The person below me

[catinthefunnyhat]

Well, apparently they do sleep. At least according to the first website I found that addressed the issue. That seems like a solid way to discover Truth, right?

I don't know what kind of fish you are, Fishy, but if you were a parrotfish, you'd be able to secrete a mucous "sleeping bag" around your body before nodding off. I guess that's kinda gross. Or super gross. It somehow sounded ok when I was reading it, but all wrong once I'd typed it. Anyways, some fish actually build nests or nestle down into sand or coral; while others (e.g. some sharks) have to keep moving. Others apparently just kind of "shut down" and drift around absently on the currents. That sounds kinda nice, actually.

TPBM needs a back scratcher. That one spot is so hard to reach!

[theCryptofishist]

I actually have multiple back scratchers. I don't know where any of htem are.
TPBM is fascinated by those back scratchers which are in the shape of tiny hands.

[catinthefunnyhat]

Most of them seem to be that type, and yeah... weird. I also think it weird when dildos are made to look like realistic penises.

TPBM sings in the shower.

[theCryptofishist]

No. Probably for the best. I don't think a reedy soprano can do patter arias justice.
TPBM also has a voice that's not in his or her favorite register.

[catinthefunnyhat]

I'd be quite happy to have a voice in any old register if I had an octave of continuous range and the ability to control which notes come out when I open my mouth. Being able to tell when I'm on/off key would help, too. I was that stereotypical kid who was in the elementary-school choir but whose teacher advised her to "maybe just mouth the words" when we performed in front of an audience. No, seriously, that happened. It still stings, 30 years later.

TPBM is going to change the subject for me, because I'm too mired in self-pity to think of anything else.

[theCryptofishist]

Nope. I'm going to drag this out, in the hope (perhaps vain) that we can at least examine this.
Has it occurred to you that this teacher was a fucking asshole? Did she write a ground breaking thesis on "How to Break a Child's Heart in One Sentence"? Her mother or grandmother did the same to my mother during the 30s in Buffalo, New York. I can't even remember when or what happened to me. I do know that I was mouthing the words to songs when I was eight, because I was in an English parish school and I didn't want to sing the hymns we had each morning to start assembly. (Digression--I recently found out that that school has been torn. It moved to another place--keeping the name "Milton Road School" although they are no longer on Milton Road.)
Honestly, singing is a part of our heritage as humans, and anyone who takes away that voice is dehumanizing you on a fundamental level. And here's one of my favorite artists with an anthem against that cruelty.
[youtube][/youtube]

tpbm is impressed by how easily I go into full on rant mode.

[Elorrum]

no, I am impressed by how well and passionately you do it.
Everyone should sing! Everyone should try to play an instrument, and sing, and NEVER feel pressured to stop, or hide it from others. I sing and play alone in private and on the few occasions when I get the chance to join in with others, it just makes me soar!!!! What a loss to all our spirits to feel for stupid reasons we shouldn't make music unless we can do it perfectly. The way we feel about singing is more restrictive than fashion or body image. ridiculous.

tpbm wishes they had never given away or sold that musical instrument.

[catinthefunnyhat]

We interrupt the game for my public therapy session with Dr. Fishy. You may wish to skip ahead...

• I definitely think that teacher was an asshole. Or at least that she was acting like one when she said that. But she probably had her own issues... who knows what all lay behind the comment? She would've been a young woman. Maybe she'd majored in music and then, unable to find work, went back to school and got an education certificate. Maybe it drove her crazy that, instead of performing on a stage somewhere, she ended up in a shitty little hick town trying to teach a bunch of brats to sing "Send in the Clowns" with a modicum of tunefulness. And then there's one in the group who's totally unable to take direction, always way off-key, dragging the ones around her off-key as well... and, well, you can imagine someone in that situation kind of snapping and saying something horrible to that kid. Maybe she regretted it for the rest of her life but never had the courage to apologize. Or, yeah, maybe she was just a selfish bully who didn't consider the feelings of others.
  
  That one crushing moment was followed by many smaller incidents, through much of my life, that reinforced the message. For many years, I was regularly in singing situations -- I was very religious until my early 20s, so there was church, and campfire, and spontaneous sing-alongs on the beach -- and through much of that time, I only mouthed the words, or I sang very softly in a crowd. (And my lack of musical talented wasn't limited to singing -- I also took piano lessons for 7 years and never got past Grade 1!) One of the reasons I fell in love with my partner was that he encouraged me to sing out loud and to hell with other people's reactions. And, unlike some other people, he'd stand beside me while I was doing it. He's musically trained and talented, and he was probably the first person to ever show me that kind of generosity, so it broke through my defenses pretty fast. Sometimes, we sing together at home.
  
  Still, there doesn't seem to be an ointment that will heal this wound. Mostly, I can just ignore it. I'm rarely in public situations where musical participation is expected (or even allowed). I still sometimes find myself mouthing when there's Happy Birthday to be sung, though.
  
  I can't believe I just shared all that with a bunch of strangers.
  
  P.S. Thanks for the song, Fishy. It was beautiful. And for the encouragement.
  

Back to my regularly-scheduled TPBM programming:

I've never owned an instrument. My parents sold the piano when we moved, which kind of made me sad, but none of us played it very much anyways. My partner has a keyboard and a djembe drum, neither of which he plays. I'm always nagging him to either play or give them away, because they take up a lot of our limited space. Maybe I should stop that. He'll play again when he's ready.


TPBM thinks it's time for a fresh cup of coffee and a visit to the garden.

[theCryptofishist]

I had my coffee, and I'm sitting here on the computer. . .
I should get in my studio and work on my charms.
TPBM is going to suggest walking around with a dictionary on my head.

[catinthefunnyhat]

No. I think you should practice your tea-serving etiquette. There are some useful pointers here.

TPBM slurps his or her tea as noisily as possible, just for fun.

[OregonRed]

No. Eating/drinking noises kinda gross me out.

TPBM recently won an award.

[catinthefunnyhat]

Nah, it's been a while since I've done that.
TPBM has been re-reading old letters.

[maryanimal]

yes. I have my first bf's letters and they are so sweet! Ah, young love. That feeling you only get once in a lifetime!

tpbm loves the smell of a newly mowed lawn.

[catinthefunnyhat]

Yes! On my walkabout today I passed a couple, and they were glorious. That smell brings back so many memories of summer...
*slips into reverie*




TPBM, have you been painting?

[C187]

Freshly mowed grass reminds me of hours of boredom, and running over dead birds/squirrels/racoons/trees with the riding lawnmower as a kid.

TPBM should feel lucky if they grew up in a city.

-----
Edit: Seems like catinthefunnyhat beat me by a tick to maryanimal's tpbm question.
So to answer catinthefunnyhat question...

Yes I have been painting, but it's work so I don't know if it counts.

same tpbm question as i had above..

[catinthefunnyhat]

I grew up in a small, northern town. It had its charms, but I wouldn't go back. I am happy to live in the city now, although occasional trips to the country and/or wilderness are essential.


TPBM is planning a movie night.

[theCryptofishist]

No. I don't do movies. Too much reading I have to do before I die.
TPBM wants to build an adobe oven in the back yard so there's some sort of cooking facilities in case of earthquake.

[jella]

hmmmmmmmmmm...might be a good idea


TPBM has never been in an earth quake

[Eric]

I'm in SF, been in plenty of smaller ones. No biggies- yet.


tpbm prefers the randomness of an earthquake to the certainty of a tornado

[theCryptofishist]

Let's just say that I grew up in Earthquake Country, and I"m used to thinking about that kind of disaster.
TPBM grew up in Jefferson State.

[C187]

Out of the three proposed states of that name I can think of, I grew up in none of them.

TPBM would like to see the Yooper turn into Superior.

[OregonRed]

Oh, ya! That'd be real nice, eh?

TPBM likes peanut butter on a rice cake.

[jella]

Ha ha..ya got me, with a dab of honey though.


TPBM is armed and ready for the week and plans to charge head on..oh srew it TBPM says shit, it's almost monday :/

[OregonRed]

Shit. It's Monday in seven minutes, and I have insomnia.

TPBM feels my pain.

[junglesmacks]

All. Too. Well. One day to get my shit together before a cross country business trip to LA. On the up side, I'm totally assaulting the garment district for some fabric for BM clothes.

TPBM STILL can't believe it's not butter.

[Eric]

I don't care what my Dr. says, I'm not eating that crap. Give me butter or give me death (or some really really good extra virgin olive oil, not that fake stuff they sell in super-markets)


tpbm should be asleep now

[catinthefunnyhat]

No, it's morning now... Laundry is on; breakfast is eaten. I have a busy day ahead of me.

TPBM is skipping breakfast today.

[junglesmacks]

No way This whole living with a significant other that makes breakfast and juice every morning thing is really not too shabby..

TPBM needs a weekend from their weekend.

[OregonRed]

I do indeed. I'm just having a lot of trouble getting motivated today. All I want to do is lay in bed and cry.

TPBM loves Mondays.

[catinthefunnyhat]

Nope. Although I do have a couple of things I enjoy that happen on Mondays -- my weekly volunteer thing in the afternoon, and dodgeball in the evening. So I don't hate them like I otherwise would

((((OR)))) You need to get to California, STAT!

TPBM prefers boxers.