Meme of Four

Dang, I got tagged. Never thought I would live to see the day. Walt, of Walt at Random, bit into the fours meme and tagged. Actually, he tagged me under my other not so secret identity, the Gypsy Librarian, but we all know (ok, I know) it is his unruly cousin, the Itinerant Librarian, who does these things. Walt's responses are here. This meme has been going around in various forms. Some people add more things, some substract. Two examples are Joy's post here and Mark's post here, who added quite a bit on music. So, here is my take based on what seemed the questions most people answer. Not perfect for me, since I don't always follow a lot of popular things as readers will see. I am not adding books, since I often address what I read in other posts. I did not do the four cars meme item because I have not owned four cars. I tend to make them last.


Four jobs I've had:

• Library clerk: I worked as a student worker in circulation for the HSSE Library at Purdue. It was my first job after high school, and it was my work-study job. Little did I know then I would become a librarian. Back then, I wanted to be an engineer. Go figure.
  
• Banquet waiter. Nice tips, but you had to wonder about some people.
  
• Pizza delivery driver.
  
• High school teacher.
  

Four movies I can watch over and over:

• Star Wars, the original trilogy, which reminds me, I need to get a new DVD set of it. I have it on VHS, a gift from mom ages ago it seems.
  
• The Godfather, because it does have the answer to a lot of questions in life. It's a film "I can't refuse." Don't like the other two sequels as much, though in Part II, I do like the old segments of the Godfather's rise. Overall if there is Godfather trilogy marathon on, I am there.
  
• Spaceballs ("Prepare for ludicrous speed!").Actually, I like most of Mel Brooks' spoofs.
• Patton, and a few other war movies. Patton is interesting for me, I think. One of the places I learned about reading to know your enemy. Patton has the big tank battle with Rommel's forces, and when he wins he says he read Rommel's "damn book" or something like that. Sounds like an endorsement for reading to me.
  

Four movies I can't stand the sight of (just four?):

• Anything with Adam Sandler (or any other SNL cast member for that matter)
  
• Titanic, and similar heart-string dramas that I know how they will end. The only sad thing about Titanic is that Celine Dion did not go down with the damn ship singing that song (you know the one). I like her voice, but I was so sick of that song I had the shakes every time it came on the radio. Update note: I've made my peace with Dion so to speak. I happen to like her newer song "I Drove All Night." Makes me miss my better half when I am on the road.
  
• Pretty much any sports movie. You know the underdog will win no matter what, so why bother?
  
• Most "chick flicks." Falling in love with a science fiction fan means I am free from being subjected to "chick flicks" or "date movies." The fact she dislikes "chick flicks" too helps. To us, watching something like Total Recall or Minority Report or any Star Trek flick (she is a big fan) is a "date movie." It's better than getting one of those immunity cards or whatever the hell they do on things like Survivor to spare you some "hideous" fate. I pity the guys who don't have this option. Personally, I just find such movies silly and predictable. You know the guy will get the girl, or viceversa, no matter how much they hate each other at first.
  

Four places I've lived:

• Humacao, PR: This is where I attended high school. My family moved a lot when I was growing up in Puerto Rico.
  
• Bayamon, PR: Shortly after I went to college, my parents moved there. I was living in West Lafayette, IN for college, but it was where I went home to for my first two years of college.
  
• Mishawaka, IN: This is where I had my first high school teaching job.
• Bloomington, IN: Where I completed my MLS.
  

Four places I am avoiding:

• There are not many places I would avoid per se. Let's just say I would avoid places I would not want to live in. There are some that I see as would be nice to visit but not want to live there. California is an example. I would love to see it, but sure as heck would not want to live there (between cost of living, earthquakes if you live near the San Andreas, and so on. Would love to see wine country). If I had to say what to avoid, some areas in the Deep South (I can do without the rampant racism, and if you read this and live there, sorry, but deal), and some large metro areas. NYC is a good example. I like visiting, but I know there are areas I would not go into. You get the idea.

Four TV Shows I love (current): This is a tricky one. My spouse and I don't watch too much television, let alone current stuff that most people talk about. Between our two disparate work schedules and the poor quality of a lot of tv, just not much of an incentive. If you wonder how does a Reference Librarian keep up with the latest on TV, I have one word for you: Internet. Anything I would ever want to know about any TV show is there, and I can seem like I watch them without the pain. However, if I have to choose:

• MXC on Spike TV. Yes, I like watching people get hurt in all sorts of ways.
  
• Law and Order. Don't like SVU as much, but I will watch it. Like CI, though wondering if it losing steam. Have not seen the new one, Court or whatever it's called, and I am not too interested. Overall, I don't make an effort to be there to see the new episodes. Watching the reruns is great (thank goodness for USA Network and TNT), but overall, just see it when I see it.
  
• Some of the documentaries and shows on the History Channel (for example, Mail Call), Food Network (big Iron Chef fan, the Japanese one, lukewarm on the American version, couple other shows), and National Geographic.
  
• South Park, but again, I see it when I see it. Also like Mind of Mencia and Chappelle's Show, (though that is not new anymore), The Daily Show (discovering Colbert Report now) on Comedy Central. (ok, so those are extra, but the same channel).
  

Four shows I like (Classic): This one is easier for me. Sorry to sound like "an old foggy," but since "reality" TV became the craze, it is hard to find anything to watch. These shows I actually made time to be home for them, or I taped them. There are more than four, but the meme did ask for four.

• X-Files. I saw the whole thing, from day one to the bitter end (and some of that headed downhill was painful). However, I am getting the DVD's for it.
  
• Babylon 5. Definitely want DVD's for this.
  
• Farscape. Ditto.
  
• Homicide: Life on the Street.
  

Four places I have vacationed:

• Disney World, the one in Orlando Florida.
  
• New York City, along with Long Island, NY, where my uncle and aunt used to live. I have some of my fondest Christmas memories from visiting there, waiting for snow that for some reason never came (that is another story).
• Niagara Falls (on both sides).
• Washington, DC.
  

Four favorite dishes (just four?):

• Pasta and Pizza.
  
• Puerto Rican food, especially rice and beans, some stewed beef, and a lot of tostones (plaintain fritters). Thank the powers that be mom taught me how to cook.
  
• Mexican, if authentic. Tex-Mex is nice, but it is not Mexican. Cuban food. Nice thing about growing up in Puerto Rico, a lot of the exiled Cubans set up restaurants there. For them, we had the same ingredients they used back home, so it was as good as actually going to Cuba to get arroz congri (black bean rice) or sopa de frijoles negros (black bean soup).
  
• Most "ethnic food." I am willing to try just about anything. I have had Vietnamese, Thai, and Ethiopian food as well as sushi and a few other things. My drama class took trips to Chicago for plays, and we used to go to this little Ethiopian restaurant. I love the idea of the food served in a large dish, and everyone eats from it. If that does not embody family and fellowship, I am not sure what does. Totally cool.
  

Four sites I visit daily:

• W.I. Dykes Library Homepage. My place of work. This is how I get to resources I need to help other people find that they need.
  
• Bloglines, to read my 100+ feeds. No, I don't read them all at once. I skim a lot, save some stuff for later. One of these days I have to make my feeds public, though not sure who would want to know what I read.
  
• Blogger, to work on my blogs. Even if not blogging, I am often working on a draft.
  
• My Yahoo!, mostly out of habit by now, but before feeds and tools like Bloglines became the way to go, I got a lot of news from there. I still read some stuff on there. Nice one-stop place once you tweak it to your liking, or you find something else.
  

Four places I would rather be:

• Back in Disneyworld. I am such a kid at heart at times.
  
• Back in Puerto Rico during the Christmas season, to visit.
  
• On a road trip to anywhere, especially if small and out of the way. The interstate highway system, and more importantly, the many byways and small roads, are a great U.S. invention. I love to get on a car, hit the road, and get off the road at the sign of any local festival, feast, winery, museum, or roadside attraction. Half the fun is getting to where ever you are headed to.
  
• In bed (or any other part of the house: the kitchen counter, the bath tub, etc.), with someone special. . .you get the idea.
  

Tagging?Forget that. If you feel moved to do this and post it, I would love to see it. But I am not putting any sense of obligation on anyone. While I welcome getting tagged, I don't always like putting things on people.