Mama Kat's Wednesday Writers Workshop

1.) Tell us about a "dirt cheap" vacation you've taken this summer.

Well, I've only gone on one vacation in the last 4 years and that was a trip to San Diego on Memorial Day weekend. We stayed with friends, did not go to Sea World or the San Diego Zoo, ate dinner at my friends house BUT enjoyed a day at the beach, a day at the Tide Pools and La Jolla and spent time with an old friend all treasures and a welcomed retreat from the Arizona desert.

2.) When I grow up I want to be like: Jamie Lee Curtis

She doesn't try to be anything other than who she is. I like that. I like when I can be like that too.

3.) Describe a difficult moment that you survived.

I was just laid off from my job. My boss came to my office and quickly said "we've decided to eliminate your position and we're letting you go. You can work til the end of the month and we will give you a severance that will help you until you bridge the gap in your job search - I'm sorry" Gulp. Well, I did survive and despite my worries, concerns, fears I believe the universe has a plan that is better than what I have now...and things are so much better than they were even a year a go. "I will survive....as long as I know how to love...I know I will survive...I will survive"..you know how the song goes.

4.) List 5 things you like to do while camping...or 5 places you'd like to go.
I haven't gone camping since I was about 25. I have no clue what I like to do when I'm camping. As far as 5 places I'd like to go here they are:

Australia: I've wanted to go to Australia since I read the book "On the Beach" in the 10th Grade. At around the same time my Dad - an engineer for a major aerospace company was given the possibility of moving to Australia for a consulting gig for a year or two....the two melded together to peak my curiosity. I would like to go from Sydney to Melbourne to the Outback all the way to Perth and discover all the ins and outs of this amazing and mysterious continent.

Other interactions that have peaked my interest in Australia: Rabbit-Proof Fence - the movie about the Fence that runs along the border of the State of Western Australia. It was built in the early 1900's to keep rabbits and other animals away from the pasture lands of Western Australia.

A also read a book in the early1990's called "Mutant Message Down Under". I understand that it became quite controversial in Australia and while when I read it it was released as a piece of non-fiction writing it has been re-released as fiction. Either way, the book further intrigued my desire to go to Australia. The book is about a woman who lived among the Aboriginal tribes of the Outback and the experiences she had with them while in their presence.

Along with these little dots along the way, there is beauty and history of the place that also intrigues me.

New Zealand - I had a friend from New Zealand and a boss from New Zealand. My friend rode a horse (or so he says) around the entire perimeter of the south island! My boss was from Wellington. It is also one the few really pristine places in the world.

Italy - I went to Italy in the late '90s. I took a train from the South of France and I have to say the change in personality of the people over that border was astonishing. Loving, warm, light-hearted. Now I'm not one of those people who found the French to be uninviting, however the Italians just seem to have their arms streatched out to greet you the minute you are within its borders. Take that along with its history and beauty and I'm a gonner. I want to go back because I was only priveledged to see the northern half...Venice, Milan, Lake Como. I'd like go back and see the southern half and then take the ferry across to Greece.

Brazil - My daughter is 1/2 Brazilian. I'd like to take her there so she can experience that side of her heritage.

Alaska - Need I say more?

5.) What are you paranoid about?

There is a fable called "Chicken Licken, The Sky is Falling" which I heard when I was four. One day shortly after I heard this fable ... I was walking from a friends house to my house - a few short doorways away - moms at both doors - the clouds were moving in the sky at a rapid pace. I became hysterical and paniced that th sky was falling and screamed all the way home until I got in the door of my home. OK, this is the beginning of a VERY long tale of paranoia that I will not bore you with but here goes a short list....I seem to have recovered slightly....but my mind is filled with scenarios of disaster and I am the central character with God out to get back me:

Getting stuck under the river in a subway (see poem)
Getting stuck in an elevator
Being in a bumpy plane 35,000 feet above the earth
People driving too close behind me (this is actually realistic I must say)

OK, perhaps it is all claustraphopia..perhaps living in Arizona has cured me a bit....living in New York I was confronted with my paranoia on a daily basis...here...I don't have to deal with it much.
Phew.................................................