Hot or Cold?

Interesting article in the NY Times about priming the mind and the subtle things our brain picks up on, often without us even realizing. I'm actually kinda hoping no one ever figures all this stuff out, sounds like it could be way dangerous.

Squelched Dreams

Thanks to Diana for this one.

Balloons

As promised, here are a few pictures from my weekend adventure:






I don't know if you can tell, since the picture is a little dark, but this is a balloon of an astronaut - my dream!
And this was my handsome companion for the day - he's one of my favorite new people on the planet :)

LOTD

Heard this one this morning on my Ipod, and it's still in my head:


Cranberries
Ode to My Family

Understand the things I say
don't turn away from me
Cause I spent half my life out there
You wouldn't disagree
D'you see me, d'you see
Do you like me, do you like me standing there
d'you notice, d'you know
do you see me, do you see me
does anyone care
Unhappiness was when I was younger
And we didn't give a damn
'Cause we were raised
To see life as funny and take it if we dare
My mother, my mother she hold me
did she hold me, when I was out there
My father, my father, he liked me
Oh he liked me, does anyone care
Understand what I've become
It wasn't my design
And people everywhere think
something better than I am
But I miss you, I miss
'Cause I liked it, I liked it
When I was out there
d'you know this, d'you know
You did not find me, you did not find
does anyone care
Unhappiness was when I was younger
and we didn't give a damn
'Cause we were raised
To see life as funny and take it if we dare
My mother, my mother she hold me
did she hold me, when I was out there
My father, my father, he liked me
Oh he liked me, does anyone care
does anyone care


And the video (love that YouTube!):

Some Articles

I don't have so much to blog these days because my brain is so fried from stress that I can't focus on anything for more than two seconds. But, my rarely-commenting friend has faithfully been sending me interesting articles that I haven't had enough concentration to read (and please keep them coming, because on day soon I hope to be able to actually read them), so instead of no one being the beneficiary of them, you might as as well be. Since I haven't had the wherewithall to read them, I'm just going on the assumption that they are interesting - so enjoy:

Article from Slate about the nature of addiction.

An article about deadly diet soda (which is basically all I drank growing up - I can add that to the list of things to blame my parents for - thanks RCF!)

Update - some more:
Right after I posted, my RCF sent a couple more articles:

Shmuely Boteach on Noah Feldman, again.

Article about visitation to the Temple Mount.

Some Fun

This is where I'm going today! Stay tuned for pictures!!!

LOTD

No real news to report about my search for a new home. I ask that everyone keep praying (or whatever you are comfortable with) for me - and again, thank you to everyone who has been so supportive - it means a lot.

I was finally reunited with my Ipod this morning, so here is a return to LOTD, complete with video.

Today's selection is:

Daughtry
It's Not Over

I was blown away
What could I say
It all seemed to make sense.
You've taken away everything
That I can't do without.

I try to see the good in life.
But good things in life are hard to find.
I'll blow it away, blow it away
Can we make this something good?

(well i'll try to do it right this time around)
let's start over,
I'll try to do it right this time around
It's not over
Cause a part of me is dead and in the ground.
This love is killing me
But you're the only one
It's not over.

I've taken all I can take
And I cannot wait
We've wasted too much time
Being strong and holding on
Can't let it bring us down

My life with you means everything
So I won't give up that easily
I'll blow it away, blow it away
Can we make this something good?

[It's Not Over lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]

Cause it's all misunderstood

(Well I'll try to do it right this time around)
Let's start over,
I'll try to do it right this time around
It's not over
Cause a part of me is dead and in the ground.
This love is killing me
But you're the only one
It's not over.

We can't let this get away
Let it out, let it out
Don't get caught up in yourself
Let it out.

Let's start over
We'll try to do to it right this time around
Its not over
Cause a part of me is dead and in the ground.
This love is killing me
But you're the only one
It's not over.

Lets start over
Its not over

Yeah yeah
This love is killing me
But you're the only one
It's not over

And the video:

Something funny

It's time for something funny and not depressing to break up all my bad news, so here is a video, courtesy of my co-worker. Enjoy!

Thank You

It's late, but I can't sleep cuz I'm stressed out and not in my own place at the moment. But I wanted to take just a minute to say thank you to everyone who have been incredibly supportive and helpful. I have a lead on an apartment (please pray for me that it works out) and have been telling everyone I know to keep their ears open for me. And several people have reached out and contacted people they know, and offered help and even short-term places to crash, which really touches me and despite the difficult situation, makes me feel very lucky. So thank you to everyone out there who has helped out, I really appreciate it and hopefully will be bringing you good news very soon.

Conclusion

I have to find a new place to live. If anyone knows of available apartments, please let me know.

Albert Ellis Passes Away

Dr. Albert Ellis, the founder of the REBT form of psychotherapy passed away yesterday. REBT, or Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, is a form of cognitive behavior therapy, and a technique that I think is extremely helpful and effective for a majority of those seeking therapy. This article offers a nice summary of Ellis' contributions to the field of psychology.

Update

I appreciate everyone's concern. To explain a bit, I received news late Monday night that my apartment was possibly going to be unavailable, starting immediately. Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM some men came and had to move some of the things out of my apartment. I couldn't stay there last night, and I'm still uncertain of the situation for the future. It was a really stressful day, but thank God, I have some good friends who have been taking care of me and who let me stay with them last night. I don't know what is going to happen yet. Thanks again for showing concern, I'll update when I find out anything.

Stressed

Very stressed at the moment. Not good things happening. Any words of encouragement are welcome. (Oh, and if you have a place for me to live, legally and cheap, that would be helpful also.)

Various Thoughts

- EVERYONE I know is talking about Harry Potter. I have yet to read a single one of the books, though I may be going to see my first Harry Potter movie (in IMAX) this weekend. I don't really feel like I'm missing all that much. A friend of mine said something to the effect of how the books must be pretty good since they are so popular, but I pointed out the fact that many popular things throughout the years have, in fact, been completely stupid. Perfect example - the pet rock. I mean, come on. So, I am going to continue to avoid this fad.

- I was really impressed by something that happened on Shabbos. I was having lunch with a family that I am pretty close with. Their non-Jewish neighbor from across the street came over during lunch and invited them to a birthday party they were having. We watched lots of guests come in their shorts and t-shirts and super-casual attire to the party in the backyard. My hosts, the husband dressed in his suit and the wife dressed in nice Shabbos clothes, walked across the street to say happy birthday and say hi. They felt completely out of place but thought it was important to be friendly and nice to their neighbors. I was really happy to see that.

- I attended a small part of the Beyond BT shabbton this weekend. It was nice to see a few familiar faces and meet a few new people. It was a little surreal to introduce myself to people and have them say, "Are you the Shoshana who writes on the site?" like I was a big name or something. It was a little weird, but everyone was very friendly.

- I'm drinking lots of Powerade today in preparation for the fast of Tisha B'Av tomorrow. I encourage everyone else to do the same. It helps. Have an easy and meaningful fast.

People Love Their Pets

According to this article. I used to have a cat, and I liked him a lot, but I'm not sure I would have gone to these lengths for him. And even more - should we be putting animals through all these surgeries and medications? Hmm...

Superficial?

I was talking to a friend earlier and she repeated something that another friend had said to her. The advice went something along the lines of how in a relationship, it will work best if the female looks somewhat better than the male, and the male is somewhat smarter than the female. You can argue all day about whether this is true or not, but in thinking about it for a while, it started to bug me a bit. Because if it's true or not, just the fact that it was said at all - what does that say about the traits that are valued in women? Hmmm...

Juvenile Sex Offenders

While everyone else is talking about the article from Noah Feldman about Modern Orthodoxy, I found this article about Internet registries of juvenile sex offenders to be really interesting. It's a very multi-layered issue with lots of things to consider. Check it out.

No New is Good News?

Let's hope!

Way Cool

This is what I call a good learning experience.

Israel Frees 255 Prisoners

Article discussing the release of 255 prisoners into the hands of Fatah. I don't really understand - what did Israel get in exchange? The prisoners released signed a piece of paper saying they won't hurt Israelis - wow, now I'm sure everyone feels secure. And I love this quote - "Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said Israel needs to do more to improve the atmosphere." Hmmm right, because Israel is getting so much in return, yeah, I see. I don't get it.

Abstinence Education

Interesting article about abstinence education and whether it's actually effective or not. Interestingly, in the state where the most money is spent on it, there has been very little proven changes in the sexual behavior of teenagers. Check out the article.

Sigh

Sometimes just require it.

Explosion in the City

This reads like an action movie. To those of you worried about me - I work on the West Side of Manhattan and was actually secure at home by the time it happened. But wow.

Google Stalking

My rarely-commenting friend found this one, and I'm not even sure if he knows that stalking is one of my favorite past-times. (Hey, everyone does it, at least I admit it.)

Good Friends

Chat with a friend from last night:


Me: "Wanna hear how silly I am? I had the lights off in my bedroom and I realized that if I don't turn them on now, then when I go to sleep, my stars on my ceiling won't shine. So I went and turned my bedroom light on."

My friend: "That's ok. Is it weird that I don't think you're weird?"

Me: "Possibly. But it makes me happy."

Woo Hoo!

My co-workers computer couldn't connect to anything this morning. Something was not working with the IP address. He couldn't get his e-mail, onto the Internet, or onto our network. I'm the computer expert in our office, which unfortunately, doesn't mean very much. I know extremely little about networking type of stuff. However, there was no one else to call, so my co-worker asked me to look at it.

I played with it a bit. Then I turned to Google for the answers. I found a site that seemed to be addressing my problem, with a fix. I tried it, it kinda worked. I played some more, and...woo hoo! My co-worker's computer is fixed! Go me!

Ambivalent Imma Speaks

Whoa. Something to think about, at the very least.

Innovative Cooling Tactics

From Yahoo, interesting article about a NY building that uses blocks of ice to cool instead of air conditioning. I wish they could install it in my apartment.

Under the Weather

I'm "under the weather" (what does that phrase mean, anyway, aren't we always under the weather, technically?) today. It happens every year. Saturday I had a slightly scratchy throat. Yesterday the throat was a little worse and I was very low energy. Today - extremely low energy, scratchy throat, kinda congested, possible slight fever. All symptoms vague enough to completely baffle me as to what kind of medication to take. And certainly not bad enough to keep me home. But annoying enough to make me not want to be at work :(

Bring Back the Mammoth

Cool article about the possibility of resurrecting the woolly mammoth. Think they would give rides?

More Balloons

I'm totally going to this (Hat-tip - Ephraim's (and Moshe's) Mommy and Daddy).

ADD

I am being SO ADD today. Every time I need to do something, I forget halfway through starting it and go on to the next thing. I'm blaming the headache that I have. But ugh.

Walking Away

Sometimes, no matter what you do, you can't win. Someone will not know what is going on behind the scenes, will take things the wrong way, will have their own biases, will just make things much more difficult than they should be. And because of all that, sometimes you have to weigh whether you should just walk away from the situation and let it go, even if it may be difficult. I'm not particularly good at the walking away part. But I think I need to learn. Sigh.

Tehillim

I just received an e-mail from my shul announcing a tehillim (Psalms) gathering that will take place on Shabbos in order to try to help someone in my community who is very sick. The e-mail concluded "All women are encouraged to attend." Um, why are men NOT encouraged to attend? Do their thoughts and prayers not count when it comes to someone who is sick?

Parking at a Premium

People in Manhattan are paying up to $225,000, not for a home, but for a parking space. I'm a little speechless. I guess some people don't know what to do with their money and think it's worth so much to have the privilege of not fighting for a spot every time you come home (which I do kinda understand, after driving for almost half an hour the other day in search of a spot). But whoa. Nuts.

Teaching is Tough

That theme is expounded upon in this article - the challenges teachers often face, many of which don't even have anything to do with the students! I admire those teachers who really work so hard, for not-so-much pay.

LOTD - Balloons Edition

Inspired by this article (hat-tip to SaraK), today's LOTD has a balloon theme:


Nena
99 Red Balloons

You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons
With the money we've got
Set them free at the break of dawn
'Til one by one, they were gone
Back at base, bugs in the software
Flash the message
"Something's out there"
Floating in the summer sky
99 red balloons go by

99 red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic bells, it's red alert
There's something here
From somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
Focusing it on the sky
Where 99 red balloons go by

99 Decision Street
99 ministers meet
To worry, worry, super-scurry
Call the troops out in a hurry
This is what we've waited for
This is it boys, this is war
The president is on the line
As 99 red balloons go by

[Instrumental Interlude]

99 Knights of the airway
Ride super-high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a Silverhero
Everyone's a Captain Kirk
With orders to identify
To clarify and classify
Scramble in the summer sky
As 99 red balloons go by

As 99 red balloons go by

99 dreams I have had
In every one a red balloon
It's all over and I'm standin' pretty
In this dust that was a city
If I could find a souvenier
Just to prove the world was here
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go


And the video (don't play if you don't listen to music during the Three Weeks):

Weird Life

Article in the NY Times about going on a search for so-called "weird life," to be considered weird because it's not like our own. Who's to say we aren't the weird ones?

Williams Syndrome

Really fascinating article in the NY Times that discusses Williams Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affect social abilities, in some ways similar to autism, but very different as well. It's so interesting to me how a slight problem with genes can affect the social graces, interactions and normality of a person. Does that mean that our sociability and interaction style is hard-wired somewhere within our genetic code?

Mickey Mouse Ears

Check out my latest at Kindness Happens - Mickey Mouse Ears.

LOTD

Today's LOTD was inspired by Sarah's new green shoes:


Barenaked Ladies
If I Had A Million Dollars

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
I'd buy you a house
(I would buy you a house)
If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
I'd buy you furniture for your house
(Maybe a nice chesterfield or an ottoman)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you a K-Car
(A nice Reliant automobile)
If I had a million dollars I'd buy your love

If I had a million dollars
I'd build a tree fort in our yard
If I had million dollars
You could help, it wouldn't be that hard
If I had million dollars
Maybe we could put like a little tiny fridge in there somewhere
You know, we could just go up there and hang out
Like open the fridge and stuff
There would already be laid out foods for us
Like little pre-wrapped sausages and things

They have pre-wrapped sausages but they don't have pre-wrapped bacon
Well, can you blame 'em
Uh, yeah

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you a fur coat
(But not a real fur coat that's cruel)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you an exotic pet
(Yep, like a llama or an emu)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you John Merrick's remains
(Ooh, all them crazy elephant bones)
And If I had a million dollars I'd buy your love

If I had a million dollars
We wouldn't have to walk to the store
If I had a million dollars
Now, we'd take a limousine 'cause it costs more
If I had a million dollars
We wouldn't have to eat Kraft Dinner
But we would eat Kraft Dinner
Of course we would, we’d just eat more
And buy really expensive ketchups with it
That’s right, all the fanciest ke... dijon ketchups!
Mmmmmm, Mmmm-Hmmm

If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you a green dress
(But not a real green dress, that's cruel)
And if I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you some art
(A Picasso or a Garfunkel)
If I had a million dollars
(If I had a million dollars)
Well, I'd buy you a monkey
(Haven't you always wanted a monkey)

If I had a million dollars
I’d buy your love

If I had a million dollars, If I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars, If I had a million dollars
If I had a million dollars
I'd be rich

Fireworks

I missed the fireworks the other night because it was raining. A little while ago, I heard a noise like more fireworks going off, except it sounded like they were shooting them off from on top of my house! A little investigation showed me that they were being shot off quite nearby - and right in front of my bedroom window! So I just got to watch the fireworks after all, and it was a beautiful, live display right from the comfort of my bedroom.

Sunday Happenings

Anyone out there speak or understand Turkish? A website written in Turkish has linked to my blog, and I'm kinda curious to know what they are saying about it...

Had a great Shabbos at sheva brachos for my friend. So happy for them, and it was nice spending time with all her family and friends.

Just had lunch with my brother, who is moving to the cold Northeast (he has no idea what he's in for). I drove him into Manhattan since he had never been in the city before. He was duly impressed by all the tall buildings. It was nice and I hope to see more of him now that he's not SO far away.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday!

Post Secret

PostSecret usually manages to hit me somehow, but this week I could really relate to two of the postcards:

No kidding.

Sigh. I don't like to admit it.

Honest Saleperson?

I just got a call from a saleswoman who wanted me to switch my office supply company. She was a little pushy and I was a bit bowled over by her. I was almost to the point of allowing her to come into my office to overwhelm me even more, when she asked how many employees my company had. When I told her that we don't have so many employees, she told me that because of the size of my company, she actually can't save me money and wished me a nice day. I guess I wasn't worth her while, but I was quite surprised to have her be so honest.

Who Talks More?

According to the NY Times, it's hard to say. Personally, I think chicks talk way too much (myself included on occasion).

Bored, Bored, Bored

Some days are SOOOOOOOO slow. I'm terribly bored today. There are very few people in my office and I have very little work to do (that's a shock, I'm sure). No one seems to be blogging so there is little to read. And all I want to do is go home so I can get on the road for my destination for Shabbos.

In other news, I'm going to see my brother this weekend! And maybe more often in the future - he's moving into the cold Northeast (I warned him, but he didn't listen). So I'm looking forward to that.

Not much else going on. Maybe my rarely commenting friend will come through with some interesting articles for me (though I think he's quite busy these days).

Have a great weekend!

More Random

The greeting card section has gotten quite pathetic. The cards are just either way too mushy and cheesy or NOT funny. Luckily, I found a birthday card for my friend that is purple AND sparkly, perfect for sparkly purple Thursday!

I had to go to the bank to get more money since I still don't have a debit card. I had another check that I went ahead and cashed also. The bank teller (who I find endearing) gave me an extra six cents. Is he allowed to do that?

Random

I've been at work for almost two hours now. I have done NO work. None whatsoever. No one realizes, nor do they seem to care. Oh well.

I was informed that my office has horrible feng shui. This is after two of my co-workers spent hours rearranging the other day. Another co-worker explained that the way things are arranged with the windows and filters and plants equal bad vibes for Shoshana.

There was a BIG thunderstorm last night. The thunder was so loud it literally shook my house. It was cool.

I am attempting to cut down on my coffee intake so that Tisha B'Av might be a little easier. I haven't yet managed to cut down.

Facebook has a Food Fight application which is one of the few applications I will add (I'm anti-applications, a self-proclaimed Facebook purist). I like the application, but it bothers me that when you throw ice cream at someone, it says you threw "A" ice cream, rather than "AN" ice cream, or just ice cream. I think my internal grammar check needs to take a break sometimes.

Fireworks

Last year, I missed the fireworks because my friends and I were sitting inside talking and refused to believe that we were sitting through the show. Right now, I can hear the fireworks going off, but it's raining pretty hard out and I don't feel like standing outside in the rain. I think I might watch them on TV, but it's not the same. Oh well, here's some really fake ones (you can pretend they are real):

Zebrula

From my rarely-commenting friend, check out this way weird animal.

Laaaaazy Day

I don't have any plans for today. I need to clean, badly. I have been working on my happy jacket and it's becoming SO pretty. Sometime today, I may even leave my apartment.

New project - Sarah and I were discussing how we're not quite grown ups, but we are responsible and accountable. We need a new name for ourselves - any suggestions?

Recently, I asked my dad to scan and email me some old pictures of myself. He went all out and sent me a LOT of them. It was interesting to see them, because I always wonder about those things that are ingrained in us since birth vs. those things that change over the years. According to my dad, I was always stubborn and wanted my way - he sent me a picture of myself in a tutu that I loved so much I refused to let my parents take off, even when I was asleep! Some things really don't change.

But what has changed is my face. I don't recognize myself in those old pics. I try hard to see my features - my eyes, my nose, my smile. But they just don't seem to be there. Which is unlike at least two of my brothers, who have barely changed since they were born.

Anyway, just thought I would share how much I have changed over the years:

Yuck

Ugh. Fasting does NOT agree with me. I suppose it doesn't really agree with a lot of people, but about every other fast, I get really headachey and yucky and weak and miserable. Yep. That's me today. I just took some Advil because I can't handle it, but I still have 6 hours to go and I am super-crabby and just want to lie down. Whine, whine, whine, whine, whine. (Sorry bout that.) Oh, there is one good thing to report. My co-worker who hates the smell of nail polish is out, so my nails are now a pretty purple :)

Segulahs

A friend sent me a request for people making challah. This challah will be made with the intention of it being a segulah (translation? good omen, maybe?) for the recovery of a woman who is sick.

I love making challah, so I read a bit further. Here are the details of what needs to be done in order for the segulah to work:

As you may recall, 40 women must commit to making challah from Maariv time or later Thursday night or on Friday. Preparations can be done in advance, however it is best to say the bracha of hafrashat challah after maarive time on Thursday night or anytime Friday. You need to use at least 5 pounds of flour so that challah can be taken. There are many minhagim regarding the steps for performing this mitzvah.
Follow what you are comfortable with. I will just type out one custom that I follow.

The first step is that you will need four coins (worth more than a prutah each- only dimes and quarters can be used) you will give each coin in the z'chus of the Rabbeim listed below and say this before giving the coins for tzedukah:
1st coin in the z'chus of Rebbi Meir Ba'al HaNess
2nd coin in the z'chus of Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai
3rd coin in the z'chus of Rebbi Levi Yitzchak ben Sara Sasha
4th coin in the z'chus of Rebbi Menachem Mendel ben Reb Yosef Mayriminov

The second step is to say the Ye'he Ratzon from the Shacharis Shmoneh Esrei -it is below the Rifa'aynu paragraph (in the grey area at the bottom of the page in the Artscroll siddur). Please insert the name of the ill person.

Step three is to immediately say the bracha and take challah.

Who on earth came up with this? I have a feeling it's not in the Torah. And if I choose to pray for this person, will they still get credit? And if I make challah in their merit, doing a mitzvah, but only use three coins, does that mean it doesn't count? How about collecting the coins as tzedakah and making this woman's family dinner or putting it towards the cost of her medical treatments. I have a feeling that would be more practical. Ugh. I don't doubt that whoever sent this e-mail does genuinely want to help, and that is where it is coming from, but it just seems a little ridiculous.

The Silver Lining

Check out my newest contribution to Kindness Happens - The Silver Lining, chronicling the good things that happened during my stolen wallet ordeal.

By the way, don't forget to send me your stories of Kindness for the Kindness Happens blog or to e-mail me if you would like to become a contributor (no obligation to become a contributor, just the ability to add your own stories whenever you want :)

Being Unique

I really enjoyed and related to this article in the NY Times about the benefits and drawbacks of being different, of thinking for oneself and of being an "individual." Check it out.

Tag!

I'm back from a wonderful wedding weekend with way wistful wonderment. Ok, maybe that didn't make so much sense, but give me a break, I'm a bit sleep deprived. I danced up a storm last night for an amazing couple (and didn't manage to get so much sleep the entire weekend, I'm apparently not so good at making brides go to bed on time the night before their weddings).

Anyway, despite my delirium, I feel the responsibility of not one, but two, tags weighing me down. Both Jewmaican and Chana tagged me to write eight things about myself, so, sans rules (cuz I don't like them (rules, that is, in general, not these particular ones specifically), here goes (I think that was a less than grammatically correct sentence, but oh well):

1) Purple is my favorite color, with blue a close second (purple managed to usurp blue at some point in the last year or two, seems to be reflective of some slight change in me, but no reason to delve deeper into that now).

2) I used to have a cat. He would shed a lot. Several of my friends were allergic to him and couldn't visit me. Now that he is gone, I miss the cuddling, but don't miss having to watch where I sit and the sneezing factor.

3) I like naming things. All kinds of things, the most recent being the portable air conditioners that took residence in my office. I even made them nametags so all my co-workers would know which one was which.

4) I really like glitter. Glitter in make-up, in art projects and in all kinds of decorative manners.

5) I have party decorations up in my apartment. They were originally for a party but I liked them so much I failed to take them down. They make me happy.

6) I want to be an astronaut. Falling short of actually achieving that dream, I have glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling of my apartment that I love to enjoy when I turn my lights off at night. They also make me happy.

7) I am addicted to the Internet. I don't know what I would do without it.

8) I come from Alabama, but I don't have a banjo on my knee.

Anyone who would like to consider themselves tagged is welcome to do so.