MasculineCurves

Those Five Things...

Why do I participate in Internet memes? Because they're a fun and easy means to post semi-entertaining content on the days I don't have the energy to blog. I stumbled upon this "tag list" on Ian's blog.

5 things on today’s “to do” list:

1. Laundry
2. Go to Border’s to buy reading material for flight to San Francisco
3. Yoga class (if my schedule permits)
4. Watch “Boy Culture” (we rented this last night for movie night, but didn’t get to it)
5. Read my yoga book (I’m really into yoga now…more on that in an upcoming post)

5 Things I’d do if I was a billionaire:

1. Buy loft apartments in my favorite cities
2. Take care of all the kind folks who have been generous to me in times of need
3. Open a boutique gallery
4. Purchase investment properties
5. Spread the wealth by traveling the world and paying people to allow me to take their picture

5 Places I’ve visited:

1. Toronto
2. Montreal
3. Chicago
4. San Francisco
5. Too many other U.S. cities to list – I really need to visit more international destinations

5 Places I’ve lived:

1. New Philadelphia, Ohio
2. Dover, Ohio
3. Akron, Ohio
4. Canton, Ohio
5. Cleveland, Ohio (Okay, now I’m  beginning to feel depressed. I’m nearly 33 and I’ve lived in Ohio all my life).

5 Jobs I’ve had:

1. Waiter (high school and college)
2. ODOT worker (Ohio Department of Transportation – college “summer break” job)
3. Advertising salesman for a country radio station (worst job ever – lasted only 3 months)
4. Public Relations (first job out of college)
5. Product Manager (current job)

Guilty Pleasures

I found this meme while conducting a search on Technorati. It looks as though it's been floating around the blogosphere, and it was so tempting I couldn't resist jumping on board.

Six guilty pleasures no one would suspect you of having:

1)    Tiger Tyson. Need I say more.

2)    I went to a Shania Twain concert once in 1998. I worked for a country radio station at the time so the tickets were free. I was the only person of color in the arena that night, but I actually found her to be a pretty entertaining live performer.

3)    I have three Carpenters albums in my iPod and I actually listen to them from time to time. That Karen Carpenter, her voice is like velvet.

4)    Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I just had one for lunch today in fact.

5)    I practically screen 100% of my phone calls. I let it go to voicemail even when I recognize the number that comes up on the caller ID. I want to know what people are calling about before I engage them in a conversation (I just know all my friends will be pissed after reading this).

6)    I enjoy going to the movies by myself. The great thing about going to see a movie alone is that I don’t have to argue with anyone about what to see. And if the movie’s bad I don’t feel guilty for forcing my companion into seeing it.

Six guilty pleasures you wish you had the courage to indulge:

1)    I wish I were more comfortable with casual sex. That would increase my likelihood of actually getting some once in awhile.

2)    Some days (most days) I’d love to just up and quit my 9 to 5 and pursue making a full-time living as an artist.

3)    I wish I were more flirtatious. A lot of times I’m interested in a guy and I just don’t know where to begin when it comes to letting him know I’m interested.

4)    I’d like to go to a coffee shop other than Starbucks. There are at least two mom and pop coffee houses in my neighborhood that I’d like to try. But I have become so friendly with the staff at Starbucks that I feel like I am cheating on them when I even think about getting my coffee elsewhere.

5)    Karaoke. I have a horrible voice, but who doesn’t sound bad at karaoke? I just don’t do it because I get stage fright.

6)    Stand-up comedy. I think I actually have pretty witty sense of humor, but again, I get stage fright and would probably be all tongue tied if I got up in front of people.

Six pleasures you once considered guilty but have now made peace with:

1)    I spend way too much time blogging. Too much time working on this blog and too much time reading everyone else’s.

2)    Target. I shop at Target for just about everything. Is that really a guilty pleasure?

3)    I LOVE 80s pop music.

4)    I don’t throw out magazines. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a pack rat. It’s just that when it comes to magazines I feel it’s a crime to throw them out. There’s so much creativity in between the pages of a high end glossy that it’s literally a work of art in my eyes.

5)    I’m a bit of a gadget geek. I absolutely love my iPod and I honestly don’t know how I survived for thirty years without it. Life was hard back in the olden days of CDs and cassette tapes.

6)    Besides Knight Rider, my favorite childhood TV show was Wonder Woman starring Lynda Carter. I had purchased the second season on DVD and a friend “borrowed” it and skipped town on me. We are no longer friends and I never trusted him anyways.  I do, however,  plan on owning the entire series on DVD some day in the very near future (there were only three seasons LOL).

Aaron's Space: 57 Questions

Want to get to know this desperate blogger? This internet meme poses some interestingly random questions (meme lifted from LargeTony).

1. Does someone love you? I'm sure someone out there does.  At least I hope so.
2. Do you know anyone named Dave? Yeah, I know a few Daves.
3. Ever kiss someone with a name starting with a J? LOL. Yes, I've kissed at least two guys with names starting with a J.  I also have an ex-boyfriend who's middle name was Jevarri, and he told me I was a good kisser the first time we kissed. 
4. Has anyone ever mistaken you for a family member? Yes, in junior high my brother was held back a year so we were both in the same grade and the teachers called us by each other's names all the time.  We looked nothing a like, but we were the only black kids in the whole school (you know how that is).
5. What color are the walls in your parents bedroom? I think they painted the walls in their bedroom a forest green when we all lived at home.  It was the early nineties and that was a big color in home decor then. 
6. Do you think hair extensions look skanky? No.  But does anyone in the entertainment industry even have real hair?  The Brittney's, the Shakira's, and Beyonce's.  That Jessica Simpson even has her very own brand of hair extensions.
7. Are you named after a grandparent? Not that I know of.  I was adopted and I already came with my own name when my parents got me.
8. Say you were given a drug test right now. Would you pass or fail? I would pass with flying colors. No doubt about it.
9. Are you taller than 5'6"? No.  I am 5'5".
10. Do you know anyone in jail/prison? Not at the moment, but I do know some people who have been there.
11. Ever see a dead body? Yes.
12. Do you like the color green? Yes, I love green, except forest green (see question #5)
13. What is your best friend's dad's name? I'm sure if he knew his dad he would tell me.
14. How old are you? Just turned 32 on October 6.
15. Who was the last person to send you a text message? Jessica
16. Ever drive into the hood to buy drugs? No.
17. Last restaurant you went to? The WaterStreet Grill on West 9th.
18. What was the weather like today? It was actually very hot and humid for October.  I think it reached 86 degrees today.  I had to turn on the air conditioner.
19. Last voice mail you received? From my friend Paul, telling me about a must-see gallery exhibit in Tremont.
20. What did you do yesterday? Recovered from my birthday hangover, and worked on this blog.
21. What's the first thing you'd do with five million dollars? I would probably uproot myself and move to the city of my choice, buy a condo, and open an art gallery.
22. What nationalities are you? Not sure, really.  I was told that my biological mother was white, and my biological father was black.  And when I'm hanging out on Cleveland's near west side, I can't get people to stop trying to speak to me in Spanish.
23. How many hours of sleep did you get last night? Eight hours, I think. I treated myself to a vacation day from work, so I got to sleep in this morning.
24. Any upcoming concerts you want to attend? I was walking through the theatre district Friday evening (on my way to Starbucks), and discovered that Queen Latifah was holding a show that night in the Palace Theatre.  Had I known, I would have tried to get tickets.
25. Who's the last person that you felt was stalking you? Someone stalking me? LOL.  Although I did receive a slightly odd phone call last week from a guy in Illinois who claimed he got my cell number off this blog (uhh...it's not posted here), and he was coming to Cleveland and wanted to know if I could recommend any clubs.
26. Were you ever on your school's track team? Yes. In junior high my parents made me go out for track because they thought that being in the band was warping me and I would be more "well-rounded" if I were in a sport.  Running track was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life.  Not only did I not want to be there, but I always came in dead last in every race.  When track season came around my freshman you, my mom sat at the kitchen table and cried when I told her I wasn't going to do it anymore. (But I loved being in the marching band!)
27. What jewelry are you wearing? I don't wear, or own jewelry.  Well, no, let me take that back.  The only jewelry I have are the handmade shell bracelets and necklaces my sweetheart in Costa Rica sends me from time to time.  Those are the most precious gems I have.
28. If all your friends were going on a road trip, would you? Absolutely.
29. How much money do you have? I have $14 cash in my wallet and some loose change in my pants pocket.
30. Do you swear at your parents? No. Why would I do that?
31. Is your phone right beside you? Actually, yes.
32. Have you cried today? No.
33. Do you think that someone is thinking about you right now? That would be a nice feeling.
34. Do you untie your shoes every time you take them off? No, I don't and it's a bad habit. That's why the back of my shoes wear out so fast.
35. What is the color of your bed sheets? They are sort of an off-white (Martha Stewart brand from K-mart).  I guess another thing I'd do when I get that $5 million is to go out and buy top of the line bed linens and towels.
36. Have you ever crawled through a window? Yes. A few times when I've locked myself out of the house.
37. Are you photogenic? Only when there's Photoshop involved. LOL.
38. What's your sign? Libra
39. Where do you spend most of your money? Hhhmmm....good question.  I probably spend more at restaurants than I need to (I hate cooking).  I'm also a magazine whore.  I love fashion and art magazines, and I will buy ten in one trip to the newsstand.
40. What was the last thing you did? Ate carryout (Indian Cuisine) before sitting down to write this post.
41. Do you have a tattoo? No.
42. Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings? No.
43. Is there a secret you've never told any of your friends? There are some friends that get some secrets and other friends that get other secrets.  So if they all got together they'd know all my secrets.
44. Have you ever told someone you loved them, and didn't mean it? No.  That, in my book is probably one of the most horrible selfish things you could do to another human being.  If I say it, I mean it.
45. Have you ever changed your clothes while in a vehicle? Yes.
46. What are you doing in 2008? I have some thoughts, but I don't care to write them down.  I don't want to jinx anything.
47. What is your ringtone? Kiss from a Rose by Seal.
48. What were you doing at 2 a.m. last night? Sleeping.
49. Are your parents married, divorced, or separated? My mother past away when I was 16, and my father is remarried.
50. What are you doing tonight? Well, it's almost 11 p.m. and I have to work tomorrow.  When I finish this post I will take a shower and get ready for bed.
51. What are you doing tomorrow? Working, and I hope to go to the gym after work (I haven't worked out in two weeks).
52. Who did you last message on MySpace? No one.  MySpace is a hot mess. They give people the freedom to put as many pictures, trinkets, and doo-dads in their profiles and most of the time the text is so buried you can't even read it.  I have NEVER seen a decent MySpace layout.  I can rant on and on about MySpace, but I won't.
53. What's your opinion about sex without emotional commitment?  I think that whatever consenting adults want to do is fine.  For me personally, it's rare that I am attracted to someone without some level of emotional involvement.
54. Does it annoy you when someone says they'll call, but never do? Yes.  Just don't say you're going to do something if you don't intend to do it.
55. What did you dress up as for your first Halloween? LOL. Actually I plan to write about that in my Halloween post later this month.  So I don't want to give it away just yet.
56. Favorite Disney movie?  That's a tough one.  I would have to say the original cartoon version of 101 Dalmatians.
57. What is the wallpaper on your cellphone? Just the phone company's default option.  But I do have the latest MasculineCurves wallpaper on my PC desktop.