I recently took the FaceBook quiz, “What kind of underwear are you?” Please don’t ask me why I would do such a thing. (Ironically, I hit cancel rather than let the results post to my FB page—because I didn’t want people to know I was so silly. But here we are…)
I’m sure you can all live without a description of my actual underwear, but suffice it to say it’s not the kind we used to refer to as Granny Panties—you know, the cover-all cotton kind. I think my underwear may be responsible for the fact that our teenage son refuses to get his clothes out of the dryer. (Or maybe that’s just because he’s a teenage boy.) Although as I think about it… Since I’m Granny to three marvelous Little People, I suppose my drawers are all, by definition, “Granny Panties” now. Along those lines, our kids tease my husband (who’s a generation older than I am) by asking “why’d you have to talk about your underwear?” whenever he answers a question with the word “Depends.”
And I’m suddenly remembering (because who doesn’t have an underwear story or two?) the trip to WalMart a few years back, when my daughter got to collect her potty-training reward of choosing her own Big Girl Panties. She was entirely obsessed with the movie “Cars” that year, so of course she needed Cars panties. And of course they don’t actually make Cars panties, so she needed to have the boys’ briefs. And of course her favorite character (the tow-truck Mater) was on the butt of the briefs, so she needed to wear them backward so she could bend over and say “hi” to Mater at will. She came home from preschool one day to report that the girls had informed her she was wearing underwear that was not for girls. “But it’s MY underwear, and I’M a girl—so yes it is,” she concluded triumphantly. I don’t think we’ll have peer-pressure problems with this one.
Perhaps that’s a fitting story to go with my underwear-quiz result, because (for reasons unfathomable to me) FaceBook has declared that I am… a Pair of Boxers. Perhaps some of you can enlighten me as to why “Boxers” might be a good descriptor for me.
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On to more serious coverage of the blogging world… (No, really. I can do serious.)
I got a lovely little gift in my inbox the other day, in the form of a Versatile Blogger award from one of my blogging-friends. Every nominee is meant to select the next round of awardees and pass the blog-love along… so while I was busy with the process of meaning-to-get-to-that, another Versatile Blogger nomination joined the first in my inbox, and then a third. Such synchronicity! Lacking a Versatile Blogger handbook which might refer me to the proper protocol for a triple-play, I’m going to put my Versatile-Person-skills to work and just forge ahead.
Without further ado: my humble THANKS to the three lovely ladies who so synchronously sent their blog-hugs (Blugs?) my way: Cerridwen’s Cauldron, Running Naked With Scissors, and Mature Student Hanging In There.
The award comes with responsibility, of course. (No, really. I can do responsibility.) I am directed to: (1) link to the nominator(s), (2) nominate fifteen new awardees (with links to their blogs), and (3) share seven random things about myself.
So here we have it, fifteen Versatile Bloggers whose writing I really enjoy (and you might too–hence the links):
- Becoming Cliche
- Word Salad
- Sturm und Mom
- Childhood Relived
- Words from the Woods
- Abrasive Enough
- Miss Demure Restraint
- Worrywart’s Guide to Weight, Sex, and Marriage
- Susan Writes Precise
- Spoiled Fruits of Empire
- I’ve Survived! And I’m Ready to Fly!
- The Musings of a Lesbian Writer
- The Prodigal Scribe
- Random Ruminations of a Mad World
- Antigone’s Clamor
And to finish the job, seven random things about myself (as if my underwear-tales weren’t enough)…
- Although a lot of girls go for Marine Biology because “dolphins are cute,” I specialized in the funky and fantastic realm of invertebrate physiology. Marine Invertebrates are living proof that God has a sense of humor. I also used to carry my dissection-labs over to the dinner table, which habit was not appreciated by my mother. She really didn’t want to have her oysters’ gonads pointed out to her in the middle of dinner.
- I did put a girly twist on one research project, as I think about it. I was tracking the movement patterns of a species of intertidal snail, marking my subjects with red nail polish. (Though I was un-girly enough to have to borrow said nail polish from a roommate.)
- The sides of my hands have the tattooed words: “Keoni ku’u pilikua,” which means “Keoni my beloved husband.” There was some debate, though, about whether the word should be pilikua or pilikia–the latter option meaning “trouble”….
- My favorite line in the Alcoholics Anonymous “Big Book” is the opening of the 9th-Step Promises: “If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through.” The engraving inside our wedding rings? “We will be amazed.”
- My husband likes to introduce himself to people as Mister Kana Tyler.
- I have an obsessive-compulsive aversion to pencil erasers. Can.Not.Stand.Them. My insistence on doing the NYTimes crossword in pen has nothing to do with hubris, and everything to do with my utter inability to use an eraser.
- Maybe the underwear quiz was right–I have been known to borrow our son’s boxers (to wear as shorts). He doesn’t usually read the Wicked Stepma’s blog, so I think it’s a safe admission. Very versatile item of clothing, boxers…
Kana's Chronicles 
Wow… Thanks for the nomination, Kana! I’m humbled by your nod, although I’m not entirely sure how “Versatile” I am.
The Prodigal Scribe :-)
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Let’s see… Fedoras, football, rock & roll, and Recovery–and that’s just this week. Looking at life from a Harley seems to be a pretty versatile view. ;)
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Funnily enough (and, was there intention behind it?), I think this post shows just how versatile a writer you are – jumping from boxers, to writing, to invertebrates and back to boxers! Love it. :)
PS: I have to admit, though, invertebrates upset me as much as pencil erasers seem to upset you. I find them slightly unsettling. Really.
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Congrats Kana – three nominations and a great post. Love the underwear story.
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I can recall as a young child my mother informing me that I was wearing my underwear backwards; that the Care Bears were suppose to be on the butt. Like your daughter, I thought that ridiculous as how would I see them then, and continued wearing them as I pleased.
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Aloha Kako’u, Maybe boxers are an appropriate fit after all since in your previous marriage you were the one that actually “wore the pants”. Me Kealoha Pumehana, Ko’u ‘Ele Makule
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And my current marriage? Hmm, Depends. ;) Love you, Baby!
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thank you for the award. I’m truly touched and honoured.
As to the underwear story…. Of course we all have ‘one in us’. I might mention mine on my 7 things about me!
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Looking forward to it! :)
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Hey, Kana! Thanks so much for including my blog in your list. I really appreciate it. As you know I enjoy your writing very much.
All the best,
Susan
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Congratulations on all three awards! Well-deserved! I only have a bra story. In discreetly seeking to buy some bras at a small-town JC Penney (yes, they used to have those, at least in Kansas), the sales clerk said, “I think these are on sale.” She then proceeded to hold them up and holler all the way back to the store, “Are these bras on sale?” To which the manager yelled back, “It depends on what size they are!” . . . and I’ll let you imagine what the clerk called out next. I don’t think I ever went back to that store! But back to your blog . . . keep up the great work! :)
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Oh my goodness–I’d completely forgotten (blocked?) the episode of buying my first bra in seventh grade, running into our junior high quarterback and HIS mom, who stood chatting with MY mom who was holding those damnable training bras for Henry to see and smirk about (and tease me about in class the next day)…
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You’re like the Meryl Streep of Versatile Blogger Awards!
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Congrats. And yes, marine (and other) invertebrates are cool (bio major myself).
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Ha! My hubby introduces himself as Mister Beth! he he I also have to do the crossword puzzle in pen because I hate the way pencil lead feels on newsprint. It’s like fingernails on a chalkboard to me. I love the inscription in your wedding rings!!
Boxers… maybe because you hide nothing. You are open and breezy and resistant to cramming yourself into tight corners. :)
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You and I were just MEANT to be friends, don’t you think? You’ve exactly described the pencil-problem. And I’m grateful for your boxer-analysis, much nicer than some of the thoughts that crossed my own mind. ;)
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I think you are right, Kana. I believe you were brought into my life for a reason and I feel more that way all the time. “…we will be amazed before we are half way through.” ((hugs))
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Kana, wow, thank you! I am honored!!
I have a question, though, since this is my first award–are there rules about who we nominate? Can the be the person who nominated us or someone on the list?
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So far as I know, there aren’t fixed rules beyond the “pay it forward” idea and the “embarrass yourself with random facts” requirement… ;)
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Alrighty, thank you!!
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Whoa, nomination. I almost rolled right by myself on the list, and did a literal doubletake. Thanks so much!
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Thank YOU for the great reading! :)
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Kana, I love your writing. You keep me amused! Len.
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Excellent post, Kana. Shouldn’t read this kind of thing at work, though. Laughed out loud and then had to come up with a work-related explanation. Bad, Kathi!! :-)
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Congratulations, Kana. Well-deserved! It seems most of the underwear stories in my family have to do with falling down, the underpants and half-slips (remember those?), as well as the panty nylons. Although I do remember not wearing a bra long after I needed one (barely) because friends in Junior High made fun of a girl they deemed to be sporting one when she wasn’t ready. Is that why they used to be called “unmentionables”?
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I was thoroughly enjoying your post . . . “And of course her favorite character (the tow-truck Mater) was on the butt of the briefs, so she needed to wear them backward so she could bend over and say “hi” to Mater at will” (I wish I could bend over and see my underwear at will) . . . before I came to the Versitile Blogger Award (congratulations) and nominations (thank you) and had planned to get something done today as soon as I finished reading it. Now, it is late morning and I haven’t had breakfast yet because I have been reading and reading and reading . . . great selection of blogs!
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Kana, I have been enjoying your blog all week ever since I discovered it. However, I find myself EXTREMELY initimated by all the exchanges here containing so many details from everyone’s personal lives. I am still struggling to “fit in” (for over 60 years now!) and refrain from retreating into a corner with my sketches, verses, tunes, plants, and animals! I most humbly thank you for allowing me to participate in your blogging community. I am hoping to get more equipment to scan in my own photos and sketches for posting on my own blog. I always enjoy the visuals on your posts.
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P.S. Kana: the word is INTIMIDATED in my immediate past comment on this post. Also, see why I don’t “fit in”. I was thinking “WOW–how great for Kana to get this award” and neglected to type it in my previous comment. I have only been running my own blog for about 7-8 weeks, so I highly value learning from you guys. I was nominated for this Versatile Blogger award by http://catlas.wordpress.com earlier this week, so I dream of joining your exalted company SOME FINE DAY!
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You “fit in” perfectly well, Granbee! Just toss that blueprint about what “fitting in” feels like, and keep following your passion–we’re glad to have you in the community. Congratulations on your Versatile Blogger award! :)
(And for those of you who haven’t yet read today’s blueprints & passions post, it’s here: http://granbee.wordpress.com/)
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P.P.S. So sorry! I also neglected to type in my great enjoyment and many chuckled-response to your underwear essay. Last year, I gave my mother-in-law, among other items, some “boy-leg, guaranteed-not-to-ride-up, no-wedgie” undies in her tiny size, which is very hard to find. She became very insulted, telling other family members that I must be very confused about her sexual orientation. This, after complaining for months, after weight loss, that all her underwear was giving her wedgies! You can understand why, I am sure, I only take carefully catered baked goods to her house!
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I just LOVE reading your blog. Seriously, it makes me smile. This one is great and I admire your daughter – she’s awesome!
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She’s a firecracker all right. :) And she has a name in common with YOU–that little anecdote was about Elena Grace…
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It’s a great name! I’m actually “Samantha Grace” but use Grace as my “blog” name. I was named after my grandmother, who was a fire cracker who use to say “Though we may be full of Grace, we are also full of fire, too!”
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“Grace” was a last-minute substitution for her *intended* name… But that’s a whole blog-post of its own! Stay tuned… ;)
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Congrats on the triple-crown, and I suspect that you’re a boxers girl based on your need for flexibility and room to breathe and be you. :)
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Congratulations, well deserved! :D
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Congrats on a well deserved award :)
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Thanks so much Kana! I’m so honoured! You’re the best writer ever — maybe I should make that a Quadruple Crown back at ya! ;-)
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You deserve the award!! Congrats.
Love the underwear backwards and the Facebook pair of boxers.
Marine biology? Wow. Some talented writer too.
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Thanks so much for the nod to my blog! I loved the random fact about using (or not) an eraser…because I’m with you on that. My problem is it makes my teeth hurt when I try to erase with a barely-there eraser and instead scratch the eraser’s metal ring against the paper. Eeeeeee. Like getting a root canal.
Fun, fun facts about you.
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Wow, thanks so much Kana. I am honored. Now onto paying it forward …
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I just caught up to this post and laughed; I have done my own bloggy underwear reflections and love everyone’s individual take. I am wearing granny panties (nylon not cotton) right now, but I call them “Marilyns” after Monroe and love them because they aren’t crawling anywhere! I also love boxers for sleeping: they breathe, don’t bind, have style but aren’t all narcissistic about like (like the tanga.) OF COURSE you are boxers, what else would you be?
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There, see? I just needed the insights of my blogging-friends to understand the Boxers-diagnosis… :)
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I must confess, I would have taken the underwear test too. Thank god I don’t have Facebook. I sensed danger there.
Thank you for the award. I will make a post next week once I decompress. It is so thoughtful of you to share it with me.
Inside tip . . . the boxers make treat PJs.
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Fitting, since I spend plenty of time in PJ-type attire now that I work from home ;)
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Re point 3 – Translation in tattoo’s is a tricky business. Before I married the lovely Libriumia I genuinely considered having a tattoo of the word ‘Malenka’. This is a Polish pet name, something like ‘Sweetheart’. I thought it was cute. Fortunately, before the day I discovered it translates directly as ‘tiny’. This would have been particularly unfortunate as I was going to have the tattoo, well, lets say, just below my belt buckle….
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