Friday, February 8, 2008

Tagged.

For the past few months, I've been watching the "Tag" ping around among friends and I've enjoyed reading the results. It's a bullet I've managed to dodge. Until now.

10 Years Ago:
February 1998 - I was a seventh-grader and it was nearly Valentine's Day, so I'm sure that lethal combination meant love was on the brain. My crush du jour was Jake Cooper, but because I never said as many as eight words to him throughout my entire junior high experience, he didn't play an ACTUAL role in my Valentine's Day celebration. I'm sure school that day was spent holding my breath each time the student body officers came into classrooms to deliver Candy Grams (the ultimate status solidifier to any SOJH Spartan) as my classmates and I all did quick mental math to see who was racking up the most.

That evening, my BFF Shae and I went down to Dallin's house and spent the evening with some of the boys in my neighborhood. Dallin was my neighbor, and he and the the rest of the Pleasant Valley boys didn't hold much of my interest. But this was 7th grade... when four elementary schools combined for the first time, and the H. Guy Child Elementary boys held a certain charm for Shae who hailed from Uintah Elementary. I imagine I went along partly to be the supportive friend, partly because Jake wasn't pounding down my door, and partly because I looked oh-so-hip in this old, plaid jacket of my older sister's I'd found to wear for the occasion. These were my glory days, people. After some games and the like, we really painted the town red and went doorbell ditching. (For REAL? We were like, 13. Were we really still this lame? I confess, we were.) But that went sour quickly when Shae tripped, broke her wrist, and ended up in a cast for the next few weeks. That'll teach us to quit being such hooligans and just start making out on V-Day like other teenagers.

Snacks I Enjoy:

Oh man, for real - what won't I eat in the snack food realm? But among my list of favorites...
Gummy Bears/Worm/Octopi/Whatever - but if you're gonna do gummy, you can't go cheap. It's all about the Haribo or Black Forest. For sale in embarrassingly large 5lb bags at Smith's. I haven't succumbed in nearly 7 months.
Red Vines
York Bites
Cadbury Mini Eggs (but not the Christmas ornament crap they're trying to pull lately. I swear they taste better in egg-shape.)

Things I Would Do If I Were Suddenly Made a Billionaire:
Noah probably thinks I'd still make us live like students :) and there is probably a shred of truth to that. I don't think I'd have the nerve or the desire to do anything really excessive with it.

But really, I'd probably want to set up our kids' college funds, buy (and FURNISH) a house, pay for both of us to attend grad school and visit each of our siblings (from Guatemala to Australia to Texas to the midwest and back).

Then I would probably purchase something modest like a private jet.

3 of My Bad Habits:
I do NOT put away clean laundry for the LONGEST time. (Amy, I think you mentioned this one on your blog at one time, and I had to hang my head in "I do it too..." shame.) Part of this I like to blame on the fact that I have approx. 4 cubic feet of closet space, so all of my shirts/dress pants/skirts/dresses are hung at least three to a hanger. To a SINGLE hanger. So it's really an involved process... (that's justification, right?)

I get REALLY committed to schedules and plans once they're set and I have a hard time adjusting or being flexible. I really like being efficient with my time, so it drives me nuts when things like people and stop lights don't cooperate.

I never carry keys, my debit card or any photo I.D. It makes me a very unlikely target for petty theft, but it also tends create a problem if I am ever locked out, in a situation where I need to purchase something, or pulled over.

5 Places I've Lived:
Ogden, Logan, SLC - UT; Fayette, ME; Wuxi, China; Arlington, VA

Jobs I've had:
Violin/Piano Teacher - still, one of my very favorite jobs.
Junior High Janitor - I learned useful skills, such as how to drive a Kubota and how to get gum out of carpet... bleh.
Parking Booth Attendant - so many good times, where to begin...?
Rich Kids Camp Counselor - all that time spent with the 7 Jeans CEO's munchkin and not one free pair...
English Teacher to Chinese Kindergartners - I don't know if it counts as a job, I wasn't actually paid. But I was fairly compensated in kisses and "wo ai ni's."
Produce Stand Extraordinaire - I sold pluots and crenshaws like nobody's business.
Intern
Intern
Intern
Intern
PR Account Coordinator

Who I'm tagging:
If you haven't answered these questions, and you would like to... I tag you. Go nuts :)

7 comments:

Darby said...

Oh how I miss my days of spending time in South Ogden. I never went doorbell ditching up there, and it sounds like a good thing I didn't. I probably would have ended up like Shae and broken something and then would maybe have to outrun a shotgun. :) JK, that's in Roy.
A private jet is a modest purchase. Let me know when this purchase is made so we can do some traveling together. :) And you never know when those janitor skills are going to come in handy.

Natalie Que said...

Allison that was way fun, I haven't seen that one, how many of these tagged things are there?!

Nice excuses for the laundry, I am terrible so I will have Ben read this so he knows he is not alone. It won't change when you get a bigger closet {if you're anything like me}, but keep telling yourself that to feel better, it's what I do.

Glad that you would come see us if you were a billionaire!

"All you need is love" said...

Allison,
I think your Billionaire comment is classic. I didn't realize the extreme and often unecessary frugality ran as deep as the extended family? It has to be in the blood because I can't get Justin out of that mind set either...good luck Noah.

Mercy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mercy said...

Allison, I have to say, I really love reading your blog...I have the same laundry issues but with NO excuses - we have a huge laundry room and walk-in closets in all five bedrooms - but I do have laundry for a family of 7 so I guess that's my justification...they should all do it themselves (when they are old enough)!

melissa said...

Thanks for playing, Allison! You're a good sport. I'm giving up blog tag for Lent. I didn't know you lived in China. When was that?

Nicole said...

I had no idea I was so old. You were in 7th grade ten years ago?! That means you were in grade school when I got married. Brian was horrified when I told him. Great post. :)