A Meme

The lovely labmonkie tagged me on a meme. So I must oblige with answers:

4 jobs I've had in my life

1. J.C. Penney sales associate. This was during high school and a few summers when I was home from college. I spent a lot of time at that job writing in my journal for my high school creative writing class.

2. Clerk at a video store. It was a short-lived part-time job during my early college years. The boss and another cashier were robbed at gunpoint one night when I wasn't there. I didn't work there too much longer after that.

3. News editor, Southern Standard. Long hours. Lousy pay. I learned everything I know about the newspaper business from that job. I made a ton of mistakes and worked with some crazy-ass people. I didn't love every second of it, but I certainly look back on the experience fondly. I still remember the excitement of seeing the newspapers coming off the press.

4. Coordinator, The Teen Appeal. I launched the J-school's citywide high school newspaper, and then worked as an editor, coach, mentor, pseudo high school guidance counselor for dozens of Memphis teenagers. It was an exhausting, draining, demanding job. But I was so proud of the work I was doing.

4 movies I can watch over and over again

1. "Say Anything" — "I gave her my heart. She gave me a pen."

2. "All the President's Men" — "Follow the money."

3. "Oliver!" — "Please, sir. May I have some more?"

4. "Raising Arizona" — "You get back up there and get me a toddler, Hi. I need a baby."

4 places I have lived

1. Memphis. 1990-1996 and 1997-present. I don't think I appreciated Memphis until I moved away and then came back.

2. Jackson, Miss. Summer, 1994. I moved there two weeks after I got married (without the new hubby) for an internship at The Clarion-Ledger. I haaaaaated Jackson for more reasons than I can possibly list here.

3. St. Petersburg, Fla. September-October 1996. I was at a journalism school, The Poynter Institute, for eight weeks. I rented a little house two blocks from the beach in Pass-a-Grille. It was lovely.

4. Morrison, Tenn. 1996-1997. Very big adjustment living in Morrison after Memphis. In Memphis, we had a train that rattled our windows every hour. In Morrison, we were on a huge lot and had cows in the back yard. I loved living close to my parents and grandparents, but I missed good restaurants, movie theaters and shopping.

4 TV shows I love to watch

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy kicks ass.

2. Lost. I don't what is going on on that island, but I love watching to find out.

3. The Office (BBC version). The boss, David Brent, is so painfully funny.

4. The Daily Show. Yeah it's funny, but it's also insightful.

4 places I have been on vacation

1. Washington D.C. I won an essay contest in high school sponsored by our local power co-op and spent two weeks in D.C. one summer with about 50 other teenagers. I had so much fun.

2. Daytona, Fla. Mom and I took Jesse to the beach for the first time two years ago.

3. St. Louis. Patrick and I took Jesse to Six Flags.

4. Tucson, Ariz. Visiting our friends Ted and Michelle and their kids.

4 Web sites I visit daily

1. Uncle Bob. Just some guy in Alabama with a blog. He's hilarious.

2. Daily Kos. Liberal political blogger.

3. Andrew Sullivan. Gay conservative political blogger.

4. Television Without Pity. I think my dream job is to be a television recapper. But I'm just not snarky enough.

4 favorite foods

1. spaghetti with marinara sauce

2. vanilla ice cream with peanuts and chocolate syrup

3. reese's peanut butter cups

4. Shrimp. In all shapes, forms and sizes.

4 places I'd rather be right now

1. At a basketball game

2. In a bookstore

3. At a spa getting a pedicure

4. Traveling in Europe