Tagged - Five Questions

Lisa tagged me to answer these “5 things about me” questions. Thanks, Lisa, I feel special!

Here are the rules, as copied and pasted from Lisa:

Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve answered the questions on your blog.

Ten Years Ago (1998)

1. I had just started a new job as a juvenile defense attorney, after several years as a judge's law clerk. Shortly thereafter our “new” Juvenile Justice Center (court and detention facility) opened in September 1998.
2. In the early spring I traveled to Norway with my father and sister. We cut our trip short by a couple days because of fears that an airline strike would make our standby flights difficult. Still, we were stuck in Copenhagen, overnight for my sister and me, and two nights for my dad, due to full flights. We had to travel in crew seats, which meant we had a nice crew rest cabin for part of the flight, but had to sit on jump seats and a milk crate while the crew took their rest breaks. Not fun. (Although the rest of the trip was great.)
3. In the spring and early summer I planned and arranged my sister's July wedding, which was in my parents' garden. My mother and I chose the food, flowers (picked and arranged by our “crew”—my mom's friends), cake (tasting was fun), and I designed and made the invitations. My sister chose her dress (though advised by me) and the groom (her own decision). I figured this was probably the only wedding I would ever plan, so I really threw myself into my vicarious planning. My sister might not have selected a “pink” color scheme on her own! It was a lovely wedding, if I do say so myself.
4. My clothes were several sizes larger than they are now.
5. I did not run. At all.

5 Things on my To Do List Today

1. Run 8 miles (done at 6 a.m.)
2. Attend Public Defense Continuing Legal Education seminar (I'm at it now).
3. Get out keys that are locked in my car at the conference center where I'm attending the CLE. (I'm working on it, but as of 1:30 p.m. I'm still locked out.)
4. Clean kitty litter, wash dishes, run vacuum over floor, in order to maintain the pristine housecleaning accomplished last weekend.
5. Watch Sex and the City DVD with a friend.

5 Things that I Would Do If I were a Millionaire
I'm assuming this means I have a spare million dollars, not multi-millions. Not enough to allow me to quit my job, live a life of luxury, or have Sarah Palin's wardrobe. So with my million dollar windfall, here is what I'd do. Pretty much in order of priority. (I didn't include buying a new fuel-efficient, eco-friendly car. Though probably I should.)

1. Pay off all credit cards and other debt, except primary mortgage (as I have a good rate, it's a tax deduction, and it will be paid off in ten years anyway).
2. Take a chunk and set up an investment portfolio separate from my IRA's. (I know that it seems like a questionable time to do this, but at least I—or my advisor—could buy cheap.)
3. Pick a few charities to donate to, probably benefiting children or youth in some way.
4. Rent a cottage in England for a month or so and invite friends and family to come visit/stay (maybe not all at once, for the whole time). Walk the footpaths. Read. Write.
5. Hire a professional cleaner/organizer to help me straighten up my house. Then get a weekly house cleaner and an every-other-weekly gardener to help with maintenance.
6. And an extra—if I've done all these things, and I still have plenty of money left over, and I've been able to sock away some cash savings in addition to the investments—then... Arm lift/tuck. Tummy tuck. Boob lift.

Five Places I've Lived
(I'm adding two extra because that will include everywhere I've lived.)

1. Marysville, WA (for the first 18 years of my life, plus a couple years after law school).
2. Tacoma, WA (college, Pacific Lutheran University).
3. Palo Alto, CA (summer internship).
4. London, England (study abroad, second semester of junior year in college).
5. Washington DC (internship with a senator, second semester of senior year).
6. Seattle, WA (law school).
7. Everett, WA (since 1994).

Five Jobs I've Had

1. Summer cleaning crew for local school district (several summers in high school and college).
2. Math department grader (in college).
3. Temp—secretary/receptionist at various businesses in Seattle.
4. Judge's law clerk.
5. Attorney—juvenile offender defense attorney.

Now I am supposed to tag (approximately) five people. If you don't want to do it (or already have), just ignore me! I am tagging Michelle, Running Knitter, Andrea, Mel (a friend from high school), Marie (a friend from college) and Jennifer, who doesn't have a blog but likes to do lists and quizzes. Yes, I know that is six. As you have probably gathered, I have a problem staying within limits.

And by the way, it's almost 3:00 now and I still haven't gotten into my car. Wish me luck....

Postscript: At 3:30 AAA came and let me in to my car. Watching the tow truck guy with his tools break into my car was amazing. I have clients who would kill (er, bad word) for those tools!