Phoenix's blog

What compliment are you most often given?

For some reason, people think I'm a good friend.  I guess it's because I listen, tend not to judge, and offer advice usually only when asked.  I also like to be generous with my friends, even if it's just with a hot meal or a quick e-mail letting them know i was thinking of them.  So, yea, if that sums up a good friend, that's me.

What's the best gift you received this year?

The best gift I've received this year, besides all of the Guitar Heros for the PS2, of course, is the opportunity I've gotten to spend with my best friend.  

Would you sign a prenuptial agreement? Why or why not?
Submitted by Lantastic. 

No.  Because to sign a prenup would mean that I would get married again, and I never have any intention of marrying again if I ever find myself unmarried.  Again.

What's the story behind a time when you got locked out?

Actually, I'll tell you a story of when I got locked in.  My spare bedroom's door is a little weird.  We had a roommate at the time, so the spare bedroom was our bedroom.  The door handle doesn't turn quite right and one day I felt like taking a nap without being bothered by kittens.  So I closed the door without thinking and locked myself in.  My husband was on night shift at the time and our roommate wouldn't be home for a few more hours so I was stuck.  I should have just taken the nap but I panicked in my great style.  There's no phone in that room.  But when I looked through the drawers to see if there was anything I could use to get the hinges off the door, I found my old cellphone.  Did you know you can use old cellphones to make collect calls?  So I called my sister, as she still lived a mile away from me at the time.  Her boyfriend, now husband, came down to rescue me.  The house was unlocked, which was the main reason I panicked, and he brought his tools.  Through the door, I simply told him that all he had to do was turn the door handle and let me out.  My hero.  I was saved.  In order to ensure it never happened again, he fixed the door handle so that it would never lock anyone in again.  I still don't like to shut that door, though.

What is your current obsession(s)?
Submitted by eijsr.

Collecting beads, currently.  I make jewelry, but I go to extremes collecting materials.

That and sex, but there are few materials you need for that obsession...

What was the worst job you ever had?
Submitted by salaryman.

I've had my share, though some would say I never had a really bad job, since I never did food service.  I worked as a games operator for Kennywood, I've been a babysitter, I've worked in a clothing store, I've been a teacher, and I'm a legal secretary now.  The worst of all of them has to have been when I was doing a long-term substitute stint at a high school where they brought me after three weeks of school.  During the first three weeks, they had a guy there that let the kids run rampant.  When I tried to come in and actually start teaching, the kids would have nothing to do with it, and caused me nothing but grief.  I think it's the job that finally turned me away from teaching.  I've had problems teaching in the past.  I'm a young, attractive woman, 5' 1'' on a good day.  Most of the high school kids are taller than me, and they had trouble taking me seriously.  I've even had to threaten a sexual harassment suit on one kid.  The biggest problem, however, was the parents. Their lack of discipline and their belief that their own child was not their issue during school hours irked me. I miss teaching, but I don't miss the trouble I had to endure.  I miss the kids that wanted to learn; I miss being a shoulder to lean on when a student needed it; I miss many aspects of being a teacher.  But I'll never miss the parental aspect of teaching.  Never.  Which is why I will most likely never go back to being a teacher.  I just don't have the patience for it. 

What did you dream about last night?  

I usually don't remember my dreams.  I'm an insomniac, so when I do sleep, I sleep in little batches which don't normally allow for REM sleep cycles to manifest.  The dreams I do remember, however, always seem to have a person I know in it, in a situation that does not "fit" that person -- I'll meet an old boyfriend at a party I've never been to; I'll live with friends I've never lived with, etc.

I dream of falling, running, pieces of my life intermingled with my subconscious. 

I'm not posting a whole lot in this journal.  I post, mostly, in my livejournal at emturtle.livejournal.com (at least I think that's it)

sorry to disappoint, if I have.  If not, no harm then...

Everyone have a nice holiday!

What's your dream career? 
Submitted by Something.

I have several dream jobs, all of which have to do with books.  I want to be a librarian, an editor, an owner of a book store.  Any of these jobs would be perfect for me, as I love the written word and the sounds of silence.

Do you believe in ghosts?  Have you ever seen a ghost? 
Submitted by Nancy.

I actually do believe in ghosts, though I don't believe I'm sensitive enough to see them.  I've stayed in a room that was purported to be haunted, and while my friend had an experience (before we knew it was supposed to be haunted), I did not, even though I spent the next night alone. 

I just can't believe that our spirits do not linger, whether by choice or unfinished business. 

That being said, I love a good ghost story, and will frequently scare myself at night by reading them before I go to bed.  It's not so much an issue now that my husband doesn't work nights, but when he did, I had many a restless evening.