So…what is the Monday Poll?
Excellent question! It isn’t, contrary to its name, an actual poll, like with little clicky buttons. It’s just a list of five more or less random questions I’ve been posting on this blog every Monday morning for the past quadrillion years (since 2007). I love reading your answers, and it helps me get my week off to a good start.
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces?
Oh, it’s a tossup because I’m equally bad at both! ?
I guess I’m a little better at faces if, and only if, I’m wearing my glasses or contacts (I’m nearsighted)… That said, I’m getting pretty lazy when it comes to wearing either. What I really need to do is invest in some good reading glasses, but I’m still in complete denial about that.
2. What’s your favorite TV show?
The Great British Bake Off! But this one-new-episode-per-week thing on Netflix kind of pains me. I got used to marathoning the earlier seasons.
“Give me all the gluten!” is all I have to say.
3. Something on your bucket list?
I desperately want to learn how to play the accordion… I really need to make that happen, because when there’s an accordion playing, everyone is happy. ?
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you would have?
Baking would be one, for sure. Brownies and bread are my love language. ❤️ I’d also like to take hip-hop dance classes again, although I don’t think I’d be much good at it anymore, since it’s been years.
Oh, and if there were an American Ninja Warrior-type gym nearby, I’d start doing obstacle training in a heartbeat.
Oh, and one other thing: does sleep count as a hobby?!
5. Apple or Android?
Apple! — mostly because I’m already stuck on the Mac hamster wheel, and once you’re on there, it’s hard to get off.
Because I’m a “list lady”
Speaking of remembering names…I really don’t like that awkward feeling when you keep running into someone whose name you can’t remember, but after a certain amount of time has passed you can’t ask what their name is again. At that point, it’s clear that neither of you remembers the other person’s name, but you both keep pretending that you do, and it’s so uncomfortable (at least it is for me, LOL!).
So here’s what I do now: I keep a list oh-so-creatively called “People I’ve Met” on my phone, and right after I meet someone, I jot down a few details about them, like, “Long red hair, Molly’s mom, met her at the dance studio in the fall, super friendly.”
It’s actually REALLY handy, especially 1) if you’re bad at remembering names, and 2) you usually have your phone on ya. When I see that person again, BAM! — I just pop open my list, and there are the details.
Super nerdy, and yet super effective. ?
Have a wonderful week, OK? Talk to you soon.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Question time! Here they are to copy/paste with your answers in a comment. Talk to ya soon!
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces?
2. What’s your favorite TV show?
3. Something on your bucket list?
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have?
5. Apple or Android?
P.P.S. Please be extra kind and loving to yourself this week. If you do that, I’ll do the same. ?
Barb says
Good morning, Karen and happy Monday! Hope your weekend was a good one.
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? – I’m equally good at both. Maybe remember faces a tad bit more.
2. What’s your favorite TV show? – I’ve got soooo many!! I watch way too much television. I’m currently bingeing The Soprano’s since I’ve never watched it before. Just started season 3. I’m liking it!
3. Something on your bucket list? – Travel internationally. I’ve never done it and really want to. Need to talk the husband into it though!
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? – Cook – like meal prep for the week and travel.
5. Apple or Android? – Apple. I used to have an android and I can’t imaging going back.
Jaclyn Levy says
1. One of my super powers is being good at remembering names. Specifically obscure ones with at least 1-2 degrees of separation like remembering my husband’s roommate’s girlfriend’s name from college.
2. Right now I’m rewatching Avatar the last Air Bender so I’ll go with that!
3. A girls trip weekend. So hard to put together!
4. Gardening, painting.
5. Android. Switching to Apple is pretty much grounds for divorce in my marriage! ? My husband is a techie and didn’t like some of Apple’s tech policies. That was years ago, I think he thinks better of Apple now but yeah, too hard to switch when you pick a side!
Erica says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? Names
2. What’s your favorite TV show? I love the Great British Bake Off. Also I watched all of Stranger Things for the first time this Summer and am hooked. Binged it 4 times!
3. Something on your bucket list? To travel the US more!
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? Baking, knitting, reading
5. Apple or Android? Android. Mainly bc if something breaks, I can get that fixed. Something goes wrong on an Apple, you need an Apple. Tbh I hate all things MAC. Android, PC any day! Besides it’s overly hyped and super up charged. I rather go against the grain?
Ewa says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces?
Much better at faces! It’s actually really stressful, I like the list idea!
2. What’s your favorite TV show?
Hmm, that’s very difficult. I just finished watching the second season of Derry Girls, which was great. Usually any mystery from the UK, or Supernatural for an easy, satisfying fix.
3. Something on your bucket list?
Mine mostly involves travel, I would love to take the Trans-Siberian Railway all the way through. Or the network of railways through the Scottish Highlands. I would also like to swim with manatees in Florida, which I may actually get to do soon.
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have?
Mine are more a matter of space than time, I would like to be able to have my own ceramics workspace.
5. Apple or Android?
Reluctantly Apple. I just like the ease and user friendliness of their products, but hate the business practices.
Kim says
That phone list is next level brilliant! I rely HEAVILY on my friends who are super about knowing all the people. They call me Woodsy Owl because I’m constantly like “who?”. I’m not kidding. HAHA!
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? Like you, I’m brutally bad at both. Now that I’m old(er), I will also sometimes blank on the name of someone I’ve known for years. THAT is the worst. Like “oh, hey, I’ve known you for 10 years but I can’t introduce you to this person because I suddenly can’t come up with your name”.
2. What’s your favorite TV show? I don’t watch much so I’ll have to go with American Pickers. I never tire of watching Mike & Frank cruise around the country finding rusty gold. 😉
3. Something on your bucket list? Drive the coast from SF to LA. This is happening!!
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? I’m saying sleep is a hobby. HAHA! I would work out more, get much better at skating/hockey, learn to play the piano and travel.
5. Apple or Android? Apple. I’m just used to it and all our stuff is on there. Plus I use iTunes extensively.
Ruchita says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces?
Definitely faces. Although at work I’m on a ton of conference calls so I recognize people by their voices. I had to travel to a big company meeting and I was finally able to match faces to names. It’s interesting how you imagine someone looking when all you know is their voice!
2. What’s your favorite TV show?
Hmm…there’s nothing on TV right now that is my favorite. Back in the day, Friends was part of my Thursday night lineup.
3. Something on your bucket list?
Foster kittens! I would love to foster kittens for a shelter at least once.
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have?
Definitely drawing/painting. I would love to take some classes.
5. Apple or Android?
Android. I’ve never really used Apple products except for an iPod so Android is what I’m used to.
Great tip about remembering names! Happy Monday. I can’t believe we’re into the third week of September. It seems like time has flown by even faster than usual this month!
Chelsea says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces?
Faces! I’m terrible at names.
2. What’s your favorite TV show?
Seconding the Great British Bake-off! It’s just so wholesome and nice.
3. Something on your bucket list?
Live in a francophone country!
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have?
I’d love to try rock climbing or ninja warrior stuff! And to learn more languages!
5. Apple or Android?
I have an iPhone currently but previous to that I always had Androids. I use whatever phone my husband is sick of ? my work phone is a Samsung Galaxy but I never use it.
Syahidah says
1. I can do both but this superpower has met its kryptonite in the form of no sleep mothering a 1.5 year old.
2. I really enjoy Community for laughs and Sense 8.
3. I want to travel to Europe alone and soak in all the museums and architecture by my lonesome. And maybe meet a cute guy…? (does a fantasy count as a bucket list item?)
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? Playing music! Recording music!
5. Apple or Android? Apple!
Suzanne C says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces?
I remember the faces, I remember the names. Putting them together correctly, that’s a different story, lol.
2. What’s your favorite TV show?
This Is Us, brought to you by Kleenex. ?
3. Something on your bucket list?
Going to a book-signing by an author I like, which I think I might get to do next year. Authors tend not to come down South during their book tours, or if they do, it’s only certain places like Asheville or Parnassus Books in Nashville, because it’s owned by Ann Patchett. But an author I like is doing a low-key, small bookstore tour next year and is probably coming to my local bookstore! (And by local, I mean 1 1/2 hrs. away. But that’s how everything is in this part of N Florida.)
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have?
I’d dive deeper into hobbies I already have, like jewelry-making and sewing. I do want to learn how to knit, too.
5. Apple or Android?
Android!!!! My uncle is a tech genius who hates anything Apple, which is true of all really tech-savvy people I know, interestingly enough.
E.D. says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? Faces for sure, but sometimes I have a hard time remembering them out of context. I am totally hopeless with names.
2. What’s your favorite TV show? My Top 3 of all time are The Americans, Breaking Bad, and The X-Files in that order. I missed a lot of TV from 1994-2004, so there are several series I need to catch up on eventually.
3. Something on your bucket list? Not sure, nothing is coming to mind right now.
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? For me, it’s not time, it’s energy. I really like gardening, but I rarely have the energy for it, to the point that my flower beds look like hell. I do a lot of knitting and cooking.
5. Apple or Android? Apple.
Ewa says
Ooh, I loved the Americans! I was really shook by the ending!
ericca says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? NEITHER.
2. What’s your favorite TV show? stranger things, netflix
3. Something on your bucket list? learn to play an instrument
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? swimming, i would like to swim and play the viola.
5. Apple or Android? andriod , i have an apple phone and i dont like it. the screen is too fragile.
Jennifer says
Dealio! I’m going to be extra kind to myself this week. Most of the time I’m not, I realize, now that you’ve been bringing it up. Life’s too short not to love myself!
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? Names for sure but not a lot better. The notes app thing is genius. A lot of my job at the newspaper is police news and I rely on dispatchers for a good chunk of information so I jot down personal details when a new dispatcher starts but for some reason, I haven’t thought to put that into practice in my personal life.
We havc a neighbor who had us over for a Christmas open house several years ago and I Never Ever Recognize this man at the grocery store. It’s so bad. He always recognizes me and smiles or says hi and most of the time I have a really blank expression on my face because I have no idea who he is. It’s like I’m seeing his face for the first time! As I’m writing this, I’m not sure what his first name is. What is wrong with me??????????????
2. What’s your favorite TV show? Tough question. All Time Favorite ever would probably be Saturday Night Live or Frasier. I love anything that makes me laugh. Current favorite is probably Power. It’s on Hulu but I think they’re getting it from Starz. But, also love a good Brit show. Just started watching Agatha Raisin.
3. Something on your bucket list? I don’t have one! I should get one!
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? Definitely hand lettering. I love fancy script. I’d love to be able to do that.
5. Apple or Android? Apple all the way baby. Husband bought himself an Android one year and the teenager and I made him get rid of it and buy an iphone. He couldn’t figure out basic things on it and we couldn’t either.
P.s. Is it too early to ask what Connor Claire is thinking about for Halloween costumes? What’s the au courant preschooler going to wear?
Tatiana says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? I used to be good at both, then I was better at remembering faces, now I can’t remember anything or anyone.
2. What’s your favorite TV show? The Good Place. So sad this is the last season, but I’m hoping it ends on a really good note.
3. Something on your bucket list? I’d like to learn to fly planes. I’d like to travel Singapore. I’d like to ride horses across Patagonia and France.
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? More sewing, painting, more horses.
5. Apple or Android? Apple, cuz that’s what Dear Husband supplies me with.
Eileen says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? Faces for sure although when I see someone in a completely different setting than the one in which I usually see them, I might stumble a bit.
2. What’s your favorite TV show? I don’t really have any particular favorite at the moment so when I have the time to watch TV, it’s usually just cable news or a movie. We still seem to be in the summer doldrums as far as programming goes.
3. Something on your bucket list? 4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? I put these together because they get the same answer. I’d love to learn to speak Japanese. I’ve always loved studying languages and I think it would be fun to study Japanese language and culture. I’ve been to Japan a few times and every time I come home, I promise myself I’ll enroll in a class but then life happens and I never follow through.
5. Apple or Android? Apple for sure — iPhone, iMac, iPad
Linda says
1 – Names or Faces? Names I guess, although I’m not that great at that either. I just borrowed your idea and started a list in my phone!
2 – Favorite TV show? – The Walking Dead (I know it’s lame)
3 – Bucket List? To go to Thailand. I was there about 5 years ago and just loved it.
4 – Hobbies? – I honestly don’t need any more hobbies. I make soap, lotions, bath bombs, sugar scrubs, lip balm, shampoo bars, you name it! And last week I started learning to make candles. I also paint – Acrylic on Canvas, I take an art class every week. So no more hobbies for me.
5- Apple or Android? I’ve always been an Apple. I have a Mac computer (I got the first one ever made back in the day – 1984 – my current Mac is 8 years old and still going strong), an iphone, and 2 ipads!
Rachel Runyan says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? Names, but I suck at both.
2. What’s your favorite TV show? Now that GOT is done, Mindhunter and Westworld.
3. Something on your bucket list? Visit Australia, see the Sydney Opera House, and cage dive to see great white sharks.
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? I probably wouldn’t acquire any new ones. I want to get back to knitting and crocheting again.
5. Apple or Android? Android
Susan C. says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces?
Faces, for sure. I’m always recognizing someone from…somewhere.
2. What’s your favorite TV show?
I’m partial to Shetland, Vera, and any permutation of Dr. Who.
3. Something on your bucket list?
I don’t have a bucket list.
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have?
Travel, but time isn’t the issue. Money is.
5. Apple or Android?
Apple.
CL says
1. Probably faces, but since I’m also near-sighted and rarely wear glasses, it’s hard for me to see facial details from very far away.
2. The only show I consider “appointment television” is “The Good Place.” It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s the most unusual network sit-com ever aired, most likely. If you haven’t seen it, you have to start with Season One on DVD, because it won’t make sense if it’s viewed out of order, or starting in the middle of the series-long story arc.
3. Seeing several places, such as Yosemite and Yellowstone. Weirdly, my family lived in the desert area south of Yosemite for 4 and 1/2 years, and we never went to Yosemite, though we did go to Death Valley, Lake Isabella, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento.
4. Painting in oil. Also, I’ve always wanted to play piano or electronic keyboard.
5. I don’t have a smartphone, so I can only answer about my laptop, which is a Windows computer. Apple was always just too expensive, and seemingly proud of being expensive, in spite of having products made in what amounts to sweatshops overseas.
Stephanie Smith says
1. Are you better at remembering names or remembering faces? Faces I think. I do that list thing on the phone, it’s helped out a lot!
2. What’s your favorite TV show? That’s tough, because I like a few shows a lot! Right now I’m streaming terrible 90’s tv, “Renegade”. It’s so bad, but I love it so much!
3. Something on your bucket list? Learning to play piano, my Grandmother has a Steinway grand piano. It’s my dream to play it.
4. If you had more time for hobbies, what are some hobbies you’d have? Sewing, I have a sewing machine, but you have to actually sew to get good. Turns out you don’t learn by osmosis! Lol!
5. Apple or Android? Apple. iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, that’s me. They’re easy to use, which is what I like!