Monday, July 25, 2011

31 years, 31 answers


Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to meeeeeee,
Happy birthday to me! *clapping*

So I got about 15 questions which is cool. I stole questions16-31 from a meme done by F. Deaky to make my 31. So here we go!

1. Where do I see myself in 5 years?
July 25, 2016. I would be a brand new 36, been out of school and practicing for over 3 years. Pooka would be about to turn 15. Hmmmm, I see myself in Raleigh in a 3 bedroom home chilling. Maybe working for one of the local hospitals since at the moment I love the acute care setting. I’ll be at least ½ my current size. Lord knows how long my hair will be, LOL! I don't see anything being extravagant. Just me living a nice, simple and stable life.
2. Where do I see myself in 10 years?
July 25, 2021. I would be a fresh  41, practicing 8 years, Pooka going on 20 (OMG!!!!) hopefully I won’t be a grandmother. Still in NC if not Raleigh still. Same home, same job…just sending Pooka some change every now and again so she can wash her clothes and eat something other than Ramen on whatever campus she’s on. Still living that nice, simple, and stable life. Hopefully my passport would have been put to some serious use by this time.
3. What would I tell a single mom who wants to go back to school but has a million reasons not to?

Basically I would tell her not to bother if she doesn’t really want it. It’s not easy for the young, single, and childfree person to go back to school and complete successfully so it’s that much harder for a single parent. You have to have a plan, a budget, both long and short term goals, and a support system. You have to want it bad enough. PERIOD! Screw the folks that are going to tell you what you can't do and throw a bunch of negativity your way for whatever reason. They don’t dream your dream. They don’t have to support your seed unless you get on a government assistance type program (but they be all up in your business and nobody wants that if they don’t have to have that).  For the million reasons/excuses you find a million and one reasons to go for it! Then I would tell her about my situation and things that I’ve done and hopefully it would be encouraging.
4. Why have you been resisting the Internet-y goodness of Twitter?
No real reason. I just don’t really see the point of it when I can jot quick thoughts on my blog or facebook. I’m pretty sure 95% of the folks that would follow me are already linked to my facebook anyway. The celebrity aspect is kind of cool, but from what I understand, the majority doesn’t respond or have their ghost writers respond and only tweet because they are paid to mention some place. I’ll pass.

5.      If you could have one area of your life absolutely perfect now, what would it be and why?

It would be my appearance. As much as I like to stand out and have benefited from it. I would love to be smaller and have my dental issue solved. It’s more for professional reasons than personal.

6.      What's your biggest regret so far in 2011?

Not keeping up with most of the goals I set for myself. They are small, very attainable goals and I still let myself down. For example, I told myself that I didn’t want to get anything below a B+ for my neuro module. That I was going to study at least 2 hours a night to assist in accomplishing that. Well…I passed…but not with B+’s or A’s.

7.      What's a song that you have to sing along to whenever you hear it?

Wow, there are so many songs that I have to sing but PYT – Michael Jackson was the first to come to mind. I am one of those types that usually sings to just about every song that I hear, even if it’s just in my head, whether I know the words or not! LOL!

8. What is your biggest regret?

Hmmmmmmm. This one really took some sit and think time. At the moment I can’t think of any real regrets to have a biggest one. One that comes to mind is being too scared back in the day to tell a guy I was interested in him in whatever way I was interested. I kind of stuck to only talking to guys I knew were already looking my way. I’ve gotten better with this with age, though I can’t say that I am completely unafraid.
9. What's your greatest challenge?
Right now it’s PT school, LOL! That and recharging that “I CAN” attitude within myself every day. There are days when I ask myself questions that start this roller coaster of negative thoughts and doubts. When that happens it’s a real challenge to get myself out of that mode.

10. If you could go back 10 years, what would you tell yourself, based on what you know now?


I would tell myself to love myself more and not to worry so much about what was going on in my household with Pooka’s father. I wouldn’t tell the younger me when or how the relationship falls apart because as much as it sucked, I learned a lot from that entire experience. I would reassure me that Pooka and I would be okay when it was all over and despite what 2001 Ladynay thought…. *don’t laugh* Pooka’s father will NOT be the best sex or love making experience in my life.
11. What brings you joy?
God, music, success, accomplishment, watching Pooka playing or doing anything that makes her happy or excited, knowing that I am loved and cared about, feeling beautiful, spending time with my friends, being able to provide the needs and the occasional wants of my child and I, and of course….Hagan Daaz coffee ice cream! J

12.  You have two round trip tickets to anywhere in the world. Where do you go, who do you take, and why?

I would go to London with Pooka because you didn’t say all expenses paid so if I go to London I could stay with my best childhood friend for free and that would take care of a good chunk of my expenses and travel worries. She would take us around and would know first hand where we should go and what we shouldn’t waste our time doing while we were there.

13.  What's the next technology upgrade you want and when do you think you'll get it?

The next tech thing I will probably end up getting is another VHS/DVD combo if they still sell them. The one I have now is slowly dying and Pooka has too many VHS tapes she likes to watch for me to not have something that can play a VHS tape. I will probably get it before the year is out unless my current combo holds out longer than that. I like my equipment to be almost if not absolute useless before I replace it.

14.      Are you going to finally follow a football team this year?

Last NFL season I chose 2 teams to follow: the Panthers and the Steelers. I wanted to pick at least one team from each conference. There was no real serious reason to my choices other than one is a current home team and the other team has tried and true, die hard fans…well at least all the Steeler fans I know are. So that’s what I came up with last season. Neither team made the Superbowl last go around, but I am okay with that.

15. When did you know you wanted to be a Physical Therapist?
Well ever since about 7th grade I wanted to be an athletic trainer (ATC). I was on that path up until I got to NC Central University. When I transferred to NCCU I had to have a sit down with my academic advisor. During this initial meeting she asked me what I wanted to do. I told her about my goal to be an ATC. She told me the specific requirements for that program, two of which was being on campus a lot and traveling with the various sports teams. Being that I lived off campus and worked full time that wasn’t going to work for me and I told my advisor this. Then my advisor asked me if I ever thought about physical therapy. She basically broke it down and explained how they are similar fields. She also explained that the main differences were I wouldn’t have to be on campus that much, I’d have to be in school 3 more years, have more options career wise, and make more money in the end…so I switched majors from AT to Exercise Science! J The exercise science majors had a curriculum that would provide me with all the courses I would need to apply to PT school. As I started to do the volunteer work required to get into PT school I fell more and more in love with it. The rest is history.

16- What do you want people to say about you when you die?
She was truly a good person with many friends and a few foes.
17- How long does it take you to get ready to go out?
Depends on where I am going and if my hair is involved but usually I give myself 30 mins – 1 hour

18- If you were an animal what would you be?
A koala bear. It’s cute and sweet but don’t get it twisted, it’s still a bear and will rip you apart.

19-      What’s your biggest fear?
Toss up between catching/dying from an STD and failure

20-      What’s your most prized possession?
My first thought is to say my child, but I think they mean material so I will say my degrees. I say that because they are a reminder that I can reach my professional goals despite with my inner doubts say at times.

21- What’s the funniest word you can think of?
I don’t know....oompa loompa! LOL

22-      Do you get along with your parents?
My mom is the bee knees! The man who had sex with my mom that day in October 1979 can kiss my butt. I tolerate him at best.

23-      What do you look for in the opposite sex?
He has to make me feel like a grown woman and I must be attracted to him. Being smart is icing on the cake!

24-      What was the most difficult thing you had to do?
Waiting to see my mom in the ICU when my fam were in that accident in May. Worst day EVER!

25-  If you were given one day to live what would you do?
Eat all my favorite foods, have unprotected sex with *the best sex to date*, shave my head so I could see how I'd look bald, close my bank accounts and give the money to my grandmother, put my car in my moms name (I don't have too much left on it), have the utilities turned off, drive the car to MD, fill out any documents needed to get Pooka transfered to a school in MD, write Pooka a letter, take her somewhere fun (I wouldn't tell her it was my last day) make sure I tell everyone I love that I loved them. Then finally try to think of a funny last blog post and fb status so people will smile when they visit my page to post their thoughts/condolences.

26-  If you could relive any day of your life either for good or to change it what would it be?
Hmmmmmmmmmm....I really don’t know. I would redo today and get more stuff done, LOL! So unproductive....

27-  What’s the worst feeling in the world?
Waiting to throw up! Ugh! That is the worst!

28- The best?
Taking a big number 2! You feel like a million bucks every time! LOL!
29-  If you could meet anyone who ever existed who would it be? Why?
Jesus, because that would be cool to be the only person on earth to really know what Jesus looked and sounded like before everyone else walking the earth right now!
30-  What was the meanest thing you ever did as a little kid?
Me and my childhood bff used to give tourist the wrong directions on purpose during our summers in DC. Hahahahahaha!

aaaaaaaaaaand 31-  What have you learned about love?
It’s unpredictable and you can't control it no matter how much you try to. Love can make you feel on top of the world or 100 feet under it. Love just happens. There are different types of love and all of them are pretty darn great most the time!

8 comments:

Jameil said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!! First, LOVE your 5/10yr plans! Look at your neuro goal as one you can achieve in the next module! Girl I CAN'T on wanting a VHS/DVD player as your next tech UPGRADE. UPGRADE!!! You already have one! That's not an upgrade! SMH. But you might be able to get one at the pawn shop or thrift store. Found some on Amazon, too. http://www.amazon.com/DVD-VCR-Combos-Players-Audio-Video/b?ie=UTF8&node=886258 What a great adviser! Your last day is beautiful!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday. Love your answers. Have a great day!!

blkbutterfly said...

Happy Birthday!!!

Your number 25 answer is so responsible! :-)

Number 15... isn't it funny how one meeting/encounter can change your whole trajectory?

Enjoy your day!

Freaky Deaky said...

Happy Birthday!

You do know it's 2011 right? Retire the VCR I'm sure everything on tape is available on DVD or Blu-ray so yeah I'm going to need your imagination to improve.

AR Gal said...

Happy Birthday!!!!

"Taking a big number 2! You feel like a million bucks every time! LOL!"

You ain't neva lied! LMAO!!

Tz said...

Happy Birth Day to you! Dayum you getting old! I meant to send you a couple question but "life" got in the way! Gotta love being a single mom! LOL

Gots to say I love what you had to say. But then again. You are "Real!" Miss hanging out with you even though it has always been irregular! LOL

Love what you said about the single mom and school! I decided to take a break from grad school this year so I can focus on my baby heading to school!

Hope you have a blast for ya birthday. And Pooka's coming around the corner! Enjoy it! You so deserve it!!!!!

Thoughtsofsoutherngal said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY fellow Leo!!!

Gorgeous_Puddin said...

Happy Birthday!!!! I enjoyed your answers to funny! I agree that your last day was very special!