Meme Time!

I haven't had a lot to say lately, hence my lack of blogging. Actually, I'm lying. I have had a lot to say, but nothing I feel like sharing with the rest of the world. So I figured I would let my blog remain silent for awhile.

Then I remembered that I was tagged for a meme awhile back by Lydia (thanks, Lydia!), so I thought I'd give this a whirl.

1. What was I doing ten years ago?
Ten years ago, I was 19. I was still living at home with my mom and attending community college. My brother moved out that summer and went to Austin to finish his BA. His company gave me his old job (at a music store), and I only lasted for about three weeks before the crazy manager accused me of stealing money (which I did not do). I ended up walking out after that bomb was dropped on me, and I went back to my old job, flipping burgers and collecting grease. My mom had an emergency hysterectomy that summer as well, very shortly after my brother moved away, and that was a truly scary experience. I was less than a year into a very deep depression that ended up lasting about four years total. It was a very strange and stressful time.

2. What are five things on my list to do today?
Working. Or in my case, pretending to work.

Meeting Val. We are trading our photo-editing software to save money.

Watching Sex and the City. I am obsessed with re-watching the series at the moment.

Cooking. We didn't eat dinner last night because neither one of us felt like cooking.

Importing music onto my iPod. I have a ton of CDs that never made their way into my iTunes library. I've been making a solid attempt at remedying that lately.

3. Snacks I enjoy?
I love anything bad for me. Seriously. But lately, I've been eating a lot of fruit instead.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire?
What a question. Well, I definitely wouldn't be working at my crappy job anymore. I'm sure I would have to be doing some kind of work to keep me busy though, because I'm just one of those industrious types. I'd definitely take Roy and travel the world, taking lots of photos, writing lots of poems, eating lots of good food, and reading lots of books. I'd buy a house on the California central coast (in Big Sur or Carmel), and I'd set up our family members with houses and no debt. I'd have my own photography business, my own bookstore, and my own personal library, not to mention two or three kiddos, our kitties, and a dog or two. Oh, and I would be writing a lot.

5. Three of my bad habits?
Obsessing/worrying/overthinking/overanalyzing. This is the worst habit I have. If you know me at all in real life or have read this blog for awhile, then you know this about me. I have tried to change my ways, and I've gotten better for sure. But I don't think I'll ever stop being this way. It's part of my charm.

Emotional eating. Since I don't smoke anymore, I tend to turn to comfort food when I'm upset or stressed. I'm working on that, though.

Second-guessing myself. This ties into my first bad habit, but I think it deserves a mention. I hate this about myself. I am consumed with self-doubt and entirely too much self-awareness. It gets annoying, and sometimes it is entirely too loud inside my head.

6. Five places I have lived?
Victoria, Texas
Kerrville, Texas
Angelus Oaks, California
Redlands, California
Yucaipa, California
Riverside, California

7. Five jobs I've had?
Cook/cashier (and eventually shift supervisor) at a little fast food hole-in-the-wall. You can read all about it here. I spent about three and a half years of my life there.

Team leader (or something like that) at a music store (mentioned above). This job should've been cool, but it really wasn't - hence the reason I was only there for three weeks.

Food server at a cute little restaurant. This was my very first serving job, and I loved it. The people were great, the food was great, and the money was great. The only thing that wasn't great was one of my bosses. She and her husband owned the restaurant. She was a nice enough person but a really shitty boss. In wanting to keep the peace at home, her husband would not address any issues the staff had with her. So I got fed up and left after working there for a year and a half.

Inventory person at a gas compressor company. This ties with my current job as the most boring job ever. Its only saving grace was that I got to travel around different Texas shithole towns. I didn't do a whole lot of work. My co-workers were all men, and they thought I was a dainty little thing who didn't want to get hot or dirty. Guess what? They were right. I played into the traditional female stereotype a lot of the time, and that worked just fine for me. I stayed inside, read magazines, and wrote poetry. All in all, I spent about two months at this job, and I quit without any notice at all.

Food server/bartender/trainer at Chili's. Sadly (very sadly), Chili's was the best job I've ever had. Sure, my income was unstable (and sometimes downright sucked), the people could be assholes, and I smelled like fajitas and left grease stains on the carpet of my apartment, but almost every day was fun. Most of the people I worked with were on the same page as me (college students), and we were able to really bond and have a great time together. The best part? We didn't take ourselves too seriously. We laughed when we spilled drinks or food. We talked shit about the crappy customers we got (and even pulled a few innocent pranks on them). We yelled at each other and then made up at the end of the shift. We worked our butts off and walked out with a pocketful of cash at the end of the day. The general manager at the first Chili's I worked at told us once that we shouldn't get too frustrated with our jobs, because after all, "it's just burgers and beer." And he was right. After two years in beige office hell, I still long for the simple days of burgers and beer.

8. How did you name your blog?
People have told me for years how random I am. And to me, life is an adventure in randomness. There you have it.

Okay, I'm done! I'm not tagging anyone, because I tend not to do that. Play along if you want, though - leave me a comment and let me know if you do!