Friday 5: Colorful Associations

Just now, I'm reading "Blindness" by Jose Saramago. In it, an entire city is afflicted by a mysterious disease in which everyone suddenly goes blind. What a gift vision is, and how grateful I am each day that the world's beauty is available to me through sight, especially colors -- as well as hearing, smell, taste and sensation!

Lecture over.

Free associations:
1. Name the first 3 things that come to mind when you think RED.
2. Ditto with YELLOW,
3. BLUE,
4. PURPLE,
5. GREEN.

Frightful Friday 5

1. How many trick or treaters came to your door this year?
2. What treats did you hand out?
3. What was your favorite 'treat' when you were a youngster?
4. Tell about your most memorable costume or Halloween event.
5. Did you dress up this year? What as or what would you dress up as if you had occasion to?

Friday 5: Fall

Well, here it is, FALL! As the nights turn cooler and the leaves begin to turn here are a few questions to ponder:

1. What are the sights, sounds, smells, feelings, tastes, that say "fall" to you?
2. What do you love about fall?
3. Is there anything you are less fond of? What?
4. What are some favorite fall memories for you?
5. And what events or activities are you looking forward to THIS fall?

Bonus question: Does the word "fall" evoke different thoughts/feelings/memories for you than "autumn"? Say a few words about why or why not.

Saturday Six: At This Instant

A trademark expression of a favorite colleague of mine is the jumping off point for today's Saturday's Six:

1. At this instant, I'm feeling....
2. At this instant, the other members of my household are...
3. At this instant, I'm wearing...
4. At this instant, I'd rather be...
5. At this instant, the loudest noise around me is....
6. At this instant, I'm very satisfied with...

Friday 5: Getting to know you

1. Early bird or night owl?
2. Shower or bath?
3. An hour early, right on time, a minute late or ???
4. Summer, winter, fall or spring?
5. On your day off: do you have every minute planned and get everything done, do you have a long list but end up not doing most of it, do you just wake up and see where the day leads you? Do you plan things with family and friends, or do you enjoy getting away and doing something alone? Will you go to a movie or a play or a concert or a party? Will you ride your bike, work in the garden, go for a run, read a book, do volunteer work, take a class, work on a project (what?), cook a fancy meal?

Saturday 6: Olympics

We're not able to watch the Olympics (no TV or cable hook up) , so let me partake of the event via this post:
1. Have you been watching the Beijing Olympics? What have been some of the highlights for you so far?
2. Winter or Summer?
3. Which event do you watch and think, 'I would love to be able to do that'?
4. Do you recall any memorable moments from past Olympics?
5. What yet to come competition are you most looking forward to?
6. Have you ever had a brush with Olympic fame?

Friday 5: Summer choices

1. Peaches or nectarines?
2. Shorts or capris?
3. Pool or lake?
4. Wax beans or green beans?
5. Walk or run or ride a bike?

Friday 5: We all scream for . . .

1. What's your favorite flavor?
2. Where did you like to eat ice cream when you were a kid?
3. Tell a favorite "ice cream memory" -- or 2 or 3 . . .
4. Where do you like to eat ice cream now? What do you usually order? Sundaes or cones, shakes or ???
5. What other frozen treats do you like? (Dove ice cream bars, Italian ice, Slurpees, etc.)

Friday 5: Midsummer Nights' Dream

Credit for this post goes to friday5.org
1. What are some recurring dreams you’ve had?
2. What is the significance of dreams in telling you about yourself?
3. How do you feel after you’ve had one of THOSE dreams?
4. What was the last dream you remember?
5. When did you last dream about something that later happened as you dreamt it?

and a bonus question from me:
6. If you were in a production of the play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' what part would you like to play and why?

Friday 5: Summer Retrospective

Well, here we are in the middle of summer already!

1. What did you love about summers when you were growing up?
2. Did you hate anything? What?
3. What "summer place" would you most like to visit from those years? Why?
4. What is your best memory of this summer so far?
5. Name 3 things you still hope to do before this summer is over.

Friday 5: Summer Sensations

I probably should fashion a patriotic Friday 5 since today is the 4th of July, but I don't feel like working that hard. Instead, let's talk about what makes summer, summer.
1) what sight says 'summer' to you?
2) what taste says 'summer' to you?
3) what sound says 'summer' to you?
4) what smell says 'summer' to you?
5) what sensation says 'summer' to you?

Friday 5: Jobs

Mose has a job! He's working at McDonald's and liking it all right so far. He told me that when he left yesterday, the manager told him, "You did a h*** of a job today." I had a good laugh when Mose told me about it, since I could say with certainty that it was the first time he'd ever been told that.

So, what about jobs and you? Tell me:

1. Have you ever had a job with a uniform? Describe it. Did you like or dislike having to wear one?

2. What was your first job? Would you recommend a similar job to a first-job-seeker?

3. What was your worst job? What did you learn from it?

4. What is your current job? How long have you been doing it? What do you like and dislike most about it?

5. What would you like to be your last job?

Friday 5: Classics

A little late.

1. Do you like classic movies? (For our purposes let's say made before 1960)

2. Why or why not?

3. Which movies from that era are your favorites? Why?

4. Who are your favorite stars from that era?

5. If you had the chance to do a really good remake, which movie would you choose, and which of today's stars would be in it?

Friday 5: Shoes

Do you remember the fall of Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines in 1986 and how his wife Imelda's enormous collection of shoes become a symbol of all that was wrong and corrupt and wasteful? It's said she had 2,700 pairs of shoes.

I'm no Imelda, but I have a lot of shoes and I wish I had more. I have only one purse but many pairs of shoes. If my shoes don't feel right (and I don't mean 'comfortable', I mean 'right') I don't feel right.

Not that I have fabulous shoes or anything or like I'm known as some sort of shoe goddess. But when I'm wearing the right shoes, I feel sense of quiet sense of well being, deep inside :)

Tell me about you and shoes.

1. Describe the shoes you are wearing right now.
2. How many pairs of shoes do you have?
3. What size shoe do you wear?
4. If you were given a Zappos gift card with enough value to buy three more pairs of shoes, what would you buy? Feel free to include links.
5. Write a couple sentences about shoes.

Friday 5: Five in a Row

1. Name one thing you do everyday.

2. Name two things you wish you could learn.

3. Name three things that remind you of your childhood.

4. Name four things you love to eat but rarely do.

5. Name five things that make you feel good.

courtesy of http://friday.criminalgrace.com/

Friday 5: Trees

Since mid afternoon yesterday, we've added 9 beautiful trees to our yard. Look for an upcoming post with pictures soon.
In the meantime, let's talk about trees:
1. What trees do you have in your yard or on your street?
2. Have you ever hugged a tree? Why or why not?
3. Do you have a tree-related memory?
4. When building our new house, we skipped the fancy granite countertops and planted trees instead. If you were building a new house, would you make a similar choice? Explain.
5. If you knew you were going to be stranded on a desert island, what 5 trees would you take with you?

Friday 5: High School

The boys and I just got back from a high school graduation ceremony honoring the first-ever graduates from the school Mose attends. Because there were only 3 graduates and because the school families are a bunch of warm and wonderful people, it was less about ceremony and more about celebrating.
How different for my own graduation...or so I suppose, because frankly, I don't remember anything about the event. Which is worthy material for a blog post, but not tonight :)
But still it got me thinking about high school and graduation. Here are five questions in keeping with the theme:
1. What did you plan to do after high school and did your actual life turn out anything like that?
2. How much would I have to pay you to go back - for just a day?
3. If you could sit down for dinner with just one person from your high school life who would it be and why and what would you talk about?
4. What did the fashionable kids wear when you were in high school? What did you wear?
5. What did you learn in high school that has stood you in good stead?

Friday 5: Celebrate your Mom!!

In anticipation of Sunday's big day:

1. What ways are you VERY like your mother?
2. What ways are you NOT like your mother?
3. How do you wish you were MORE like your mother?
4. What life lessons have you learned from your mother?
5. What is a favorite "Mom" memory?

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms, Aunts, Sisters!

Friday 5: Imagine

Scenarios such as this are always fun to ponder:

You are invited to join a group of people forming an experiment in community living. Each person will bring certain things to the group and they will build a library, movie theater, art museum and concert hall and restaurant.

1. What 5 (or 10?) books would you bring to make sure they are included?
2. What 5 (or 10?) movies would you contribute?
3. What 5 (or 10?) great pieces of art would you want to bring? (Maybe not originals, but good reproductions.)
4. What 5 (or 10?) artists or recordings or compositions would you include?
5. What 5 of your favorite recipes would you bring to the menu of the restaurant?

Bonus question: What 5 practical skills and/or personal attributes would you add to the mix that would make the success of your venture likely?

Friday 5 Bonus: Earth Day!

I know I'm doing this all wrong for one thing it's not Friday and for another it's not Earth Day, but earlier this week, when casting about for Friday 5 ideas, I thought about doing one on Earth Day which I assured myself in my time addled way was the April 25th, just perfect for next week. But you know what - Earth Day is on Tuesday, April 22. I just figured that out. So rather than passing on this golden opportunity, here goes:
1. What one green thing are you doing today that you weren't doing last year?
2. Do you plan to participate in any Earth Day events? Tell more.
3. Are you more likely buy a product that is labeled as 'green' than one that isn't? (read the next question before answering)
4. Do you find the idea of green marketing to be just a little ironic?
5. If you didn't have to work on Tuesday and if you go anywhere, which of the following Earth Day events would you attend. Base your answer on content of the event not location because of course all of us would go to Thailand if we had a chance. Your choices are: a biofuels panel debate in Ellensburg, WA, the assembly of 100,000 monks in Thailand (beautiful picture), a concert of Wendell Berry's poetry set to music in NYC or a fabulous dinner in Hollywood.