Monday Mission
1. How old will you be on your next birthday? Thirty six, but where did the years go?

2. One of the presents I was given for my birthday was a "George Foreman Grill." I've always joked about them, so it was kind of a joke gift. But it turns out, it is a really neat little grill. Then it hit me, this is a gadget, except it is for the kitchen. Then I thought about it and realized that "gadgets" aren't just techno-toys, gadgets are everywhere. What is your favorite gadget? Does my remote control count as a gadget? I'm a tv addict.

3. Tell me about someone that you lost touch with several years ago. Would you like to get back in touch with them again? What caused the separation? Has enough time passed? Would you still get along? My good friend Silvana. We went to high school together, and she was a very mature and together young woman. She moved back to Italy about 9 years ago and I always wondered why she didn't call to say she was moving. I would love to get in touch with her, but I don't know if we'd still get along, 9 years is a long time, and people change.

4. I've not met many online friends in real-life (I.R.L.), but I've always assumed we'd get along great if we met. But then again, if we would since my online personality (brash, outgoing) seems so different from how I see my RL offline version (introverted). Is there a difference between your online personality and your real-life version? Or are you pretty much the same person either way? I'm quiet and introverted in real llife, so I guess there is a difference.

5. Being the quiet type, I have often felt like the online world has given me a greater chance to meet people I'd never meet IRL. In fact, I would bet that I would have never met any of you IRL if we had been in the same bookstore or coffee shop. So in that sense, I think the Internet has helped inter-personal communication for many people. Can you think of any ways that the Internet hinders person-to-person communication? What could we do to change things? When my boyfriend calls me and gets a busy signal because I'm on-line has deffinitely hindered our relationship. Just kidding. But there is something we lose out on while on-line and that is the human element, the eye contact, body language, even the casual touch make a great impact on the way we relate to people.

6. Last night, about 1AM I was overcome with this amazing sense of inner peace. I hadn't prayed, or done anything spiritual, yet, I felt like life was truly good and things could only get better. It seemed like I was given a mental "nudge" as if to say, "You're doing great kid, stay with it and everything will keep getting better." When was the last time you felt truly happy, or had that sense of perfect inner-peace? What does it take to get that feeling back when you need it? When I went to visit my brother in Arizona last month, seeing him with his wife and baby helped remind me that there are good things in life, and when I need to get back that feeling I look at the baby's pictures. She gives me joy and hope.

7. There are times when I just want to tell someone off. I don't usually, since I have to work with them. Sometimes it is a family member and that would be even worse on down the road if I cut loose. If you could just verbally let loose on someone and be able to say anything you want, without repercussions, who would you say it to and what would you say? That would be my dad, and the list of things to say is a bit long.

BONUS: Are we alive or just a dying planet? Definitely alive.