I’ve decided to jump on the Getting to Know Us bandwagon built by the co-hosts of the A to Z Challenge, whom Sue H dubs Lee & Co. So without rehashing many tidbits that I’ve already mentioned, here are some basics about me along with the questions and answers that you’ve been dying to know.
About Me
Name: Nicole Ayers.
Blog: The Madlab Post (you are here)
and Madlab Post Updates (my backup/alternate blog)
Other online info: I’m on Twitter @MadlabPost and operate the Madlab Entertainment channel YouTube.
Movies: Lighten Up, Babies on Sale, Are We Neighbors (served as director) and Thieves Among Us.
10 Getting to Know You Questions
1. What is the most daring thing you’ve ever done?
Too many that I care to name here, so let’s just stick with something minor -- Learn to operate a handgun at a shooting range.
2. What is your favorite article of clothing?
In general, it’s a tie between jeans and socks. Jeans are my favorite because they are so versatile that I can dress them up or down, depending on the occasion or my mood. Socks are my favorite because, well, they’re cool and always comfortable. I’ve worn uncomfortable jeans before but cannot recall a time when I ever wore uncomfortable socks. If you want to get more specific, however, then I have a baby soft, cream colored off-the-shoulder sweater that I LOVE and would wear often if it weren’t for the dark orange, brownish looking stains that ruined it. Now it sits in my drawer while I look at it and wonder what could have been.
3. What is your favorite monster?
Freddy Kruger. You’d think that being one of the most notorious horror movie villains would make Freddy a least favorite monster but he has a strange mix of fright and humor that I thought was pretty cool, as a kid -- and I don’t like horror movies, so kudos to the Elm street terror who could at least make me laugh in between all that other drama.
4. If you had to dress up as your favorite literary character, who would it be?
Princess Arwen from J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel, The Lord of the Rings. Simple, yet elegant and leaves much to the imagination. While I never read the book, the on-screen adaptation of LOTR has become one of my all-time favorite movies so I figure since the films are based on the book, then she must have dressed like this in print -- I suppose.
5. What is your favorite fairy tale, urban myth or nursery rhyme?
I have many favorites but if I had to pick just one, I’d go with “London Bridge is Falling Down” because I used to play this game often -- in the schoolyard, outside on the sidewalk wherever.
London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down.
Londong Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.
Take a key and lock her up, lock her up, lock her up.
Take a key and lock her up, my fair lady.
Boy, this reminds me of a childhood hand game that we used to play in Philly too:
Shame, shame, shame.
I don’t wanna go to Mexico no more, more, more.
There’s a big fat policeman at the door, door, door.
If he catch you by the collar, girl you better holler.
I don’t wanna go to Mexico no more, more, more.
6. What is a cause near and dear to your heart?
Wildlife preservation, movie piracy prevention and helping children who are hospitalized with life threatening illnesses or life altering medical conditions.
7. What’s the strangest item you’ve used as a bookmark?
Toilet paper.
8. Do you have any nicknames? What are they and how did you earn them?
Yes, quite a few actually but I’ll name the ones that stood out which are Cola-girl, Tweety and Goody Two-Shoes. My friend Michelle calls me cola-girl sometimes -- a play on my name, obviously. A buddy from around the neighborhood gave me the nickname Tweety because of an old Looney Tunes bookbag that I used to carry in high school. In college, some of the guys would refer to me as Goody Two-Shoes because I stayed on a relatively straight and narrow path -- Man, if they could see me now!
9. Name one habit you want to change in yourself?
I'd like to change my habit of dealing in extremes. Things are either great or they suck. I’m either all in or I refuse to be bothered. If I’m open, I’m usually too open and If I’m closed off, then there is something that I just don’t trust. There is rarely any middle ground and I’ve been working to make changes so there is room for that being impatient. I don’t like to wait. I either want it now or I don’t want it at all. Maybe it’s the result of living in the city for so long.
10. Tell us something interesting or shocking about yourself.
I once cut my hand on a pair of panties. No joke. Broke skin and bled -- some elastic, I tell ya. One of my drawings was displayed in Borders bookstore. I take my fondness of fashion dolls so seriously that when I was a kid, I kept a small collection of what I oh-so-generously labeled “community dolls,” separate from the dolls that I played with. These community dolls were the only dolls that I shared with other children and they consisted of my unwanted toys because they were either made of cheap plastic material or they were ugly or I just didn’t like them.
Some A to Z Questions
1. What was your favorite A to Z post from 2011?
It is a tie between my Letter N post, because I worked harder on that one than many of the other posts I wrote for the 2011 A to Z Challenge, and my Letter X post, because I learned more about movie ratings than I thought I would, while doing research to write that particular one.
2. What brought you to the A to Z originally? Tell us about your first A to Z.
Shoot! I don’t remember what or more importantly, who brought me to the A to Z Challenge. It was a blog post from either Writercize or Word Nerd Speaks and 2011 was my first time participating in it.
3. Are you doing a theme?
Yes, I am doing a mashup of three different themes with a central, cinematic flair.
4. Are you writing & scheduling posts in advance?
Yes, although I still have about half of the letters left to finish writing but it shouldn’t be difficult since I already completed a detailed outline for all 26 of my posts. I planned to schedule posts in advance but the scheduling feature in my new blog dashboard does not seem to be working, so I may have to publish each post manually.
5. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet and why? What letter do you like least?
A is my favorite letter because it stands for accomplishment and also because it’s first in line. Maybe it makes me sound like a spoiled brat or maybe it’s that goody two-shoes syndrome coming out but “A” means that you get first dibs before any of the other letters. Since my last name starts with “A,” I was always first in school -- first to be called up for prizes or activities, first to give a speech, first to get the test scores, first to get a seat in the room, first to choose between cookies and cake, first to -- well, you get the picture. HeHe ;) I don’t suppose I have a least favorite letter.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this question and answer session. You are welcome to ask any additional questions you might have in the comments section. Or, feel free to answer the questions yourself! I won’t tell.