In case you were wondering, my kids are average

You know those parents who are always bragging about their kids’ amazing achievements? Well, I sometimes (though not too often, I hope) find myself doing the same thing. But there’s one big difference. I recognize that although my kids can be great at some things (e.g., my 3-1/2 year-old has known all the letters of the alphabet for over 2 years and started reading words during the summer) they’re basically, overall, AVERAGE.

My totally awesome, you’re-lucky-if-you-get-to-meet-her daughter has the sass of an average 18-year-old (and, believe me, I really dislike that about her). My could-do-practically-anything-if-he-tried son does just about nothing (well, unless you count lying around in his bed and watching Pokemon cartoons on an iPod as doing something). My I’m-not-sure-if-her-father-is-Japanese* daughter has great people skills, but getting her through school is quite a challenge. My 6-going-on-16 year old daughter can whine any kid out of this town. It’s really a shame there’s no World Whining Record (and corresponding prize) because she’d totally win it. I mean, the other kids would meet her and they’d just back out because they’d know they were beat without even trying. My feisty-little-five-year-old is quick to beat on anyone in her path. And she’s constantly stepping on everything and falling off of everything (not necessarily the same everythings). You know those kids who sit with half their tushes off the chair. That’s her. And she’ll inevitably fall and drag half the tablecloth and everything on it with her. My little one is really the cutest child who’s ever walked the planet. (Oh, you have one of those too?) But he gets so obsessive about things that he can completely drive you out of your mind. Like he’s looking for a really specific toy. So specific that if you have two identical ones, he can tell them apart. And he doesn’t want the one you just found. He wants the other one. And guess what? He really *can* tell them apart. And he’ll continue pestering you until he gets it.

So, while I love my kids, they’ve all definitely got their quirks and it’s going to take quite a while until they’re as perfect as I am… (oops. That was the keyboard going without my brain…) What I meant to say was that when I look at my kids I see the good with the bad and when I put it all together, they come out just about average. Some days are better, some worse. Overall – average.

*Yes, I really once said that to someone when I wasn’t paying attention. No, her father’s not Japanese, his parents were from Algeria – and I’m absolutely positive that I know who her father is.

My funniest experiences

Funniest experiences

Rules: Fill in the following. Tag 4 friends to do the same.

• My funniest dream

  Riding a goldfish under a rainbow...

• My funniest experience with a pet

  My parrot swore at my mother-in-law

• My funniest experience at a job interview

  Dude came in with his shirt on backwards!

• My funniest purchase

  100 cockroaches (don't ask)

• My funniest experience in high school

  High school wasn't funny!

• My funniest cooking experience

  Exploding pressure cooker?

• The funniest thing I ever said to anyone

  Was that MEANT to be a hat?

Everyone tagged
Click here to fill in this meme

A bit about blogging...

Blogging

Rules: Answer the following questions & tag 5 fellow bloggers to do the same.

• The blogging platform I use most is:

  Blogger

• On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being the best) I rate it:

  8

• What I like about it is...

  That I know how to use it... well, except for

• What I hate about it is...

  Fixing the template is a disaster

• If I could add any features I could, it/they would be...

  A template editor for real people (as opposed to people who read html as well as they read English)

• My biggest mess-up with my blog has been...

  Moving from FTP publishing, which left me with over 200 static pages, each of which has to be edited separately if I want to make any changes...

• I enjoy blogging because...

  It lets me write things and get people's comments.

• I blog every time that...

  I have inspiration...

• I never blog about... (tricky, huh? ;-))

  Things that are too private to share.

• Tell one experience about someone you've met via blogging.

  I've met some really nice people by blogging - some in real life and some who are my facebook friends.

Everyone tagged
Click here to fill in this meme

Talent, knowledge or experience?

I just created this new meme on sleeQo. You're tagged :-)

Rules: We study, but then don't necessarily end up doing what we learned. Here's your chance to say why you think you're good at something that you do - either your job or one or more aspects of it - or something you do as a hobby.

• Did you have any formal study of this?

  No, but my printing and language studies are very relevant.

• Did you have any informal study / Did you learn on-the-job?

  I learned on the job and I've read a lot on the topic - including textbooks and articles. I also have Ohad to consult with (which I often do).

• What do you think contributes most to your ability to do this well?

  Some of it is definitely talent - an ability to look at things in different ways from other people, to separate topics and reorganize them... and experience is also a huge factor.

• What of the following do you think contributes *least* to your ability to do this well: studies, on-the-job training, learning from experts informally, experience, other

  I think that some of the theoretical material has proven useless, as reality often dictates solutions that contradict it.

• Is this more a job or a hobby or a combination of the two?

  More of a job.

• Do you consider yourself a professional?

  Yes.

• Do other people ask for your advice?

  Yes.

• Do you enjoy what you do?

  Mostly. I particularly enjoy starting a new project and higher level design OR finding solutions to things that are really complicated.

• Do you continue to seek more knowledge so that you can improve at what you do?

  All the time.

• Until what age do you think you want to continue doing this?

  I don't know... 10-15-20 years, I guess.

• (Optional) What was your subject for this meme?

  user interface design

Everyone tagged
Click here to fill in this meme

One Person

One person

Rules: Choose one person - either someone you know personally or you know of - and answer the following questions. Post the results on Facebook or on your blog & let people guess who it is.

• Is the person male or female?

  Female

• Is this person one of your facebook friends / famous / other?

  Famous

• What facial feature do you think of first when you think of this person?

  Nose, I guess

• What game would you choose to play with this person?

  Not sure

• Where would you choose to eat dinner with this person?

  Fancy kosher restaurant - doesn't matter which

• How long could you stand being on a desert island with this person?

  Don't know her personally, so I am not sure.

• What color looks best on this person?

  Black.

• Does this person have a skill or talent you envy? If so, which?

  Yes. She is a very talented singer.

• Do you feel this person knows you as well as you know him or her?

  I am positive she doesn't know I exist.

• What is the nicest thing you have heard this person say?

  Can't think of anything...

Here's who I've tagged.
Rona of DrSavta, Leah of triLcat Talks
Click here to fill in this meme

In case you've missed it, I'm promoting sleeQo, a new service that helps you create content for your blog. The more people who join, the easier it's going to be for us to target the memes (questionnaires) to what people want... We're still not ready for heavy traffic, but we need more than what we've got to get a feel for what people need.

Anyway, what I'd really like from anyone who ever gets stuck without content is to try it out & see what you think (feel free to let me know by email or in the comments). Go to the "fill in a meme" page where you can choose a popular meme, a recent meme or by category. Fill it in & post it on your blog (it's better if you register beforehand, but you don't have to register). Leave a link to your blog in the comments of this post & I'll send you a random piece of brand new jewelry from my collection (or you can choose genuine pearl earrings, since I've got quite a few of them). Once you've posted the link, send me an email to rachelinbar at gmail.com with your address & I'll mail it out to you. Easy enough, right?

Thanks!

Five fives

Rules: Answer each of the five questions below with five answers. Tag 5 people to do the same.

• Five things you would do if you were a billionaire.

  Buy a new house for us and for any of my close family members who want/need one, travel often, give money to charities I believe in, buy a new car, get good investment advice

• Five things you did yesterday.

  Worked, gave Yirmi a bath, cut a salad, watched Law & Order (special victims unit), talked to Hadas

• Five jobs you would rather do than your own (if salary and qualifications were not an issue).

  A writer (fiction, not technical writing, thank you very much), high level consulting (never have to do the detailed design, just oversee it), brainstormer, artist, bargain-hunter (is that a job?)

• Five snacks you wish were calorie-free.

  Popcorn, cashews, chocolate, potato chips, pretzels

• Five things that make you happy.

  My husband, my kids, quiet, doing things that are creative, designing something really awesome

Everyone tagged Click here to fill in this meme

Being a grown-up

I remember way back, when I got married the first time (yes, it really was in 1989 - scary, I know) thinking about what makes the transition from being a child to being a grown up. One of the things I couldn't do then was just get in a car without planning exactly where I was going. Every turn stressed me out. (I'd gotten a license right before I turned 18, but was living in Israel alone, so I didn't have a chance to drive until after I got married and we bought an automatic car.) So that was one thing... I don't remember the others - perhaps being able to buy toilet paper without feeling embarrassed... or being able to go for a medical procedure alone. I think it was an issue for me because I was always really independent. I boarded in Atlanta, 2-1/2 hours away from home, from the time I was 12. That meant getting on a Greyhound bus, ending up downtown alone, getting on a bus to school, etc. (And downtown Atlanta was pretty scary for a really shrimpy 12-year-old.) Then, when I was 16, I came to Israel in early June - for a vacation - and stayed nearly 25 years (so far). That was back in the days before cell phones. When you'd make a call from a pay phone just because it was available. And when international calls were $4 a minute AND you had to go to the international calling center behind the main post office (where you sat in a weird little booth and heard your money beep away faster than you thought possible). So, was that being grown up? Being married certainly isn't what does it... (I am not sure my ex will EVER qualify as a grown-up in my book...) So, at the young age of 40, aside from when certain-people-who-will-remain-nameless-but-don't-read-this-blog-or-know-of-its-existence-anyway start trying to tell me how to run my life, I definitely feel like a grown-up (though I've also done a good job of keeping in touch with my inner child - see my jewelry collection as proof :-)) and, as I mentioned in the previous post, my brother Ben and I developed sleeQo - a meme tool that allows you to come in, fill-in the meme of your choice & post it on your blog or on Facebook (or send it by email... whatever you want) - and I'm currently responsible for putting in the initial memes (so people will have what to fill-in when they come visit our site or when we send out the subscription newsletters).

Here are my answers to the "grown up" meme (pronounced meem):

You're a grown up when...

Rules: List 5 things that make you qualify as an adult... Tag 5 *adults* to do the same :-)

1. You can drive and park a car - and even find it once you're ready to go...
2. You can sit at a table in a restaurant alone and not feel awkward.
3. You feel like you know what you should do in most situations - and know who to ask when you're not sure.
4. You know that things that seem like "the end of the world" usually aren't.
5. You care whether your clothes are wrinkled or not - enough to iron them or choose something else to wear.

Everyone tagged Click here to fill in this meme


p.s. to paste your completed meme into Facebook, go into your Notes, press "Write a new note" and then paste in the HTML - we've made it Facebook friendly.