{"id":351,"date":"2007-09-22T13:06:48","date_gmt":"2007-09-22T17:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/2007\/09\/22\/four-on-the-floor\/"},"modified":"2007-09-22T13:17:08","modified_gmt":"2007-09-22T17:17:08","slug":"four-on-the-floor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/2007\/09\/22\/four-on-the-floor\/","title":{"rendered":"Four on the Floor"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s meme time, boys and girls. I broke the chain on the last one and got seven years of bad luck, so I might as well get Rich and Famous! this time. Or something like that. Thanks\/a pox on Dave for tagging me<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Four jobs I have had (current job excluded):<\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. \n

    Paper Boy. For nearly three years, starting when I was 13, I was a morning paperboy. I’d get up every morning at 4:30 and head out to retrieve, fold, bag or band, and deliver anywhere from 50 to 100 papers, by bicycle. No wonder I hate mornings so. Every two weeks I’d go door to door, collecting (“I want my two dollars!”); nearly no one paid by mail. As much I hated the early mornings, I think I dreaded collecting even more, since it cut into my actual leisure time, such as it was. Still, collecting had its benefits. I made an effort to learn each customer’s preferences (in front of the door, inside<\/em> the storm door, on the ledge next to the door, “stay off the grass”, etc.). In return, I made pretty good tips, and really cleaned up at Christmas. Wearing the Santa hat while collecting in December helped to remind everyone it was time for the Christmas tip, too.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    Dish washer cum<\/em> Burger Flipper. After years of early mornings, I was ready for a “real” job. The only real options in walking distance when I turned 16 (old enough for a job in Virginia at the time) were McDonald’s and Wendy’s. I worked at Wendy’s for about 4 months, which was plenty of time to realize that “real” jobs suck. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Retail Clerk\/Shoe Salesman. When summer started, a friend got a job at Sears at the local mall, and told me they were hiring. At this point I was ready to never see<\/em> another burger, much less flip one, so I applied. I was initially hired as a clerk in the Men’s department, but in a lucky break got promoted to shoes by the end of the summer. Lucky? Oh yeah… the Shoe department worked on commission.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    TV Shopping Channel Order Entry Operator. “Thank you for calling QVC, my name is Jason. May I please have your item number?” Took this one over the summer during college. Boring, boring, boring, but eventually lead (after several other positions in the company) to my first job as a programmer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Four Films I have Watched Again and Again:<\/h3>\n
      \n
    1. \n

      Better Off Dead<\/a>. Still my favorite John Cusack role. Best quote is a tie: “I want my two dollars!” (see number 1, above) and “Now that’s a real shame when folks be throwin’ away a perfectly good white boy like that.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    2. \n

      The Princess Bride<\/a>. What a fun, funny movie. My favorite Mandy Patinkin role. Best quote is also a tie: “Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya! You killed my father! Prepare to die!” and “You keep using that word. I do not thin[k] it means what you thin[k] it means.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    3. \n

      Driving Miss Daisy<\/a>. Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy are just fantastic in this film. This is one of those films I will stop and watch any time I find it while flipping channels.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    4. \n

      Star Wars<\/a>. Still a classic, and so much better than episodes 1 through 3. Best Quote: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Four Places I Have Lived:<\/h3>\n
        \n
      1. Virginia Beach, VA, where I grew up.<\/li>\n
      2. Norman, Oklahoma, where I attended the University of Oklahoma, for a time.<\/li>\n
      3. Portsmouth, VA, where we first lived after I was married. <\/li>\n
      4. Bear, DE, where I first lived when we moved to the greater Philadelphia area.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Four Shows I Love to Watch:<\/h3>\n
          \n
        1. Good Eats. Alton Brown is a genius. I’ve learned more about cooking watching AB than any three other cooking shows combined.<\/li>\n
        2. Boston Legal. “Denny Crane.” The role Bill Shatner was born to play.<\/li>\n
        3. Heroes. Not only is this a great show, my son and I always watch it and try to figure it out together, which I love.<\/li>\n
        4. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I tried to limit this list to current<\/em> shows, but DS9 deserves a mention because it has become my favorite Trek series. Admittedly, I wasn’t that impressed when it first came on, and I only saw about half of the episodes originally. Last summer, Spike ran the entire 7 season series, in order, two shows per day, and I Tivo’d and watched them all. Like many series, it got off to a bit of a slow start, but there was a lot of foundation laid for later character development. DS9 was also much more of a serial than any of the other Trek series, and the ongoing development of characters, relationships, and plot lines made it worth watching end-to-end. I just wish the complete season DVD collections weren’t so expensive.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Four Places I Have Been on Vacation:<\/h3>\n
            \n
          1. \n

            Mt. Dessert Island, ME. Home to Bar Harbor, I’ve spent many vacations across the island in Southwest Harbor, where my father grew up. I beautiful place to visit, and I still have lots of family back there.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          2. \n

            Outer Banks, NC. I’ve stayed in Nags Head, and Kitty Hawk, and this past summer we rented a house in Duck. I’m not a big fan of the beach like the rest of my family are, but there’s lots to do, and it’s not far from Virginia Beach & Portsmouth, where we have family. Kitty Hawk Kites is always fun place to visit.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          3. \n

            Galveston, TX. We spent a long weekend in Galveston this past spring, looking for a warm weather beach destination we hadn’t visited that didn’t require passports, as the kids didn’t have them yet. The weather didn’t really cooperate, but we stayed at a very nice place with a heated pool that included in-pool bar\/food service, so I can’t complain too much.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

          4. \n

            Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada. Took the kids when they were younger. The falls are an impressive site, but the town is very much like a beach boardwalk, folded into about four square blocks. We had a nice time, but I wouldn’t recommend more than about three days’ stay.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Four of my Favorite Foods:<\/h3>\n
              \n
            1. Coffee. Yes, it’s a food. It nourishes and sustains me.<\/li>\n
            2. Donuts. Mmmm. Donuts.<\/li>\n
            3. Bacon. Everything<\/em> is better with bacon.<\/li>\n
            4. Oh Boy Doughboy. A doughboy is a fried dough snack, similar to a doughnut rolled flat before frying, found in Maine (and possibly other areas; sometimes under other names); an Oh Boy Doughboy is a variation unique to Maine-ly Delights, a family-run restaurant located across from the Swan’s Island Ferry Terminal in Bass Harbor, Maine. The Oh Boy Doughboy is a freshly fried doughboy topped with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, and your choice of hot fudge, strawberries, or blueberries. The blueberries are prepared similar to a pie filling, and are clearly the best choice. I’m getting fat just thinking about it. If you visit Bar Harbor during the summer (Maine-ly Delights is only open during the summer), take an afternoon to drive across the island and visit the Bass Harbor Lighthouse, and have lunch (and a doughboy!) at Maine-ly Delights. You can thank me later.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Four of my Favorite Drinks:<\/h3>\n
                \n
              1. Coffee. Yes, it’s a drink too, since I can wash down food with it.<\/li>\n
              2. Guiness. My fall\/winter beer.<\/li>\n
              3. Corona w\/Lime. My spring\/summer beer.<\/li>\n
              4. Jack and Coke.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:<\/h3>\n
                  \n
                1. Edinburgh, Scotland. I’ve made several trips for work, can’t wait to go back again.<\/li>\n
                2. Vancouver, BC, Canada. Visited for a weekend for Sean and Marlene<\/a>‘s wedding, would definitely like more time to explore.<\/li>\n
                3. Southwest Harbor, ME. Didn’t get to visit this year.<\/li>\n
                4. A Philadelphia Eagles home game. Never been.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Four<\/h3>\n

                  Suckers<\/strike> Bloggers I’m Tagging:<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Doug<\/a>, who hasn’t issued a Monthly Blogging Challenge in a while (of course, neither have I!).<\/li>\n
                  2. Uncle Roger<\/a>, who used to join all the Challenges as well. <\/li>\n
                  3. Effika<\/a>, who leaves me nice comments from time to time.<\/li>\n
                  4. Sean<\/a>, who bugs me about never posting, and never posts himself.<\/li>\n<\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    It’s meme time, boys and girls. I broke the chain on the last one and got seven years of bad luck, so I might as well get Rich and Famous! this time. Or something like that. Thanks\/a pox on Dave for tagging me. Four jobs I have had (current job excluded): Paper Boy. For nearly […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[87,86],"class_list":["post-351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-four-things","tag-memes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jclark.org\/weblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}