1. Spidey Sense: For those of you who always wondered how your mom always knew when you were doing something wrong, the answer really is as simple as, “Because she’s your mother!” I can now pinpoint the exact amount of time that Ethan’s been in the other room and quiet just a little too long. Even better, I know when he’s reaching for that very breakable object you told him three times already not to touch. Bonus! This power also works on cats! I can tell you at any given moment that someone is on the table when they totally shouldn’t be.
2. Whatever it is, I can do it one-handed: After carrying around another human being for…oh…six years now, I can assure you that you could tie one arm behind my back and I would be able to cook a 7-course meal. And update my blog. And put away groceries. And fold all the laundry. At the same time!!!
   
3. Crying At the Drop of a Hat: While Ethan also has this power, I find it so much more amusing in myself. Because I don’t have the justification of breaking into tears because someone started to give me a shower because I wasn’t cooperating in getting the shampoo rinsed out of my hair. No, you just need to show me something that reminds me my son will grow up, and I’ll go over the edge. Pixar movies kill me every. single. time. It’s only this year that I’ve been able to sing Puff the Magic Dragon again. Oh, the list just goes on and on… Now to go audition for a soap opera and turn this into a marketable skill. 

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1. College Professor: I live in Worcester, which has about a dozen colleges, and within commuter rail distance of Boston, which has another three or four dozen. I have a Master’s Degree. I used to teach high school, but found there was a pesky complication of parents. (Yes, I realize this is ironic, as I’m about to become a parent of a child in school.) When I did college administration, I loved being able to just work with the kids. So, before I go back to get my PhD, how do I get into teaching college?
2. Director: Oh, how I miss theatre… When I was teaching at the aforementioned high school, I was also the Drama Coach. Seriously, that was by far the highlight of my day. It was refreshing to go to a place where students actually wanted to be there. And wrangling them into a production was immensely satisfying for me, feeding just enough of my ego without having me on stage the entire time. Plus, I’m also incredibly obsessive-compulsive when it comes to a production, so having that big-picture control was great. Oh, and did I mention my degree is in Drama? Does anyone have a connection or two in the Massachusetts local theatre? Closer than Lowell would be nice, though I would love more opportunities to work with the 119 Gallery.
3. NPR Commentator: This is one I would love to do part-time. It incorporates two of my favorite pasttimes: writing and listening to myself talk. Seriously, though, I do enjoy the short essay vs. the long novel, and I’d like to think I have some humor to balance out whatever facts might happen along. I’m also pretty close to WGBH and their fantastically beautiful new building. How does one score the occasional NPR commentary?

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1. The mini-update: Twitter aside, most of the time, you have a fairly unlimited space for daily updates. That being said, please use this space. If you don’t have a 140-character constraint, take the time to spell out your words. It will help others understand what you’re actually trying to say. On the flip side, there’s no need to go on and on and on; say what you need to and move on.
2. The long and winding profile: First, I’ll raise my hand and say that I’m a little guilty of getting out of date with my online profiles. It’s taken me a while to learn to keep them fairly generic, so I don’t have to keep updating them. But I do try to make sure that my profile is a concise snapshot of me. And I’ll stress the concise part. If I’m reading a profile online, and I have to scroll more than twice, you’ll have to be a fantastic writer (or really cute) to keep me reading.
3. Your English teacher had some good points: Grammar, spelling, and punctuation take a little practice, but can be great tools for you. Particularly if you’re trying to impress someone, as on a dating site. Unless you’re in a chat room, take an extra second to read over your writing for clarity. To make things even easier, many browsers come with automatic spellcheckers, and many blogging programs have a spellcheck feature. And if you’re really trying to impress someone, a good vocabulary never hurts. Just make sure you’re using that $5 word properly. I’m sure I’m not the only one who finds eloquence sexy.

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1. Fighting the insurance company: I will say that I generally really love Progressive, my insurance. They’re great at getting the car fixed. The person, however…not so much. I called them to check about getting her insurance to pay for me to go to the doctor, but they were all focused on the car. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said, “I don’t care about the car, what about my neck??” But at least her insurance company appraised my bumper higher, so there may be good from that.
2. Going to the ER: Initially, I was quite pleased with UMass Memorial. Aside from the pay parking, which was just weird. (Hi, my arm is gushing blood, but I’ll stop and get your little parking ticket. And try not to lose it as a fade in and out of consciousness.) Okay, I wasn’t gushing blood or anything, but I did go wicked fast through the vital stats and registration. Then I waited to get into my room. Then I waited for the doctor. Then I waited over an hour to go to x-ray and get some motrin.
3. The whiplash: Yep…I have whiplash. And the nurse was nice enough to break this news to me by saying, “You’re going to feel soooo much worse tomorrow.” What a ray of sunshine! I had to leave work early yesterday since I was getting dizzy, but I made it through today okay. The big thing that’s killing me is the super drugs they gave me. I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and I’m having a couple stressful days. BUT, my anxiety meds react quite violently with things like muscle relaxers and such. Though I don’t suppose putting me to sleep for the weekend would be really violent, though. Anyway. Tonight I had to choose the anxiety meds over the pain meds. Hopefully I made the right choice!

Have an idea for a Thursday Threesome? Leave a comment, and I’ll see what I can do!

1. Ed McMahon – Interesting how I find out most of my news from LiveJournal/Facebook. Though I also learned that Ed McMahon was from Lowell. I’ll always remember him as the guy who would show up at your house with a big check…before they got those other guys. And from the Weird Al song.
2. Farrah Fawcett – I’m sure more people will identify with her than I. Not being a boy going through puberty, like, ever.
3. Michael Jackson! – Again, another one I found out on Facebook. I had only heard he went to the hospital when I was driving home. *sigh* I really liked him when I was a kid, and he introduced me to Weird Al in the first place. Yes, I also had a huge crush on him too (MJ, not Weird Al…though Weird Al too, I guess). Just…wow…

Have an idea for a Thursday Threesome? Leave a comment, and I’ll see what I can do!

1.  Eating dinner – This one works particularly at my house, and particularly during the week. Since we get home from school/work sometime between 6 and 6:30, we’re usually going straight into dinner. Which gets eaten at the table. Now we actually, *gasp*, talk to each other. Even though Ethan insists on sitting as far away as possible from me when I have “smelly stuff,” like balsalmic vinegar.  
2.  Going for a walk – One thing I love particularly about the new house is that it’s right by Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. We are two blocks up from the park, which has the beach and a walking track on one side of the street, and a baseball diamond on the other. Last night, we took a walk to see if we could find ice cream nearby, and took in part of a high school baseball game. Unfortunately, the ice cream truck went into the park on the other side of the street, but that’s okay, since the baseball game had a snow cone truck.
3. The Nintendo – When all else fails (or it’s raining outside), there’s the fallback of the Nintendo. Ethan’s taken over my DS, which he will play Lego Star Wars for hours if I let him. Or, he’s perfectly happy watching me play Mario Kart or the like on the Wii. Not the best avoidance of the television, but it’s at least a little more interactive, and does the trick in a pinch.

Have an idea for a Thursday Threesome? Leave a comment, and I’ll see what I can do!

1.  ”The server went down” - A classic digital excuse, but still tried and true with about half the population. Just make sure you are giving this excuse to someone who doesn’t know how to check a server’s status…or someone who isn’t friends with the IT Department.
2.  ”The timestamp on my computer is wrong” – I like this one myself. I could use that one today, as usually my entries do go up at 8:00, and it’s a bit past that now. I do use a variation on that, in that I have a slim idea of where the WordPress headquarters are, because while my timestamp is currently set around 10:00…it’s around 1:00 in my time zone.
3.  ”The mouse ate my homework” – Okay, I wouldn’t really try this one out. Though at least it’s easier to believe as there is actually a mouse connected to your computer…and it would be hard to explain what a dog was doing near your hard drive.

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You ever have one of those days where you start thinking you’ve been at work too much? Oh, if only this one was a microwave dish, I’d have a story for you… Uxbridge MA

1. 

   The Dude

2. 

   My Dude

3. 

   Little Dude

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1. Van Gogh – Houses at Auvers: Hands down, this is my favorite piece in the entire museum. First, I was just fascinated that they had a Van Gogh! But this one sucks me in every time. I don’t think you can tell that well from the picture, but it is bursting with textures. It was done during the summer he committed suicide, and I can just feel the massive emotion coming from it.
2. Matisse – Carmelina: The first two times I went to the MFA, she was located in the Hemicycle Gallery, and as we walked through, I was sad to see she wasn’t there. So I was overjoyed as we wandered through the contemporary art and there she was! Again, I like the roughness of this one, and also how it shows not only the model confronting the painter, but the painter himself at work.
3. Sarah Bernhardt – Fantastic Inkwell (Self-Portrait as a Sphinx): When I saw this one, my first thought was, “Wait, that Sarah Bernhardt?” And the answer is, yes, it is that Sarah Bernhardt, the actress. Apparently a sculptor as well. Aside from being a really neat piece, it was also wicked hard to photograph.

Have an idea for a Thursday Threesome? Leave a comment, and I’ll see what I can do!