Monday, May 19, 2008

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to Meme we go...

I have been tagged by the charming and irrepressible Utah Savage. Memes are interesting if I'm reading someone else's, but for me to do one is a pain in the ass a great honor. So here goes nothing.

One: What was I doing ten years ago? You're kidding. I can barely remember what I did this last weekend, let alone ten years ago. Oh, well, I'll try. I was living in Chicago with my adorable Doberman/Shepard and working as a travel agent in Evanston. I won my first Opal Award for Excellence as an Aussie Specialist. And I lived in a world where there was a Democrat as President. Oh, and I was training to do the Twin Cities to Chicago AIDS Ride, a 500 mile bicycle ride that raised money for AIDS-Care facilities in and around Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Two: Five thing on todays to-do list.

Was I supposed to have a to-do list? Yikes. I KNEW I forgot something.


  • Pick up my Lipitor. Okay, THAT'S boring, but I have to get it today.
  • Finish a huge itinerary for the new Australia/New Zealand client, which I really don't want to do because they won't listen to my suggestions.
  • Pedicure, manicure, eyebrows. I need a visit to the spa, but it ain't gonna be today, so that's on tomorrow's list as well. And the day after. And the day after that, too.
  • Work on finishing the tank top for Beanie. Yes, I knit. Wanna make something out of it?
  • drink more water. I never make to-do lists. This is so hard challenging, trying to organize my inner alcoholic.


  • Three: Things I'd do if I were a Billionaire. I love being a billionaire. Can I be a billionaire forever?

    okay, so but I have unlimited money, here goes nothing

  • I would set up a scholarship at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I got my BFA. This would be for aspiring female sculptors. I say this because sculpture has been such a Boy's Club for so long, despite some amazing women sculptors.
  • I would set up a foundation to end world hunger, and would build affordable housing. And if people could not afford that affordable housing, I would let them live there in exchange for work - like, you can't pay the subsidized rent? Okay, then make the garden grow; keep the grounds clean. Live here for free, but help maintain the grounds.
  • Okay, I would hire a personal trainer, and a cook, and have a tummy tuck. If Oprah can do it, so can I.
  • I would contribute mightily to AIDS Care, Prevention, and attempts to find a cure. Rather than set up a new foundation, I would fund the best of the existing choices.
  • and since my funds are unlimited, I would go back to school - I don't know, to learn screenwriting, or something. Hell, it's my fantasy money, right?


  • Four: Three bad habits?

    How to limit, how to limit?

  • I like to isolate. Yes, it's true. I can go into hiding at the drop of a hat. It's not that I don't like people, it's that I don't like making the effort all the time.
  • I blog while I should be working. Yes. I do. When I should be paying strict attention to clients, I happily type away, paying no attention to which airline went bankrupt today.
  • I eat way too damn much, don't get enough sleep, and hate to exercise. So. I have to balance this, so I go boogy boarding, and walk.


  • Five places I have lived. Hmmmm.

    My dad wanted to move us to a Turkey Farm in Zion, Illinois, when I was a kid. Didn't happen.

  • Glencoe, Illinois
  • Ithaca, New York
  • Kibbutz Kfar Blum, Israel
  • Or Yehuda, a suburb of Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Los Angeles, California


  • Five Jobs

    An embarrassment of whatever

  • I was a waitress for a day. Twice. Got fired both times. Different restaurants.
  • I worked as a maid and cook at the Guest House on my Kibbutz. My first job in the Travel Business
  • I sorted and graded apples.
  • Political Action Coordinator for various Chicago political campaigns
  • Travel agent


  • Now comes payback the fun part:

    Tagging five unsuspecting bloggers.

  • Fran
  • Dusty
  • Betmo
  • Coffee Messiah
  • Lulu Maude


  • That was painful DELIGHTFUL.

    14 comments:

    Utah Savage said...

    Oh god, Diva. I love you even more now, and I thought it wasn't possible. This is my favorite kind of meme because it allows us to see a side of you we have not experienced yet. You are so funny and smart and smart assed (notice I did not say fat assed) I feel related. Sisters of the heart. The only reason I left Santa Barbara was to escape my horrible mother who had followed me to Santa Barbara and seemed intent on ruining my life by making it hell. Then see was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia, and I had to go back to Santa Barbara to bring her home to Salt Lake where she ruined both our lives and impoverished me for good. She died two and a half years ago. Life is getting better all the time now that she's gone. i sound like a heartless bitch, don't I. But if you're at all curious about this antipathy for my mother, read my novel "Maggy." Then help me write a screenplay and we'll both be millionaires. Love and kisses

    billie said...

    i bet you thought i would put it off- but you didn't know how much work i was procrastinating from- so there :) done and done.

    Fran said...

    I'll play this game, but first I must get my derrierre on a bike & move about. Too muc travel industry sitting for this one. Time for circulation & air.

    I'll give you a laugh-- they asked forideas for game booths for th company picnic & I suggested a telephone toss. What great joy for a call center employee than to pitch a phone as far across a field as physically possible?

    Fran said...
    This comment has been removed by the author.
    Naj said...

    :))

    I am a snapdragon too! :)

    Frederick said...

    I live a little over a half an hour from Ithaca. It's my favorite city on the planet.

    D.K. Raed said...

    I think we waitressed at the same places, Diva! I'm working on this meme thing now (sweat, sweat).

    enigma4ever said...

    this was great...I love reading other people's memes......and learning more about them......

    DivaJood said...

    Utah, I will read your novel, and we will write that screenplay. I only request that Alan Rickman be at my beck and call.

    Betmo, I knew you would not let me down. Will be over soon to visit.

    Fran, that's hilarious about the phone toss. Nothing like working in a call center. You must get the calls like "Can I drive from Los Angeles to Honolulu in one day?" And thanks for playing.

    Naj, I loved the description of Snapdragon people. It fits me perfectly, and I am thrilled you're one too!

    Frederick, I love Ithaca during spring, when all the forsythia are in bloom. Had know idea you lived in the Finger Lake region. It's gorgeous there.

    D.K., that may well be. Needless to say, I was not very good.

    Enigma, aren't some memes fun?

    Randal Graves said...

    I don't know how anyone could be a waitress/waiter. Smiling and feigning niceties to others? You're all quite mad!

    DivaJood said...

    Ah, but Randal, who said I was smiling? Fie on that, I say.

    The Future Was Yesterday said...

    "Yes, I knit. Wanna make something out of it? "
    I sure do! I wanna make this person quit neglecting me for that stupid spinning wheel and a bunch of needles all the time! Whatever you do, don't piss her off. That's my job!

    "This is so hard challenging, trying to organize my inner alcoholic."
    They added a 13th step? Now I gotta do 'em all over again.:) Plenty of time. Those damn needles could care less..whimper, sniff.:)

    Blueberry said...

    I've never known an apple sorter before.

    I never drink enough water either... unless it's flavored.

    DivaJood said...

    TUA, the 13th Step has to do with the birds and the bees. Don't they teach you anything? ;)

    Blueberry, it was a tough job, too, because we had to get started at 4 AM. THAT sucked.