Tuesday, August 23, 2011

10 questions

Caitlin thought up these questions and after reading Ambermy sister Abby's, and  Kelly's answers, I decided to play along!

What are you really good at?  What are you really bad at?

I'm really good at:  Math.  Excel spreadsheets.  Planning trips, especially to Paris.  Writing (sometimes, when I am inspired).  Staying motivated/sticking with a plan.  Organizing my life. 

I'm really bad at:  Going with the flow.  Handling criticism.  Being spontaneous.  Not taking things personally.  Hiding my emotions.  Sleeping.  Saying no.

Have you ever been in a car accident?  What happened?

I got rear ended in the fall of 2004.  It was not my fault.  Traffic came to a sudden halt on a random Saturday night when there should not have been traffic.  The car behind me was not paying attention and rear ended me. 

It was very, very minor, but I have never been the same since.  I am crazy-paranoid about getting rear ended.  Those who have been on the phone with me while I am in the car have heard me chant "please see me slowing, please see me slowing down" when traffic comes to a sudden stop. 

Where did you attend college?

I got my undergrad at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.  Go Sioux (or whatever the heck our mascot will be?)!  I got my masters at the Carlson School of Management (University of MN).  My loyalty is defnitely to UND, not U of M.  My masters was SO expensive.  Like a class cost as much as a semester at UND.  No joke.  Granted, part of that is due to inflation/the riduculous increase in the cost of education, the rest is due to the fact that I was paying for the ranking of the MBA program. 

Describe your morning routine today

5 am - wake up, put on work out clothes, go to the gym in my building.  Today I did speed work (800m repeats).  I don't usually run in my gym, but this week my schedule is all wonky. 

5:45 am - shower, get ready for work.  I am wearing my hair curly in the summer so this takes much less time compared to the rest of the year when I blow dry and flat-iron my hair.

6:10 am - make eggs and gf toast, eat breakfast, read blogs, respond to emails

6:45 am - leave house, bike to work

7 am - Arrive at work and get busy with whatever it is I am tackling that day!

Have you ever snooped through someone else's things?  Did you find anything interesting?

Not that I can recall.  I think snooping is playing with fire because if you find something out, what in the heck are you going to do with that information??  It would eat me up if I snooped and found something and then couldn't confront the person.  So no thank you on the snooping.

What do you think happens when you die?

I hope that I go to heaven, but I do believe there is a final judgment that will be made before I am accepted into heaven.  This is a really heavy topic and I don't really want to go there today, so I will just leave it at that!

Are you superstitious?

Not really.  But sort of.  I mean, I wore a certain dress to take the CFA, along with a wishbone necklace my cousin gave me.  I wore that same dress & necklace the day I got my results as I felt like it was a good luck charm.  I will probably wear that dress & necklace when I take the next 2 levels.  I also took advantage of back-to-school sales and bought my binder and notebook paper for the next level - and I made sure to buy a binder that was hot pink like my level I binder was.  So yah, I guess I am superstitious, or maybe you could say I like rituals?

Do people think you are younger or older than you actually are?

Based on looks, people usually think I am younger, especially when I wear my hair curly.  And because I wear a backpack to work.  My boss does, too.  It's how we roll.  But people see the backpack and think - she's in school.  Not - she's a 30 year old going to work.  What can I say, I heart backpacks.

I think maturity wise, I have always been mature for my age, although now my maturity level probably = my age.  But in my early 20s, I don't think I fit in with my age group as I bought a house and lived alone and didn't really go out, etc, etc.

How did your parent's relationship influence you?

It made me respect and appreciate happy and healthy relationships.  I learned how a man should treat a woman.  I learned that it is possible to not run out of things to talk about, even after 40+ years of marriage (this still baffles me!!).  I learned that opposites can attract.  My parents are different in many ways, but the thing that makes them work is that they have the important things in common (hobbies, faith, values, principles, work ethic, etc). 

What were the three happiest moments of your life?

This is tough because I have many happy moments in my life, but these are 3 that stand out in the couple of years (well, 2 are from this year):

1.  Becoming an aunt - each every time.  I know that is 5 moments, but I am cheating and grouping them into a single moment.  I am one proud aunt and absolutely adore my nephews.

2.  A moment in Paris when I was walking along the Seine, taking in the beautiful sights of Paris, and as they say, "my cup runneth over".  I remember looking around and thinking - 'is this my life?  Do I really get to be here and experience this beauty?'  Le sigh. :)

3.  Finding out I passed Level I of the CFA.  I cried  (happy tears) and my heart felt like it swelled in my chest.  I worked so so so so so so so freaking hard for that pass.  It was just a relief and a wonderful feeling to know that all of my hard work paid off. 

Pick one (or all of them) and answer it in the comments!

16 comments:

Charbelle said...

LOVE this post so much good stuff!!! Your top 3 moments is so perfect, it's hard to narrow things down but that was awesome!!! Happy Tuesday, I hope it's a fabulous day!!!

Raquelita said...

Ah! I love these q&a things because it gives me a chance to get to know the person behind behind the blog a bit more. I'm totally with you on the snooping. Sometimes it is better not to know.

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

People always think I am younger too. I have a love/hate relationship with it and sometimes just let them think what they want and do not correct them. ;)

Stephany said...

I think you're the first one of these I've read where I totally agree with the "what happens when you die" question. :)

People ALWAYS think I'm younger. I think I'm usually pegged at 16 or 17. Sigh.

Marlys said...

Great post! I even learn things about my own children when I read these posts! :)

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Oh I think I have to do this. My brain has been bleeeeh lately, so a Q&A would be perfect!

I love that one of your best moments was in Paris when your "cup runeth over". Those moments are priceless!

I think we are a lot alike with our routines and organizing stuff. Spreadsheets! Hurray! Love em!

Lisa-Marie said...

I love this post! I am not good at hiding my emotions either. Or at spontaneity. I'm quite adventurous but I need at least a couple of hours of planning and knowing it's going to happen beforehand.

I haven't been in a card accident, but I have been in a double decker bus accident. it slid down a hill in the snow and toppled about 30 degrees, stopped by falling down a very steep embankment by some trees.

Today's 'routine'.
Today is a day off so, I woke at 8, got out of bed at 8.30, had breakfast with Dave. He went to work at 9, so from then till about 10.30 I worked though my google reader and emails (and pinterest). 4 loads of dishes (no dishwasher here), tidying and my sketch for the day took me to 12.30, when I had lunch. half an hour of reading, then a trip to the supermarket for dinner things and a walk around with my anolugue camera, and now at 3pm I'm here, and doing hour two of blog catchups (I attempt to do at least 4 hours a week, split between my days off if I can).

Jess said...

I've seen these questions floating around on other blogs and I like them! Very fun and informative!

Nora said...

This is/was so fun to read! I've never been in an accident but I hate it when I look in my rearview mirror and it looks like they aren't slowing down. Freaks me out!

I love that you bought a hot pink binder for Level II study materials. That's awesome :)

Mandy said...

Can I tell you how much I love that you already bought studying supplies complete with hot pink binder to study for the level II? I heart you. A lot.

People are never quite sure how old I am. I like to keep that a well kept secret. =)

I am enjoying reading these questions and answers. Perhaps I will do it on my blog.

Leigh said...

Such a fun post series idea! I have no clue that your hair was curly. Learn something new everyday :) If you start work at 7, what time do you finish?

Amber said...

BAHAHHAAHA. Your line about being a 30 year old with a backpack cracked me up! Backpacks are just so darn convenient to carry things in though!!! I should really start using one in the winter when I fit my gym clothes, lunch and work stuff all in like 3-4 different bags!

I really like these Q&A because it allows you to learn more about a person. Your three best moments are perfect and made me smile :-)

Abby said...

That's unreal about the cost of your master's classes @ U of M. But...in the long run it's worth it. But still ouch! ;)

I saw a House Hunter's International last night about a girl who decided to move to Paris out of her absolute love for the city. It made me think of you big time!

Fun post!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

I love these questions, so much fun! I have never been rear ended that I can remember, but I still fear that I will be when I have to stop short for any reason!

Also I am totally more loyal to my undergrad than grad program- in fact I often try to pretend I got them both in the same place, I mean not to friends or anything but if I'm writing a letter to get a tutoring job or something, I'll be like I got my bachelors at Boston College and my masters degree in Reading... and just leave it at that haha, obviously if they ask me right out I'll say it- my program was really good and was way cheaper than BC, but I just have a lot more BC pride :)

Becky said...

I heart backpacks too. And I agree - becoming an aunt was one of the best moments of my life as well! I'd say another one was our wedding, but as much fun as that was, I'm going to say the next morning was better. I'd woken up and ordered room service in our hotel room and they'd call me Mrs. and my new married last name.

It was the first time I'd "really" heard it and I was so excited I took a running leap from one room to the next and landed on the bed, telling my new husband all about it. We then only called each other husband and wife for the rest of the day. :)

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Happiest Moments:

1) Getting Married
2) Becoming an Aunt for the first (and so far, only time)
3) Watching my sister get married