Meme-ing back in...

Not much blogging here lately...can't really say why, but I just haven't been moved. To ease back in though, I'll participate in the meme Ruth tagged me for.

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?

1. I was working on my M.A. in TESOL
2. I was hanging out on the Central Coast in CA, making the odd trip to SJC
3. I was discovering the joys of TiVo
4. I was furnishing my home solely with Ikea and hand-me-downs
5. I was really digging school

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

1. Get up at 4am to go outside and shut the gate that was slamming and waking me up, scared that someone was invading.
2. Get caught up on voicemail and e-mail from the long weekend...what a corporate whore.
3. Print pictures I took this weekend with my new digital SLR camera
4. Pilates DVD
5. Reassess the May budget

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1. Mangos!
2. Lately...popcorn
3. Anything with a combo of chocolate and peanut butter
4. Almonds
5. Cheese

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Not work for money
2. Write more (free time)
3. Bribe congress to strike down NCLB
4. Buy all my friends houses at Lake Okoboji
5. Spend free time coming up with good things to do with a billion dollars

What are five of your bad habits?

1. Hitting snooze at least twice
2. Yelling at other drivers...and remembering the windows are open
3. Being messy
4. Being oblivious to other people
5. Picking food up off the floor and eating it

What are five places where you have lived?

1. San Jose, CA
2. Monterey, CA
3. Charlotte, NC
4. Haiti
5. The Midwest

What are five jobs you’ve had?

1. Pizza Ranch employee
2. Coffee House worker
3. Camp counselor/administrator
4. Teacher
5. Tutor

What five people do you want to tag?

1. Ang
2. Nellie
3. Megan
4. Tricia
5. Charity

O, Blogosphere!

There hasn't been much blogging lately...I've mostly been focused on a job opportunity, and felt weird writing about it while it was going on. It's past now...the position was offered, I declined. I can't adequately explain why, except to say that it was my intuition and a lack of peace, which seems to be one of the few ways I can really say I heard God's voice.

That whole process stressed me out quite a bit, thinking about another possible move, selling a house I love, etc. etc. Now that it's over, I am totally appreciating where I am again. This afternoon I sat on the back patio with a book and a drink, basking in the sun. I've said it many times, but I wish humans could do photosynthesis. I know there's that whole thing about Vitamin D, or is it K, but it would be nice to store up the energy sunshine brings after a cold, dark winter.

Since I'm not thinking about work, this weekend gave me time to do other things. I went to Ang and Ryan's b-day party for their little girl, gifting her with a "pasta plate." Remember when you stapled together paper plates and put beans inside to make a shaker? Same idea. It's still a loud, obnoxious toy, but I'm hoping the payback isn't quite so venomous.

I also finished sewing some cloth napkins I'd started on last weekend. I decided to reduce my paper towel use, and found some cotton fabric remnants that I really like. I'm not so into the details of sewing like measuring or pinning, so they're slightly haphazard, but functional. Pictures to come sometime soon.

As you all can tell, the list of books on the blog is pretty useless, so instead I'll just tell you what I'm reading. Tonight I finished Foreskin's Lament, a memoir by Shalom Auslander. I heard him first on This American Life, and wanted to read more. I really enjoyed his memoir, bitter and tormented as it is. His Jewish upbringing seems like a much exaggerated parallel to growing up in the biodome of N'west Iowa.

Luck

Today was a lucky day. I won an iPod shuffle at work for submitting a survey about our online benefits open enrollment (it kinda sucked), and I also found out I don't have to go to jury duty next week. I'm curious as to what might happen next.