Friday, March 22, 2013

Remember memes?

I used to do these question memes all the time on my old blog, back when people would tag you and then you'd tag others. After a while I refused to tag people, but I still occasionally am taken with a meme. In fact, I have one dealing with where I'm from that I've not forgotten about but need to dig up photos for. At any rate, this one was on Stephanie's blog and I decided to take a crack at it. If these seven questions speak to you, feel free to make them your own.
1. What were you doing ten years ago?
In March, 2003 I was working at the community mental health center and rapidly reaching the end of my rope with the increasing micro-management of clinicians by non-clinical staff. By this point, my then-husband and I were making plans to leave and set up a private practice. We took a little of our banked leave time to take our kids to Costa Rica, a little more to scout office locations and buy the furniture, and by August we had taken all our patients with us and were in business.

2. What five things are on your to-do list? I don't know about this one. There are plenty of things I want to do and likely will do that involve relationships, travel, and so on. But more mundanely:
* Get some seeds started for my vegetable garden. Yes, I vowed not to grow one this year, but when Spring starts rolling around I can't help myself.
* Scrape and re-paint the window sills in the living room and dining room. And while I'm at it, curse the former owners for using an oil-based paint.
* Grocery shop before the pack of boys my son has invited over descend on my house tomorrow. Pizza. I need to get pizza.
* Finish some paperwork I brought home. It's endless.
* Mow the yard. My neighbors are putting me to shame.

3. What are five snacks you enjoy? 
* Dry red wine. Wine is a snack, right?
* Kalamata olives and cheese with crackers.
* Chocolate. Currently Cadbury mini-eggs, which I wait eagerly for each year.
* Popcorn. I have an air-popper and I like it drizzled with olive oil and a little salt.
* Sushi. I know that doesn't sound like a snack, but I sometimes buy a little tray of sushi rolls at the Fresh Market. And I remember an old insanely extravagant boyfriend saying he wanted to get a "snack" before a show we were going to see, and it ended up being a bunch of nigiri and a bottle of wine. A recent sushi story: A friend of mine doesn't like the squishier sorts of seafood, so he'd ordered a tempura roll at the sushi restaurant. After he'd eaten a couple of pieces, he said, "I wonder what the orange things are?" I told him they were fish eggs. He said, "Oh. Uh. Hmm. Okaaaay." He did NOT seem pleased to discover he was happily eating fish eggs! I told him he could call it roe if that would help.
4. Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire.
The usual first - pay off my mortgage, put aside enough to get the kids through college. Travel some. And sock money away so that I could afford to alter my practice in a way that would allow me to see anyone who needed it, regardless of ability to pay. I do that already as much as I can, but wouldn't it be great not have to worry about an income? Still, I'm not going to start buying lottery tickets.

5. Name some places you have lived.
Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Mississippi, Georgia, Switzerland, Virginia, Tennessee. 

6. Name some bad habits that you have. I'm going with habits/personality traits. Because anyone who knew me in the old days of blogging knows that I never leave a meme unaltered:
I have a wicked sweet tooth. I am a bit of a doter, and this gets me in trouble. I can worry like nobody's business. And at other times I can throw caution to the wind and be utterly heedless. I can be both slothful and fully engaged in hard physical work. I am deeply spiritual and an atheist. I have a hair-trigger anger and a well of patience that borders on the insane. Although I don't believe in astrology, I may be the classic Libra. ("And maybe it's because I'm a Libra, I say balance, balance, balance." Ani DiFranco)

7. Name some jobs you have had. I can name them all, actually:
As a young kid, I baby-sat, raked pine straw, and washed cars for money. (I also worked my ass off on the farm where we lived, but I didn't get paid for that!) Once I had my own wheels, I worked at fast food places and also had some full-time summer baby-sitting gigs. I did work-study as an office assistant in college, in the Sociology department. After I graduated, I worked in the company my father worked for, putting a filing system at a Naval office in DC onto a Lotus spreadsheet. In grad school, I was a research assistant for a Deception project and also a Foster Care project. I was also a teaching assistant for intro psych and intro social psych classes. In between grad schools, I worked as a help session teacher at a residential school for emotionally disturbed kids, a research assistant for an organizational behavior professor in the business school, and worked weekends answering the crisis line at a psychiatric hospital. Internship in my field is a paid position, so I'll count it. Well, poverty-level salary, but still. On internship, I did psychological evaluations, and saw patients at the community mental health center's family clinic, the psychiatric hospital's adolescent, adult and substance abuse programs, the psychiatry department's clinic, and the VA hospital and nursing home. And finally, out with a license, I worked in a couple of group private practices, doing therapy and psychological assessments and neuropsychological evaluations. After that, I had various roles at the community mental health center - I ran the Alcohol and Drug Abuse program, was the Operations Director for the main office and of course saw patients. Off and on, I've taught psychology and child development classes at two local colleges as an adjunct professor. And for the last ten years I've been a psychologist in my own private practice where I see patients full-time and also act as the office manager. Huh. Suddenly I feel the need for a nap.

44 comments:

  1. Your journey is fascinating. Go with the garden, nothing like it.

    Bad habits? I don't perceive them as such.

    XO
    WWW

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have such mixed feelings about vegetable gardens. I'm generally only really happy with the tomatoes and herbs.

      Habits that lead me to trouble, I should say.

      Delete
  2. Loved reading more about you!

    There are so many things you shared here that are so sympatico with myself.

    Dry red wine.
    Kalamata olives and cheese with crackers.
    Chocolate. Currently Cadbury mini-eggs, which I wait eagerly for each year.
    Popcorn. I have an air-popper and I like it with drizzled with olive oil and a little salt.

    Yes, to all of those. And also, I have a wicked sweet tooth!

    You lived in Switzerland? How cool is that! I have always wanted to visit there!

    "Although I don't believe in astrology, I may be the classic Libra."

    Yes, you are my friend. Because as you know, I'm a Libra too and I could have written much of this post myself.

    Libras seem to be a contradiction of things. On one hand we're one thing, but on the other hand we're the complete opposite.

    " I have a hair-trigger anger and a well of patience that borders on the insane."

    Meeeeeeeeee too!

    But we also make the most LOYAL of friends. People who I love, I would ANYTHING for.

    X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I bet you have a sweet tooth for the same two things I do!

      And contradictions are what make life interesting, right?

      Delete
  3. is it really time to start mowing again....dang....i probably need to myself here soon....just had kalamata olives today....yumm, sushi...i could def snack on that...like the heart in seeing people that would not have the ability to pay as well..smiles.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was going to mow today, but it's too wet and chilly. Meanwhile, the yard is getting shaggier...

      I do as much of adjusting to be able to see people as I can, but I still have kids to house and feed.

      Delete
  4. Love finding out things about you. My you have had some interesting jobs!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. It was an interesting exercise to write all those jobs out.

      Delete
  5. What an interesting career you have had. My one regret in life is that my career never took off. It just wasn't in the cards for me.

    I don't do sushi, besides California rolls, but I would definitely snack with you! Lately, I've been enjoying 14 Hands Red Blend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't believe in regrets. They seem so not useful to me.

      I ried the Gnarly Head red blend at that sushi place but it was too sweet for me. Is the 14 Hands drier?

      Delete
    2. I've not had Gnarly Head, but I wouldn't say 14 Hands is sweet. I bought more today and it's 2010 Hot to Trot Red Blend (14 Hands).

      And you know me, I don't sit around and lament because I'm not that deep!

      Delete
    3. I will look for the 14 Hands then.

      Delete
  6. I saw this at Stephanie's. I stopped passing them on also but I still do them when I'm sent one. Yes wine is a snack and I need to try your popcorn. We are doing air popped corn again. I got a new one for Christmas....it was on my list! Switzerland...that sounds awesome. Enjoy your weekend and I hope the boys have fun too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Air poppers are the best - so easy! I've had one since college, so what's that... 70 years?

      Delete
  7. Where in California did you used to live? I really love Connecticut...not the long winter but everything else!

    Great knowing more about you. I love that getting pizza is on your list of things to do. We are just slaves to our kids, right? LOL

    Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We lived on Mare Island Naval Base which is just north of San Francisco. I have lots of great SF memories from that time. Connecticut I don't really remember, but I did like living outside Boston and the summer we spent on Cape Cod.

      And yes, as I'm listening right now to those adolescent boy voices - we are slaves to or kids!

      Delete
  8. Lists are interesting to me, in that if done honestly (not sure what else to call it) they tell us something about ourselves. Some more than others; I did basically the same job all my life after finishing various schools, so 10 years ago was just a variation on the same theme.

    Snacks however....a good Caspian caviar on toast points, the succulent little buds bursting on your tongue, the salty, metallic taste of the sea. A counterpoint, least you think me a fop, is to eat an entire can of black olives, or on a trip a slim jim from the gas station mini-mart.

    My bad habits are between me and my ancestors, I'm sure they'll hold me to account someday.

    I've been fortunate to be able to live all over, and where I want, and turn down positions that were in places I consider unlivable. Asia, Europe, the western US have all been abodes for me at one time or another, now I've seem to have terminal roots in Montana.

    (cue in Sinatra singing "Regrets, I've had a few....)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mmm, caviar. You'll get no argument from me there. Especially paired with champagne.

      I have only lived out of the country once, but have traveled a lot and feel lucky for that.

      Delete
  9. As soon as you began number 6, I knew you had to be a Libra. Me, too. Always have to go to both sides of the spectrum to keep things even. And men are a bit of candy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I truly don't believe the stars govern us, but I still revel in the idea of my paradoxical Libra nature.

      Delete
    2. Astrology is a fun game but I wouldn't count on it. Being a Libra is fun, too.

      Delete
    3. I also enjoy the Chinese system and knowing I'm a Tiger!

      Delete
    4. Now, now, don't be so negative. ;-o

      Delete
  10. Thanks for letting us know more about you. Was particularly interested to read about the careers that you followed and to read about your Libran tendencies! (If there is such a word!)
    Maggie x

    Nuts in May

    ReplyDelete
  11. a well deserved nap. Interesting that you lived in New England and hate the cold.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not really - we moved away from New England when I was 6, so I escaped from the cold young.

      Delete
  12. I guess most habits are only bad if they're taken too far. Like having so much of a sweet tooth you're forever at the dentist.

    I do understand that contradiction of being simultaneously cautious and heedless. I often surprise myself by jumping into something without the usual cloud of nervous reservations....

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ah these things. Now people just take a picture onto them and call it a blog award.

    They're nice filler material when you don't have any ideas of what to blog about. :P

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Actually, that's not accurate. People were using meme and award pretty interchangeably even in 2006 when I started blogging.

      But I've never used them as filler - I find them interesting exercises and interesting to read about other people. In fact, they take more work than just free-associating on the keyboard.

      Delete
  14. Reading through your bad habits made me think you're a wealth of contradictions within yourself! ;)

    I too remember things like this from the earlier days of blogging and they were fun. I guess it's when the tags were just so frequent that it all became a bit much and we tired of it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That I am.

      I think it was the tagging thing especially that made the process lose it's appeal.

      Delete
  15. How do you have time to BLOG? And...how do you keep your soul from breaking in your line of work? Isn't all day long just a parade of human suffering?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know, I just enjoy blogging enough to fit it in. But no, while my day does have its share of human suffering, it also is a parade of mostly people working to make their lives better. It's cool to be part of that.

      Delete
  16. Haven't seen one of these in a while.The tagging sometimes made it tedious, but I remember doing some fun quizzes too back in the day. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I find they make me think about things I don't usually.

      Delete
  17. very interesting journey! you must have seen all kinds of people.

    ReplyDelete
  18. i have to laugh. i don't believe in astrology either but have been told more than once i am as libran as can be. i also like the balance poses in yoga which makes me laugh when i think about it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I loved the heyday of memes. I wouldn't do them unless someone specifically linked to me for it, but was glad to pass on the links. The awards were tons of fun. Now I'm thinking about moving all my awards off my sidebar and on to a page for them. Those days seem gone forever.

    My kinds inform me that meme's are still going strong on Facebook. It's totally different than what I did - which now seem to be called "Blog Hops".

    Whatever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thin blogging goes through waves, where different things become popular.

      I don't see much in the way of memes on FB, not even among my kids' friends who have friended me.

      Delete