Family Search Indexing

Well, I'm doing Family Search Indexing again! (You can do it in your free time, too! familysearch.org) To me, it's very gratifying getting printed records into digital, searchable format, so people can research their ancestry. It's also interesting to have your eyes on these sometimes very old documents. 

One person types in the information on the copied image of a document. Another person reviews it to confirm the data entry. Eventually a particular set of data is complete and becomes available for searches. My current project is immigration records from the 1800s-1975. In the past, I've entered censuses, marriage records, death records... all kinds of things!

This particular genealogy site is run by the Mormon Church (Kimberly is a member and got me started), and is completely free to use. Go find your relatives there! It is super fun. I've downloaded census records and such for my great grandparents and other family members. There are documents from all over the world.

Saturday 9: Don't Talk to Strangers (1982)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) When did you recently have a conversation with a complete stranger? What did you two discuss?

The sweet onions at the grocery store this week were ENORMOUS. A gal walked up and I said, "What are they feeding these things?!" She laughed. I bagged one and weighed it. A smidge over TWO POUNDS. One onion, y'all. We talked about the size of them and how one might use such a freakishly big onion. While she bagged her own world record onion, I spotted a whole BAG of normal sized sweet onions for about 30 cents more than the one I had. We decided the smaller ones would be much more practical. We put our onions back and got the bags.

2) In the video for this song, a woman is having a "hot" conversation on a corded, rotary dial phone in her bedroom. Do you have a landline? If so, do you have an extension in your bedroom? 

We do not have a landline. When we did, we had an extension in the bedroom.

3) This week's artist, Rick Springfield, says he wrote this song when he was worried that his girlfriend (now his wife) would cheat on him when he was touring. Would you describe yourself as suspicious or trusting?
Completely trusting, until it bites me in the derriere. Then, not so much.

4) He became a daytime heartthrob as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital. Do you think it would be cool to have a really attractive doctor? Or would it make you uncomfortable?

I do have a really attractive doctor. It doesn't make me uncomfortable at all.

5) He's discussed how sad he was when, as a boy, he had to leave his dog Elvis behind when the family left Australia. While you were growing up, did your family often move? 

We moved when I was 3 (to Pasadena), 5 (to Kansas City), 7 (to Deer Park), 8 (to Houston) and 12 (to League City). It was a lot, I think. Not as much as some.

6) In 1982, when this song was popular, Italy won the World Cup. Do you ever watch soccer?
Sometimes.  When American football is phased out for head injuries, I think we'll all be watching more soccer.

7) "Smiley," the first emoticon, was introduced in 1982. Do you use emoticons in your communication? Or do you avoid them?

I use them as clarification or emphasis of emotion, neither to excess, nor as a sole form of communication.

8) The Vietnam Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC, in 1982. Do you know any veterans of that conflict? If so, tell us about him or her.
My uncle Brian was in the army during the Vietnam War, but I'm pretty sure he wasn't serving there.

9) Random Question: Your friends are throwing a birthday "roast" in your honor. Which one quality of yours are you sure will be singled out for laughs?

My planning and organization obsession. I've heard stories for years about my "scripted" wedding day, where I gave everyone in the wedding party a personalized note describing where to be at various times, and details of any tasks for which they'd volunteered. The stories are always followed by how smoothly the day went though!