Hmmm, I debated whether or not to do this, because Kirk had four other people whose answers he was more interested in hearing than mine, and because he seems to think I'm not holding up my end of this website-dating thing. (Which, well, what exactly has he been doing? Plus it might be easier if I had even the slightest idea of what it means for two websites to date each other, ya know?) :-P But anyway, here's...

Four Things

Four Jobs I've Had

1. Administrative assistant at a place that sells golf tournament insurance. Yeah, you heard me right. No, I didn't know such a thing existed either until I worked there. You know how places have charity golf tournaments where if you make a hole-in-one on a particular hole you win a _____ (trip, Cadillac, whatever)? Well, the tournament organizers buy insurance coverage beforehand, so if you actually win someone else has to handle the verification and prize distribution. Yep, thrilling.
2. Standardized-test grader. Technically, I don't start this one for another few weeks, but for the next couple of months (or until someone hires me) I'll be determining the competency of our nation's third through fifth graders in the language arts.
3. Editorial assistant. Before you go into book publishing, think about the possibility that you will one day be working for a crazy person who makes you cry on the first day of work because you aren't photocopying fast enough (like you can bend space and time to make the copier go faster?), throws her phone across the office just as the CEO of the company walks by, and sits down in front of your desk and bursts into tears because a FedEx package is late.
4. Bookstore employee. "Shelving" in the children's department was the best, because it was in the back of the store and I was shorter than the shelves, so no one could see me. Plus the books made for such quick reads. Downside: the large portion of my paycheck that went to employee discounted books.
   

Four Movies I can watch over and over

1. To Have and Have Not
2. Desk Set
3. Clue
4. 1776
   

Four Places I've Lived

1. Saudi Arabia (age 1 month through 2 years)
   
2. Iran (age 4), 1978-79. Remeber what happened in 1979? I hope someone got good use out of my tricycle and all the other stuff we had to leave there.
3. London (age 16), 1990
   
4. New York, Brooklyn and Manhattan (age 22-27)

Four TV Shows I Love

1. The Amazing Race. The other night the Aussie was talking about how much he hated reality tv, but how he had his own "guilty pleasures". That's where he's wrong, though. I am absolutely unabashed about my love for this program and for
2. America's Next Top Model.
3. Futurama. The best cartoon ever produced, excepting The Simpsons.
4. Jeeves and Wooster. You know, I could probably list many other favorites, even though I hardly watch more than 4 hours of tv a week total anymore (God bless the TiFaux), but I thought Fry and Laurie deserved some acknowledgement for one of the best book-to-screen transitions in... well.... ever.
   

Four highly regarded and recommended TV shows that I've never watched a single minute of

This category would be easier if it was four highly regarded shows that I've tried for an episode or two and responded by shutting the tv off with a resounding "meh." In fact, let's do that instead.

1. ER
2. Nip/Tuck
3. Gilmore Girls
4. Alias
   

Four Places I've Vacationed

1. Australia/New Zealand/Fiji. Thanks to my Dad getting crazy frequent flyer miles back in the day, our family of four was able to get all of the flights on this itinerary for free.
2. Alaska. See my earlier post for a link to the blow-by-blow of the whole shebang.
3. Scotland. My favorite part of the world so far.
4. Hawaii. Although this one comes a close second.
   

Four of my favorite dishes

1. Mussamun curry
2. Sushi (any kind)
3. Any good seafood. I had this calamari once in South Africa that just melted in my mouth. Mmmmmm...
   
4. Peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches.
   

Four sites I visit daily

1. Ask Metafilter. To which I outsource the duties normally performed by my brain when I can't figure out the answer to something.
2. Comics.com. Where I keep up with whatever regular newspaper comics are still worthwhile.
3. C'est la Vie. My favorite web comic that doesn't yet have an RSS feed.
   
4. Bloglines. How I keep up with all the rest of you who, like me, don't update daily.
   

Four places I would rather be right now

(These are the current top four on my list of places I want to see.)

1. Italy
2. Vietnam/Thailand/Japan
3. Key West
4. Iceland
   

Four bloggers I am tagging

1. Ben. Who, even if he doesn't answer the rest, I'd be interested to hear what his four favorite foods or restaurants are.
2. Ashlee
3. The Way I See Things
4. And Josh, because I think he should write more stuff for the Internets.