Me too!

I know – my response is a bit slow, especially since Ruth Ann responded almost a week ago. In my defense, it has been a busy week and part of it was spent rebuilding our desktop computer, so I have not been doing much blogging or reading of blogs. The only reason I am doing this now is because it is one of those nights where sleep seems to be for everyone else.

The rules for this meme are fairly standard. Simply post the rules at the beginning of your post, answer the questions,, and tag five others to play along. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know that they need to visit yours for the rules, and of course, link back to the one who tagged you, in this case….me!

Ten years ago:

I was trying to remember today exactly where I was about 10 years ago. I guess I would have to check my passport, since in 1998 I was traveling internationally for Siemens and spent about 40 weeks of the year traveling somewhere, much of it to southeast Asia. May was a popular month for a visit down under, as well, so I could have been in Australia or New Zealand.

Five things on today’s “to do” list:

Well, it is 1:00 a.m., so which day? For Saturday, the list includes installing XP Service Pack 3 on a computer (a couple of hours, at least); walking through the campground inviting people to the lakeside church service on Sunday; possibly mowing the grass; ordering a new video card for a computer I am repairing; take Smokey for a walk (which actually happens most days, not just today).

Things I’d do if I was a billionaire:

I would have to agree with a few things Ruth Ann listed – paying off student loans would be high on the list – ours, our children’s, and our classmates; I would definitely be in favor of establishing a scholarship fund for second career seminarians (no – we don’t come with money in hand to pay for seminary and no – most of us do not/can not cash in retirement funds to pay for seminary); I would work with LDR to establish a way to provide better emergency housing and create volunteer centers that can be self-supporting long-term; and I would establish a fund to help churches set up food pantries and soup kitchens.

Three bad habits:

Staying up too late (I usually get a lot done, but it makes mornings an issue); eating habits (especially the scoop of ice cream during the news); spending too much time on the computer when I should be doing things like sleeping (which I probably could not do right now anyway).

Five places I’ve lived:

For how long? I have lived in Maryland, North Carolina (multiple times/places), South Carolina (Florence and Columbia), Illinois, and Washington D.C. I also have lived in some very fine hotels for up to three weeks at a time, in several countries around the world.

Five jobs I’ve had:

Considering that I have worked in multiple fields, it is hard to decide where to start. I have pumped gas, driven a tractor, managed a restaurant, owned my own business (twice), bagged groceries, welded, driven a tow-truck, flipped burgers, preached a few times, and spent 20+ years testing and designing hardware, writing software, installing systems and training customers – all in the electric utility industry.

I guess that is more than 5, but I would not know how to narrow it down without some parameters. All were interesting experiences, and many of those occasionally find their way into a sermon.

I really don’t have anyone to tag (most of the bloggers I know have already been tagged), but feel free to jump in if you read this and have not been tagged.