Friday, March 27, 2009

I Cannot Possibly Be That/This Old

It started innocently enough, like most things do.  I showed up one Thursday night to teach my room full of future forensic accountants that pleasures of a good fraud story.  Timing  of the class was great, as Bernie Madoff gave us fresh fodder weekly and tales of such greed that they are hard to imagine.  

One of the earlier nights, I happened to make a name connection with a young woman in the class.  Her last name was a bit uncommon, so I asked "are you P & M's daughter by any chance?"  She looked a bit surprised and answered "yes."  That was the first step in my aging process. 

Since I waited a bit late in life to have Diva, I forget that people near my age have kids who are now in graduate school.  Yikes!  I worked with P from 1986-1989 when I first relocated to NH.  I had seen him once in the intervening years, but it has been awhile.  

A couple of weeks later in comes my student with a note from her father.  There is going to be a big retirement party at the place we worked together all those years ago.  Four people who were retiring, all of whom worked there many moons ago with me.  So I delightedly RSVP'd and counted the days until I could see all of my old friends and former coworkers.  

Last night was the party.  When I walked into the room, there were probably 70 people there.  I expected to know maybe the four retirees and six other people.  

Surprise #1 -- I knew roughly half the people there.  Many people, like me, had returned to wish these four well in their new adventure as retirees.  Good thing the shindig lasted four hours, because there was a lot of catching up to be done.

Surprise #2 -- when you have not seen someone for 20 years, you miss the gradual aging and instead all of a sudden "wow!  these people look a lot different!"  and "oh x*&^, do I look that old?

Surprise #3 -- lots of people recognized me - and remembered my name.  That's really embarrassing, because some of them I couldn't recall ever seeing before in my life.  Crap, there goes my memory along with other things....  now where was I?

Surprise #4 -- people I didn't consciously remember would walk up to me and say 'hi' and I would remember random things.  I could remember one man's name, but nothing else - not where he worked, what he did - nada.  I could remember another's face, but not the name that went with the face.  Then there was the one who I could clearly remember going on a business trip with, remembering we watched the Stanley Cup together in a bar in Bangor ME, but once again nothing else.  

Surprise #5 -- there were at least five people in the room who time passed by.  They had not changed a bit in 20 years.  I guess I should have asked for the name of their plastic surgeon:)

I took a lot of pictures last night, and I really need to download these photos off my camera.  But for a just a few more days, I think I'll look at the pictures from the 1988 bowling banquet and the golf tournament, and remember the way we were.....



Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Online Analysis

I subscribe to a number of daily newsletters, and today one of them came through with the following link to a site called Typealyzer.   What, you may ask, is it?  Well, it is a site that will analyze a given blog to attempt to determine the writer's Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.  

I've been a big fan of the MBTI since I first took the test during the early days of my career, and have in fact taken it more than once.  One of the ideas behind the test is that it looks at your personality traits and from there you can determine what type of career you are best suited for.  
After reading about the Typealyzer, I immediately went to the site to try it out.  I have to admit to being a bit disappointed -- I was typed as an ESFP.  Why does this disappoint me?  Because every time I have taken the MBTI, the results have been that I am an INTP.  Granted, I have not shown a very strong preference for the I (introvert) over the E (extrovert).  Similarly, the T (thinking) versus F (feeling) has not a strong preference.  But.... for the N (intuition) versus S (sensing) I'm typically at the far end of the scale as a N.  

So, now I'm curious...and I finally have something blog about:)   If you are a fellow blogger who has taken the MBTI before as I have - do you see similar results?  


Saturday, March 7, 2009

The iPod Game

My dear friend Hula played a game posted by  Jason over at The Jason Show, where I love to lurk. It looks like so much fun I couldn't resist trying it out, particularly with the rule #3 variance.  After all, everyone who visits here knows about the one embarrassing song on my iPod, and surely it won't show up (I hope not, anyway) in the shuffle...

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Put your iPod or other music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
Unless you don't like it, then you can keep shuffling until you get to something you like!
(Jason added this variance to the game) .


WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY? Defying Gravity - Wicked Original Broadway Cast (this after rejecting Hot Child in the City & Rock and Roll All Nite, maybe when I was younger....)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE? Life in a Northern Town - Sugarland/Little Big Town
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO? I'm a Believer - The Monkees
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU? Let's Get Loud - Jennifer Lopez
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN? Dance the Night Away - Van Halen
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?  Hooked on a Feeling - Blue Swede
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY? Don't Worry, Be Happy - Bobby McFerrin
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?   I Wanna Do It All - Terri Clark
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU? There's a New Kid in Town - Kathy Mattea
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL? I'm no Angel - Gregg Allman
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST? Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley (oh how true this is)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?  I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?  Find a Way - Amy Grant
WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN? Let the Heartache Ride - Restless Heart
HOW WILL YOU DIE?  Your Good Girls Gonna Go Bad - Nathalie Cote (original version was Tammy Wynette)
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?  Only the Good Die Young - Billy Joel
WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH? Every Time I Think of You  - The Babys
WHAT MAKES YOU CRY? Two Dozen Roses - Shenandoah
WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? Bikini Season - Jeff Foxworthy
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE? Give Me One More Chance - Exile
WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW? Video Killed the Radio Star - The Buggles
YOUR ULTIMATE FANTASTY? I Can Only Imagine - MercyMe 


Sunday, March 1, 2009

Local Theatre

My Mother visited us this week to help watch Diva while I attended classes, given that it was NH school vacation week.  Our kids get the last week of February and the last week of April off as vacations every year.  That's part of the reason why they go to school until the end of June.  The other part of that reason (snow) will probably be tomorrow's post topic!

Last night we decided to head into the city (Manchester) to catch a play at the Palace Theatre.  The Palace is a 92 year old theatre, so it is a beautiful old building.  Our proximity to Boston and NYC gives us access to excellent productions.  Last night we saw Little Shop of Horrors.  None of us had seen or heard much about this, but I was assured there was nothing worse than PG-13 in it.  I have to concur - it was more PG than PG-13.  

Diva attends camps at the Palace, so we typically know at least one of the performers.  For this performance we knew both of the leads - the female lead is the director of the youth program, and the male lead was Diva's drama coach last spring.  They were both quite impressive in this performance.  

In a unique twist, the actresses who played Ronette and Chiffon were familiar faces too, they played in Hercules -the Muse-ical on the Disney Wonder when we sailed in 2005 and 2006.  

Diva is ready to go again.  Of course, she also wants to take ice skating lessons twice a week, go to Destination Imagination nationals, and make straight A's in school.  She's going to be one busy girl!