5 Random Questions

Natalie did a meme a few days back where she had been asked 5 random questions and offered to ask 5 questions of anyone else who wanted them. I responded I'd like to do it and she complied. Following are those 5 questions and answers.


1. What is the worst job you ever had and why?


In my close to 30 years of working I've really only had a handful of jobs. I started working at the age 8 when I helped my brothers with their paper routes. I didn't do it every day but I did it at least 2 to 3 times a week. By the age of 10 I had taken over one of them for myself. I did the typical babysitting too. For the summer of '85 I worked in Wisconsin Dells as a bus person. My next one was at a Stuckey's, you know the place - Home of the Pecan Log Roll. Then as the salad bar preparer at a grocery store. Then I got my first office job when I was a couple months shy of my 21st birthday. I've been in the office ever since. Mainly doing the same things which would be a mixture of admin assistant and/or accounting person. I prefer the accounting work to any other office work. None of these jobs were bad in and of themselves. So I can't say I had a bad job, I can only say I had a bad place of employment.


That would be the place I worked at just before my current place. I was only there 5 months but I knew after 1 that I shouldn't be there anymore. The ad gave the impression along with the owner in the interview that most of my work would be on the accounting side. I'd be doing what's called "pay requests" in the construction industry. And then I'd also being some admin assistant work. Turns out I was doing the admin stuff most every and in those 5 months I only did 3 pay requests. I was not a happy camper. Plus the bossman was a total asshat. He was rude and loud. Not only to me but many other people. His own partner I could tell didn't really respect him. Actually, no one seemed to. If you go back and read any of my first few months of the archives you'd see how bored I was also. I'm too lazy to link to any right now so if you're interested you'll just have to go to the links on the side. There were days that I literally did about 30 minutes of work. Those were mostly the days he wasn't there, but there were a few even when he was. There just wasn't any work to be done. I actually considered putting a tally on my sidebar for the hours/days I actually did real work. I think I did more for the restaurant that he owned than I did for the construction company. Hated this place, absolutely hated it. I was extremely happy the day he called me in to his office to say he'd been going back and forth about firing me or not and then I made it easy on him and said I'd been seriously thinking about quitting for the last month. So we mutually agreed it was for the best and I was outta there!


2. If you magically spoke every language in the world and were given the chance to move anywhere in the world where would you go and why?


This one is easy. I'd divide my time equally between Ireland and Scotland with a trip or two to England thrown in from time to time. Basically it started with my love of THE QUEEN, Elizabeth I. But my interest quickly moved over to Ireland and Scotland. I love the way they talk and would love to speak Gaelic. I love their music. I love their landscape. I love their castles and keeps. I love their history. My dream vacation is to go to both these places with a side trip to England. I actually know more of England's history as I have a fascination with it's kings and queens. But I have several books on Ireland and Scotland that I'm in various stages of reading.


3. Who was your first BFF and are you still friends?

Well let's see. This one is kind of hard to say. In grade school I had several girlfriends that I hung out with quite a bit. But it was more like we were all best friends then just one single girl and I. I was good friends with Monica starting in 5th grade and continuing until 6th but there were times that she more than annoyed the shit out of me. But the girl I seemed to have a real connection with would be Theresa. If my scanner were hooked up and working I'd put a picture here of them both but it's not so I can't. Anyway, Theresa moved into the neighborhood in the summer before our 6th year. I met her through a girl I had known for basically our whole lives and hung out with from time to time. She was a little jealous that Terry and I hit it off so quickly and definitely more strongly then they did. I felt bad but at the same time I was ecstatic that I had this friend.


But as so many good things, this was not meant to last. Her father worked for Westinghouse and he'd get transferred quite a bit. They were only there for a little over one year. She was gone before the middle of 7th grade. I didn't get another BFF until the end of 8th. Nope, not friends with either of them anymore. The 1st one moved away, then I was the one to move away. I got two new BFF's in Louisiana and one of them I'm still friends with. Although she lives in Tennessee now and we only communicate every now and then through Emails as neither one of us are phone people.


4. If you had your dream house (and maybe you already do) what would it be like?

Well, I certainly don't have my dream house now, which is a pity. My, or I should say our dream house since we both agree, would be a cabin in the woods on a hillside or mountain on our own secluded lake. Or at the very least a very large pond. It would be a cross between rustic and not so rustic. Wood would be everywhere, including exposed beams. There would be a large fireplace either filling up one wall or an open one between the living room and dining room. The downstairs would be an open space, basically one huge room but each place would be defined. Windows from top to bottom looking out over the lake and another wall of them looking into the woods. There'd be a loft for the computer area. There'd be 3 bedrooms with a fireplace in each and their own bathrooms. Or maybe the two extra rooms would share one between them. The master bedroom would have it's own balcony overlooking the lake. There'd be a library, and well, I could go on and on. But basically that's our dream house.


5. You get one wish but you cannot use it on yourself. You also cannot wish for anything that will influence many people. Who do you bestow your wish upon and what do you wish for them?


This one is hard. I've thought about it on and off ever since I read it back on Friday afternoon. The whole not influencing a lot of people of course rules out anyone "famous" or "infamous" for whatever reason they might be famous or "infamous" for. So it basically boils down to the people in my life. In my immediate vicinity there are a few people that I'd wish things for. One is my mother-in-law. She hasn't had the easiest life and she definitely deserves a good one. H Ditty himself I'd wish to get rid of his psoriasis because it's such a pain in the ass and when it really flares up it bugs him to no end. But for the most part both of them are doing ok. His mom has her own home and she has 3 children and two beautiful grandchildren. HD has a pretty good life and of course ME!


So I guess I'd have to say the person I'd wish my wish on would be my brother Roy. He's the 3rd oldest and smack dab in the middle of us 5 kids. He's the typical middle child. He caused the most trouble in the family and of course the most heartache to our mom. She raised us all by herself. Our dad was a deadbeat dad. At the age of 15 I could count on one hand the times that he spent any significant amount of time with us and he certainly didn't help financially. My brothers could have used a good strong male influence in their lives but they didn't get it. And Roy seemed the one to need it the most. He skipped school a lot, he was the first one to smoke, drink and do drugs. Rather than the oldest influencing the younger kids he influenced the older two and got them to smoke, drink and do drugs. He was 13, at least that I know of, the first time he smoked pot and it went down hill from there. Although he didn't get into heavy drugs until much later he had already ruined his life.


Out of all five of us he was the one with talent. He could draw really well. Not only could he look at a picture and draw it just about perfectly he could do pictures out of his own head. He liked to use chalk and mom encouraged him by buying him sets for Christmas and birthdays along with charcoal and pencils. He'd use them for awhile and then stop. We both told him many times to apply for those schools where you draw the turtle and send it in. But he never did. He also was a whiz at electricity. He did many things around the house when things needed fixing. Sometimes they'd be jury rigged but they were well done nonetheless. He was able to do this without anyone teaching him. So we both of course encouraged him to become an electrician. Nope no go. I can honestly say I don't remember any job he had, besides those paper routes when he was younger, before I moved to Louisiana when I was 16. After that I know he got a roofing job because while on the 2nd floor roof of a house he slipped and fell off it. When he fell he knew he had to do what we're all taught from a young age, immediately roll upon landing. But he couldn't. There was a truck right there that he'd crash into and then the ladder and something else that I can't remember now in the only other direction he could've rolled. So he fell flat on his feet breaking every bone in one of them and just about every one in the other.


He got a really good settlement out of it too, not just workman's comp. But he blew it all on drugs and alcohol. He's an alcoholic and drug addict but he's a really good guy. He lives in Florida now. The last we heard (he doesn't have his own phone or apartment for that matter) he was still working and living with a coworker and friend. But the friend who's number my mom had has been disconnected. She sent a letter to their home telling him to call but he hasn't. He's in his early 40's now. So my wish would be for him to get the help he needs to get himself clean and sober. For him to find a job that he truly loves and can support himself in his own apartment with his own phone. Someplace where he can have insurance and start being able to save so he won't HAVE to work until the day he dies.


I love my brother very much. I'm grateful that he's not like a bunch of other druggies out there. He's not stealing or doing anything else illegal to support his habit. He still works, he's a functioning druggie. But he's still a druggie and he needs help. But he won't let the family help him. He came back and lived here for close to 3 years not long ago. The older brothers along with mom tried to help him but it just didn't work out and he moved back to Florida. I know he's not happy and that he misses all of us. I know this because when he actually does resurface and talk to mom she'll ask him why he doesn't call more often and he usually gets emotional and says it's because he misses all of us, that he's homesick but at the same time doesn't want to live where it's cold. He's always loved the summer. It hurts him to think about all of us up here and how he's missing out on his nieces and nephews. I wish he could have a better life.


Media quote of the day: You know the kinda guy who does nothing but bad things and then wonders why his life sucks? Well, that was me. Every time something good happened to me, something bad was always waiting around the corner. Karma. That's when I realized I had to change. So I made a list of everything bad I've ever done, and one by one I'm gonna make up for all my mistakes. I'm just trying to be a better person. My name is Earl. - Earl - My Name is Earl


This would be a step in the right direction for Roy.

4th 20 Things

Turns out I only put up 19 in my last 20 things so here's #60 and the next 20 items.


60 I've had sex on the beach. Both the drink and the real thing. Luckily no sand got where it wasn't supposed to. At least not for me, don't know about him, never asked and can't now.

61 I've never been skinny dipping and unless I get slim again I'll never do it unless there is absolutely no chance of anyone seeing me. Because no one needs to see that. Except for H Ditty of course.

62 My parents divorced before I turned one. And my father was, for the most part, out of our lives ever after.

63 My oldest clear memory is of me sitting on dad's lap when I was 5. We and the boys were sitting in our living room watching tv waiting for mom to come home. He was babysitting us while she went to do some shopping. She walked in the back door with a puppy in her arms and I jumped off his lap and went running and squealing to mom and the pup, which promptly bit me, the pup that is not my mom silly.

64 I do have one memory of being a baby. I was being carried (I believe by my father, the memory/feeling is of being held in a man's arms) out the back door onto the enclosed porch. In front of us were two of my brothers going down the stairs to the outside door. As I was taken out a German Shepard, that was chained to the fence right next to the door, jumped up to sniff at me. As far as I knew we never had a German Shepard so when I mentioned this memory to my mom and 2nd brother they said that we did have one. That's when I found out that when I was a little baby mom got the dog and when I started to learn to stand and walk Mike (the dog) would knock me down. Never in a mean way but in a curious coming over to sniff/lick at me way. So mom gave him away because she was worried that he would accidentally hurt me.

65 I've never smoked a cigarette, never even had a lit one in my mouth.

66 I've never done drugs of any kind, except of course for legal prescription drugs and those as prescribed.

67 The closest I came to "taking drugs" was when I had a major headache, bordering on a migraine, my senior year during school and a friend of mine gave me a muscle relaxant. I didn't know it was that, she told me it was migraine medicine. I sort of floated around for the rest of the day and I couldn't stand it at all. Luckily my mom picked me up early because we were going out of town so I didn't have to try to appear normal for the rest of my classes.

68. I love bagpipes. I couldn't tell you how many CD's I have of Irish and Scottish music. All instrumental, not much for the lyrics, although I like those too, just not as much.

69. My favorite Christmas song is The Little Drummer Boy. It's also my favorite Christmas story. Well, that and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But not that awful live action movie, blech.

70. I collect snowbabies. But I'm not psycho about it, if I get one I get one, if not so be it.

71. Three of the best shows that were canceled when they shouldn't have been are: Homefront, Cupid and Sports Night. It won't matter how many shows and movies Kyle Chandler is in, he will always be "the guy from Homefront" to me.

72. The two movies I can watch over and over again and never tire of are While You Were Sleeping with my fave Sandra Bullock and The Princess Bride.

Ha, this is funny. Right after writing this the song from the beginning credits of While You Were Sleeping came on the radio.

73. As of today my list of five are:

1. Brad Pitt (He has never lost this position since he joined it many years ago)
2. Taye Diggs (I could kiss this man all over)
3. Dana White (President of the UFC, every time he comes on screen I have to say "he's hot" to H Ditty and he always responds, "Yeah, I know." in a resigned voice)
4. T. R. Knight (Yes, I know there's all those Mc Whatever's on there, doesn't matter. And I just found out he's gay, oh well, he's still on here.)
5. Jonathan Davis (Singer of Korn)

The bottom 3 have been known to change from week to week but the top two will be there for a long time to come.

74. I believe the sexiest female out there is Halle Berry and why I'm not killing myself to even try to get a body like hers is beyond me. I really must start.

75. I'm a short shit, as H Ditty calls me. I'm not quite but close to 5' 3" and according to him I have a tiny head that he calls "Peanut Head" which is where the title comes from.

76. In facial features, hair and eye color I take after my dad. In body style I take after my mom.
77. My father died when I was 23 and as I mentioned earlier he wasn't in my life much.

78. I have never felt deprived of a father because of having four older brothers. Because of them, along with most of their friends, I never lacked for male attention. I was a very protected girl, hence not having a boyfriend until 18. Many, many boys were afraid of my brothers and friends. Which I found out after moving to LA and my girlfriends telling me of a few different guys that wanted to take me out but were afraid of getting their asses kicked. Which they would have if they ever hurt me in any way.

79. On Valentines Day of '89 my fiance at the time and I couldn't be together because he had to work. Brother #2 (Scott) had called to talk to mom about something but she wasn't home so he talked to me. When he found out Mike wasn't taking me out he offered to fly down and kick his ass. He wasn't kidding.

80. I'm a prom night statistic.

Media quote of the day: Reagan usually does the driving. Stolen switch car. They leave it running... on the curb. It looks parked from the distance. When they run they dump the vehicle and they vanish... like a virgin on prom night. I mean they vanish, swishh... - Pappas - Point Break

Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee Lousy with virginity Won't go to bed 'til I'm legally wed I can't; I'm Sandra Dee...........I get ill from one cigarette (cough, cough, cough) - Rizzo singing Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee in Grease.