Driver's Test -- Written Exam

I've been tapped for the five question meme. Here are Zonker's questions:

1.) First question is, from my perspective, an obvious one: your blog is called "Get On the Bus" and you post under the name "Omnibus Driver"....what's all that about?

Actually, it's called "Leslie's Omnibus." I wanted the URL to be "getonthebus.com"... but it was taken at the time, so I settled for http://getonthe.blogspot.com. (Thanks for actually catching that one! Lots of people don't.)

Why Omnibus? Hmmmm. Let's turn to Dictionary.com:

Omnibus -- adj : providing for many things at once; "an omnibus law" [syn: omnibus(a)] n 1: an anthology of articles on a related subject or an anthology of the works of a single author 2: a vehicle carrying many passengers; used for public transport; "he always rode the bus to work" [syn: bus, autobus, coach, charabanc, double-decker, jitney, motorbus, motorcoach]

adj 1 and n 1 speak for themselves. n 2, for a number of reasons. I once took a brown bus tour of London and loved the tour guide, the driver and the view from the open second deck. Great way to see and learn a lot in a short period of time. The way I see it, my blog is a very public vehicle for my personal observations. I'll even offer you an open-air, top deck view, if you like!

Finally, why "Omnibus Driver?" I come from a family of control freaks. You think I'm going to let anyone else drive this particular Omnibus?

2.) Carnival of the Khakis, Carnival of the Liberated, Carnival of the Cats, Carnival of the Capitalists, Carnival of the Dogs, Carnival of the Recipes...do you participate in all of these?! How????

Carnival of the Khakis! You must be one of the few who ever found it. That whole Sandy Berger thing was very upsetting, and nobody had come up with a meme like Rathergate for it. (Lots flew around, but none really stuck) I thought it would be fun to have a Carnival rounding up the many different posts I saw. Since his pants and the contents thereof were the issue, that particular Carnival named itself. Anyway, I was inspired by the many other Carnivals out there.

I have hosted and posted on the Carnival of the Cats, and have referred people to Carnival of the Dogs. I've picked up wonderful recipes off the Carnival of the... well...

I've actually referred some of the people I work for to the Carnival of the Capitalists.

And Carnival of the Liberated certainly helped me see a different side of the war on terror than I could get in the mainstream media.

Sometimes on a bus tour you see a roadside diversion you might just want to visit -- a carnival, a petting zoo, a harvest festival, a historic market. It's fun to point people to other great information and entertainment. That's the tour guide in me coming out.

3.) One very nice thing about your site is that you often mix things up a bit...on any given day, you might toss out a dozen or more links, or you might write a long post on a particular subject, or you might post some humor from "The Rowdies In The Back Of The Bus." Or all of the above! What's the deciding factor in what you're going to post?

Thanks! I have very eclectic tastes, and I like to share that in my links. As you can tell by some of my headings, I write about things that piss me off, cheer me up, briefly catch my attention, make my chin drop to my knees or tickle me silly. Sometimes I'm moved to write about what's happening out in the real world. Sometimes it's fun to tell stories about the surreal world -- my family. Quite honestly, it's been a real relief to have a place to vent and to turn for support in the face of my mom's illness. The response in prayer has been wonderful.

As for "The Rowdies in the Back of the Bus," I have a lot of friends who don't blog, but who send me links and jokes. It's fun to have some off-web passengers and share their voices with others. In addition, there are some damn funny bloggers out there, and it’s easier (and in this case, more polite) just to point to them.

I guess the deciding factor in what I post on any give day is where my passions are leading me at the moment. It's certainly always an interesting journey.

4.) Your blog is very unique in that it doesn't have a blogroll...why not? ;-)

For the same reason I don't have a site meter: I'm a techno-moron. I wouldn't even have had a blog if I hadn't tried to post a comment at Blonde Justice. (Who, by the way, has never acknowledged that she gave birth to me. Yes. I'm an illegitimate blogchild. Thank God at least my Blogdaddy claims me.) Blogger took over, and the next thing I knew, the Omnibus went from a daily email to friends to a love letter to the worldwide web. (Blogger, by the way, has made posting comments MUCH easier now that you don't have to do that sign in nonsense.)

As for the site meter issue, it's easier to just write and post than it is to wrestle with stuff in an area where I have no expertise. I sometimes prevaricate and tell myself that it's liberating to write and not know who is reading; that the point is the writing itself and not the audience. On the other hand, it can get really discouraging not knowing if anyone's out there.

I really would like to set up a blogroll. Actually, I'm hoping that someone will take pity on me when I get to Jekyll. Please? (Pretty please?) I'd really like to learn so that I: a) am not dependent on others to do these things; and, b) can honor some people who've been pretty very helpful/generous to me.

5.) Just another three weeks, you've plans to attend the Georgia Writers' Workshop...what bloggers are you especially looking forward to meeting and are your expectations for the trip?

I have a long list of people I'd really like to meet, but I'll give you the top four:

a) You, because we've corresponded a few times, and it's been really enjoyable... and I love your writing. It will be fun to put a face and a voice to a name.

b) Velociman. We've corresponded a few times, both about this blogmeet, and about my mom. He's been incredibly supportive.

c) Kelley, because she hasn't posted in quite a while. I almost got to meet her when she was on a layover in Chicago on her way to meet Kate in Hawaii, and have always regretted that it just didn't happen. I want to get caught up on her health, her job and her family.

d) Rob. I love his unflinching honesty. Whether or not you agree with him, you always know exactly where he stands on an issue – and why. (Plus, I'm curious to know if he ever got the "postcards" I sent him from my cruise last fall.)

Aw, heck -- here are a few more: Eric, Dax, Key and Queenie. If you've read their blogs, you know why I want to meet them. If you haven't read their blogs, what are you waiting for? Shoo! Just go there.

My expectations for the trip? No turbulance. My rental car to be ready on time. A pub crawling-slumber party-karaoke contest-nail salon-jello wrestling (er, jello shot) competition-beach blanket bingo-summer camp-life-altering epiphany. Oh, yeah. And maybe actually polishing up my writing skills. I can't wait!

6.) What question did I not ask but you wish HAD asked?...

How's the Princess Mom?

Funny you should ask.

For those new to the Omnibus, my mom is being treated for Stage III non-small cell lung cancer. As a result of adult onset asthma, she's also in the early stages of emphysema. Add a rheumatic heart and mild diabetes to the mix. The tumor is located between her aorta and her spinal column. They couldn't remove the lower lobe of her lung to get at it due to the emphysema issue and because she was in such rough shape after that explatorary surgery that they weren't sure she'd even live to tell about it. Since she was very weak and adamantly opposed to chemo or radiation, the first tried a drug called Iressa (which has since been proven worthless in clinical trials). To the surprise to her doctors, but not to her children, she bounced back and was doing very well. But... a CAT scan showed that the tumor was growing. Since she was so much healthier, her oncologist again broached the issue of chemo and radiation. She agreed... but here's where the "Princess" part kicks in -- she wanted to hold off on the radiation until she got back from a cruise. The oncologist agreed, but she had to take six courses of chemo instead of four in order to be able to do it. What does chemo do to your system? Right! Destroys your immune system. The week before the very cruise that she was holding off radiation treatment for, she came down with pneumonia/bronchitis/anemia. (Take your pick. We're still not sure, from what she tells us, which one or more it was.) Anyway, that landed her in a hospital instead of on that very cruise ship a couple of weeks ago.

So how's she doing now? Still hacking up hairballs, but better. She started radiation treatments last week. The problem is, she's probably going to be suffering from a raging case of esophagitis from the radiation treatments right around the time I'm supposed to be heading off to the Georgia Writers' Workshop... so I may be heading for Sarasota instead of Jekyll Island.

I'm certainly not complaining, because my mother is my number one priority, as well she should be.

(But y'all had better be ready for me at the next Jawja blogger shindig if I have to miss this one.)
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Okay. Now it's your turn. For the first five people who volunteer, I'll take a stroll through your archives (it's kind of like rummaging through your underwear drawer) and send five questions for you, too. Who wants to go first?
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