Feeling Meme

Being new to blogging, I'm just getting used to some of the terminology. Apparently a meme is a series of questions that gets passed around from blog to blog and people compare their answers. Ur-Spo is a friend who blogs at Spo-Reflections and has recently created the Feeling Meme. Reading the questions of the meme, it's pretty obvious that we're dealing with a psychiatrist here (...so, Douglas, how do you feel about that?). Well, here's my stab at the "feeling meme.:

The most joyful I have ever felt. October 1999 at the grand opening of the museum. My dad and brother flew in from Massachusetts to attend the festivities. My partner came into the city for it, and we were also joined by my friend Rebecca. A lot of friends and acquaintances from Chicago drifted in and out throughout the day. I was just over 2 years into my career change, pleased with what had transpired, feeling very much that I had made the correct decision, and sharing the moment with friends and family.

The most angry I have ever felt. Several years ago, we had a temporary employee in my department. She was trouble from the word go. Always getting into arguments with staff. Making wildly unreasonable demands. I was not her direct supervisor, but rather her boss’ supervisor. In a disagreement that she had with her boss, she wrote a memo to the president of the museum (my boss) claiming that the project had been very poorly managed by her boss and myself. She claimed that when confronted by her about this I had become very defensive. She had actually not said a single word to me about her concerns with the project. That she would lie about me to my boss infuriated me. Two weeks later, she had a shouting match with a museum visitor in a public space. The visitor was angry enough to find out whom to write to complain about it. Appropriate action was taken on my part.

The most at peace I have ever felt. Early mornings over tea while camped above treeline in the High Sierra wilderness. There’s something peaceful about the stillness of that time of day combined with the stark beauty of the landscape. Oddly enough, one of these "most at peace" times for me occurred on September 11, 2001. It would be four days before I would hike back to civilization and learn of the attacks on New York and Washington.

The most shocked I have ever felt. When in high school, the dad of one of my classmates was murdered by her mother. If I recall correctly, a kitchen knife was used. I’d known this classmate fairly well, and had even recently been to a party at their house.

The most embarrassed I have ever felt. No way. There’s no way that I’m going there in a public Internet forum.

The most sad I have ever felt. My mother’s unexpected death in an auto accident. 'Nuff said.

The most frightened I have ever felt. Airplane ride from the West Coast to Chicago. Somewhere near Denver we encountered really heavy turbulence. The plane would dive, engines straining heavily, then labor to climb back upwards. We would abruptly drop vertically, and pitch sharply from side to side. I was terrified. It only lasted about 10 minutes.