The Latest Meme

Seven Things to Do Before I Die:

1. Buy that house in the mountains with the wide expanses of wood floor, and floor to ceiling windows, sitting on enough acreage (that has some kind of water on it) that I have to ride a bike to my closest neighbors.
2. Plant a mean garden.
3. Learn the piano.
4. Learn the guitar.
5. Write a novel.
6. Finally get that tattoo.
7. Skydive.

Seven Things I Can’t Do:

1. Feel comfortable in a room full of strangers.
2. Not think.
3. Control my eczema.
4. Throw in the towel, buy a van, and just roam aimlessly for a couple of years finding myself.
5. Get excited or stay interested in shallow topics (which is probably why I dislike rooms full of strangers).
6. Make money the measure of all things.
7. Lose all hope (believe me, I’ve tried).

Seven Things That Attracted Me To Blogging:

1. The opportunity to improve my writing.
2. Anonymity.
3. Lack of censorship.
4. Feedback.
5. It is the meta-democracy.
6. Not having to finish lists if I don’t want to.
7. …

Seven Things I Say Often:

1. Actually.
2. I’m tired.
3. My understanding was…
4. Congratudolences (I don’t say it a lot, but I’m always looking for an opportunity to say it).
5. Like (she’s like, but then he’s like, and then you’re all like…).
6. [some coveted thing] drooooooolllllaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggghglugluglug (ala Homer Simpson).
7. There’s this cellphone commercial playing now that stars a caffeinated cheerleader. The premise of the commercial is that the plan’s minutes will outlast the biggest talkers. In the commercial, the cheerleader pulls a long string of gum out of her mouth while wistfully saying “I love chewing gum.” I’ve taken to imitating her. For example, in the grips of a craving for noodle soup on a cold rainy day, I might get a starry look in my eye and say, “I love noodles," with the same, mindless yet delightful cheerleader inflection. I guess you have to be there. Or not.

Seven Books That I Love:

1. A Prayer for Owen Meaney
2. She’s Come Undone
3. Confederacy of Dunces (painful, but good)
4. Sophie's Choice
5. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
6. The God of Small Things
7. Dunno if it falls under the usual criteria of "good", but I'm currently reading M.K. Ghandi's autobiography and it's pretty damn inspiring.

Seven Movies I Love to Watch on Sunday Afternoon TV

1. Anything with John Cusack (even the bad films): Say Anything, Grosse Point Blank, High Fidelity, The Grifters, etc.
2. Anything by Charlie Kaufman
3. Any adaptation of a Stephen King book (even the bad films): Carrie, The Shining, Shawshank Redemption, etc.
4. Anything with Tom Hanks (with or without Meg Ryan) (has he made a bad film?)
5. Anything starring the Brat Pack (they're all bad, but I love them anyway): The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink, etc.
6. Almost anything by the Coen brothers (sometimes I don't get them, but when I do, it's sublime): Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, Raising Arizona, etc.
7. Classic 70s and early 80s films (you know, back when Hollywood displayed boobs in all their diverse glory): The Champ, Kramer v. Kramer, Tootsie, Saturday Night Fever, The Warriors, Urban Cowboy (ESP. Brian DePalma films: Blow Out, Dressed to Kill, Body Double - Brian DePalma drooooooolllllaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggghglugluglug!).

Seven of the Last Things I Have Cooked:

1. Spinach barley pie with feta cheese and raisins
2. Corn/potato chowder
3. Every kind of salad you can imagine
4. Top Ramen and variations ("I LOVE noodles.")
5. PB&J on spelt bread (does that count as cooking?)
6. Every imaginable kind of omelette
7. Tomorrow, I'll be braising some beef.