It's a Circle That Turns Round Upon Itself

I've been tagged by Chris at Radloff's Random Thoughts. I like memes and any opportunity to talk about myself at length. That's why I blog the way I do. I can go on and on about myself without having to hear my voice. It still surprises me that people come here and read my stuff. But I like it.

This meme is all about the number 8 which also happens to be my favorite number.

8 Passions in Life:

1. My husband
2. My friends
3. Cooking
4. Reading
5. Music
6. Movies
7. Traveling
8. Laughing

Do you think I'm a bad person because my family didn't make this list? I love them, but they are not a passion. Maybe someday I'll blog about why.

8 Things I'd Like to Do Before I Die

1. Not die - I don't typically plan so far ahead. I usually have smaller short-term goals.
2. Finally buy a couch and decorate our home for real. We live like sloppy college students. I dream of a home that is decorated and arranged and remodeled and beautiful in every way. I want a place that I'm not half ashamed for people to come and visit. Our house isn't horrible or anything, it's just not the cool, cozy shack I want it to be.
3. Learn to speak another language like Italian or Portuguese or maybe finally master French. I know enough French to understand some subtitles and not order organs in a restaurant.*
4. Live some place long enough to become a foster parent or possibly adopt an older child.
5. I want to rent an apartment in Venice and immerse myself in that city.
6. Bake a decent pie - I'm terrible with pastry and pie crusts.
7. Learn to drive a stick shift. It's an embarrassment.
8. See Machu Picchu.

8 Things I Say All the Time:

1. Fuck you motherfuckah! (this is said in any and all circumstances)
2. Hiiii Button! (to the cat)
3. How's mammas Button? (also to the cat)
4. Who's a good boy? (to the cat)
5. Who's the kitty that loves his mamma? (yeah)
6. Here is exactly what I want (to my husband)
7. That's 10 minutes left in football time, but how long is that in real time? (also to my husband)
8. OK. Hug me! (to anyone I love that I'm greeting or saying goodbye to)

8 Books I've Read Recently:

This ones easy because I never put anything away and they are all still stacked up next to the bed:

1. I'm currently reading The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead
2. The Turn of the Screw & The Aspern Papers by Henry James (compiled into one tidy little paperback by Penguin Classics)
3. You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers
4. First Among Sequels by Jasper Fford (I love the Thursday Next series)
5. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
6. Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris
7. What Is the What by Dave Eggers
8. The Golden Globe by John Varley (I re-read it for like the 3rd time)

8 Songs That Mean Something To Me

1. To this day I cannot hear the theme to Merry Christmas Charlie Brown without busting out into tears. Seriously I don't watch that Christmas special when it comes on TV and make MDH watch it without me. My sister loved it and it makes me miss her too much, even after over 20 years. She played it every day through all seasons, it was kind of like her theme song.
2. Tore Up by Sleepy LaBeef because the night that MDH passionately declared his love for me was in the parking lot at a Sleepy LaBeef show and that's the one song I remember specifically that Sleepy played. You can catch Sleepy at the Hey Hey in Columbus perty frequent-like.
3. Weather With You by Crowded House because I sang it to MDH on our first date. I knew all the words and it was raining.
4. The entire Cocteau Twins album (remember those?) Treasure. It's great headphone music.
5. Hey Luciani! by The Fall - for the perky punk. I always associate this song with having a good time.
6. Caramel by Suzanne Vega for reasons I care not to explain.
7. What She Said by the Smiths because singing that song out loud is how I met Amy
8. Love Will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division - because I remember swirling around in my gauzy black clothes to this song many times on the dance floor at Crazy Mama's.

8 Qualities I Look for In a Friend

1. Funny
2. Trustworthiness - won't spill secrets to MDH
3. Smart
4. Reads
5. Doesn't mind being made fun of
6. Likes to talk on the phone
7. Has an eye for the ridiculous
8. Thinks I'm funny

8 People to Tag

1. Any
2. body
3. who
4. feels
5. like
6. doing
7. it
8. too

Congratulations you've made it to the end of this meme!

Here is your reward:

* When I started writing this I had included shopping as one of the things I can do in French, but took it out because I remembered the last time we were in France and I went into a linens store to shop for some nice french linen table napkins and I'm pretty sure I asked for maxi pads. I guess you have to be careful how you refer to the gender of some items.

Oh yeah, and the time I tried to buy a t-shirt and kept asking for a chicken. Poulet - Pullover