Random Dozen - back again

Linking up with Linda at 2nd Cup of Coffee today. The questions were too good to pass up!

1. Ever had any run-ins with the "library police?"

No, but I have been a significant financial donor. ;)

2. Do you have a special organizational plan and place for wrapping paper, gift bags, etc., or do you just purchase whatever you need as you give gifts?

I have a box in my bedroom closet for bags, ribbons and what-not. I have a sturdy shirt box atop that to hold tissue paper. I usually have what I need.

3. Have you ever been in (first-hand witness) a natural disaster?

Sierra Madre Earthquake, (Los Angeles), June 28, 1991.

http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/29/us/quake-kills-2-near-los-angeles-damage-is-moderate.html?pagewanted=1

I had seen tornadoes growing up in IL. We used to see them out our back cellar door while we were seeking safety (think Wizard of Oz) and I saw one trying to cross the IL river while walking home from school one day. I laid down in the ditch and covered my head with my arms until my mother drove by in the car looking for me. By then the tornado had long dissipated in the water. Because of these experiences I thought I could handle natural disasters.

Until that fateful morning...

My hubby & I were living in North County San Diego at the time. I was sound asleep in bed when the earthquake hit. There is nothing like the terror of an earthquake. With a tornado you usually get some warning and can seek shelter. With an earthquake it is thrust upon you unexpectedly (in a dead sleep, that's scary.) I jumped out of bed screaming and went and grabbed my baby from her crib. (She was sound asleep until I entered the room.) With her in arms I ran to the front door. I wanted nothing more than to get out of the house and away from the rolling floors, but I knew you weren't supposed to run outside during an earthquake in case power lines fell. I stood in the front doorway just screaming like a crazy woman. Then it ended.

My husband then saunters (yes, saunters) out of the bedroom and asks, "You all right?" "Really???" is the look he got followed by a "No! I'm not all right."

You see, my husband grew up in San Diego - earthquake territory. He was used to the seismic activity. Once as a teenager there was an earthquake in the early morning hours. Just as he sat up in his bed a clock above his head fell off the wall and landed on his pillow right where he had been sleeping moments before. So the only gut reaction Mark had that day in 1991 was to look up to see if anything was mounted to the wall that could fall on his head. So cool.

I calmed down, turned on the TV to see how other's had fared and we started getting ready for our day. When I went to take clothes out of the dryer an aftershock hit and the dryer started walking toward me. I FLIPPED OUT! Earthquakes were not for me.

I will admit though, a year later we moved to Hollister, CA where the San Andres fault lies. You can drive through town and see full buses with Asian tourists snapping pictures of the wide gaping fault line that runs right through town. The local newspaper would list the tremors for the week that occurred along the fault and we got adept at waking slightly at night noting the time on the clock and then checking the weekly paper when it came out to see which little (2.0) tremors we felt. It became a game of sorts.

That's my natural disaster story!

4. What's your favorite Barry Manilow song?

Oh, so many to choose. I had to google his songs so I would choose the "right" one and I've been sitting here singing Barry every since. LOVE his songs. My fave (which I hate choosing a favorite, Lid), is One Voice. I think it's because I'm a singer. I love the power of a song/someone singing from the heart.

5. What's the best costume you've ever worn?

A Juliette-esque get-up for our Madrigal dinner where I sat perched atop the concealed basketball hoop and performed the "Romeo, Romeo, where art thou..." scene.

6. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?

Dictionary. Generally, know what word I want to use - just gotta make sure it's spelled correctly.

7. What's your favorite breakfast food?

Honestly, a bacon and egg biscuit at McDonalds. I rarely get them, but they are such a treat for me when I do. Weird.

8. Have you ever purchased anything from an infomercial?

No

9. Have you ever crawled through a window?

Many times growing up.

10. Do you believe in love at first sight?

Yes-ish! I had lust at first sight with my first fiance. I saw him across a gym and thought, "I need to date that man!" Then I had been best friends with Mark (who I ended up marrying) and one day when he walked into the main hall at school I turned around and thought, "I can't live without my best friend." I knew I was in love at that moment. So, technically, my examples are not LOVE at FIRST sight, but I believe in those moments that can change your life forever.

11. How man pairs of jeans do you own?

If you can believe this, only two.

12. If someone were going to bake a cake to honor/represent you, what would it be? (Think creatively, like Duff and Crew on "Ace of Cakes.")

I would choose a stack of books cake with the Bible on top. In my stack would be Gone With The Wind, Random Harvest and lots of organizing books. That's me to a "T!"

I may have to try this someday!