Bandwagon

- REM

They call this the bandwagon since everyone is doing it...who am I to be the black sheep. Here it is:

Four jobs I’ve had

1. Running a business - er , meaning a family business, alongside my parents and sister. Doing everything from formulating (In true mad scientist fashion) to filing, answering phones, accounting, collections, garbage removal, production, shipping and receiving, and on and on.
2. Hospital clerical work. Working as a clerk in the ER, and admissions. You think Stories from the ER are interesting, wait till you hear Stories from the WR (waiting room), they're even funnier sometimes as we got to stare (through bulletproof glass) at the suffering masses while they waited patiently and not so patiently to be seen by our wonderful healthcare system. That's why them call them patients, get it, you gotta be patient...groan, I know.
3. Office assistant in a fertility clinic organizing everything from surgery to artificial insemination, sometimes being a shoulder to cry on and certainly with a lot of interesting anecdotes that would fill up an entire blog.
4. Manager of the tea house in my childhood bedroom, where every stuffed animal within a square km thought it was THE place to be for tea.

Four movies I could watch over and over

1. Lord of the Rings

2. My Cousin Vinnie

3. Sound of Music & Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews rules!)

4. Spaceballs...long live Dark Helmut.

Four places I’ve lived (Not always officially, but spent enough time there that it felt like it):

1. My parents home where I grew up: Where I learned that there is an adventure to be had in every little corner of the world, all one needs to do is look for it. Where we were encouraged to imagine, to create, to be anyone, anywhere as we explored. It’s also where each step creaked if you stepped in the right spot, where the best place to hide was in the linen closet or the cedar closet beneath the staircase, and where we played endlessly in the backyard, climbing one of the many trees, or building obstacle courses or burying Barbie dolls in pretend funerals...(we never did find that one doll that we buried,,,,maybe a hundred years from now, they’ll find it in excavation and be puzzled at her proportions.)

2. My grandparents home: Where I learned that love equals food. Where the tea is always perfect. Where music is the standard and can be heard, played or sung round the clock. Where a deck of cards can be the beginning of an awesome evening. And where I learned that decorating your home is not about making things match and look harmonious with eachother like they do in boring (no personality) magazine covers, but instead it’s about surrounding yourself with things that you love, and things that bring a smile on your face regardless of the fact that it doesn’t fit in with your overall décor...true eclectic

3. My in-laws home: Where kisses and hugs are the currency. Where I learned organization and promptness (something I never learned at home), where I learned that parents depend on their kids as much as kids depend on parents, and where I learned how my husband’s mind ticks and why.

4. My home, where I learned that a new coat of paint can refresh your point of view. Where I learned that I am a strong, capable woman and that I can do anything (paint, sand, patch, build sub-floors and then floors, drill holes and put up furniture, patch pool tarps, put up lights...). Where I learned that it’s OK to have a party 2 weeks after you’ve moved it and your house is still upside down in boxes and you haven’t painted yet or anything, and that your friends will still have a grand old time. Where I learned that the sunlight streaming through your windows and making your plants grow can put a smile on your face. Where I learned that regardless of the renovation mess and the unfamiliarity of a place when we first moved in, it was home because it was our mess - bought and paid for by us, and also because Pacino was with me.

Four TV shows I love

1. British sitcoms on the BBC (My Family and Keeping Up Appearances)

2. Amazing Race

3. American Idol

4. Old sitcoms (Happy Days, Three’s Company, Gilligan’s Island, Golden Girls, Fresh Prince, Cosby Show, etc.)

Four places I've been on vacation

1. Backpacking through Europe (10 weeks, 13 countries, 31 cities)

2. Bali, Indonesia (on honeymoon)

3.USA: Boston, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon (Arizona), Washington DC, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Nashville, L.A., Hawaii, Alaksa (1-hour layover -not really a vacation but...)
4. Australia (can’t remember much though, I was a mere 2 ½ years old!)

Four Favorite Foods

1. Anything with cheese (ah heck, anything with dairy)

2. Anything with chocolate

3. Salad (with the works including olives) with a baguette

4. Haut surlonge (which is french for the yummiest sirloin cut!)

Four places I'd rather be:

1. In bed

2. On a beach taking a nap, reading a book, swimming, snorkeling or sailing.

3. On top of a mountain on a crisp, bright winter morning with full ski gear on.

4. In front of a roaring fire, with a cup of hot chocolate (or glass of wine), some pistachios, and my honey.

Four CDs / MP3's I listened to most recently

1. System of a Down - Mesmerize

2. DobaCaracol- Soley

3. Four Women: The Nina Simone Philips Recordings

4. Queen Greatest Hits

Last four vehicles I’ve owned

1. VW Jetta 2000 - Dark Green, leather, mags, the works...in dire need of a cleaning.

2. Toyota Corolla 1990 Special Edition - (actually it was Mamina’s and I slammed it into a telephone poll (which consequently broke in half and fell onto my car), on a slippery one-way farm road when I lost control of my car in April 2000.
3. BMW - Bus/Metro/Walk - a favorite of students - ah, the lovely public transportation system.
4. A cool blue low-rider bike that was a hand-me-down from my cousin, with a black leather banana seat with a metal handle in the back that made me feel like I was driving a Harley when I was 9. Oh yeah, and it had a bell/ringer-thingy with a Canadian flag on it...

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Oops,

I wrote the following 3 weeks ago, but it never got posted...a little irrelevant now (although I predicted Martin's loss) but what the heck, read below.