NoJoMo Catch-Up (6 - 16), and bonus recipe in Those Public Entries

6 Free-writing time: set a timer for ten minutes and just write whatever comes into your head, stream of consciousness style.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH....

(Trust me on this, y’all don’t want me free-writing. I have ADHD, which, in terms of free-writing, results in a word salad that makes everything said by the Orange Shitgibbon and Kanye West combined look sensible.)

7. What did you want to be when you were a kid? Do you still have that dream? Did you make it?

Well, I mentioned this in another NJM post, but as a kid, I wanted to be an actor. And a writer. And a veterinarian (holy shit, I’ve actually learned to spell it! 🎉). Do I still have that dream? Not of being a vet; having to deal with bad owners, putting animals down, and making less than I do now and having human-doctor amounts of student loan debt? No thank you. I understand why vets have the highest suicide rate of all professions.

Acting… Maybe? I mean, I don’t think I’d be any kind of star, but maybe a background or character actor. Or voice-over. My only hesitation with VO work is I’m not good at imitating or creating voices, and my own, I’m told, is very distinctive. (How distinctive? Pre-pandemic, I used to go to a Starbucks near my apartment every morning, and my order was always “Venti iced coffee, unsweetened, and a butter croissant.” More than once, I’d say “Hi” and the person working the drive-through would say, “[Mulling]? Iced coffee unsweetened and a croissant?” Having worked drive-thru before, I can honestly say that if the person working it can tell who you are by voice alone, you probably do have a unique voice!)

Writing, absolutely. I mean, functionally, I’ve been writing online for 24 years; the next step is getting paid for it.

8. Have you ever seen a ghost?
I don’t believe in ghosts, and I believe strongly that seeing a ghost involves believing that they exist. So, no. Plus, I have two cats; even if there is a ghost in my house, I wouldn’t notice, because I, having had cats literally my whole life, am more likely to chalk up odd noises and things moving to “Goddamn it, Smudge/Nyx, stay off the counter!/Go back to sleep!/I just heard your feeder go off, go eat!”

Also, I know Smudge has gotten up on a stove and turned it on before on accident; he did it in my apartment in Burlington. I know, because I was asleep, he kind of yelled, and I woke up and went out to see why, only to find my gas stove partly turned on and Smudge holding up one of his paws. (He wasn’t burned, I think it startled him more than anything.) So yeah; there may be a ghost in my house, but then again, I have cats. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, really.

9. Pretend you’re a critic and review a book or movie of your choice.

I’ve actually done this before, a long time ago. And I stand by that review. I am so disappointed that neurodivergent representation in media in the last ten years hasn’t evolved much past the “Hollywood Autistic” trope, which itself is pretty much stuck in the 80s. I don’t know what else I can really say about it.

10. What would your superpower be, is boring and overdone. If you could be a movie monster, which one would you pick?

Godzilla; specifically, from Bambi Meets Godzilla.

If you’ve never seen this before, you’re welcome and/or I’m sorry.

11. Write a letter to your future self, one year from now (you can actually send it here if you want to: https://www.futureme.org)

Hm…

No.

12. Do you have any bad habits?

I’m nothing but bad habits, honestly. I stay up too late, I bite my nails and cuticles until they bleed, I put off the things I don’t want to do until they’re at crisis level, I eat too much sugar, I drink too much caffeine, and at the moment, the only reason I haven’t smoked the other joint I bought is that I can’t afford to be stoned-ish for three days after. Also, I haven’t deliberately exercised in, like, three months, at this point, and right now is the only time I have a legitimate excuse (my left knee has been stiff and painful since yesterday, and I may or may not have twisted my ankle by readjusting my driver’s seat). …Of course, from September 1st to October 30th, I was taking care of seven cats, so…

13. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks: what does your perfect day of food look like?

…Honestly, the only answer I can really think of is dinner and dessert, which is chicken with 40 cloves of garlic (yes, this is a thing, and it is out of this world; this recipe has never failed me), rolls, and roasted broccoli, and tiramisu for dessert.

14. What are your most disparate or weirdest musical tastes?

…

Consider: My favorite band is Garbage. My favorite solo artist is St. Vincent. My favorite albums include Version 2.0, American Idiot, Thriller, and Tommy.

15. If you were in a coma, what song would pull you out of it?

^^. Or “Only Happy When It Rains”. Try that one first, then go to the humiliating choice.

16. Do you have a weird crush, one that confuses and vaguely repulses you that you’d never admit to at work kind of thing? Do tell…

I mean, I think most of Prosebox knows I’ve got it bad for Malcolm Gladwell, which is kind of icky, because he’s old enough to be my father (I’m not kidding, he’s only four years younger than my mom). He’s the only one I can think of, really.

Today, I found out you can make an entire breakfast sandwich in an air fryer. (I have an Instant Vortex Slim, for reference.)

Ingredients:

1 egg, cracked into a well-oiled/buttered ramekin
1 English muffin, split
3 strips of bacon (I pre-cooked a bunch yesterday, but you can cook it from raw in the AF)

Set your air fryer to 350° for 6 minutes (on the “bake” setting, if your’s has it; if not, never mind). If it needs to preheat, let it; otherwise, arrange the ramekin, muffin, and bacon on the tray. Cook, and assemble.

Suck it, McDonald’s, you’re not contributing to my obesity! //surreptitiously checks the app for good deals//