Liebster Award: I’d Like To Thank The Academy…

Great news, y’all! I’ve been nominated for a Liebster Award!

“But Susie,” you might say, “What on Earth is a Liebster Award?”

Hey, that’s a great question, readers! And one I recently had myself. Turns out it’s this remarkably fabulous idea somebody had to help us all expand our blogging network and discover new bloggers! It helped me to discover the completely hilarious and wonderful Ingrid over at pussyhasfurballs (who is AUSTRALIAN! I surmised this when I noticed she spells favorite with a U and her dates go day/month/year… I know what you’re about to say and the answer is YES, I would make a spectacular detective), and it helped the lovely Sarah Elizabeth discover me (and vice versa), so I’m all for it!

The rules of the game are vaguely akin to 8th grade MySpace surveys, which were (full disclosure) basically my favorite thing ever. Someone nominates you, and you then have to post on your own blog with your own nominations, and in the midst of it all we have to answer totally random and ridiculous questions about ourselves. (I’ve read a few other Liebster Award nominees, and they all seem to feel obligated to acknowledge to the fact that pssssst, technically speaking it’s not an actual award. SHHH!).

But I say what the heck ever, ’cause I’m pretty much the queen of awards-that-aren’t-really-awards. In my senior year of high school I was kinda infamous for constantly having my nose in a book (while walking bumping into people in the hallways, not-so-inconspicuously reading under my desk in every class, etc.), and at the end of the year the English department held an awards ceremony for some of their students. I never did anything to actually achieve anything for the English department, but they wanted to applaud the fact that I had a genuine love for the subject… so they invented the “Literary Appreciation Award” for me. It was literally just code for “We know you didn’t pay attention to a word we were ever saying, but thanks for at least being distracted by something worthwhile.” And I KID YOU NOT, that thing is still listed on my resume to this very day.

…What I’m trying to say is, the Leibster Award is really right up my alley.

Hennyway. I would first like to thank the aforementioned pussyhasfurballs for her generous nomination. Her recent post Rocket Cats Are Go had me in stitches – while other posts of hers are deeply thoughtful and profound. I would like to believe that she and I are connected in some way in our complete refusal to commit to one solid blog topic or theme. We write about whatever the hell we want to write about, damnit. Now go get us a cookie.

I also have to apologize to Ingrid for dragging my feet on this response. I saw her nomination, and was like, “SCORE! I’m gonna do this right now!” But then when I actually read it, the part where I have to answer questions and then come up with my own creative questions and exert energy and effort and the fact that it required time and thought made me crawl away from my laptop and back toward the couch to watch Dance Moms. (In case you don’t already know this about me, I sometimes struggle with motivation.) But now I’m here! And I’m pumped! So let’s do this thing! Here are the questions I was assigned, and my answers:

1. Which stereotypical horror movie victim would you be and why?

I watched Jaws II the other day for a few minutes, and there was one girl who was completely hysterical. Just screaming, nonstop, for like the entire scene. Even when the shark went to go taunt someone else for awhile, she was completely unconsolable and could not pull it together. So I guess what I’m saying is, I would be the person who punches that girl in the face.

2. If you could have a theme song, what would it be?

Aqueous Transmission by Incubus. This is my answer to every song question. I honestly think I’ve already mentioned this song at least three times on my blog; people probably think I’m psychotic. And they’re probably right. Anyone who has ever received a mix CD from me knows this, too, because I’m pretty sure it is the last song on every mix CD I’ve made in the last decade. I know I have a problem, okay?

3. Which part of your personality is your favourite?

^^^ See? Didn’t I tell you? That spelling of favorite is so deliciously foreign. I want to adopt it so that I can sound cool and cultured and well-traveled. I feel the same way about the saying “cheers” instead of thank you. …But I digress. I suppose my favorite part of my personality is that I “don’t sweat the small stuff,” as my mom would say. I really try to let things slide off me like water off a duck’s back. Sometimes I am stunned by the type of things people choose to be angry or upset about – I just truly don’t think it’s worth the energy.

4. What’s your earliest memory?

That’s a tough one – I’m not sure if it’s my earliest, but I was in daycare and must have been 3 or 4. I remember my mom put me in a pink Minnie Mouse dress that day, but all the other little girls at the daycare were wearing shorts and T-shirts. I really really hated my dress and wished I could be wearing shorts like everybody else – so I tried to pretend my dress was a shirt and tucked it into my panties. My primary memory of that day was being chased around the daycare constantly, the girl trying to untuck my dress and telling me to act like a “lady,” and me defiantly running off while stuffing it right back down into my underwear.

5. If you were a pirate and your ship was attacked by giant squids, describe in 7000 words or less what you would do.

Sorry, I can’t. That isn’t nearly enough words to adequately write myself out of that situation. Therefore,
1. I
2. would
3. apparently
4. die.

6. Chinchilla?

Gorilla? Vanilla? Sarsaparilla?

7. If you could get lost anywhere, on purpose, where would it be?

Probably nowhere civilized. Being lost on busy city streets actually causes somewhat of an anxiety attack for me. But to get lost in nature – like in the dense jungles of South America, maybe – sounds exciting. Assuming I don’t get eaten by a carnivorous flower or something.

8. If you could be the character out of any book, who would you be?

Hermione Granger, hands-down. And I’m already halfway there – she’s a bookworm, I’m a bookworm, she’s in love with Ron Weasley, I’m in love with Ron Weasley, she’s a muggle-born, I am a muggle… Really we’re just splitting hairs at this point.

9. A train leaves the station at 9:37am and is traveling at 81kph and 15 minutes later a moth is traveling at 90kph in the opposite direction, how many apples does Jimmy have when they crash?

Literally after that last question my brain can do nothing but revolve around Harry Potter. My first thought was to somehow incorporate “PLATFORM NINE AND THREE QUARTERS!” into my answer. I’m like a dog with a bone. I can focus on nothing else anymore.

10. If you died tomorrow and I had to clear your web browser, what incriminating things would I find?

SO MUCH. You would find SO MUCH because I am SO INTERESTING and secretive and duplicitous. Seriously DON’T DO IT because you CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE the depth of my TOTALLY FASCINATING DOUBLE-LIFE. But anyway, Harry Potter? What?

 

Okay, next! My turn to make my own nominations. I have to admit, this was surprisingly difficult. The conundrum is that the only eligible bloggers are those with less than 1,000 followers – and when I’m out looking for blogs, the first ones I find are the ones who are good at being found – because they already have a ton of exposure and, by extension, a pretty established following. It takes a special kind of looking to locate these hidden gems… which – duh – I guess is why the Liebster Award exists. But I think I’ve done it!

1. thetraditionallymodernmama – I was actually really excited when I came across this blog. Initially, mostly because her site still has that “new blog” smell – and it’s strangely comforting to find someone else who’s as new as I am. But upon further investigation, she obviously already has a wonderful voice and I love the few posts she does have so far. And plus, both of our first posts are more or less identical, talking about having journals piled up in the garage and trying to make sense of our lives by putting pen-to-paper. So I feel like we’re soul sisters and I can’t wait to see what her blog has in store.

2. Deux plaques et un micro-ondes – Aside from being the coolest-slash-unpronounceable blogname ever, I am so absolutely thrilled to have discovered Lydia Silver. She is a fantastic writer – so fantastic that I spent a few minutes going through her old posts to see if she might have already been nominated for this award, or some other, because I can’t be the first one to think she’s so amazing. Lydia, your Missing You post made me clutch my chest. You are so talented!

3. Homebound Laine – First of all, this is the cutest blog theme I have ever had the joy of setting eyes on. Second of all, she refers to herself as a “student of life” which I love. And Third, in the very first post I read I discovered that this blogger loves both Harry Potter and Hunger Games, so I’m already a fan.

Alright you three: If you are so inclined, here are your questions…

1. What is your “Elevator Pitch”? As in, if you had to describe yourself to someone else in the time it would take the two of you to ride an elevator, how would you summarize yourself?
2. Surprise! Reincarnation is a thing. If you had to come back as an animal other than a human, what would you choose and why?
3. Describe the best day of your life (either as a memory of an actual day, or hypothetically).
4. What is your biggest pet peeve, and why does it bug you so much?
5. If you could live in a different time / era, what would it be and why?
6. Your house is on fire. All living things made it out safely. You have time to grab one inanimate object – what is it?
7. What got you started writing?
8. If you could turn back time and change one decision or action you regret, would you? What would it be?
9. What social or political issue would you consider yourself most passionate about?
10. If you died tomorrow, what legacy would you hope to leave behind? How would you like people to remember you?

And here are the rules!

1. Post the award on your blog
2. Thank the blogger who presented the award to you and link back to their blog
3. Answer the questions given to you by the nominator
4. Nominate bloggers with less than 1,000 followers
5. Create 10 questions for your nominees to answer
6. Notify your nominees by posting on their blog

Happy Liebster-ing, all! I’m gonna go read me some Harry Potter.