15 posts tagged “qotd”
What is your favorite way to relieve stress?
For me, there is no better way to release the pressure that builds up from work, home, commuting, family obligations, and so on... than to go on a long, fantastic run to sort it all out. Nothing soothes my worries better than 45 minutes on the open road, with nothing but my Asics, my iPod, and my mind.
What's your favorite way to keep in touch? Phone, snail mail, email, text message, Vox, _____ ?
I don't get very much junk snail mail these days, so it would actually be a great way to catch my attention. Ideally, if all of my friends realized how sites like Vox and Flickr make it amazingly easy to just know what's going on with all the people you care about, it would be the perfect way to stay in touch. For the friends and family that do "get it," when we do get to see each other face to face, there is less time spent catching up in the superficial sense ("so what have you been up to in the past 6 months?") and more time spent on quality hang out time.
What books are on your nightstand?
I have a long way to catch up to some of my friends who are extremely well-read, so I'm back to the basics... currently reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and loving his writing style. I think we read an abridged version at some point in high school... the interactions of the characters and the cleverness of the writing is something I can appreciate a lot more now.
After that are a few titles from Ernest Hemingway and a book called Snow Crash, which Ben recommended to me.
I think I'll always enjoy non-fiction better though, since there is so much to learn about what has already happened, let alone what could be. I have a few biographies in mind, but I will write about them after I've read more...
Soda? Cola? Pop? What do you say? Any other regional words that set you apart?
Question submitted by Gladys.
Raised in NY, it's most definitely SODA. I didn't realize there was such a disparity in what people call soft drinks until I went to college and roomed with someone from Indiana (and congrats to Rocky, he's getting married next month!).
Rocky and I were known for getting into semantic arguments of all sorts back in freshman year. But I particularly remember my poking fun at his use of "Pop" and his amusement over my pronunciation of "water" and "tournament." One time, I had some extra sodas in the fridge, and he asked, "mind if I have a Pop?" Smugly, I replied, "no, but if you ask for a Soda, I'll let you have one." What a jerk I was. I'll leave it for you to decide whether he was willing to give in... =)
What's your favorite drink or cocktail? What's in it?
Question submitted by charm.vox.com
I like Scotch. Scotch Scotch Scotch. =)
What's the strongest association you have between a scent and a memory?
Quote of the Day: What's an interesting experience that you've had meeting people in real-life that you first knew online? Was it awkward, surreal, or the best thing ever?
I haven't met too many people in real life that I first knew of online. Most that fall into that category were in a professional context... and it was a lot of fun to get to collaborate (albeit briefly) with thought leaders I had been following online (maybe I'll get a chance with the 6A/Vox folks someday!).
Question of the Day: What famous person do people say you resemble? Comparison pictures, please.
When I was younger, I could have been a stunt double for Macaulay Culkin. We are the same age, and my hair was much more blonde when Home Alone first came out. (In fact, and this will only make sense to Colby Folks, the resemblance stuck with me; Macaulay was given to me as my 'die nickname).
For some reason people think I look like Conan O'Brien, which I don't see as much but will take as a compliment, because he's a funny guy (no, not funny looking).
Did I forget anyone?
One of the best nicknames that has been given to me is Bonimo. Mostly Jillian's family calls me that from time to time, and it is an endearing reminder of the days when Jillian and I first started dating and I was getting to know her family.
Jill's father Jack, is, shall we say, an intimidating presence when you first meet him, especially if you are dating one of his daughters. I will never forget going over to her house for the first time. Jack answered the door in his undershirt, muscles protruding, gave me a gruff "hey" with a dismissive nod of the head, and finally shouted upstairs, "He is here." It felt like ages before Jillian came down the stairs and rescued me from the silent fearful encounter with her protective Dad.
Over the weeks and months that followed, I came to learn that this man with a tough exterior had one of the warmest hearts, a love of life, and the ability to find humor and ease the stress of any situation. He also realized that I wasn't like the other guys, that I legitimately cared about his daughter, and we all got along very well.
Jack has a nickname for everybody, and it sticks whether you like it or not. If you don't have one yet, you anxiously await the embarrassing event, or shameful quirk, that gives Jack the inspiration to don you with yours. Joe Bonomo was a prominent power builder in the 1950s and 60s. Jack would joke that if I worked out, maybe I could be a Joe Bonomo. But the final variation of my name came during that first Christmas with the Nyahays.
We were all decorating the Christmas tree downstairs in their living room. As many know, stringing the lights, positioning the tree, and properly spacing out the ornaments can be tumultuous to coordinate around the stress of the Holidays. We made it through, with lots of laughs, leaving one last ornament to put on the tree. Jillian gave me the star, because I'm tall, and I put it on the top of the tree. "Look what he can do!", Jack proclaimed, citing a line from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when the Abominable Snowman did the very same thing.
Well that was it. From there on, I was "Look what he can do", the Abominable, or my favorite, Joe Bonimo.
Half of it would go to my wife - we live right near a big fabulous outdoor shopping center giving her plenty of options to spend the
dough (most likely on a lavish new wardrobe). The rest I'd use to get the biggest and best Mac desktop system $5k could buy. I may need to borrow some of the money I already gave away, because I secretly really want one of those 30" Apple Cinema Displays.
