Tuesday, April 21, 2015

A Whole Bunch of Conversation Questions

Upon occasion, I find use for a list of conversation questions. These are great to sprinkle on the table at family reunions or to keep in the car for road trips. This is a wonderful way to spark an interesting conversation with your spouse. Sometimes we forget to talk to each other, especially in this age of cell phones. Hopefully these questions will trigger great conversations! Try to focus on expounding your answers rather than trying to get through the whole list.

1.    What was your favorite vacation you took as a child? Your least favorite?
2.    What is the best meal you've ever had?
3.    What was the occasion when you felt you looked your best?
4.    What has been one of your greatest disappointments?
5.    What is something you’re proud of?
6.    What is something you regret?
7.    What is something you learned from a child?
8.    When is your favorite time of the day?
9.    What is your favorite season? Why?
10. What is something you remember about your grandmother?
11. What is something you remember about your grandfather?
12. What was your favorite thing to do as a child?
13. What is your favorite beverage?
14. Where are you most ticklish?
15. What was your first car?
16. Have you ever been in a car accident? What happened?
17. What is your favorite dessert?
18. Have you ever had a kitchen disaster? Do tell!
19. If you could be the best in the world at something, what would you pick?
20. Which of the following can you do: roll your tongue, touch your toes, wiggle your nose, wiggle your ears, touch your tongue to the tip of your nose?
21. What is something silly you splurged on?
22. Tell me about a good deed you have done.
23. How do you like your eggs? Sausage or bacon? Orange juice or coffee?
24. What is your biggest pet peeve?
25. When you look at yourself in the mirror, what is the first thing you check?
26. What would be your ideal vehicle?
27. What’s the farthest you’ve ever run? Biked?
28. What’s your most embarrassing moment?
29. What was the worst job you’ve ever done?
30. What would your dream house look like? Where would it be?
31. How did you (or your parents) meet and get engaged?
32. Have you ever been to a psychic?
33. What are your favorite kinds of socks?
34. Describe your favorite pair of shoes.
35. What super power would you most like to have?
36. What’s the best date you've ever been on?
37. How do you envision your retirement?
38. What is the ideal number of children in a family?
39. What is your favorite gift you've received?
40. What was your most disappointing Christmas?
41. What’s the best thing about your mother?
42. What’s the best thing about your father?
43. How would you like to spend a day by yourself?
44. What’s the best concert you've ever been to? Who would you most like to see in concert?
45. What was your favorite meal when you were a child?
46. What’s your favorite kind of ice cream?
47. Where were you during September 11? How did you react?
48. Where do you want to be laid to rest?
49. What is the perfect age?
50. What did you want to be when you were little?
51. What makes you angry?
52. Do you remember a time when you couldn't stop laughing? What happened?
53. Who is your hero?
54. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
55. What is your biggest fear?
56. What would you change about yourself if you could?
57. What really makes you angry?
58. What motivates you to work hard?
59. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about your career?
60. Do you ever start unzipping your pants before you get into a restroom?
61. What is your child's proudest accomplishment?
62. What is your favorite book?
63. What makes you laugh the most?
64. What do you most remember your parents fighting about?
65. What was the last movie you went to? What did you think?
66. What did you want to be when you were small?
67. What does your child want to be when he/she grows up?
68. If you could choose to do anything for a day, what would it be?
69. What is your favorite game or sport to watch and play?
70. Would you rather ride a bike, ride a horse, or drive a car?
71. What would you sing at Karaoke night?
72. What two radio stations do you listen to in the car the most?
73. Which would you rather do: wash dishes, mow the lawn, clean the bathroom, or vacuum the house?
74. If you could hire someone to help you, would it be with cleaning, cooking, or yard work?
75. If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
76. Who is your favorite author?
77. Have you ever had a nickname? What is it?
78. Do you like or dislike surprises? Why or why not?
79. In the evening, would you rather play a game, visit a relative, watch a movie, or read?
80. Would you rather vacation in Hawaii or Alaska, and why?
81. Would you rather win the lottery or work at the perfect job? And why?
82. Who would you want to be stranded with on a deserted island?
83. If money was no object, what would you do all day?
84. If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
85. How would your friends describe you?
86. What are your hobbies?
87. What is the best gift you have been given?
88. What is the worst gift you have received?
89. Aside from food, water, and shelter, what one thing could you not go a day without?
90. List two pet peeves.
91. Where do you see yourself in five years?
92. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
93. What would you do if you won the lottery?
94. What form of public transportation do you prefer? (air, boat, train, bus, car, etc.)
95. What's your favorite zoo animal?
96. If you could go back in time to change one thing, what would it be?
97. If you could share a meal with any 4 individuals, living or dead, who would they be?
98. How many pillows do you sleep with?
99. What's the longest you've gone without sleep (and why)?
100.  What's the tallest building you've been to the top in?
101.  Would you rather trade intelligence for looks or looks for intelligence?
102.  How often do you buy clothes?
103.  Have you ever had a secret admirer?
104.  What's your favorite holiday?
105.  What's the most daring thing you've ever done?
106.  What was the last thing you recorded on TV?
107.  What was the last book you read?
108.  What's your favorite type of ethnic food?
109.  Are you a clean or messy person by nature?
110.  Who would you want to play you in a movie of your life?
111.  How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?
112.  What kitchen appliance do you use most often?
113.  What's your favorite fast food chain?
114.  What's your favorite family recipe?
115.  Do you love or hate roller coasters?
116.  What are your favorite family traditions?
117.  What is your favorite childhood memory?
118.  What's your favorite movie?
119.  How old were you when you learned Santa wasn't real? How did you find out?
120.  Is your glass half full or half empty?
121.  What's the craziest thing you've done in the name of love?
122.  What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?
123.  What was your favorite subject in school?
124.  What's the most unusual thing you've ever eaten?
125.  Do you or have you ever collected anything?
126.  Is there anything you wished would come back into fashion?
127.  Are you an introvert or an extrovert?
128.  Which of the five senses would you say is your strongest?
129.  Have you ever had a surprise party? (that was an actual surprise)
130.  Are you related or distantly related to anyone famous?
131.  Have you ever had anything odd happen at a nail salon, spa or massage therapist?
132.  Does your family have a “motto” – spoken or unspoken? If not, what would it be?
133.  If you were ruler of your own country what would be the first law you would introduce?
134.  Who was your favorite teacher in school and why?
135.  What three things do you think of the most each day?
136.  If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
137.  What song would you say best sums you up?
138.  What celebrity would you like to meet at Starbucks for a cup of coffee?
139.  Who was your first crush?
140.  What's the most interesting thing you can see out of your office or kitchen window?
141.  On a scale of 1-10 how funny would you say you are?
142.  Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
143.  What was your first job?
144.  If you could join any past or current music group which would you want to join?
145.  How many languages do you speak?
146.  What is your favorite family holiday tradition?
147.  Who is the most intelligent person you know?
148.  If you had to describe yourself as an animal, which one would it be?
149.  What is one thing you will never do again?
150.  Who knows you the best?
151. If you were to start up a rock band, what would you call it? What type of music would you play?
152. What was your best Halloween costume?
153. What is your favorite color? Why?
154. If you had a million dollars and you had to give it away, what charity would you give it to?
155. What body part of yours do you love?
156. If you could collect something without being accused of being a hoarder, what would you collect?
157. Do you have any scars? How did you get them?
158. Who was your first kiss?
159. If you could be the opposite gender for just one day, what would you do?
160. If you didn't live here, where would you live?
161. What are three good things and one bad thing that have happened in the past year?
162. Name one event, whether positive or negative, that has had the most impact on your life.
163. Do you have a hidden talent?
164. Who was your childhood celebrity crush?
165. Who is the best Disney princess?
166. What is something about you that people would be surprised to know?
167. If you had a horse in the Kentucky Derby, what would you name it?
168. What is your favorite smell?
169. If you could inherit any object from one of your relatives, what would it be?
170. What is your "death row" meal?
171. Is there a random stranger that you still think about? What happened?
172. Have you ever had to call 911?
173. Have you ever had a reoccurring dream?
174. What is the greatest prank you have pulled or has been pulled on you?
175. Have you ever plotted revenge?
176. What has been your closest brush with the law?
177. If your emotions controlled the weather, what would your climate be like?

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

It's getting hot in here!

I noticed something unusual in the restroom at work today. To test my hypothesis, I made sure I was alone, carefully leaned over, and ever so slightly dipped the tip of my pointer finger in the middle of the toilet bowl water. Bingo!

Here is the actual email I sent to resolve the problem.


Hopefully this is the worst problem we have today!

UPDATE! The plumber told us that something is wrong with our faucets, and we need to replace them. Hmmm...I'm not buying that. It would be quite a coincidence for three faucets, five toilets, and two urinals to all fail on the same day.

Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Tell me something about yourself that you wouldn't want me to know.

That is a real interview question that my friend was recently asked. Isn't that a terrible question? I've been brainstorming the perfect answer, and finally came up with the following.

Well, sir, I'm glad you asked. You see, I usually try to be as efficient as possible. I walk fast. I multi-task. I have my keys in my hand before I get to my car. But there is one thing I do that might push it too far. One thing that I do in the name of efficiency that I would never tell you unless you asked this very specific question. In fact, it's a habit that I've been trying to break. Sometimes (ok, usually) when I need to use restroom in the office, I... uh... prematurely prepare. What I'm trying to say is that I subconsciously start unbuttoning my pants before I get into the stall. To be totally honest, it's worse than that. On more than one occasion I have found myself with my pants unbuttoned and unzipped in the hallway leading to the ladies room. So there you have it. That's my thing that I wouldn't want you to know. But it's kind of good, right? That I'm being efficient? Right?

So now I ask you. What is something about yourself that you wouldn't want me to know? Let's be honest here.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt

One of my favorite Easter traditions is the annual Easter egg hunt on my mom's side of the family. It gets fairly competitive. We split into two teams, each with our own color of egg. It's the kind of hunt where you go from clue to clue to get to the end prize. Usually each team has the same clues, but they are in a different order.

We try to make the clues somewhat challenging, but not impossible. One year I downloaded an Easter icon font and simply typed out each clue using that font. The Easter font had pictures of bunnies, eggs, and crosses instead of letters, so it was impossible to read. Then I created a key by typing that Easter font in ABC order next to another readable font in the same order. Another year I simply scrambled the letters of each clue.

This year it was boys v. girls, and the girls KILLED it! Here are this year's clues. Please copy this idea and create your own memories!  

1. As girls, some of us used to sing this song, "Say, say oh playmate. Come out and play with me. And bring your dollies three. Climb up my __ __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __."

2. When a lady is preparing to have a baby, her friends will probably throw her a __ __ __ __ __ __. Babies are incredibly expensive.

3. Did you see the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ for the new pirate movie? It's rated ARRRRRGH!

4. __ __ __    __ __ __ __ __ __ was a hilarious TV show featuring Pam Beasley, Jim Halpert, Dwight Schrute, and Michael Scott.

5. __ __ __' __ __    __ __ __    __ __ __ __ was a touching movie starring Meg Ryan. She was worried her little book store was going out of business when a larger store opened in her neighborhood.

6. If there is someone who you don't want to hang out with, you might try to __ __ __ __ __ them. But please do it in a nice way.

7. The __ __ __ __ __ __ is a handy place inside the house that is one letter off from sounding like a pair of girl's underwear.

8. You need to __ __ __ __ __ hard in order to hit a home run. Also, home run hitters should try to be humble. No one likes a bragger.

9. Go to this corner of the acreage. (SW was circled on a compass)

10. Oh, I'm SO sorry! I meant THIS corner! (NE was circled on a compass)

11. You win! Or maybe you lose. It all depends on if you are the first team here. Either way, the prize is simply bragging rights. It's a little lame, but none of us needs more candy!
P.S. Complainers volunteer to organize next year's hunt, thank you very much.

Answers:
1. Apple Tree
2. Shower
3. Trailer
4. The Office
5. You've Got Mail
6. Ditch
7. Pantry
8. Swing

Happy Easter!