The challenge is on!

Other big news is that my company is participating in Corporate Challenge this year. Of course, I signed up for a bunch of events -- the most exciting of which is Disc Golf!! I am really jazzed that this was added to the event calendar, and I can't wait to compete for the first time in a real tournament. I will keep posting about that and other events and things gets closer.

Belated Belated Updates

Yes, I haven't updated this blog in awhile. This is mostly due to the fact that work has been crazily overbearing in the last month, and it has just made me tired and unmotivated for much of anything else. Furthermore, this is always the hardest part of the year for me anyway -- the post-holiday-seasonal-affective-depression stuff. But the problem I've been wrangling at work for two months now looks like it will finally be resolved this weekend, and this morning I was able to wake up to sunlight, so I'm in a somewhat better mood. To start things off, here's a feast from a few weeks back:

Feast 179

Appetizer
Name one thing that is unique about you.
Well, there are a ton of little things I'm sure. What popped into my head first is the scar on my knee. I had a calcium deposit removed when I was in seventh grade.

Soup
Fill in the blank: My favorite _________ is __________ but I like _________ too.
My favorite ice cream is chocolate chip, but I like strawberry too. I think it's pretty revealing that the first thing that came to mind was ice cream.

Salad
What type of wood do you have for your home’s furnishings?
Our home furnishing are actually mostly metal. Our kitchen cabinets are maple, I believe. We tend to go with the palest wood we can find.

Main Course
Who do you talk to most often on the phone?
Phone? Do people still use that device? I'd have to pick a particular business owner at work though, as he prefers to contact me using the phone. Even at work, I try to use e-mail most often.

Dessert
What level of responsibility do you have in your job?
I am responsible for creating code with minimum defects; creating documentation for such code changes; supporting the code once it is running.... eh, I could go on and on with a lot of business-speak, but who really cares. It's a job and I enjoy writing the code most of all.

In the next few weeks I hope to post a couple more feasts until I catch back up to current.

Feast 178

Appetizer
What is your favorite kind of cereal?
Like most foods, it changes with my mood. I really like Wheat Chex and Grape Nuts just about any time. But sometimes I get a sweet tooth and then I crave things like Frosted Mini-Wheats or Peanut Butter Captain Crunch. Then again, sometimes I'm in a fruity mood so I like things like Raisin Bran or Berry Special K.

Soup
When was the last time you purchased something for your home, what was it, and in which room did it go?
Not too long ago I bought a set of plastic drawers that are now under the desk I use for my computer. I like desk drawers, but our computer "desk" is really just a big inter-metro shelf and I've had only one drawer to use for the last few years.

Salad
What is the funniest commercial you’ve ever seen?
It must be really sad that it took me quite awhile to even remember any commercial that made me laugh. Then I remembered "No pinch".

Main Course
Make up a name for a company by using a spice and an animal (example: Cinnamon Monkey).
Basil Tiger - The stain remover guaranteed to clean even the toughest lasagna spots.

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I haven’t ______ since ______.
I haven't eaten since last night. (Since food is now on my mind after the last question!)

Feast 177

Appetizer
How many times per day do you usually laugh?
Not nearly enough, though I have to credit my husband for trying valiantly several times every day. In the end, maybe once or twice is about average. I need to improve that.

Soup
What do your sunglasses look like?
They have a thin, bronze rim and a brownish tint on the lenses. They are small and oval and fit in the outside pocket of my purse. They cost about $5 at Walmart or Target and awhile back I bought like 5 pairs all the same. The ones I am using now are the last of that bunch. So when these finally break or get lost, I'll have to go find another batch of cheapies.

Salad
You win a free trip to anywhere on your continent, but you have to travel by train. Where do you go?
The concept on riding in a train a long time doesn't necessarily bother me, as long as the train has some nice restaurant and sleeper cars. So my first thought was Alaska. Then I figured -- it's a free trip, so why not go for broke and go all the way to Panama!

Main Course
Name one thing you consider a great quality about living in your town/city.
I know there was a question not long ago about what do you like best about your hometown. I can't remember how I answered that, and I'm too lazy to look it up right now. Really, the things I like best about Kansas City is that my family is here and the economy is such that I can have a well-paying job and still afford travel to other places on a regular basis. If my family and long-time friends weren't here, I'd definitely move somewhere warmer.

Dessert
If the sky could be another color, what color do you think would look best?
Pink of course -- which I do get to see occasionally with just the right sunset.

Feast 176

Appetizer
What is your favorite beverage?
Depends on my mood really. I drink mostly water and I really like that, but when I crave something carbonated (very rarely), it's usually Diet Rite I want. If I need something hot, it's usually tea and sometimes hot chocolate.

Soup
Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.
At work: my big mug of water (32 oz. that I carry everywhere), Purell bottle and typing gloves (ones with the fingers missing). At home: another pair of typing gloves, a joystick (for playing WoW), and my camera (don't ask why -- that's just where I keep it).

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?
I wish I could say 10, but I'm going to have to go with 9. Unlike Justin who I am certain is a 10, I have a tendancy to occassionally omit details or "spin" things, especially in the corporate world where office politics make it almost impossible to be honest.

Main Course
If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?
Uhh.... why would I do that? Hmm.... okay, I'd name some remote city "PinkCoder's World" because that would just be fun.

Dessert
What stresses you out? What calms you down?
Work stresses me a lot. I take a lot of ownership and pride in what I do and it drives me crazy when the company I work for continually wants to cut corners or do the impossible in a short amount of time. My husband can also stress me at times, but to even it out, he is very good at calming me too. Also, I like to watch movies to relax.

Feast 175

Sorry this is late -- I wasn't feeling well on Friday and I forget about these things over the weekend. Hope it is worth the wait.

Appetizer
What is your middle name? Would you change any of your names if you could? If so, what would you like to be called?
My given middle name is Kathleen, but now I consider Ayers to be part of my middle name too. I don't think I'd change any of my names because I've lived with them all so long that I am used to it and my name is really a part of who I am. However, my online handle is 'PinkCoder' which is the name I chose for the Internet world.

Soup
If you were a fashion designer, which fabrics, colors, and styles would you probably use the most?
Well, pink of course. As far as fabric goes, it would be casual, hearty stuff like cotton, denim and linen. Style? Uh, do I even know what style is?

Salad
What is your least favorite chore, and why?
Boy, my life must be pretty good, as I can't even think of some really bad chores. I mean, of course no one likes washing dishes or cleaning the bathroom, but when I think about it, those things don't bother me that much. Lately I have been helping my mother-in-law get her house ready to sell, and I can tell you that peeling wallpaper is a really ugly chore so it's good I don't have to do that often.

Main Course
What is something that really frightens you, and can you trace it back to an event in your life?
You know, I continue to try and fill out this questionairre in a short amount of time. I keep thinking that most of the questions are easy (like the next one) and that I can come up with answers off the top of my head. However, time after time I find that some of these are actually not easy to think of an answer (like the last one), and here again is one that has me vexed. I mean I can think of a few things that make me scared, like certain horror films or haunted houses, but when the question says "really frightens you", I feel like I have to come up with some serious phobia, especially when it may be linked to an event in my life. When nothing just pops to mind, and I have to sit and ponder for awhile, it makes me feel like my life is really boring and I must be a simple person. Oh well.... call me Simple Simon I guess.

Dessert
Where are you sitting right now? Name 3 things you can see at this moment.
Oh, this is an easy one! I am sitting in my cube at work -- I can see all sorts of things like the building next door through the window; all kinds of stress-reliever-desk-toys sitting nearby; my coworker across the hall; and a bunch of little Beechies gum packs that someone lined my cube with on Friday.

Feast 174

Appetizer
When was the last time you received a surprise in the mail, and what was it?
The mail? Do we still use that system of communication? Let's see... umm..... well.... I really don't read the mail much. My husband goes through it and filters out all the junk. I did read all the Christmas cards we got this year. And I remember the thank you we got from my sister for her wedding gift. But none of these were really 'surprises'. I think I'm going to have to say I can't answer this question.

Soup
If you could have a summer and/or winter home, where would you want it to be?
Assuming I have the right job to go along with it, I'd like a winter home probably somewhere in Arizona. I haven't travelled enough to know where for sure. It would need to be somewhere warm, but not too humid, and not overgrown with tourists.

Salad
Pick one: pineapple, orange, banana, apple, cherry.
Cherry. Although strawberry would be a better choice if it were available.

Main Course
Describe the nicest piece of clothing that you own.
I still own my wedding dress, which I believe is still very nice. Of course I haven't opened the sealed box in over 14 years, so it could be disintigrating inside there, but for the sake of argument let's assume it is not.

Dessert
If you could forget one whole day from your life, which day would you choose to wipe from your memory?
Umm.... I forget days all the time. Days like the one before yesterday, which even now I can barely remember. So assuming the question was meant to make me choose a particular day that I actually do remember, I don't think I would want to pick any of them. Seeing as how those memories are special in some way, even the painful ones, they make me who I am and I don't want to just erase any of it.