What fashion trend you followed was very cool then, but now looks ridiculous?

This BID caught my attention and I thought I would blog, I feel a bit rusty and feel like I need to get my creative juices flowing again :-) This was a simple enough topic to start with, so here goes.

In a nutshell, anyone that knows me knows that I am more likely to buck the trend than follow the masses. This is especially true of fashion. I know my body type and complexion, I know what looks good on me and what I cannot wear without looking incredibly stupid, so I stick to what works.

I tend to be a minimalist and typically go for comfort and simplicity over any trendy styles. And the majority of the time? That comfort and minimalism transcends any fashion trends, as it will never go out of style!

But, to answer the question: the one thing I do remember wearing in junior high school (in the late 80s) was leggings under denim skirts. Hey-- it was GREAT for keeping me warm on cooler days while enabling me to still wear skirts. But yeah, looking back, it was definitely one of those "stereotypical 80s" fashion trends, many of which need to die a permanent death :-P

Leave a comment:
http://blogs.grab.com/AddComment.aspx?entry_id=422073&blog_id=18

It's been a while since I've blogged on here. I even got the "You haven't blogged in a while" email that we all get after not blogging for 10 days. And I think I've only gotten that maybe once or twice in the past, and I've been blogging faithfully on here for nearly 2 years!

The past few weeks provided no shortage of material to blog about, as I was on vacation and had lots to tell. So today I perused the BIDs and discovered a treasure trove of things to blog about. That should keep me busy for a while ;-)

Here is yesterday's Blog Idea of the Day:
What kind of business would you love to start?

I seem to distinctly recall having some wacky, crazy ideas for a business, one that would be highly successful if it were possible to sell the product/service I was joking about. Unfortunately, I can't remember what it was. So I'll discuss the next best options I can currently think of.

One would be to start up a computer repair business. Now, you may think: why is that so unusual, there's tons of those all over the place. Well, for those of you who don't know: I possess the unique ability to bring down and crash every computer I come into contact with. Doesn't matter what kind, or what OS. Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, you name it, I've crashed it. I've managed to bring about the "blue screen of death" on my own laptop, which runs WindowsXP. Anyway-- I could go around applying my magic touch to computers, which could then be brought into our shop for hubby to repair ;-)

But an even better, and possibly more lucrative business idea is one that has been bandied about amongst me and some close friends for nearly 2 years now. And that's to compile all the dramas we've ever encountered here on Grab, and sell them to television networks. Not only could you not make some of this [censored] up, but it'd make for some entertaining soap operas! And they'd be never-ending, because there never seems to be a shortage of new dramas cropping up on here. A mere website-- who'da thunk it!?

So, those are my business ideas. Hey-- the BID never said they had to be *serious* ideas! :-D

p.s. Until they fix it so you can actually leave a comment by clicking on the "add comment" link, you can leave one by using this URL: http://blogs.grab.com/AddComment.aspx?entry_id=420691&blog_id=18 . Thanks!

What makes you laugh the hardest?

I love to laugh. It keeps the doctor away and the wrinkles at bay. It's very easy to tickle Helly's funny bone, and some even shake their heads in sadness by how simple it is to amuse me.

What makes me laugh the hardest? People, of course. A variety of people with whom I interact in a variety of ways.

There's my son, Todd, who just turned 3. The jollies started when he began talking and forming whole sentences. The lawyer-like loopholes and logic that spew from his mouth are enough to send the whole family rolling. Not to mention the crazy antics like head-bashing his stuffed frog (see my YouTube page for the video if you're interested), and just generally running about, shrieking with delight as most toddlers do.

Then there are my friends, most of whom I've met here on Grab. There's nothing quite like suppressing my laughter at a hilarious board post or blog comment because I'm reading it at work and would sound like a complete nutcase, bursting out with laughter, all alone in my cubicle. Ah, the fond memories of blog/board parties and just general mischief and silliness ;-)

My sense of humor in general tends to run along the wry, sarcastic lines. While I find most jokes, stand-up comedians, and comedy movies funny, I often don't find true hilarity in anything but a good zinger of a comeback or a dry and witty observation. Which is why I remarked that people are the ones make me laugh hardest and best :-)

(Sooooo many BIDs to catch up on, I guess I'll start with today's and then pick and choose some of the others later on)

Where would you choose to live if you had to leave this country?

This is easy: GERMANY (specifically, southern Germany).

I've spent about 1/4 of my life there, and would not mind going back to that country.

I was born in Münster (Nordrhein-Westfalen), where my parents were studying, and we emigrated to the USA when I was 4½ years old. When I was 20, I received my commission into the U.S. Army and was stationed with the 7th Signal Brigade in Mannheim (about 45 minutes south of Frankfurt) for the next 4 years.

Aside from chilly weather in winter (and even then, it's fairly mild in the south), there's really nothing to dislike about Germany. The food just CANNOT be beat, hands-down. I'm not a beer-drinker, but I think it's a pretty general consensus that German beer ranks among the best in the world. I love zipping down the speed-limit-less Autobahn, where drivers adopt a no-nonsense attitude: they don't give you guff, and they don't take any guff. Sooooo unlike horrid LA drivers who often don't know their ass from their heads. At the same time, I love how vast the public transportation network is-- from trains to streetcars to buses to just plain bicycles-- you really CAN get around quite nicely without a car!

Then there's the rich history and culture of Germany (which is probably true of most of Europe)-- the castles and historic buildings paint an interesting picture of life ages ago. It may not seem that unique to Europeans, but when you come from a country that's barely a couple hundred years old, having a history that reaches thousands of years back can be quite dazzling.

I love the way houses are built, everything from the facades to the windows down to the light switches and closets, is so different from American houses. I love how the country is so much smaller than the USA, so you don't see the vast, wasteful urban sprawl with which Americans have come to define themselves. At the same time, it's easy to get from one end of the country to the other (either by car or by rail) in the span of a day. You couldn't do that here-- you wanna get from LA to New York? There's no way in hell you're getting there on the same day unless you travel by air.

Even the weather isn't too bad-- some places can get pretty hot in the summer, but it's never as hot and humid as in some places of the US, like Texas and Florida. And in the winter? Southern Germany is pretty mild. Unlike places such as North Dakota and Minnesota, the temperatures rarely dropped significantly below zero. At least, they didn't in the 4 years I was in Mannheim. Northern Germany might be a bit colder, but that's why I specified southern Germany at the start of this entry :-)

So there you have it. Germany, my home away from home. Would I go back there, given the opportunity? In a heartbeat! :-D

This BID didn't come with any blog text, so I'm assuming that this question is asking whether I'd rather have the ability to be invisible, or possess some other ability?

If so, I'd choose the latter. More specifically: the ability to turn back the clock.

Oh, how I'd love to have the ability to go back in time, and, knowing what I know now, warn my younger self not to make the mistakes I have in the past. How many headaches and how much heartache I could've saved myself!

I know what many of you will say: if it weren't for our past experiences, we wouldn't be who we are today. And to an extent, that is true. However, there are things I've done that I regret, and not doing them would probably make me a different person today-- and for the better.

I also firmly maintain that many of the "little things" that I could've avoided, would have no bearing on the "big things" I would do later in life. I'm certain I still would've done most of these "big things" regardless of any stumbling blocks along the way. On the flip side to that, there are things I could probably do/achieve today that I can't, simply because of past actions. So, avoiding them then would enable me to do more today.

So... who wants to help me build that time machine?

This is an appropriate one for me to answer, as I sometimes have trouble sleeping, mostly trouble initially falling asleep.

Recently, I've taken to drinking a nice hot cup of chamomile tea about an hour or so before bedtime (can't be too close to bedtime, or else that defeats the purpose by making me run to the bathroom after a few hours :-P). It's supposed to have calming effects, and I seem to sleep better for it.

I also take a melatonin (the sleep hormone) tablet-- in tiny doses, though, only 300 mcg-- about 30 minutes to an hour before bedtime.

And during the times when I HAVE to ensure I get some sleep, because I have something important coming up the next day, I'll pop a sleep aid-- usually a Benadryl. But I take those very rarely, I don't want to become dependent on them to help me sleep.

Sometimes what happens, though, is that I'll have no trouble falling asleep at first, and will sleep for a few hours (sometimes around 5-6 if I'm lucky) and then wake up, visit the bathroom and then go back to bed, wide awake and unable to sleep for a couple hours. When it's a weekday that especially sucks because by the time I fall asleep again it'll be time to get up, and I'll groggily trudge to work, struggling to stay alert on only 5 hours of sleep.

When it happens on weekends, I usually get up and do something else, since I'm just gonna lie awake anyway, might as well be productive. I read a book, or watch some TV, or switch on the computer and surf the Web. 5am PST? All my British friends are already up and about :-D

My favorite Grab feature would have to be...

Hehehe... this BID is well over a year old-- it was first posted in February 2006. For some reason I never got around to answering it, or at least, I don't remember writing anything to address it (back then I was known for updating my blog BIDs in bunches-- tackle a handful all in one entry).

But my favorite Grab feature by far is the blogs.

On my 1-year blogging anniversary on Grab, I made mention of how my blog has been instrumental in making the friends I have-- from meeting Geri and Lisa while the dust was settling, to getting to know my friends through the weekly Friday Five, and eventually leading to other friendships throughout the months and years...

I made sure to pimp out the use of Feed Readers in the hopes of encouraging Grabbers to get more involved with blogs, as the feeders provided easy ways to keep tabs on favorite blogs (well, public ones anyway).

And I was quite pleased when the Grab staff implemented comment counts into the RSS feeds, because that enabled me to keep track of when blogs were updated with new comments! I have yet to see any other mainstream blogging service (such as LiveJournal, MySpace, and Blogger) provide this in their feeds! I guess this is the more specific answer to this question-- my favorite Grab feature is the fact that comment counts are incorporated into the RSS feeds.

Anyway, the reason I hold blogs so near and dear to my heart is because, as I mentioned above, they have been the perfect vehicle for meeting and making the friends I currently have. True enough, I met many people through the message boards, but my blog, and my friends' blogs, provided so much more insight than could ever be expressed on a board. I think that's what I enjoyed most-- it gave me glimpses into my friends' lives and personalities that I would not otherwise have seen, elsewhere.

I've had a lot of things going on recently that have limited my online time, and my near-daily blogging started falling. It's picked up recently, however, and I realized just how much I missed it! I can't do like some people and move my blog elsewhere, because the majority of my readers are still here on Grab. So, I'm hoping to continue being the blogging fool I used to be.
Maybe one day, when the dust has settled with all the fixing around this place, someone can be assigned to work on Grab blogs and implement a couple of features I'd love to see, such as conversation-style comments (like on LiveJournal), allowing anonymous comments, i.e. non-Grabbers (like on Blogger), and best of all-- allowing only certain entries, rather than the entire blog, to be locked to friends-only. Better yet-- the ability to set up a "preferred friend list" (like on MySpace) that you can lock certain entries to.

And now... to post this thing and then make my rounds and see what new stuff my friends have to say in their blogs :-D

If I could fix just ONE bug on Grab.com, I'd fix...

Well, the "missing" photos and always-visible profile counter would be nice. But that's already posted in the Feedback forum.

Email notification of blog comments? Not actually that big a deal, as I use an RSS Feed Reader (in particular, Sharp Reader) to keep track of blog updates, which includes comment count. They do come in handy when I want to be alerted of a new comment in someone else's blog whose feed I don't normally subscribe to. Or friends-only blogs, as those will not come with a (public) RSS feed.

But the answer to this question would probably have to be: Blog Stats

Everyone on Grab has something they're a little more obsessed with than anything else on the site. For many, it's grabbles (hey, I was once amongst those!). For others, it's the good conversation and camaraderie to be found on the boards, often a good, healthy debate. For yet others, it's the pursuit of some sort of popularity and recognition, whether in the form of karma, Grab "royalty", or the quest for (even usage of) a badge and powers that elevate their stature above others.

For me, it's blogs. They are the feature I hold most dear to me here on Grab. I'll expand on that sometime in the future, as I recall seeing an old BID that deals with your favorite feature on Grab-- guess what my answer will be :-D

Another thing I enjoy is number-crunching. Which is why the various statistics involved in blog stats are interesting to me. They've been a little iffy and I'm not sure I altogether trust the numbers I've been seeing ever since my Gold membership (and the ability to view these stats again) was resurrected.

So, in short... I'd love to see this feature working properly :-D

Have you ever stuck up for someone when they needed an ally?

 

Absolutely! And numerous times-- there's evidence of this all over Grab, because I'm talking about my very good friend Lisa (taffy70).

It all started over a year ago, in October 2005, when a mutual friend of ours, out of the blue, stopped coming online without any warning. Naturally, this was cause for concern amongst many of our friends, but one of them in particular turned nasty toward Lisa when she couldn't offer any more answers than the rest of us could. I wasn't going to let him get her down, though, and we ended up having a party on a thread he started-- we turned the topic around real quick!

More recently, there were the mishaps on the Tourneys board. Fuzzy had been the lone CL who regularly responded on there (some would say he drew the short straw on that count, hehe), and when he disappeared in late November to undergo his most recent surgery, Lisa was gracious enough to fill in for him. Instead of showing appreciation for her help and her time, the tourney board regulars derided her and ridiculed her to no end. They seemed to think that Fuzzy was the lone authority on that board, and that if anyone piped up that wasn't him, they were immediately discredited. Needless to say, I couldn't resist jumping in and defending Lisa's honor.

The last straw, however, was the brouhaha on her blog, when she wrote about my visit to Wales a few months ago, and the fun we had painting the town red. The Christian Grandma Brigade came out in full force, decrying some of the things she posted. Fair enough, one pic could've been a little too risque, so she obliged them and took it down. However, that didn't stop them from continuing to wag their hypocritical fingers at her, and eventually I'd had enough-- I jumped right into the fray and delivered a few blows of my own. Nobody, and I mean nobody insults Lisa the way they did, and gets away with it! I sure as hell wasn't going to sit idly by while they smeared my friend's good name!

All of this reminds me of the time when Lisa was pretty much my lone supporter, back when blogs first came out on Grab, and back when the Gold members were in an uproar over the pettiest little things (http://blogs.grab.com/hellykwee/1200) Thus was born a friendship that has lasted over a year, and since then we've always had each other's backs. So Lisa-- here's a toast to you! :-)

What do you most enjoy or miss about being single?

Wow, this is an easy one. And my answer can be summed up in a single word: FREEDOM!

There's the fun stuff: I miss not being able to pick up and go somewhere on a whim. I miss being able to hang out with my single friends and whoop it up. I miss not being accountable to anyone but myself.

There's the quiet stuff: I miss having time to myself. I miss coming home to an empty apartment and being alone and doing whatever I please. I miss the quiet and the solitude. I miss the space I enjoy by not having to share it with anyone. I miss the lack of clutter when only one person inhabits a space rather than two (or more).

There's the relationship stuff: While I don't miss the headaches of being in the dating pool, it's no secret that mine was a shotgun wedding and that there are times when I feel stifled because of that. I always thought I'd be in my 30s before I got married (if at all), certainly never expected to do so in my 20s-- that always struck me as too young. So it just makes me wonder how differently things might've turned out if the circumstances had been otherwise.

So to all you single folk out there bemoaning your single status: count your blessings ;-P

Everyone loves the 4th of July - the fireworks, the days off from work, the fun! Describe your best 4th of July memory and what it meant to you.

So, that was the B.I.D. for today, just in time for the 4th of July weekend.

At the moment I'm a bit hard-pressed to come up with concrete memories of Independence Day celebrations. They're usually pretty low-key, with fireworks being the highlight of the evening. So, instead, I decided to write about why the 4th of July is my favorite holiday.

There's lots of reasons to love the holiday.

It's in July, so the weather's nice and warm.

I love fireworks, so what's more perfect than sitting out on the lawn, enjoying spectacular fireworks on a breezy summer night? Especially when set to a medley of some of the most upbeat patriotic music there is-- especially Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA". It really makes my heart well up with pride.

Finally, there's the patriotism factor. I love this country. My parents worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices so that we could live here. I'm glad and proud to be an American citizen. Yes, this country may have its share of woes (what country doesn't?) but in my opinion it's still one of the best places to live, and I feel fortunate to have that chance.

I had the opportunity to serve in the U.S. Army and got a chance to see for myself how other countries' militaries operate. Perhaps I'm biased, but it's no exaggeration to say that our armed forces are a superb, top-notch outfit.

This year, it's going to be another low-key celebration. Perhaps a picnic and then fireworks at our local harbor. I'm looking forward to it. For all the reasons outlined above.

Gas prices seem to just keep going up. What does this mean for you and your family and friends? What would happen if gas hit $5 a gallon?

You know, it's interesting. I spent 4 years in Germany, where gas was always 2-3 times more expensive than in the United States. So even at our current $3+ per gallon, I always think, "It's still way cheaper than Europe!" All a matter of perspective, I suppose.

Gas prices affect me a lot. I commute anywhere from 45-65 miles to work every day. And that's just one way. I rack up around 500 miles per week, and end up having to fill my tank at least twice a week.  

LUCKILY two things are in my favor: I own a nice sporty little compact sedan that gets excellent gas mileage, AND I commute during non-peak traffic hours. So, being able to keep my driving speed at an even 60-65 mph allows me to maximize my fuel efficiency. I typically get 35-39 mpg, and no, I don't drive one of those hybrid cars. It's just a regular gasoline-consuming 1998 Plymouth Neon, and it's my beautiful, beloved baby! :-D

I once read somewhere that every 5mph you drive above 60, costs you an extra 15 cents per gallon of gas. Now this article was probably more than a year old, so I would imagine it's at least double that nowadays. Can you imagine-- slow down your driving a bit and you can save a LOT of money! I experimented with this a few months ago. I used to be one of those drivers who averaged 70, even 75mph during my commute. I was caught up in that LA "rush, rush!" mentality. Then I tried forcing myself to keep it under 65mph. Not only did my fuel economy improve dramatically (I'm talking about an average of 30mpg to an average of 35mpg!!), I didn't really lose that much time. Sure, driving faster got me to my destination a little sooner, but we're talking about a matter of a few minutes. Surely I can sacrifice those few minutes to save literally dollars on gas! 

What would I do if gas prices hit $5? Honestly, I don't know. There isn't much I CAN do. Someday I will be in the market to buy a house, and I will probably choose to live in an area closer to work, cutting my commute distance in half. Public transportation isn't as widespread in that area as it is in other parts of the city/country/world, so that's not much of an option at this point in time. Perhaps when my car kicks the bucket (I'm hoping it'll last me at least another 8-10 years) and I need to get a new one, I'll get one of those hybrids. Or at least another tiny, compact car with excellent fuel economy :-)

What would you do if you got lost in a big city?

LOL! As Lisa can probably attest to, I wouldn't GET lost in the first place! I'd arrive, armed with a spreadsheet outlining my itinerary for each day. I'd have dozens of maps and directions on how to get to all the main attractions I want to see. This info would be complete with surrounding street names, and exact distances between turn points along the way. I would have my laptop with me so if I come across a wireless hotspot I can look up what I need.

Yes, I can be a bit uptight when it comes to planning stuff like that, but if I'm going to be stranded in a big city I've never been to before, I'm going to leave nothing to chance, and make sure I come as prepared as I possibly could. Better to have too much info than too little. And you gotta love the internet these days-- you can find info in practically anything, thus leaving even less room for error when venturing out into a new place.

And finally-- come on, if it's a big city, how do you get lost? There's dozens of shops and other places I can just duck into and do what no manly man does-- ask for directions!

What is your favorite quotation?  How does it inspire you?

I have a number of favorites, and each means something different to me:

"If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate."-- Henry J. Tillman
This is on my Grab profile, and it cracks me up every time I see it. A humorous twist on an age-old adage. Not particularly meaningful or inspirational, just good clean fun and laughter.

"A person reveals his character by nothing so clearly as the joke he resents." -- G.C. Lichtenberg
"A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes another's" -- Jean Paul Richter
I put these 2 together because they're related. I like it because it rings so true, and reminds you that no matter how much a person may try to hide his true self, it will show through one way or another. The best example of this is when my ex-boyfriend would make jokes about women "belonging in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant". When I got offended, he insisted he was only joking. Come to find out that he really is the type of guy who prefers to be the sole breadwinner and have a wife who will stay at home and see to his needs.  

"Leadership is not a trumpet call to self-importance"-- source unknown
Anyone know who said this? Please let me know.
Anyway, I like this one because one of my pet peeves in human behavior is a big ego. I have personally witnessed too many people in leadership positions solely because they were on a power trip. I have seen those in positions of authority become arrogant and act pompously because they suddenly have a lofty opinion of themselves. This quote is a nice reminder to keep things real and down to earth. Nobody likes a show off.

More of my favorite quotes can be found here:

http://helly.tripod.com/Anecdotes.html

Tell the story of your first pet...  Who was he/she?  When did you get it?  What was it like?

My parents have always had fish, so I don't really count those.

When I was about 8 years old, we got a parakeet. I think it was a boy, if I remember correctly, and we got him from the local pet shop. I named him "Hustle Bustle"-- don't ask me why I named him that, I can't remember :-P He was your typical parakeet, and we only had him for a short while, as he died not long after we got him :-( Never managed to teach him to say anything, but I did manage to teach him to click his beak and make a "tsk, tsk" sound :-D 

When I was 10, we moved to our current house, and in the hills behind our house lived a stray greyhound. He'd been living out there ever since he was a puppy. When I first saw him, he was living in the gully behind our house, sleeping in the small tunnel that ran under a neighboring house and served as the pipe to the storm drains in the street. At the time, I thought he looked like a Bull Terrier, and named him "Terry". Only later, as he grew older, did I realize he was a small greyhound.

Anyway, the first time I laid eyes on him, I felt sorry for the poor thing and laid out some food outside his tunnel. Before long, he'd grown accustomed to being called "Terry" and eating food every day. My parents bought a big bag of dog food, and every day I'd lay out a bowl of food and some water for him to eat behind our house. He never let humans get close to him, and when he outgrew the gully tunnel he moved to the hills, and every day at mealtime I'd go up to the fence blocking access to the hills, and call out "Terry! Terry!". You'd see this little white dog come scampering down the hill for his dinner.

After a while, Terry moved on, and I never saw him again. That was as close as I'd ever gotten to having a dog for a pet. I used to yearn for just being able to pet him for a day, but apparently he'd become scared of humans as a pup, and never outgrew this fear. But I like thinking that I had a hand in helping him survive as he was growing up. It's been nearly 18 years since I last saw him, I'm sure he's in doggie heaven by now, but I always wonder what became of him and hope that, wherever he went, he fared well and was treated nicely.

Nowadays? My favorite "pet" is my stuffed Rottweiler, the one on my avatar. :-D