THE SEVEN HABITS (PLUS ONE) OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE

Hey, don’t blame me. Blame my crazed Yankee fan Ari for this one. The rules are such. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Uno. I fear public bathrooms and rarely use them. If I’m forced to, then I’m totally hands-off in there and carry around paper towels so I don’t have to touch anything. Gross.

Dos. My shoe size has grown from an 8 ½ to a 10 ½ in the past three years. Now if I can only get certain other things to grow…

Tres. I’m probably in the worst shape of my life. I hate myself for it. I need to lose 15 pounds and 2 waist sizes.

Cuatro. One of my favorite lines from a song comes from James Taylor’s Fire and Rain, “There’s just a few things comin’ my way this time around.” I keep waiting for this to come true.

Cinco. Those of you who don’t live down here in Miami may find it hard to believe that Caucasians are truly a minority. I went to a restaurant last night near where I grew up and I’d say the place was 98% Latin. My Spanish is rusty and I need to improve.

Seis. I haven’t had a really good kiss in almost nine months. Come to think of it, I haven’t had a kiss period in nine months.

Siete. I just wrote the ending to my book that I’ve been writing for 11 years now. Some of my best writing evolves during plane rides. At least I have American to thank for that.

Ocho. Ready for the big finish?? My random hang-ups off the top of my head. Does super glue stick to anything else besides your fingers? It never seems to hold anything together for me. What do you do when your cashier coughs in her hand and then proceeds to scan all of your items with that same hand? I short-circuit when that happens. Do you ever watch those guys back ‘there’ make sushi? Don’t. It may ruin your dinner. And why do some of those guys wear hats and some don’t? I want the hat dudes making mine, thank you. The less hair in my sushi, the better; don’t you agree? Speaking of restaurants, the side pour is an underrated skill. Don’t’cha hate it when they pour your water or tea with a straight pour and you get no ice? Skilled servers utilize the side pour where you get both liquid and ice. Oh, and let’s practice safe sips everyone. Use the straw. Servers these days seem to forget the below the rim delivery rule. No hands on the rim of your glass. So be alert; safe sips; use a straw. Restaurant terminology kills me. Marketing at its finest. How bout this one. ‘Fire-grilled.’ Isn’t that stating the obvious? ‘Finished with.’ Do I care? I realize the dish has to be finished with SOMETHING. ‘To perfection.’ Rarely is anything perfect, ya know? How about ‘x-crusted?’ Herb-crusted, potato-crusted, panko-crusted. Isn’t that just a fancy way of saying breaded? ‘Pan-seared.’ You mean fried? Hey I can bitch. I’m a former restaurant owner. And one more thing, beware the soup. It’s yesterday’s leftovers.

OK. 4 volunteers to play this game? I nominate:

1 Jess cuz she’s always bored
2 Melissa cuz she just re-entered the blogosphere
3 Aly cuz she’s never at a loss for words
4 Cat cuz she’s my ‘neighbor’