Onze upon a time

Monsieur Graves has tagged me with a charming little meme that asks for eleven things you might not know about me. Well, of course you wouldn't know them, unless you've been to my house, and no, I cannot see Russia from my house. Hell, I can barely see Catalina Island, due to the fog, but that's weather-related. So, but, I have to answer these one-word questions, which I am certain are a nefarious plot to link my candidacy to William Ayers.

1. Clothes Shop: Turley Road in Chicago. Yes, it's true. A hip designer in the Windy City. Also, caBI.

2. Furniture Shop: Hmmm. I haven't got a clue how to answer this. I used to like antiques, so I would rummage various antique stores. Now I want to sell everything I own, every stick of furniture and start over with just a more relaxed, beach-cottage look. So I dunno.

3. Sweet: are ya kidding me? Chocolat. It's a food group.

4. City: Well, I live in San Pedro, California, which is really Los Angeles. I LOVE Chicago, but it's too fucking cold. So there.

5. Drink: well, not since July 18, 1988. Oh, that's not what you meant. Okay, then it's gotta be Root Beer.

6. Music: I could listen to Yo-Yo Ma all day long. I mean, forever.

7. TV Series: toss-up between Sex and the City and The Sopranos. Oh, unless you mean currently? Um. Oh. Er.

8. Film: This is really, really, really hard. I love films. From Casablanca to Lawrence of Arabia; from Oklahoma to Singin in the Rain; from It Happened One Night to Gone With The Wind; from Dogma to Die Hard - I really can't pick just one. However, for 2008, I really loved Burn After Reading.

9. Workout: I walk. I try to get in 3 miles every day. Really.

10: Pastries: Chocolate cake. Yum. Yum. Yum.

Update: Dammital, Distributorcap noticed I forgot #11. Here it is:

11. Coffee: not for me. Tea all the way. Robust, Irish Breakfast. Yum.


Now I have to pick five suckers bloggers to play along. Hmmm. Sort of a "tic-tac, no trade-back" sort of thing, eh? Okay, Katie Schwartz, Border Explorer, Liberality, Susan, and Dianne.

Go forth, spread the meme.

Tic-tac, no trade-backs

this non-political break courtesy Utah Savage, (I love you, Utah).

1. Where was I ten years ago?
In 1998, I still lived in Chicago, had just completed my second Twin Cities to Chicago AIDS Ride (500 miles from Minneapolis to Chicago on a bicycle), was a featured speaker at a forum for the Travel Trade in Brisbane, Australia at a program called "Unzipped: Unleashing the Potential of the North American Market." I talked about the "distribution chain" and how fractured it had become. And I also spoke at the Chicago International Outdoor and Adventure Travel Expo to a Travel Agent Forum. It was a great year.

2. What was on my ToDo list today?
Get dressed. Go to the San Pedro Court House to pay a small fee for a correction on my vehicle sticker. Get dressed. Oh, did I mention? Get out of my p.j.s and get dressed. And finish a quote for a group.

3. And my favorite number. What would I do if I were a billionaire? Oh, oh, I would do so much. I would fund sustainable tourism. I would fund a grant for women entrepeneurs. I would travel more (and I travel a lot.) I would move out of Los Angeles to a more rural location and grow all my vegetables and fruit. I would have a second home in Chicago. I would paint and write.

4. Five places I've lived.
Kfar Blum, a kibbutz in Israel
Glencoe, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois
San Pedro, California

5. Bad Habits.
Are you kidding me? I hate to clean house. I'm lazy. I eat way too much bad food. I'm judgmental, opinionated, and arrogant. I spend more than I earn. Blah blah blah blah blah.

Now the fun part: pick five others to play too.

1. Blueberry
2. Maria*Maria
3. Dianne
4. Randal
5. Border Explorer