Question Everything

Questions are at the heart and brain of exploration.  Einstein found his theory of relativity by asking questions, for example.  He could have been asking about a ham sandwich, but that's how exploration works--start off in one direction, arrive at another.  Exploring the thoughts in a person's head can take them just about anywhere.

The two best questions begin with the words "What if?" and "Why?"  "Why is the sky blue?" is probably what got the first meteorologist started on his career path.  "What if we could build a computer half the size of the ones in use right now?" is likely how the first person to build a personal computer began to dream. 

There's something 'off' about a person who never questions anything, who just accepts what happens to them without voicing their opinions. The person who never questions is often viewed as flawed in some way, but there may be more to those situations than meets the eye.  The people who question everything are seen as flawed in some way, as well.  I disagree with that.  We should celebrate it when people ask us questions--it keeps us on our toes mentally.  When I have to explain my answer to a question, and I can answer the question, that tells me that I actually know my topic, instead of just memorizing some random fact.  You don't know a topic until you can explain it to someone else in a way that they learn it as well.  Knowledge is meant to be shared.

I ask "why" often.  I'm not being rude, but if a thing doesn't make sense to me, or doesn't seem to be efficient, I am driven to ask "why".  It doesn't matter if you're my boss or my boss' boss, or the President of the United States.  I still have to ask why.  My questions tend to drive people crazy, but I think that if you have a rule in place then you ought to be able to explain the rationale for the rule.  ("Because I said so" is not a rationale, by the way.  Nice try.)  If your rationale for the rule or the policy, then I am usually satisfied.  I tend to keep my "What ifs" to myself, because those questions get my brain going in all sorts of kooky directions, and people look at me funny if I share. 

Recently, I've noticed that my son has picked up some of my habits. He's started asking "why" about everything.  He's sharp and I enjoy our moments of bonding, when Zane asks me "Why" about something he's found or something he's seen.  Most of the questions I can answer relatively quickly, I've been happy to find.  His dad hasn't been so fortunate, so his response on those occasions is "Go ask your mother."

I can live with that.

How do you handle children's questions?

Meet the Trifectans

This is part of a meme offered on Trifecta.  Go visit them!



What is your name (real or otherwise)? Tina.  I was supposed to be named Bernadette, after the saint, but my mother loved television and named me after Tina King, who was on My Three Sons.   I am forever grateful not to have been saddled with the burdens of sainthood.   I honestly don't think that  I would pass the entrance exam.


Describe your writing style in three words.  Concise. Exploratory. Painful.  
       
How long have you been writing online? Going on three years.  I know, I am as shocked as you are!

Which, if any, other writing challenges do you participate in?  Write on Edge.   There are other random prompts that I participate in, but not consistently.                                                                                                        

Describe one way in which you could improve your writing.  Some times I think that I should work on being more detailed, but other times I think that I'm being too detailed, and it annoys me.  I think that my main problem with my writing is that I lack confidence.  I see all these other writers, such as Draug, who seem to have such an easy time of it, and it causes me to hesitate a bit.  I need to get over that. 

What is the best writing advice you’ve ever been given?  Shaddup and write.

Who is your favorite author?  I don't really have a "favorite" author.  I have favorite books, such as Lonesome Dove, Howards End, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and Mrs. Dalloway.  I've also read all of George R.R. Martin's books more than once.   If I like an author, I seem to want to read everything they've ever written, even if it is a grocery list.  I've read all of Lee Child, for instance, and J.R. Ward.  But I don't really consider them favorites. More "Flavor of the Month".  I am such a promiscuous reader! 

How do you make time to write?  I sacrifice sleep, writing after the house is quiet and everyone else is asleep. That's why there are sometimes errors; I'm falling asleep while I'm writing. Occasionally, if an idea hits me during the day, I'll jot something down on a napkin, a piece of paper.  Evernotes has saved me on more than one occasion, as I've used my phone to type out a quick description of an idea. 

Give us one word we should consider using as a prompt. Remember--it must have a third definition.  Affliction

Direct us to one blog post of yours that we shouldn't miss reading.  Here is a pretty good one.  At least I think so. I welcome any critiques!

Niner Niner

 

I'm going to try this, at least once! 

1. When was the last time that you danced in public?   I used to go two-stepping every Friday night with my girlfriends, but it's been so long since I actually danced in public that I can't remember anymore.  I did, however, cavort last Tuesday.  It was awesome.

2. Tell us about one of your closest friends. He's a little obsessive about things like Tolkien and soccer, has an undying love for the San Antonio Spurs, and was once pretty reclusive.  Then he became the father of the most extroverted child on the planet, and he's adjusting beautifully.  What?  A husband can't be a friend?
 

3. What is the most that you have ever lost?  The most I have ever lost was my baby girl, on December 9, 2003.  I still can't talk about it without getting emotional and teary, so I suppose that I'm still going through the stages.  I guess that I'll get through them eventually.

4. What was the last thing that you have done to help a neighbor? I pulled their recycling bin from the curb and rolled it up next to their garage door so that no one would know that they were gone for the weekend.

5. It’s election season. What do you think the priorities of the United States really should be?  I think that these bozos need to make bipartisanship a priority, because without that, nothing seems to get done.

6. What was the last severe weather situation that you and your neighbors endured?  Except for drought, which we are in now, the Hundred Year Flood of 2002, which was preceded by the Hundred Year Flood of 1998.  Other than those, not too much happens here, weatherwise.  

7. Have you been or are you a vegetarian? Thoughts?  I am not a vegetarian.  I tried it once, but ended up gaining about twenty pounds trying to make up for the lack of protein in my diet.  The only vegetarians I have a problem with are the militant ones who get in my face about my food choices.  I have a tendency to stab those people with my fork.   

8. If you had a wish for your future, what would it be? To live comfortably with 47 cats.  I kid.  My wish for the future would be to see my grandchildren and die in my sleep at a ripe age.

9. Who just doesn’t get it?  Anyone who think that they can demand that people do things their way without understanding that all successful politics is compromise. 

Check out this link up to compare answers!

The A-List: Get to know YOU Questions

I've seen a lot of posts out there with "Get to Know Me" kinds of questions, or "30 Days of Truth" stuff that's supposed to be deep and meaningful.  That's well and good if you like that sort of thing, never mind that nobody is checking the answers for minimal truthiness.   However, I have other questions that I would want answered should we meet. Important questions that truly reveal who you are as a person at a level deeper than deep.  Friendship-level deep, with all the gossip and drinking and fun that entails. 

These are some of the things that I want to know, if I were interviewing for friends.  There aren't really any right or wrong answers, but the answers reveal a great deal. At least I think so.  I haven't done any sort of scientific study or anything, because those aren't really any fun at all.  (Really.  They teach you about this in grad school.) These are questions that I've inconspicuously asked over the years.  In some cases, I've savored the answers like a fine wine; in others, I've had to spit out the vinegar. 

1. We are eating lunch in a restaurant. George Clooney walks by.  Since I am an enormous fangirl, I get up to get his autograph. Do you tell me that I have spinach in my teeth or let me go?   I seem to eat items that stick in the crevices of my teeth.  I will have entire conversations with people with a green smile, with stalks of broccoli protruding from my mouth...and nobody says a word.  That means that either the people I eat with are secretly laughing at me or that they didn't notice. Either way is a bit sad, but I'll live.  I promise you, here and now, that if we meet and I notice that you have something in your teeth, I will let you know, just in case George Clooney walks by. 

2. We are at a concert, when a man approaches us to ask if we would like to come backstage to meet the band.  Do you say yes?  Why or why not?  This question came into existence because it actually happened to me.  It was the Metallica concert in Ft. Worth, and we had just wandered into the building and were looking for our seats. I still get annoyed about the whole thing.

3. Picture in your mind your favorite celebrity(if you are picturing Justin Bieber, you are TOO young to be reading this blog!).  He is standing in line in front of us at the movie theater.  I deliberately push you, and you end up in his arms, your darkest fantasy.  What happens next?
Here I am, helping you out, being a good friend and putting you in a position to at least speak to your celebrity crush.  Because if you want it, I want to help you get it!  I'm a giver, and I mean that in a not-weird way.

4. You don't want kids, because they are messy and you prefer a clean house with no smeary fingerprints.  However, I do have children, and I like to talk about them on occasion.  How many cute child stories are acceptable during a five minute conversation?   When I did not have a child, hearing someone talk about their children for hours was actually physically painful.  I understand that people who don't have children might not want to hear all about my son, however adorable he might be.  I try to be considerate, and limit my stories.  I also understand that if I talk about Zane, then I must reciprocate and listen to the other person discuss their children.  I will even listen to stories about pets without uttering a word of complaint.  Knowing how many stories are to be allotted in a specified time frame will be very helpful. 

5.  We end up arrested and in the pokey for participating in some shenanigans.  When they bring you into the interrogation room and start asking questions, do you spill your guts or clam up?  If you hang out with me, sometimes things will happen.  Hilarious hijinks may be happening, the sort that we will tell around the dinner table at Thanksgiving. But other incidents may take place over the course of our friendship, such as mullets or horrible tattoos, that we do not want getting out. Things that never need to see the light of day, such as that time in Vegas.  Especially that time in Vegas. I need to know that you've got my back, that you won't be singing like a canary about my tendency to steal pens in the first grade.


So? Are there any questions that you would ask on a friendship quiz?  Do tell in the comments!

Rhetorical Questions Sometimes Get Answered

We are used to asking Zane questions and not expecting an answer. We've been doing this for his entire life, because the best way for a child to learn language is to hear people talk, and well, because we like making sarcastic comments. However, I think it's time for my husband and I to begin tempering our comments.

For example:

Zane: "Mommy, I poop!"

Me: "Geez, Zane. Can't you do that when your daddy is around?" This statement is said in a sarcastic tone with an eye roll for flourish, as if I am the only person in the house who ever changes a diaper/pullup in the three years since Zane was born.

Zane: "No."