Dinosaur Sweaters and Riding Polar Bears (i.e. The Mystery Blogger Award)

First, I want to give a shout out to all of my readers, especially those who return again and again to my blog to read and interact with my posts. Lately I’ve been struggling to keep up with my own blogging and especially with reading others’ posts as I’ve been adjusting to Ph.D. life, so I appreciate your patience and support as I find a new blogging schedule that will get me back on track. I’ve also been having some ideas for future posts and post series that I’m really excited about and that are in the works, so I’m looking forward to sharing those with you soon, as well!

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Last week I was incredibly honored to be nominated for the Mystery Blogger Award by Michael Miller over at My Comic Relief. While I’m only a comic book novice myself (“novice” being a somewhat generous title), I know enough to say that his blog is a wonderful playground for the nerdy and comic-appreciating, so if that sounds like you I would highly recommend giving it a read!

Quoting Mr. Miller’s post, then, this award is “for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts.  Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging and they do it with so much love and passion.” And like him, my reaction is just wow. It’s so humbling and exciting to know that my posts are being enjoyed to that degree.

Before I get to the questions, here are the rules for the award, as created by Okoto Enigma:

1)  Display the award logo on your blog.
2)  Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.
3)  Mention the creator of the award and provide a link.
4)  Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.
5)  Answer 5 questions from the nominee.
6)  Nominate 10 – 20 bloggers.
7)  Notify your nominees by leaving a comment on their blog.
8)  Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice, including 1 weird or funny question.
9)  Share the link to your best post.

So without further ado, here are 3 (quirky) things about me:

1. “Strobe Light Spoons”

In high school, my friends and I decided to revamp the classic card game known as Spoons. In case you’ve never played it, a number of people sit in a circle with a number of spoons in the center, one less spoon than the number of players. Each player starts with four cards from a standard deck and pick up a new card while discarding another continuously until someone gets four of a kind. That person then grabs a spoon, resulting in a frenetic grab of the rest of the spoons by the other players. Whoever is left without a spoon is out of the game and play continues with further rounds until a winner is found.

So how did we revamp the game? By adding a strobe light. Game play is exactly the same, but the strobe light makes it significantly harder to see and track other people’s  movement. One time several spoons were taken surreptitiously from the center before the rest of the group even noticed! I highly recommend it if you have a strobe light, a deck of cards, and  3 to 13 friends at your disposal. Just make sure to follow all of the warnings on the strobe light so you don’t have a seizure…they can be really damaging if not used properly or if you have certain conditions.

And yes, I bought a strobe light specifically for the purpose of playing Spoons. I have no regrets.

2. Fuzzy Pink and a Christmas Dinosaur

I currently am in love with two of my sweaters. One is light pink and furry all over and the other is black and white in the style of a Christmas sweater with a big green dinosaur on the front. Here’s a reminder of what that sweater looks like:

So I guess that says something about me.

3. “These Are A Few of My Favorite Things”???

I’m awful at choosing favorite things, despite having just listed two (that’s how much I love those sweaters). I can’t just pick a universal favorite food or animal or book or song…when I’m in different moods I prefer different things. Is that so crazy?

And now it’s time to answer the amazing Michael Miller’s amazing questions:

1)  If you were a superhero in real life, would you let anyone in on your secret?  If so, who?  Why?

This is a complicated question (and hence I have a complicated answer). In terms of immediate family, I would have to tell them because how could I not? In terms of anyone else, though, I wouldn’t tell anyone at first. I wouldn’t want anyone to treat me differently because they knew I was a superhero; I would want to be appreciated for who I am outside of that. However, if I got really close to someone and trusted them I think I would have to tell them because being a superhero would be a real part of my life. How could I hide such a substantial part of me from someone I cared about? Answer: I couldn’t. Otherwise I would be lying about so many things.

2)  Where would you go if you had a two week, all expense-paid vacation to anywhere in the world?

I’m going to make a small but important addendum, if I may: “and if you had unlimited energy?” Well, I would want to travel all over the world and take part in all kinds of amazing and adventurous experiences. For example, I’d want to go see the northern lights in the arctic circle, watch and participate in Scottish folk dancing, see some of my favorite musical artists perform live (wherever that may be) with backstage passes to meet them, go mountain climbing in Europe, etc. I would want to tour the world and experience as much as I could in those two weeks instead of staying in one particular place (again, assuming I had the energy to do all of that!).

3)  Regardless of whether or not you actively enjoy doing karaoke, what is/would be your go-to karaoke jam?

Because I’m bad at picking favorites (see above) this is tough to answer, but I
might go for something like Bird Set Free by Sia or belt out The End by Little Mix. These are two of my current favorites to sing along to!

4)  Who would play you in the movie of your life?

Hmmm…I’ve been told I look a bit like Maisie Williams so maybe her? I don’t watch Game of Thrones but I’ve heard that her character is pretty awesome and sword-wielding and whatnot, so I’d be okay with that. Plus she once wore a dress with wrestlers on it, so I’m already a fan.

5)  If you had to have a talking animal sidekick for the rest of your life, what would it be?  Why?

A polar bear that I can also ride like a horse. Why? Because it’s awesome and “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” is one of my all-time favorite fairy tales. (It’s the Norwegian version of Beauty and the Beast featuring polar bears and trolls. What could be better?)

Finally, here’s a link to one of my favorite recent posts: Guided Tour: Little Red Riding Hood in Classical Music

Because I’ve been more absent lately on WordPress (Ph.D. life is great but definitely an adjustment), I’m only nominating a few people, figuring that was better than nominating more when I’m not yet as familiar with them. But these blogs and people particularly jumped out at me when considering who I could nominate and definitely deserve a shout out:

1. R.Q. Woodward
2. The One With Feathers
3. The ALK3R Post
4. M. Miles
5. Emily Baycroft

Here are my questions, if you choose to answer (no pressure):

1. If you could have a conversation with any fictional character, who would it be and why?
2. If you were to become a famous musician or singer, what kind of music would you be famous for?
3. If you were to become a famous author, what kind of books would you be famous for?
4. Would you rather have someone constantly narrating your life like a voiceover or be constantly followed around by theme music?
5. If it became an option for people to move to another planet, would you move there? Why or why not?

Thanks again for reading! And if you’re interested in (amicably) judging me for more weird, quirky stuff I’ve got you covered: Voldemort and Beyoncé Robots (Or a Dream I Had)

Twitter: @ifmermaids