or two.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
If they’re new. I baby my new things, but once they’re old, I’ll do the old step-on-the-heel trick until I rip the sole right off them.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Besides a few crippling anxieties and fears, I’m probably the strongest person I know. Physically, I birthed two children without pain medication without so much as a wimper. Emotionally, on the outside, I’m pretty much as strong as one can be. However, no one should expect themselves to be strong all the time, and I do that to myself.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
All of the ice cream.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
I’m mildly-to-moderately hard of hearing, so I watch people’s mouths when they talk, so naturally I notice their teeth first.
15. RED OR PINK?
Both.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My social anxiety. I don’t even like RSVPing to the birthday invitations that my kids bring home from school. Side note: all invitations should include an email address.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
I am fortunate in that I live very near my whole family and see them all quite often. There are people I miss that have passed or have moved on from my life, but none more than another.
18. WHAT IS THE TECHNIQUE THAT YOU NEED TO WORK ON THE MOST?
Small talk. Especially with other parents of children in my kids’ classes. My behaviour towards other parents affects my kids and I have to work on improving that. Even as simple as holding a polite phone conversation.
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Black boots because my feet are too cold to take them off.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Leftover homemade pizza and half a butter tart for lunch.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Other people’s conversations.
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
I like all the colours, so if you took a box of crayons, set it on the back dash of your car on a hot day in the summer until they all melted together into one giant, melty rainbow crayon, that would be the one I would be.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Fresh baked bread.
24. HOW IMPORTANT ARE YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS TO YOU?
They’re complicated and boring and fluid, but not what I’d define as important.
25. MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?
Beach house because I’d love something warm right now.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
I’m reeeeeally not a sports watching person.
27. HAIR COLOR?
Mousy brown. It sometimes looks a little reddish in the sun, but it’s not. It’s non-descript.
28. EYE COLOR?
Blue jean navy blue.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No, I wear glasses and I love them. I don’t like my face without them.
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
All of the food. Mostly the sweet foods.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Neither, really. Or both. I like anything, but my favourite it action/adventure. Something comic book-y or based on a fantasy novel, but NOT sparkly vampires.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Pitch Perfect. One of my new favourites.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
I have a teal sweater underneath a black cardigan. I’m cold.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer.
35. FAVORITE DESSERT?
36. STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?
Yeah, no, don’t put me down for cardio. Also not the strength training, either.
37. COMPUTER OR TELEVISION?
Television, as long as one of my stories is on.
38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
The Hobbit and it’s taking me an embarrassingly long time to read this children’s book. I keep falling asleep while I’m reading it, but it’s not the book’s fault. I’m just really, really tired lately.
39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Crumbs.
40. FAVORITE SOUND?
Silence.
41. FAVORITE GENRE OF MUSIC?
Alternative rock and roll.
42. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Ireland and I want to go back to there.
43. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Not only do I not have a special talent, I’m pretty sure I don’t even have a regular, unspecial talent.
44. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
For the last 8 generations (and further on my father’s side), my people have been born in Canada.
45. WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW?
In a suburban-meets-rural bedroom community within a commutable distance from the T Dot (Toronto).
46. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR HOUSE?
Grey brick on the bottom and bluish gray siding on the top.
47. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR CAR?
Grey.
48. DO YOU LIKE ANSWERING 48 QUESTIONS?
That’s all there is? More, please.
***
So, I’m not back, per se, but here I am. I might be back again, or I might not. Probably because I like typing. I love you. Your face is pretty.
mytornadoalley.wordpress.com 
I’m glad you’re back. And I love the questionnaire. And your answers.
And they love you.
…but where did the other half of the butter tart go?
In the compost bin. Sad story.
Glad your back! I might steal this questionnaire!
G’head! I stole it from no fewer than three people, myself.
I’m reading The Hobbit right now too, and so far it’s taken about three weeks. But that’s mostly because I lost the book for two weeks and just found it yesterday. I’m organized like that. Apparently. Awesome meme, and glad you’re back to writing!
I think I’m at a week and a half or maybe even two weeks, which is ridiculous for a 350ish page children’s book, but here we are.
Yay, you are back! Thanks to years of ear abuse with various forms of loud music, I’m also hard of hearing. Unless you are yelling I can’t make out distinct words if I can’t see your lips moving. This can sometimes be problematic when talking to women because, really, I’m NOT looking at your boobs because I’m not looking you in the eyes, I want to hear what you are saying!
Mine is from many, many serious ear infections as a kid. My eardrums have scar tissue on them, so they don’t vibrate as they should all the time. I have no trouble with volume (yelling at me doesn’t help), it’s just the detail that can get muddled, especially if there’s a lot of background noise. For example, at home when everyone is talking to me at once and the tv’s on and the microwave is running or whatever, I get pretty frustrated because it’s just loud, irritating, mumbled noise. Watching lips helps at least a little.
Also, your face is pretty. And I hate phone RSVPs, they give me hives – I put off returning another mom’s voicemail inviting my daughter to a playdate for eight days, and then only called her back because my daughter kept bugging me and apparently the other mom can’t hear, “Yes, fine, thank you” via ESP.
I try to communicate via handwritten notes in their backpacks as much as possible. Yes, it’s the 1800’s, apparently, but it’s so much less awkward that way.