Thunderstorms and Lightning...

I was laying in bed this morning listening to the thunderstorm and I was remembering an old childhood memory.

When I was little, we lived in this two story house in Hummelstown on High Street. It was taller than most of the houses around us and so you had this great view of the sky from any bedroom window. Storms used to roll through a lot in the summer and Dad and I used to sit at the window on the second floor and watch the lightning crack across the sky.

I used to do the whole counting between the thunder and lightning to tell how far away it was. I would even pretend that I could control when the lightning flashed. (Imagine how excited I was when I found out there was a female super hero that could control storms!)

Dad would get out his Canon AE-11 and we would take pictures of the lightning stretching across the clouds. He taught me how to play with the different exposure times and shutter speeds and before you know it, I was a 7 year old photographer of lightning.

As I got older, Dad didn't have time to watch the storms with me. I would just shut myself in my room and open all the windows and feel the air blow through the room. That calm, tingly air right before the sky just opens up and goes crazy. I would lay on my bed and listen to the thunder and enjoy the breeze. I would sometimes get out the camera and take pics. Somewhere buried in a box of memories, I still have a photo album of all those pics I took.

I miss enjoying a good storm with someone who appreciates it as much as I do.

Okay, last one

In case you wanted to know more about me...

1. What color is your toothbrush? Blue and white

2. Name one person who made you smile today: H. Wise

3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Laying in bed snuggling with Sookie

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Studying for tomorrow's final

5. What is your favorite candy bar? Skor

6. Have you ever been to a strip club? You betcha

7. What is the last thing you said out loud?  "I've lost my mind"

8. What is your favorite ice cream? Turkey Hill Peanut Butter Ripple

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? V8 Fusion Blueberry/Pomegranate

10. Do you like your wallet? It does its job.

11. What was the last thing you ate? Reeses Peanut Butter Egg

12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week? Nope

13. The last sporting event you watched? Soccer game on the screen at BBP.

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Move theatre butter

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? Casey

16. Ever go camping? Plenty of times

17. Do you take vitamins daily? No but I need to start

18. Do you go to church every Sunday? No

19. Do you have a tan? Barely. I need to lounge in the sun more.

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza? No

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?  If it is at a restaurant

22. What did your last text message say? "Call me"

23. What are you doing tomorrow? Finals

25. Look to your left, what do you see? Sookie

26. What color is your watch? silver

27. What do you think of when you hear Australia? koalas and Baz Luhrman

29. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Drive thru unless it is too long of a line

30. What is your favorite number? 3

31. Who's the last person you talked to on the phone? Casey

32. Any plans today? Studying for finals

33. How many states have you lived in? 2

34. Biggest annoyance right now? People who aren't honest with me

35. Last song listened to? "It's a Fire" by Portishead

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? Yes, slowly

37. Do you have a maid service clean your house? No, I clean my own house, thank you.

38. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time? My Simple mary janes

39. Are you jealous of anyone? Yes

40. Is anyone jealous of you? Not that I am aware of

41. Do you love anyone? Yes

42. Do any of your friends have children? Yes

43. What do you usually do during the day? Work, go to school.

44. Do you hate anyone that you know right now? Hate is such a strong word. I prefer "dislikes with a passion"

45. Do you use the word 'hello' daily? Yes

46. What color is your car? Greenish

47. Do you like cats? I only have three of them

48. Are you thinking about someone right now? Yes, always

49. Have you ever been to Six Flags? A long, long time ago....

50. How did you get your worst scar? I prefer not to talk about it and actually it's not as bad as it used to be. I think it is fading with age.

Soundtrack to My Life

I posted this all the way back in February of 2009 and recently shared it with friends.


Soundtrack to My Life


Opening Credits: Rebel, Rebel- David Bowie

Dream Scene: Clair de Lune- Claude Debussy

Waking Up: Mint Car- The Cure

Average Day: Perfect Day-Lou Reed

Date: Regret- New Order

Love or Lust?: Just Like Heaven- The Cure [Love]/ Mouth-Bush (The Stingray Mix) [Lust]

Breaking Up: Pictures of You- The Cure

Getting Back Together: Hit the Ground- Lizz Wright

Secret Love:  What Would Happen- Meredith Brooks/ Dirty Laundry- Bitter:Sweet

Love: Such Great Heights- The Postal Service

Life is Good: Never the Same- Supreme Beings of Leisure

Feeling Sexy: Trigger Hippie- Morcheeba

Sex scene that looks like a fight scene: She’s Your Cocaine- Tori Amos/ Laid-James

Fight scene that looks like a sex scene: Spit- NY Loose

Montage: Tear in Your Hand- Tori Amos

Mental Breakdown: Muscle Museum- Muse

Driving: Today- Smashing Pumpkins/ Big Empty- Stone Temple Pilots

Work/School: Ordinary World- Duran Duran

Quitting: Human Nature- Madonna

Learning a Lesson: It’s a Fire- Portishead

Flashback: Glory of the 80s- Tori Amos

Contemplation: Hear You Me- Jimmy Eat World

Party Scene: Tubthumping- Chumbawumba

Hanging out with friends: Let’s Stay Together- Al Green

Karaoke: Brass in Pocket- Pretenders

Slow Dance: Garbo- Stevie Nicks/Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You- Stevie Nicks

Falling Out: Cautioners- Jimmy Eat World/Come Undone- Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan

Regret: Never Been to Spain- Three Dog Night

Alone in your Room: Ashes to Ashes- David Bowie

Walking the Streets: Sour Times-Portishead/Man Who Sold the World- David Bowie

Meeting the Love of Your Life: Love Street-The Doors

Happily Ever After / End credits: Drowning- Cleveland Lounge (AK1200 remix)

And now, a quiz

Found this questionnaire on my LJ blog that I filled out 7 years ago. I decided to take it again and half of my answers have changed.

1. What time is it?  5:00p.m.

 2. Name as it appears on birth certificate: Crystal Ann Gleim

 3. Nicknames: Blondie, Chris, TAL, Bad Kitty, BK, Babblefish, Gabriel, Lunacat, Delirium, Michiru1978

4. Number of candles on your last birthday cake? 32
5. Pets: Ziggy (cat) and Sookie (cat)

6. Piercings: one in each ear (I’m so exciting)
7. Eye color: Brown
8. Hometown: Hummelstown, PA
9. Favorite foods:  Chicken, pizza, pasta, tacos, burgers, and French fries to name a few.

10. Ever been to Africa: no
11. Ever been toilet papering? Yes
12. Love someone so much it made you cry? Yes, three times
13. Been in a car accident? Twice

 14. Croutons or bacon bits? Croutons 

 15. Favorite day of the week: Tie between Wednesday and Saturday.

16. Favorite restaurants: Bucca di Beppo, Cheesecake Factory, British Bulldog Pub, Gervais & Vine, Chilis, Pasta Fresca

 17. Favorite flower: Black roses, lilies, orchids, and birds of paradise.
18. Favorite sport(s) to watch: American Football, Baseball, Soccer

 19. Favorite Drink: Captain and Coke
20. Favorite ice cream flavor: I have two: Mint chocolate chip and Peanut Butter Swirl.

 21. Disney or Warner Bros?  Warner Bros
22. Favorite fast food restaurant? Arby’s, Chik-Fil-A

23. What color is your bedroom carpet?  Beige
24. How many times did you fail your driver's test? 1
25. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Either Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, or Frederick’s of Hollywood

 26. What do you do most often when you are bored?  Eat, listen to music, watch a movie, read or write.
27.  Bedtime? midnight

28. Favorite TV shows: Law and Order (any of them), Deadwood, Arrested Development, anything on Adult Swim, British TV shows....there are too many
29. Last person you went out to dinner with? Myself...I can't recall
30. What are you listening to right now? Music that’s stuck in my head. 

31. What is your favorite color(s)? Black, purple and teal.
32. How many tattoos do you have? None, but I have my design picked out
33. Time you finished this questionnaire? 5:09p.m.

Old LJ Entry

Wow, what a difference two years can make. I am a little different then I was then. Found this "gem" (choke) on my Livejournal blog. It was dated March 9, 2009. Enjoy and try not to laugh too hard :)

Drive Thru

Early in the week, late night:

The alcohol from the bar I perform at quenches my thirst for anything but water.

I drive on a highway, alone.

At the drive thru, “sweet tea” is a term that flows out of my mouth like a foreign language.

You see, I am not originally Southern.

Nor was I originally Northern, really.

Just a minor technicality.

The one person that got me and understood brought me here.

Sure it may have been for his own reasons but I need to believe that it is because he truly saw me and realized that I didn’t belong there.

He took me away from a place where I couldn’t be comfortable in my own skin.

The ketchup from the burger I asked for drips on my jeans like some tears from a bad memory.

I try to pretend that I am tougher than I am.

Doesn’t everybody?

When in reality I just want to curl into a ball and let everyone know how vulnerable I am.

“Be careful with me. I’m broken,” I beg.

I really am something that can never be fixed.

But, then again, isn’t everyone like that.

How many times does one have to crack before they run out of glue to patch them?

The sweet tea leaves a bittersweet taste in my mouth and I think about the time my best friend and I dared each other to do stupid things like lick a battery.

I think about how I thought those times were perfect. How I was much more perfect compared to now.

Sometimes I want to look at them and spout a blurb I wrote once as an angst filled teenager,

“I’m no Mozart, Beethoven, or Bach

I’m not Vonnegut, Bradbury, or Chandler

I’m no Stevie, although I always wanted someone to tell me I sing like her

I’m no Shakespeare, Dickinson, or Frost

I’m no Marilyn, I can’t be today

So, stop shouting at me that way!

I’m not perfect”

The younger girl leans out the window and smiles, “That will be $6.75, please”

She’s right I owe her. Just like I owe everyone else.