Choose 10 and Defend 'em!

So I'm here to dig information out of y'all. Not that I have a large number of followers ;)

Choose your "Top 10" in one of the following categories: Movies, Songs, Musicals, Cars, Bands or Sports.

You must provide at least one point to defend why the item makes your Top 10.

I challenge DeltaBluez Stockdogs, carefullyconstructednoise, My Hybrid Life.

My Top 10 - Movies

1. "When Harry Met Sally"

Probably my favorite movie of all time. Points for defense: excellent musical score, terrific one-liners (in response to the Jess: "Marriages don't break up on account of infidelity. It is just a symptom that something else is wrong.") Harry: "Well, that SYMPTOM is fucking my WIFE!" I also made $40 by re-creating the orgasm scene in a Shari's restaurant in college. $40 is a lot of money in college.

Also, it prominently features one of the greatest movies of all time (see 2.)

Lastly, sappy happy ending.

1b. (Yes, I'm cheating at my own game.) "The Princess Bride"

Tied for my favorite movie. Probably my most-quoted movie. This is a cheesy, beastly, goofy film for great laughs in any age. My go-to film for when I'm bummed out and need a good cheering-up. The best one-liners ever, Inigo: "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

The rest are in no particular order.

2. "Casablanca"

Who can deny the snazzy dressing by Humphrey Bogart in this cinema classic. Timeless music, romance, heartbreak, betrayal, danger and war. How can you go wrong?

3. "The Silence of the Lambs"

Here began my love affair with Anthony Hopkins. No, he's not on the "List," but his portrayal of Hannibal Lecter is so haunting anyone can be swept away in this expertly crafted thriller. What makes a movie scary? When it could happen to YOU.

4. "Top Gun"

Yes, I know. 80's trash you might say. You would be wrong. This movie taught millions of teenagers what it really means to be a good wingman. Best line: Charlie: "Well if you were directly above him, how could you see him?" Maverick: "Because I was inverted."

Also, Val Kilmer is young, ripped and a total asshole. What's not to love?

5. "Awakenings"

The ultimate catharsis movie. This movie touches anyone with the all-too-normal fear of losing life as you know it. Robert DeNiro's deft performance allows the audience to forget this is a movie and feel they are peering into the most intense moments of several lives.

6. "The Usual Suspects"

Kevin Spacey is a genius, but I never realized it until this film. Ok, so the plot twist is a little predictable, but the cinematography is phenomenal. Next time you watch it, during the scene with the city view out the office window, check out the windows of the skyscrapers across the way.

7. "Spirited Away"

So I'm not a huge anime fan, but this film is worth watching. Lovely animation with outlandish characters (my favorites are the cinder fluffs). And of course, the child character overcoming adversity against all odds and learning the value and importance of hard work. Hmmm.... wonder why that plot appeals to me?

8. "The Shawshank Redemption"

Find me someone who likes drama, adores Morgan Freeman and digs a good plot twist who doesn't love SSD. I dare ya. The ending makes all the heartbreak worthwhile. Favorite scene: Andy DuFresne hijacking the loudspeaker system to play opera music while the guard is "pinching a loaf." It appeals to the compassionate side of me -perhaps everyone in Shawshank isn't innocent, but it reminds us that the system isn't always serving justice.

9. "Dirty Dancing"

Mmmmm. Love me some young, hot Patrick Swayze. Being the brainy (but not beautiful) girl in school, of course I love the fairy tale of falling in love with the bad boy on summer vacation. Another "don't judge a book by its cover" movie - seeing a theme here?

10. "The Sound of Music"

Hooray for music, love, dramatic escape and triumph over adversity. The cinematography is beautiful (the heart-shaped silhouette during "Somewhere in my Youth" is a favorite). Classy costuming and charming children. Gotta love it.

And, the runners up are: "National Velvet," "Hero," "To Have and Have Not," "Good Morning, Vietnam," "Fried Green Tomatoes," "A Beautiful Mind," "Lagaan," (I need a separate category for foreign films) "Seven Samurai," "The Hidden Fortress," "Dev," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," "Hitch," "Benny and Joon."

Ok, now bring what you've got!

"40 Facts" Game

Well Diane tagged me, so here I am listing 40 things about myself. This could take a while...

I challenge carefullyconstructednoise to complete this challenge next!

1. My middle name is Alicia
2. My parents were never married
3. I am going back to school (scary!)
4. If I complete my degree, I will be the first person in my family to have any college degree
5. My household is dog-centric
6. I enjoy sheep herding with dogs because of the mental work-out it provides
7. People never accuse me of being nice
8. People always accuse me of being competent
9. I earned my LVT in 2002 entirely through self-study
10. Sometimes I think that life is passing me by
11. I have been married for over 10 years
12. My husband suffered a brain injury in 2003
13. I believe Paddy is the dog who changed my life
14. I swam with dolphins last month
15. I enjoy a good challenge
16. I am blessed with friends who mean the world to me
17. My commute to work makes me nuts!
18. While I feel like a natural leader, I don't particularly enjoy being a manager
19. I would far rather be respected than liked
20. I broke my finger in the hinge of a door at my favorite restaurant
21. I broke my arm as a kid during gymnastics practice
22. I used to compete in swimming, specializing in butterfly
23. One of my teenage jobs was as a lifeguard
24. I am still in touch with a few teachers from high school who changed my life
25. There has never been a dog fight in one of my training classes
26. One of my mantras is "All animals learn the same way"
27. I can drink most anyone under the table and have only had one hangover in my entire life (and THAT required a lot of work!)
28. My high school GPA was 3.99 - ruined by my AP Physics teacher
29. I turned down a full ride to a school I didn't want to attend and have always wondered if it was a mistake
30. Clarinet and voice are my native instruments
31. I was the drum major in high school and uber-band-nerd. I even went to drum major camp
32. Without the generosity of others I would never have gotten where I am today
33. Without the generosity of others I will never accomplish my next goals
34. It took years for me to find sushi worth loving, and now it is my favorite meal!
35. Cooking is a great way for me to relax
37. There are few ills that can't be cured by a good gimlet in the company of a GREAT friend
38. I fear my own mortality
39. My favorite color - and little girl's name - is Violet
40. I have a great sense of direction, but find Orlando, FL impossible to navigate

I was supposed to go to work today...

Well, I was supposed to go to work today. 0500 rolled around and the alarm started its annoying habit of waking me up from a perfectly good sleep. I got down to the car around 0520 and begin unburying it again. All day yesterday I was digging out the car and keeping the area in front of it groomed into a compact ramp, knowing I would have to get to work this morning. I also tried to chain up the car to be ready to depart. Unfortunately the chains were too small. The package was for the correct tire type, but the chains definitely did not fit. This was at 6pm. Les Schwab and Big O closed at 5.

What I did NOT know is we were going to get another 6" of snow overnight and I was going to be waking up to 18" of snow. Grumble.

I dug out the car and dutifully got behind the wheel. I managed to go up my groomed ramp, got about 5 feet and then *thunk!* sank into the deep snow. I was stuck to the point the snow reached above my doors, and my door became a giant shovel as I was trying to exit the vehicle and formulate my next plan. I stood surveying the amputee-snow-angel the vehicle had created, and grimly came to a stark conclusion.

I realized there was no way I was getting to work because my driveway was completely impassable. A nice bonus is the fact my driveway is about 200ft long. I know that doesn't sound like much, but when it is covered with 18" of snow over about 2-3" of ice, it is a significant obstacle to a minivan buried up to its doors.

I realized I needed to start shoveling the driveway. I was not amused. I love the snow. I really do, but I don't love so MUCH snow in a land totally unprepared for such. I don't own a snow shovel. Why would I? I live in a suburb of Seattle for chrissake. So, I improvise, employ my "Seattle Snowshovel" and begin paddling my way down the driveway. Current time: 6:15am.



Slowly but surely I begin to make some progress. The sun comes up. Birds start to sing, the clouds even break a little and show the first scrap of blue sky I've seen for days. I look at the driveway. I'm about halfway to the corner where I can then slide down the hill. Current time: 8:30am. Grrr.





I continue doggedly in my chosen course of action. I call up to the house and ask Bruce to check the local Costco and Les Schwab to see if we can get some chains that actually fit my tires. He determines neither opens until 10am and comes down to help me dig the last turn of the driveway. Current time: 9:20am.

I'm starting to get tired. I'm old and fat and slow, and not built for hours and hours of shoveling deep snow in the freezing cold. Bruce pitches in and we finish the driveway around 10:15am. Total time to shovel the driveway to the point we can make the turn and skid down the hill into the neighborhood: 4 hours.



Total time required playing in the snow with the dogs to make up for being outside without them for 4 hours: 15 minutes.






Obviously I'm not going to work today. But we really need groceries, I need to get chains that fit my tires, we are out of cat litter... So we call around about chains. 10 calls later we find a Les Schwab in north Kent with a set of chains that will fit my car. We pay by phone and start the trek to the tire store. Time: 10:45am. Halfway there Bruce realizes he has forgotten his wallet and the paper with the address of the tire store.

The roads are treacherous. We make it down the driveway and into the street, hoping no one is coming the other way at the bottom as I realize stopping won't be possible. We see many people sliding, spinning their tires and drifting across the packed snow and ice. People with 4x4s are going too fast and fishtailing or sliding through stops.

News Flash: 4 wheel drive is great for helping you start moving. It does NOT assist your stopping ability. All along our route cars are in the ditch and buried under snow like sleeping monsters. An hour later, we've made it the 5 miles to the tire store. We put on the chains, start the car and the temperature gauge is PINNED in the red. *%$#! is the nice way to describe my reaction. Looking under the hood the car does not seem too hot, but who knows. So we journey up Central Ave to Auburn way, and stop at the Chevy dealer to have the car checked out. It will take 2 hours, says the guy. Great, I'm thinking. In the first turn of good luck for the day, I look out the windows of the service center and across the street is: a Grocery Store! Hooray!

So we schlep over to the grocery store, get our cat litter and needed items, sit down and eat something and wander back over to the service department. Good news and bad news. Good news: The car is safe to drive and is definitely not overheating. Bad news: It needs a new instrument panel to the tune of $400. I decide that will have to wait until after Christmas and off we go.

We begin the trek home. Time: 2:30pm. We manage to get home, but then I discover I can't turn around in the driveway because I didn't shovel a spot for the 3-point turn required. Possibly an oversight born of my irritation with having to shovel so much fluff so early in the morning? Bruce also realizes he has forgotten to go to the post office and mail a package for a client.



Bruce goes inside to prepare his package, and the dogs and I set to work digging out a turn-around. The dogs are very helpful, tossing snow everywhere and chasing eachother through the drifts I am creating with my Seattle Snowshovel. Zora really wants to get in on the fun, but is NOT amused with the fact she keeps getting buried in the snow. Finally I hear her barking and notice the barks are coming from a snow-crater. I rescue her and she supervises the rest of my labor from the car window. About 45 minutes later our work is done and I send Bruce on his way since he will now be able to get home, and get the car facing the correct direction to depart again without me having to back all the way down the driveway in the dark tomorrow morning.

Now I am cold, wet, covered in sand, mud and de-icer from putting the chains on the car and basically super crabby. My clothes are filthy, the neoprene parts of my boots are soaked and freezing. I am going to get a hot shower, take 4 Advil, wash them down with a gin and tonic and lie down in front of the TV for a bit. The good news: I am all set to get to work tomorrow - as long as we don't get more than about 8" of new snow.

Blog Game - 6+6

Well I got tagged in a blog game. Here is how it works: Go into the 6th folder on my computer, and pull out the 6th photo. Then post it here.

Here is what came up:




This is a photo taken of an xray of one of the patients at the clinic. I used the photo as part of a powerpoint presentation for career day at the local high school. Teaching the kids about xrays is always a fun activity!

I challenge carefullyconstructednoise.blogspot.com to be the next to post 6+6