New Year Hodgepodge

Happy New Year Everybody! I'm finally back and ready for this week's HodgePodge questions. So let's get started!

1. Lake Superior University has once again published a list of words/phrases they think should be banished from the Queen's English in 2012: amazing, baby bump, shared sacrifice, occupy, blowback, man cave, the new normal, pet parent, trickeration, ginormous, and thank you in advance. 


Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech?


I really hate the words "ginormous" and "trickeration" if for no other reason than my spell checker underlines them in red because it does not recognize them. How many more words do we need that mean "immense in size" or "trickery"? Get rid of them and go back to using the words "immense" and "chicanery".

2. Are you easily embarrassed? 


Umm, this is a hard one. It depends on the situation, circumstances, and how seriously I'm taking myself at the time. I would say usually no, but there are exceptions.

3. What is your go to snack?


Umm... I would have to say either Cheetoh's or Dorito's. I like them both.

4. Have you ever been to Washington D.C.? If not, do you have any desire to go? What site/attraction would you most want to see? If you have been, what's your favorite site/attraction? 


I've been to D.C. twice and I would have to say that my favorite attraction is the Holocaust Museum.

5. Sit-ups, planks, lunges, squats. Which do you hate the least?


I hate them all. None of them have very much frequency in my workout routine.

6. What's a small act of kindness you were shown that you've never forgotten?


I was in my 2nd or 3rd week of being in Japan and was trying to finalize my first keitai (cell phone) contract, but was having a hard time understanding what the sales woman was trying to tell me. Thankfully in the store that day was a woman who spoke English who sat with me and helped explain the final details of the contract. I'll never forget that.

7. Have you ever been a blood donor?


I have A- blood type, which matches only an estimated 6% of the U.S. population so I do try to give blood on a regular basis and by regular, I mean once a year. I first gave blood in high school and it knocked me down the rest of the afternoon. In college I attempted to give blood again, but was advised against it after telling them I'd spent 6 months living in Europe in 1995 due to a fear of me having Mad Cow Disease (those of you who know me probably believe I'm already a mad cow...). So I didn't donate for a long long time. Only last year I gave blood again during a church blood drive for no other reason at all than to try and win a new car.