Tag! I'm It! (and some updates)
My cyberpal Anne-Marie has tagged me for the meme that follows, so here goes:
What was I doing 10 years ago?
On this day exactly? I don't recall. But I know it was at about this time ten years ago that Jeff and I seriously started considering buying a condo. The rent on our tiny apartment kept climbing, and I started doing mortgage calculations online and realized we could buy something twice the size for the same monthly payment. Given, of course, that we could pull a down payment together. That's when I really started freelancing in earnest to supplement our earnings.
5 Things on my to-do list:
1. Bills
2. Order Mom's birthday present
3. Send Mom's birthday card
4. Clear out guest room/office to make way for new bookshelves
5. Assemble new bookshelves and contact Erin to pick up old bookshelves (yeah, I know... I snuck in an extra thing).
Snacks I enjoy:
How long a list can this be? I absolutely LOVE dried cherries, but I can decimate an entire huge bag of them from Costco in one sitting, so I don't purchase them anymore... avoiding temptation! I also love to snack on pecans, but I tend to over-snack on them too. I like fresh fruit, in season. And my new discovery, snack-wise, are Weight Watcher's giant latte popsicles. They are only one point and huge and insanely yummy.
What would I do if I were a billionaire?
I would buy one of the lakefront homes I covet up in Evanston (Jeff and I would have to hash this out, because we have different favorites, and I don't think either one of us would want to compromise...). The house would have to be retrofitted with a huge, soundproofed music room with state of the art recording facilities, though. We would insist. I would hire someone to help my mom keep house, and I would have her entire house refurbished. I would buy a few vacation homes... in the Shenandoah Valley, in Wisconsin, in San Francisco, in London, in Paris... maybe in New Zealand, although I'd have to travel there first to see if it is really as amazing as it seems. I'd donate to a bunch of charities: Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, Macular Degeneration Research, etc. I'd also go back to college and get another degree... this time in geology.
Places I have lived:
Waynesboro, VA
Harrisonburg, VA
Syracuse, NY
Boston, MA
San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL
Jobs I've Had:
Day camp counselor
Fast food handler (no kidding, that was the official Burger King job title)
Cashier
Inventory taker
Factory/testing area clerk
College instructor
New wave superstar (well, almost: rhythm guitar, backing vocalist, harmony arranger)
Music store clerk and sheet music buyer
Public relations assistant
Admin assistant in a brokerage firm
Temp, temp, temp, temp
Manuals editor
Surface designer (fabric, giftwrap)
Freelance writer and editor
Textbook editor and editorial manager
5 people I'm tagging:
Oh gosh... hmmm. I'm trying to think of five. Okay guys--do it or not, entirely up to you!
G.W. Ferguson
Erin
Jenn
Von
Gina
And now, for updates.
First, on the job front. Today was supposed to be my last day. I had been talking to the folks up in Reading, because they are really in a crunch and can use experienced folks, but the offer was slow in coming. I dragged myself into work this morning, fully expecting to drop off my pass, my corporate Amex card, and my laptop and all its accouterments to the powers that be at around noon. Then I was going to head out, licking my wounds and running some errands. At five minutes to noon, I got the call: an offer from Reading. It's as a supervisory editor rather than a manager, but the salary's the same... I took it. So for now, I still have my view. Actually I think it's going to be a good gig for now. We'll see what the future brings. But DAMN!! If HR had made the call ten minutes later!! Yikes!
Second, a Shelly health update. We've been able to cram the capsule down her gullet every morning. She hates it, and she fights it, but so far we have prevailed. Her breathing is much better. She's not eating very much, though, which worries me. And she seems very listless. It's really clear that she's fading. She still hops up in bed with us and snuggles and purrs, though. She doesn't seem to be in pain. So for now, we watch and wait. We're taking her in for some blood work in a couple of weeks (if she lasts) to see if the meds need adjusting. I just wish it would cool down a bit. I know she's not too comfy with that fluffy coat, although it's not nearly as fluffy as it used to be. Poor kitty!
Third... Next post (unless something momentous intervenes), I will introduce you to my excellent birthday present! So cute! So tuneful! And relatively easy peasy to play!! Stay tuned!
What was I doing 10 years ago?
On this day exactly? I don't recall. But I know it was at about this time ten years ago that Jeff and I seriously started considering buying a condo. The rent on our tiny apartment kept climbing, and I started doing mortgage calculations online and realized we could buy something twice the size for the same monthly payment. Given, of course, that we could pull a down payment together. That's when I really started freelancing in earnest to supplement our earnings.
5 Things on my to-do list:
1. Bills
2. Order Mom's birthday present
3. Send Mom's birthday card
4. Clear out guest room/office to make way for new bookshelves
5. Assemble new bookshelves and contact Erin to pick up old bookshelves (yeah, I know... I snuck in an extra thing).
Snacks I enjoy:
How long a list can this be? I absolutely LOVE dried cherries, but I can decimate an entire huge bag of them from Costco in one sitting, so I don't purchase them anymore... avoiding temptation! I also love to snack on pecans, but I tend to over-snack on them too. I like fresh fruit, in season. And my new discovery, snack-wise, are Weight Watcher's giant latte popsicles. They are only one point and huge and insanely yummy.
What would I do if I were a billionaire?
I would buy one of the lakefront homes I covet up in Evanston (Jeff and I would have to hash this out, because we have different favorites, and I don't think either one of us would want to compromise...). The house would have to be retrofitted with a huge, soundproofed music room with state of the art recording facilities, though. We would insist. I would hire someone to help my mom keep house, and I would have her entire house refurbished. I would buy a few vacation homes... in the Shenandoah Valley, in Wisconsin, in San Francisco, in London, in Paris... maybe in New Zealand, although I'd have to travel there first to see if it is really as amazing as it seems. I'd donate to a bunch of charities: Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, Macular Degeneration Research, etc. I'd also go back to college and get another degree... this time in geology.
Places I have lived:
Waynesboro, VA
Harrisonburg, VA
Syracuse, NY
Boston, MA
San Francisco, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL
Jobs I've Had:
Day camp counselor
Fast food handler (no kidding, that was the official Burger King job title)
Cashier
Inventory taker
Factory/testing area clerk
College instructor
New wave superstar (well, almost: rhythm guitar, backing vocalist, harmony arranger)
Music store clerk and sheet music buyer
Public relations assistant
Admin assistant in a brokerage firm
Temp, temp, temp, temp
Manuals editor
Surface designer (fabric, giftwrap)
Freelance writer and editor
Textbook editor and editorial manager
5 people I'm tagging:
Oh gosh... hmmm. I'm trying to think of five. Okay guys--do it or not, entirely up to you!
G.W. Ferguson
Erin
Jenn
Von
Gina
And now, for updates.
First, on the job front. Today was supposed to be my last day. I had been talking to the folks up in Reading, because they are really in a crunch and can use experienced folks, but the offer was slow in coming. I dragged myself into work this morning, fully expecting to drop off my pass, my corporate Amex card, and my laptop and all its accouterments to the powers that be at around noon. Then I was going to head out, licking my wounds and running some errands. At five minutes to noon, I got the call: an offer from Reading. It's as a supervisory editor rather than a manager, but the salary's the same... I took it. So for now, I still have my view. Actually I think it's going to be a good gig for now. We'll see what the future brings. But DAMN!! If HR had made the call ten minutes later!! Yikes!
Second, a Shelly health update. We've been able to cram the capsule down her gullet every morning. She hates it, and she fights it, but so far we have prevailed. Her breathing is much better. She's not eating very much, though, which worries me. And she seems very listless. It's really clear that she's fading. She still hops up in bed with us and snuggles and purrs, though. She doesn't seem to be in pain. So for now, we watch and wait. We're taking her in for some blood work in a couple of weeks (if she lasts) to see if the meds need adjusting. I just wish it would cool down a bit. I know she's not too comfy with that fluffy coat, although it's not nearly as fluffy as it used to be. Poor kitty!
Third... Next post (unless something momentous intervenes), I will introduce you to my excellent birthday present! So cute! So tuneful! And relatively easy peasy to play!! Stay tuned!
Labels: birthday prizes, joys of right-sizing, memes, Shelly, updates
posted by Cathy VanPatten at 7:03 PM
8 Comments:
"Yay!" for employment and "yay!" for the kitty!
Wait...you'd get a degree in geology? Really? WHY WEREN'T YOU OUT COLLECTING FOSSILS WITH ME IN THE 'SIXTIES?
And your geological trivia for the day--the Chesapeake Bay is actually the largest impact crater in the U. S.!
LOL! I always found rocks fascinating, but I think for magpie-ish reasons. They had cool colorations or shapes or striations... But I never really thought of it as science... Just collecting. Or really , browsing and acquiring. Heh.
Then when I went to college, we had to take science (and math, o lord) as part of a well-rounded curriculum. General studies, I think it was called. I took "Cultural Math" (yes... that was the name of the course, and it was mainly truth tables--i.e., syllogisms--and prime factoring--to what end, I never could figure). And I took Geology 101--you know. Rocks for jocks. Except I was amazed to find that I had an affinity for it. I aced the infamous rock test--the one that no one ever passed--and threw the curve off so badly that they just took my grade out of the mix and THEN figured the grades on the curve. The geology department started trying to recruit me! LOL! I took another geology class (terrestrial evolution) to fulfill my second 4 hours of science, and I really did consider a minor, but by then I was so deep into the medieval thing and taking tons of extra lit hours...
Plus there's the pesky fact that you can't get a degree in geology without taking at least SOME bio, physics, chem... and the dreaded MATH! Something I didn't think I was up to then, but that I think now I could have handled. And if I wasn't doing anything else (like earning a living) I might be able to handle it now...
I used to love that I could drive through mountains and read a bit of Earth's history in the road cuts. Now about all I can remember is how to tell when I've passed from the Appalachian Plateau into the Valley and Ridge and vice versa...
Oh, and WAY COOL on the Chesapeake Bay! Thanks!
Hi Cathy!
Check my blog to see my "tag" results.
Erin
I'm so glad you're not out of a job! Good news!
I do feel bad about Shelley, though. :-( I'm glad she's taking her pills, albeit unwillingly. I'm also happy to read that she doesn't seem to be in any pain. Man, it sucks when the furbabies are sick!
I don't envy you pilling a cat, but if it helps...
Talk about cutting it close on the job thing. Could they have waited any longer?
Strangely, S.U. is packed with students -- maybe they can't think of anything else to do or there's a Baby Bump or something, but we're swamped. So if you want to teach Studio I (that's Freshman English to the uninitiated), come on down! (I can say that because I teach upperclassmen -- LOL!)
Knickers (not particularly in a twist)
Studio 1? Har! Anything to avoid calling it the dreaded "English 101." Except no one is fooled, I'll bet! Please tell me they no longer teach the Baker keyhole essay!!
I don't think I could stand teaching freshman again, but way cool that you are teaching upperclassmen. I'm sure it's much more fulfilling! LOL!
Post a Comment
<< Home