Five Alive

Amy of Binkytown tagged me for this meme. And since she is (1) pregnant and (2) dealing with a sick family and still managed to fill this one out, I thought I'd give it a shot.

The rules, as I understand them:
1. Each player answers the questions about themselves. (I like talking about myself, so no problem here.)
2. Something about tagging other people and asking them to do this too. (I suck at this part of memes, so I am not doing it. )

Amy was all clever and made her answers fit her obsession with King Henry. I am tempted to fit all my answers to fit with The Wire, but then I'd start using "mos def" too much. Since I really enjoy mocking Chris when he uses this phrase, I can't really start saying it myself. Plus, thinking of a clever meme theme is just beyond me at this moment.

What I was doing 10 years ago (1998, so last century)

1. Living in Chicago working at the best job I've ever had. Or probably will ever have. There's a topic for therapy, if I was in it now.
2. Considering that it might be a good idea to get married to the man I'd been with for 8 years. For that story, see this post.
3. Not thinking about how amazing it was that I did not get sick more, even though I rarely washed my hands after holding the metal pole on the El twice a day, five days a week.
4. Feeling very annoyed that I'd been diagnosed with corneal neovascularization and had to wear gas permeable contact lenses. I hated those lenses, but now I deal by using soft contacts but wearing my glasses more often. And buying nicer glasses.
   
5. Cursing under my breath at the guy hired to rehab the basement apartment in my building. The guy was the owner's cousin, and seemed to be dying slowly of emphasima as he worked on and slept in the apartment. The floors were thin enough and his coughing was bad enough that it kept me up at night.
   

Five things on my to-do list today

1. Finish editing a 500 word "inside baseball" article for an industry newsletter that both gives some kind of interesting insights and does not insult the work of my committee. Hmmm.
2. Remember to leave the house in enough time to pick up Susie and get to my doctor appointment.
   
3. Remember to take my morning medication. This is harder than I think it should be.
   
4. Remember to take my evening medications. Just as hard to remember as (3).
   
5. Buy milk. Buy milk. Buy milk. Buy milk.
   

Snacks I enjoy

1. Crappy packaged crackers with fake peanut butter
2. Peanut butter m&ms
3. Pocky Almond Crush
   
4. Chocolate milk
5. Tamari almonds (if I put this first you'd think I was trying to show you how sophisticated I am. Hopefully item 1 puts that issue to rest)
   

Things I would do if I were a billionaire

1. Buy a lot more shoes.
2. Hire someone to clean the house weekly. Er, daily.
3. Pay the democratic candidates' campagn to promise not to call me. Better yet, have the candidates call Jenny instead. She has a big list of people she thinks may be obsessed with her, so why not Obama, right?
   
4. Bankroll my brother-in-law's restaurant idea, but force him to open the restaurant in Portland.
   
5. Speaking of restaurants, I'd take my friends here every week. It is not that it is so spendy, but with the focus on pork, if I went weekly I'd definitely need some massive health care to clear out my clogged arteries. Let me just say: Foie Gras Bon Bon.
   

Five of my bad habits

1. I get annoyed very easily. I feel better knowing that my sister says she is too.
2. Like Amy of Binkytown, I eat a lot more sugar than is good for me.
3. I don't like calling people back. Or making dental appointments.
   
4. I like being right a little too much.
   
5. I know how foie gras is made, but wow did I enjoy that foie gras bon bon at beast.
   

Five places I have lived

1. New York City
2. Miami
3. Los Angeles
4. Portland
5. Chicago
   

Five jobs I've had

1. Catering slave. Good pay, long hours, crappy treatment, delicious food. It was totally worthwhile.
   
2. Espresso slinger. Ok, scratch what I said before, this might have been the best job I ever had. The pay was low but really, there was no expectation that I be polite to customers. Despite this, tips were good. Or because of this, tips were good. (It was on a college campus, after all.) We didn't serve decaf, and were encouraged to openly mock people who asked for it. I got to play whatever music I wanted during my shifts. Plus I got a discount on coffee when I wasn't working, which made an espresso cost 12 cents.
   
3. Research assistant. Low pay, no respect. Then again, my job was unionized, so I got to be a teamster. There was something comforting in that, like I could call on dock workers if I got in trouble.
   
4. Federal Agent. After espresso girl, really the best job. And not just because I carried a badge. Years out of that job, I still haven't figured out what to do with the blue suits.
   
5. What do you call it when someone overpays you to turn research into 2-page policy briefs? Oh right, independent consultant.

You want to do this? Great, go for it. Want to do it five times? Even better.