No Fun

The other day, a patron donated some games to my library. I was stunned to see The Ungame. I hadn't seen the game in twenty years and I'd convienantly forgotten it existed.

My mom got The Ungame for my family in the mid seventies and all of us kids hated it. I think my dad did, too. It' a non-competitive game; the cards players draw as they go around the board only pose questions about feelings.

I took the cards home to see if the game was as bad as I remembered. It is, and I am kind of proud of myself for identifying this at such a young age.

Here are some examples of the questions, and I'll even answer them for you, because I made an important discovery. I am too competitive to enjoy non-competitive games, but I kind of like expososing examples of the game's questions and sharing my answers in a bloggable format.


What do you think you'll look like in 10 years? Really good, if my mom at 46 was any kind of indication. I promise not to perm my hair and dye it the wrong color to cover up the gray that is already starting to come in.

Complete the sentence. A time I will never forget is...when my uncle's dog ran up from the basement with one of my guinea pigs, Scarlett O'Hair (a beautiful red head, pink eyed little pig) in his mouth. She died of shock about ten minutes later. Or, how about the time I fell right on my ass when I caught my first glimpse of Anchor Wot? I was so embarrassed I cried.

Complete this sentence: I talk the most when... Oh, this one is almost too easy. I talk the most when I've had a couple of drinks.

Complete this sentence: A recent movie I enjoyed was...Gray Gardens. I liked it because...the two women it profiles made me feel comparatively sane.

What is you favorite day of the week and why? Until recently, it was everybody's favorite day, Friday, but now I work on Saturdays. I haven't figured out if I like Sunday or Monday better yet, since I've only been on this schedule for two weeks. I have a feeling it's going to be Monday, though. I like the idea of not having to share a weekend with other people. I can go out to breakfast without worrying about places being too crowded.

Complete this sentence: something I really like to receive for my birthday is____________ because_____________.

What a timely card! My birthday is coming up in less than a month. I'm a little nervous about it because I don't know a lot of people in Portland yet. No one at work will know it's my birthday, and also, I have to work until 8 that night.

I would like a lot of things. A new hat to replace my favorite hat that I have used in lieu of an umbrella for the past four years and lost last week. I'd like a new Bose, since my brother recently reclaimed the one he loaned me a few years ago. I'd really like some help painting my apartment, since my job is taking up most of my energy these days and also, I'm not able to move the furniture out of the rooms I want to paint by myself. I'd like a couple of new friends here, and maybe they could even help me paint. But mostly, I want to make sure people remember it. It's October 17th, and just a call would be fine.

Saved

I'm now officially tracking and recording nice things that strangers in Portland do for me.

Yesterday I went to a different light rail stop than the one I usually go to. It wasn't a fancy stop and I couldn't use my debit card to buy a ticket. I started frantatically taking everything out of my bag, hoping to find some cash in it somewhere, but I didn't have any. I could see the train coming and I really didn't want to be late my first week at a new job.

A nice man seemed to appear out of nowhere and gave me two dollars.

Nice Things_,

Outgrown

This morning I went running past Klickitat Street, where Ramona the Pest, Beezus and Henry Huggins all grew up. I’d known Beverly Cleary was from Portland, and I was really excited to be living in the same neighborhood as the characters I’d enjoyed so much as a kid.

I called my niece as soon as I got home. I was sure she would be as excited me, but she didn’t even recognize the name of the street. When I reminded her, there was a long pause on her end, then she told me she was currently reading the twenty third Oz book. I know my niece is not yet old enough to feel nostaliga for books she used to love, but I felt disappointed anyway.

Books_, Remembrance of Things Past_

Updates

THE MOVE:

Ray the cat and I are settling into our new home in Portland. We are drowning in a sea of boxes, but will hopefully be fully unpacked in the next day or two so that we can move on to the painting phase. I still don't really know my way around the area I'm living in, but I'm trying to do a little exploring every day. When I walk down the street, people actually say hello and are friendly, and I think it's genuine.

THE MOOD:

My mood has stabilized. Good things are happening. I found a great couch on Craig's List today, and the former owner is even delivering it to me. I hope to always retain my wonderment for how friendly people here are. Maybe it will even rub off on me.

THE CHAIN:

To date, the only recipe I received was the one I already wrote about. I may have brought this bad luck upon myself when I decided to send the chain out to an additional ten people. I guess that's what I get for cheating. I'm still looking for additional favorite recipes, please send them my way.