Frogma: Meme of 5 Things (with unrequired set of photos at end)

Every now and then I check Technorati to see if anybody's saying anything about me - turns out that while I was off in the Caribbean, Loup (who's ) tagged me with a meme I'd been thinking was kind of fun anyway. So, I'm glad I checked, I've done the housecleaning I promised myself I'd come home & do tonight (the lilypad was a bit of a mess and Saturday was originally slated for tidying-up until I got the invitation to go sailing!), and now I can have a little fun before I turn in. There's a bonus at the end btw since once again I've managed to make a short meme long.

10 years ago – hm...condensed version of my resume makes this tricky - I was either working at the place I will refer to only as "the publishing shed", or I may have already had fight w/boss over his bullying of a co-worker (he thought it was pretty funny to accuse her of bringing a waterbug to work with her in her purse) & moved on to the Asia Society. Living in Brooklyn with my friend who got me to to move to New York and the guy he was involved with at the time.
8 years ago - Working for a now-defunct financial company, central compliance division. Dating Joe, who was working for another bank & also being an independent filmmaker - we had some good fun doing Irish music & dance together (he was Irish-American and had moved to NY in part with the intent of learning more about his Irish heritage, we met in set dancing class & boy did I ever love dancing with him) but a lot of it was an exercise in patience - didn't want him to NOT make his movie, that would've been bad, but at the same time...well, he was a busy busy and very tired guy & I ended up feeling like an afterthought a lot. Figured we could make it up when he was done with the film. Living in Windsor Terrace with a roommate who thought the upstairs neighbours were having her stalked.
4-7 years ago -
1998: Joe broke up w/me after realizing he'd never quite gotten over unrequited college flame who said she might be moving to NY & might date him if she did, roommate went seriously over the edge (fortunately moving out in the end) & I got laid off from the bank all at about the same time. Fun fun fun. Got new job, took up paddling (didn't want to dance anymore so it was time to get back in touch with my own roots - not the genetic ones but the raised-in-Hawaii ones).
1999: became a partner in Manhattan Kayak Company. Left bank #2 (still not sure if I quit or was fired, wasn't working out too well). Mentor Richard talked me into going for ACA Instructor Development Workshop at Eskape Kayaks in CA; had most wonderful time then came back to start new job at private bank - my office was on the 95th floor of WTC 2.
2000 – Promoted at work; was making lots of money but never quite trusting it to last; bad chemistry between me & founder of MKC starting to kick in very badly but w/encouragement of 2 new partners (who also went & got certified at the same time, the Instructor Certification Exam was a blast, we all went to Ray Killen at Katabasis) I got my ACA Open-Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor certification.
2001 - Relationship w/founder continued to founder (bad) but I was gaining more confidence about my own teaching abilities (good); same partners and I went for 3-star training & certification from Bill Lozano at Atlantic Kayak Tours (awesome). Got laid off from day job in June 2001 (I was right, it WAS too good to last). With a highly generous severance package, I chose to be a kayak bum for the summer (beyond awesome). Severance package included outplacement workshop. Signed up for one as the season was nearing an end - date of workshop - 9/11 - location of workshop - WTC 2 - time of workshop 9 A.M. Survived; river closed; unemployed. Original temp job at Really Big Children's Publishing Company fell into my lap without my really trying - unemployment was telling me that the WTC had nothing to do with my claim & demanded proof that I was looking; I started calling agencies just for the sake of being able to say I'd faxed resumes here, here and there - Agency #2 was one I'd had some good experiences with (Ribolow) & said "When can you start?". Um, how about tomorrow? OK, good.
Now – Still at Really Big only as finance analyst in Trade division; dropped out of MKC in early '02, got schooner job almost as serendipitously as day job, still working on that schooner in the summertime; just back from the Caribbean; paddling with a really nice group out of Pier 63. So as of now, everything worked out pretty well, yeah?

So much for simple. My life just doesn't condense too well.

Five yummy things (not necessarily in order and leaving out all kinds of good things, like CHOCOLATE, Maine lobster, sushi, etc. etc. etc.):

1) Really fresh sweet corn in the summertime.
2) Ummm, Auntie K & Canoe-Buildin' Uncle's farm-raised lamb. Preferably accompanied by really fresh sweet corn in the summertime.
3) My homemade roast butternut squash soup. Someone on the Bear Mountain Bridge trip called it "Thanksgiving in a cup" which is just about the nicest thing anybody's ever said about anything I ever cooked. It's pretty much idiot-proof and doesn't need a recipe, you can improvise ("hmmm, no chestnuts, well I'll toast these almonds & chuck them in instead"). I think my Pennsylvania Dutch maternal grandmother would approve.
4) The dulce du leche flan at Hispaniola Restaurant - the miso butterfish is also fantastic.
5) Hawaiian comfort food - manapua, Leonard's malasadas, saimin, plate lunch...mmm. homesick now.

Five songs I know by heart:

OK I actually used to sing with a really good church choir when I lived on the Upper East Side & also did Irish song so I have a LOT of songs by heart - this is another random selection!
1) Am Maidean Mheara (Gaelic song, The Seal-Wife legend)
2) Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore (very good song to be sung on a boat)
3) Luck In My Eyes, (K.D. Lang)
4) Ubi Caritas (from Durufle's Quatre Motets pour Lent - I only know the alto line! - this is one of the things I miss singing, the choir was just too far away when I moved out to Brooklyn)
5) Moon River (this gets in here 'cause it was from a night I totally crashed and burned at karaoke - I sing LOTS better with other people anyways but I was game - well I figured Moon River would be safe but then it was in the most totally horrible key of all time!)

Five things I would do with a lot of money:

1) Probably give moving back to Hawaii a try
2) BOAT SKILLS ACQUISITION MADNESS! Things I could realistically shoot for if money didn't matter & I wasn't bound by vacation days - 5-star training & maybe someday assesment! Renew my ACA instructor certification! BCU Coaching Cert! Captain's License! More Surfing! More Whitewater! More Surfski Racing! More Greenland-style Whatever else sounds cool & doable! More teaching, more learning, more fun!
3) A lot more horseback riding (I want to go back to my little grass shack but I also want to go back to Cae-Iago!)
4) Figure out what I want to be when I grow up...no, seriously. this would probably involve maybe going and taking courses & volunteering & just trying different things until something seems to "click" as something that I really enjoy doing that would also give me something useful to do with my life.
5) Share it with family, schools, charities.

Five places I would like to escape to (I'm going to take that as "visit"):

1) Hawaii
2) Virgin Islands (I just did, too, lucky me!)
3) Manistee River in Michigan
4) New Zealand
5) Australia (I'll go visit Chosha!
5.1) or, um...Hawaii.

Five things I would never wear:

1) Extremely tight pants (uncomfortable & not very pretty on me).
2) Anything that involves publicly baring anything that is not ordinarily bared in public or that could easily be mistaken for an undergarment.
3) Anything that requires having holes punched in body parts to wear.
4) Heavy makeup
5) This.

Five favorite TV shows:

1) M*A*S*H
2) The Muppet Show
3) Murphy Brown
4) Star Trek (TNG or Voyager, it's a toss-up)
5) Law & Order
Can you tell that I have not had a television in my home for several years!

Five things I enjoy doing:

1) Boating
2) Horseback riding
3) Reading
4) Hanging out with friends
5) Artsy stuff.

Five Favorite toys:

1) MY KAYAKS! :D
2) optio pentax waterproof camera (thanks again parents!)
3) schooner (although that is pushing the definition of "toy" and it's not mine)
4) tin whistle
5) paper (you can draw on it, you can write on it, you can fold it into origami!)

Five people who get this meme:

1) ?
2) ?
3) ?
4) ?
5) ?

no, seriously, I got this so late I have no idea who's already done it - if you haven't & you want to, just say so!

And in closing I give you a 5 things bonus (not part of the original meme) -

Five Shots of the New York Fire Department putting out a burning cab right by Pier 63!

(don't worry no one was injured, although the driver looked very unhappy, poor guy)
Burning cab.