Joyce From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly Wednesday Hodgepodge of questions for fun and for getting to know each other.

Here are the questions for this week:

1. What is something that bothers you if it is not done perfectly?

Oh — too many things. I hate when I am trying to put an address label or stamp on an envelope and get it crooked. I hate to send it out like that but life is too short to try to peel it off without ripping the envelope. There are plenty of things I live with less-than-perfectly (my bed, for instance. I like to make it, but it is nowhere near military or hospital precision.) Crooked wall frames bug me, too.

2. What is one of your best childhood memories?

Once when the power was out we all slept in the living room and did shadow hand puppets on the wall and such. It was a cozy moment in a not-always-so-cozy childhood.

3. Do you plan to watch the Royal Wedding and when was the last time you wore a hat?

a) I haven’t decided yet. I didn’t get up early to watch Diana’s and then kind of regretted it. Maybe I’ll tape it. b) Last Sunday.

4. Where do you fall in the birth order in your family? Do you think this has influenced your personality?

I am the oldest of six, and yes, I think I am the typical (mostly) serious, responsible firstborn.

5. Where do you think you spend most of your money?

At the grocery store!

6. When you need to confront someone would you rather communicate in person, on the phone, by email or by letter? Why?

I hate confronting people and would rather do it in writing where I can get my thoughts and tone the way I want them — and avoid eye contact. 😀 But that’s rarely as effective as communicating in person.

7. Dodge ball, freeze tag, kickball or jump rope? You have to pick one.

I’m guessing the question is which do I prefer to participate in? Well, these days, freeze tag — I’d get to stand still. 😀 But in my youth I enjoyed all of those.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I am grateful for the lady at the customer service desk at W-mart who came over to check my purchases out this morning, though it earned us both a frown. I like shopping there right after I drop Jesse off at school because it is much less busy. But they usually only have one regular check-out lane and one “speedy” lane open. This morning they had two regular lanes open, but one had five people waiting in it, so I went to the other. But the guy in front of me was having some trouble buying a gift card with his corporate credit card, and I waited — and waited, and waited. The other line continued to have several people in it. The lady at the Customer Service counter was zipping over to one of the lanes limited to 20 items to check people out if she wasn’t busy at Customer Service. She saw I had been waiting for a long time and waved me over: I let her know I had more than 20 items, but she said that was ok. But wouldn’t you know right then someone came to the customer service desk who wanted help right NOW. The lady’s supervisor started fussing and the person waiting was glaring — she probably thought I hadn’t heeded the sign about 20 items or less. I felt bad that the cashier was getting some flack for trying to be helpful and wished I could do something nice for her besides just profusely thanking her. But I was also convicted by the thought that if I had been the waiting customer at the service desk with no service, I probably would have been glaring, too. 😳

And that turned into a longer story than I’d planned. But here are two more quick random thoughts:

a) Why does no food on the Biggest Loser ever look or sound appealing to me?

b) Why is it that when I start to think about the need to lose weight or my doctor mentions it, I start craving every unhealthy thing I can think of?