Time is an illusion; birthdays, doubly so

It's my little brother's birthday. Facebook said so; it must be true. Though, to be fair to my amazing cognitive functions, I've remembered the date quite easily my whole life, even before the machines took over in 1996 and became our silicon minders.

Where was I? Oh, yes, Facebook. Facebook invited me to comment on my brother's "wall," so I wrote,

"Whoa, whoa, wait - did MOM authorize you to have this birthday? Better check."

Because when we were very young, our mother had the POWER* to withhold the privilege of turning one year older, if we were not very good on or near our birthdays. If we misbehaved, she was known to point a crooked finger and declare, "That's it - you're not turning ten on Tuesday. You have to stay nine for another year. Now off to bed."

Then the trick was to try and make her change her mind before the next Tuesday, and let her deviant child turn another year older.

When we were very young, this was a serious threat.

When we turned, oh, ten? we felt we knew how things stood.

Now that I'm older than dirt, I wish I had that power myself!

*She is clearly imbued with this amazing POWER. In the whole time I've known her, she's never copped to being older than 39. Q.E.D.

Hit me, bro!

Taking up my friend Teddy Radiator's latest meme, I asked her to come up with five questions for me to answer about myself. They were tougher than I thought they'd be!

1. Why SS/HG? What is it about Snape that appeals to you?

Well, even in the books, Snape was to me the most complex and enigmatic character JKR fashioned. As we learn about him, he gradually morphs from a bad-tempered yet grudgingly dedicated educator (Sorcerer's Stone), to a man whose youth was marred by torture at the hands of bullies (POA), to a dark, inscrutible spy (OotP) and cold-blooded murderer (HBP). Yet in the end his true nature redeems him. There's so much to Severus Snape, and I'm constantly amazed and impressed by the depths you writers are able to plumb to fashion him into a worthy character, time and time again.

2. You - earth, air, sky, water - which one and why?

Air, because I am constantly dreaming about flying. In my dreams, I am on the verge of figuring out the knack to flight, I'm sure of it.

Once I was a teacher's aide in a first grade class. We were on a field trip, and to pass the time while walking from place to place, I told the group that we live on the bottom of a big, big sea of air. I even got them to swim down the sidewalk in a long line, our arms flapping as we walked. It was awesome.

3. What do you like the most about your spouse?

Wow, just one thing? I guess I'd have to say it's how dedicated he is to being in the here and now. Everything he undertakes - his job, his family, his music - he puts his whole energy into; there's not a cynical bone in his body. 

4. What would you like to be your significant impact before you leave this earth?

I would like to affect positive change in the particular area of public policy where I work in my state. To make a long story short, I'm working with a team that's getting ready to suggest ways to connect people with certain services that are funded, but hard to get plugged into due to bureaucracy. If our changes are good enough and can be implemented, it would help a lot of people.

5. Other than fanfiction, who is your favourite author and why?  

It's a toss-up between John Steinbeck and Neil Gaiman. Steinbeck for his stunning ability to make the ordinary come to life, and Gaiman for his humor and all-around creativity.

Now I guess it's time for me to pay it forward! If you would like me to ask you five questions, leave a comment ...