qotd

Tech QotD: The Internet 10 Years Ago…

Michelle1 Comment

What do you miss most about the internet of ten years ago?

Oh, there are just so many things.

  • The noise of the modem connecting to the internet.
  • Limiting your usage because you paid by the minute.
  • Waiting 2 hours for a song to Download from Napster.
  • The lack of wireless-ness.
  • Those AOL cds that came in the mail.
  • Getting kicked off every 5 minutes.

Ten years ago, I was in high school and thus living with my parents.  To use the internet, I had to go out to the barn (where my dad had an “office”), wait 10 minutes for the computer to get online.  I would be wearing a winter jacket and full scarf, hat, and gloves ensemble because the heat was never turned on.  I would bring a book or some homework with me to do while I waited for pages to load.  It would take 30 minutes to get done what I could do in 5 today.  And I still did all of that because it was the only way.  Things sure have changed.  🙂

QotD: Lenten Sacrifices

Michelle1 Comment

Today is the first day of the Season of Lent. Are you giving anything up for the next 40 days?

This is my first Lenten season as a nonpracticing Catholic because that's basically what I've become in the last year.  I had this pangs of guilt all day when I ate meat and didn't fast and hadn't decided on what to give up.  And this is probably the first Ash Wednesday I haven't gone to mass in my entire life.  I stopped going to church when I moved to Florida because I haven't found one that I liked.  In Ann Arbor, you could find a mass that was interesting and not full of Catholic rhetoric.  In Florida, priests like to talk about the evils of abortion and gay marriage (one priest even joked about it once and I almost walked out).  We found one church which was ok, but once the campaign started, I quit going completely since Sunday morning were my only 3 hours off all week.  And then one of my volunteers was handed Republican Party lit at her Catholic church the week before the election and I was outraged.  And I've only been back in a church twice since then – once for my cousin's wedding (a painful Latin mass during the Ohio State/Michigan game) and once for midnight mass on Christmas Eve).

I've always been a bit of a skeptic when it comes to church, but I've also always gone to mass despite it.  This is new territory for me and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

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QotD: My Competitive Side

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What brings out your competitive nature?

Everything.  The other day we were doing hundreds (a pilates exercise) in a class at the gym and the teacher challenged us to see who could go the longest (making it more than one hundred counts but…).  It came down to me and one other girl since everyone else is quite a bit older.  Eventually, the teacher asked if we were so competitive that she would have to call us off.  The other girls said "no" and stopped then.  But I said "I might be" and went a few more counts (thus winning!).  Also, Ben knows that the best way to get me to do something is to assert that I CAN'T do something.  For example, a statement that "Michelle can't get the laundry done in one day" would prompt me to make sure I did all the laundry that day.

Occasionally, this competetive streak is annoying (like when I had to hold two beers out at my side for 5 minutes at a baseball game once to prove that I could do it).  But it's good for my line of work and it keeps life interesting.

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Entertainment QotW: Movie Prices

MichelleLeave a comment

How much does a ticket cost at your usual movie theater? Does the price
affect the number of movies you see at the theater?
Submitted by Kristie.

I'm answering this one because it is Kristie's question and it is fun when you get picked for things on vox.  🙂

Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what a movie ticket costs here.  I think it is about $9 or $10 at the theater we go to.   Which is more than I was paying in Ann Arbor because all the theaters there have student prices.  There is a cheaper theater right down the street.  They just upped their prices from $6.50 to $6.75 for all shows.  But it is a very bad theater.  I've seen one movie there and the sound quality was so poor that Ben and I decided to see all other movies at the AMC from then on.

The high movie prices do affect how often we go to the movies.  We are very poor at the moment so we just wait until they come out on dvd or we don't see them at all.  We do see some bigger movies.  We saw Sex and the City and we are going to see the new batman movie this weekend.  But mostly, we don't go very often.

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Life QotD: Your First Word

Michelle1 Comment

What was your first word?
My first word was “dada” but it was closely followed by “bacon-eggs-and-toast.”  Or so the story goes.  My aunt Kelly was babysitting me and she asked what I wanted for breakfast thinking that I couldn’t answer.  And then I did and she was very surprised.  She didn’t give me bacon, eggs, and toast though.  But knowing my family, I’m not sure how much of the story I believe…

Music QotD: My First CD

Michelle2 Comments

Music Box

Fifth grade.  1993.  When Mariah Carey was the height of coolness for any young girl.  This was the year that I first got a cd player (I managed to snag both “boom box” and disc-man that year).  No more walkmans (walkmen?) for me.  And my next two cds?:

The Sign

No Need to Argue

PS: There was a QotD asking about the worst city you’ve ever been to and I couldn’t really think of one, but I’ve always imagined Columbus, Ohio to be the worst city I could ever go to.  😉

Life QotD: Every Sunday

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What are your Sunday rituals?

I thought I’d answer this one because Sunday is one of the few days that I do have rituals.  I get up and immediately start the laundry if I need to do it (I used to do it every Sunday, but now that it’s just me it’s every other).  I always watch Meet the Press.  I love Tim Russert – he is one of my favorite people in the world that I don’t actually know.  I spend the afternoon getting lots of homework done.  Then I usually go to my parents’ for dinner.  After dinner, I go to mass.  Then I come home, call Ben, and relax until bedtime.

News & Politics QotD: Let’s Get Political

MichelleLeave a comment

How do you usually react when people start talking politics?

I jump right into the argument.  I love politics and I love talking politics.  In fact, I have had MSNBC on for most of the day listening to other people talk politics.  But usually I’m encouraged to refrain from discussing it because people tend to get upset (only because I have the better arguments in my opinion).  🙂