Meme in Q

Tom Paine, 270 year old poly-wannabe over at Polyamorously Perverse, has hit me with the meme for

Ten things that begin with Q (and when I follow his meme assignment, I find it is Ten things I love that begin with Q)

Q?!? I said. Then I remembered they don't all have to be words that will fit the letters I've drawn in Scrabble. Of course I can think of things I don't like that begin with Q: quizzes (most of the time); quagmires (especially the ones the dynasty heading our country gets us into); quakes (well, bad ones...I did like the ones I've experienced here in Oregon); quarantines; quarrels; quibbles, quicksand.

1. Quintessence: The pure, highly concentrated essence of a thing. I admit, the first word that popped into my head was quintessential. When answers.com steered me to quintessence, I knew I wanted the noun. I wonder how the hot new game 20Q (based on an old game of wits) would do with that one. It is the fifth essence, the spiritual underpinnings of the four ancient elements earth, air, fire, and water. It resurfaces as a word in physics, the hypothetical dark energy that could explain the observations of an accelerating universe. Do you think instead of God, we could start saying "quintessence?" The quintessence of life is love, I say.

2. Quips: Where are they when you need them? I enjoy a witty remark. I just rarely have them ready when the moment calls for one. I'm not so fond of the sarcastic family of quips, just the quick witted funny remarks.

(about time I got going with this, holidays are over, no more excuses...I admit I'm cheating some, couldn't think of these just by mulling...I need reminders...so I turned to my handy Google searching.)

3. Quest: When I escaped Wisconsin and began attending college, I started realizing I didn't know who I was, really. Where did my own opinions come from? What opinions were my own, really? I remember saying to someone during those years that I'd realized I was on a quest to understand human nature. St. John's College does that to you, thankfully. I'm still on that quest. I understand a lot more about myself and others than I did then. People tell me I do pretty well with that, and I do trust my understanding. Still though, people are mysterious. Even while I might think I know motives, or could predict responses, the complexity will always be a surprise. So, the quest continues with the knowledge that experiencing human nature unfolds every moment, there is always some new discovery, and the key to getting to the heart of a person is loving action.

4. Quakes: As mentioned above, I don't like the bad ones. But so far I've experienced mild ones here in Oregon and they were fun, nobody killed. First, early 90s, felt like a rolling ship under me. Second, late 90s? I was working in the library and was embarrassed to think my chair was breaking under me. No, only a quake rolling the earth under me. Third, more recently, a big loud bang, like some giant clapped his hand down on our roof. I immediately checked the web at Steve's suggestion and found the epicenter was near Battleground, Washington. Fourth, like a big truck rumbling by, the slight shaking of the building that comes with that, epicenter close to Longview, Washington. With all, nary a picture fell off the wall. I'd heard I lived right along a fault on 21st Ave, but I can't tell from this map which one it is. Every once in a while we have to do an earthquake drill at work. I find these amusing, as every earthquake I've experienced has been shorter than the time it took for me to realize it was an earthquake. I imagine even the bigger ones will not give me the time to find that safe spot (which keeps changing. Doorways...yes, no. Desks...yes, no. Walls...yes, no. I think I'll just "duck and cover").

5. Quarks: Especially the charming and strange ones. I think. At this point my knowledge of them is purely a concept.

6. Quasars: Hmmm. I think Q brings out the science geek in me. Third science word in a row. Follow that link for cool geeky info on quasars.

7. Queer: Not a science word, a label, and a label that has been taken back proudly. I'm not very queer, sorta queer, would glad to be considered more in the queer camp than not.

(oh, I'm getting so close, but tired of sitting here cogitating. Damn you Thomas Paine. These are the times that try men's souls.) Ah yes, I had this one in mind, but forgot I had it in mind...the fuzzy-headed holidays intervened:

8. Questions: I learned early in my study of peaceful conflict management years ago that often people take questions as accusations, or as aggression. Too many questions make people think you're grilling them. I learned it is OK to ask questions, but to be keep a compassionate connection, keep the inflection low like a statement, rather than raise it up for a question. It's good to question. Question authority. Question habituated notions of self. It takes skill to ask questions, and to receive them gracefully. I welcome questions. I will often answer them even if uncomfortable. I tend to forget I don't have to answer every question posed to me.

9. qwerty: I like that the order of the letters became a word, first qwerty keyboard, now qwerty. I depend on qwerty, I never look at the keyboard to type.

OK, I quit. I've failed. I give up. No more memes please! I'm sorry I hit you with that one! I'm not sending this one on to anyone else...it's too much like a quiz.

I've been tagged

According to the rules....

Each player of this game starts with the “6 weird things about you." People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says “you are tagged” in their comments and tell them to read your blog. I was tagged by Regal.

1. I believe I was around 12 years old when I received a chain letter somehow. I was supposed to send a dollar to the first person on the list, send the letter to 100 people, and put my name on the bottom. I did that. My mom wasn't encouraging, but she helped me out by taking me to the library so I could make 100 copies of the letter. (That was the only place one could get a xerox back then.) I sent it to my few friends, to schoolmates I could barely call friends, to relatives I barely knew. I don't remember how I found that many people to send it to. Of course I didn't get any money, and I'm sure somebody told me "chainletters are illegal." I don't know why I'm doing this now....yes I do...because Regal is sweet. I'm not sure I know 6 bloggers I dare to tag this on.

2. I wear men's Ecco boots with skirts. Hey, I need really good shoes to support my weight and keep my ankles straight, and I look good in a skirt. I no longer wear pants, except on the rare occasion I join an exercise class.

3. I do not get jealous. Not only do I not get jealous, I love to help out with the relationships of my relationships.

4. I have had my hair cut by a hair stylist once in the last 20 years. That was not the time I had my hair cut short....I did that myself on a whim just before I turned 30, and my husband at the time helped me trim it neatly. Within 6 months we were divorced. I kept my hair short that year: one length to just under my chin. Within a year I met my love Steve. I stopped cutting my hair short. I didn't plan it that way. Now I joke, "Beware when a woman cuts her hair."

5. I think the TV show "My Name Is Earl" is quite profound.

6. I love kids but I don't have any, nor will I.

Who should I tag?

You're it: Nacho, Sinister Dexterity, Thomas Paine, Chez Bez. Gah, that's all I know. I can't even tag Steve, cuz he's on hiatus, or Krissy cuz I'm not sure she wants these worlds colliding. It's like that chain letter all over again...who have I spoken two words to in the blogging world and won't say "Who's Heidi and why is she sending me a chain letter?"