Bleeding Espresso

5 January 2009

easing into the new year with a 5 things meme

Hello friends! I hope you got to have a nice break over the holidays. I sure did, and it was fabulous. The past two weeks have been spent hanging out with P and the girls, reading, organizing the house, catching up with online friends, and best of all, next to no work.

I had a couple deadlines today so I had to get back to the old grind before the rest of Italy, but that’s OK; I’ll have off again tomorrow for the Epiphany, which I’ve written about at Happy Befana! if you need to refresh your memory on La Befana, the Epiphany witch.

Now to ease us all back into the blog, here’s a quick 5 things meme to get the wheels turning. This comes from Yankee in a New World:

1. What are 5 things you were doing ten years ago?

• Starting my second semester of law school.
• Living in a high-rise apartment on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.
• Finishing up the first holiday season without my grandfather.
• Thinking about summer employment.
• Already dreading how boring and awful Civil Procedure would be (and I was right).

2. What are 5 things on your to do list for today?

• Walk the dogs a few times.
• An Italian grammar lesson.
• Search the freelance writing job boards for anything that looks interesting.
• Spend an hour working on my NaNo novel.
• Do research for a query.

3. What are your 5 favorite snacks?

• Pretzels (and ice cream, especially).
• Chocolate.
• Apples or bananas and peanut butter.
• Yogurt (pineapple and coffee are my two current favorites).
• Cheese.

4. What would you do if you were a millionaire?

• Visit my family much more often and fly them here too.
• Get a huge chunk of land in the Calabrian countryside for P to grow and raise things.
• Pay off student loans.
• Travel more, especially to meet blogging buddies.
• Donate money and time (assuming I wouldn’t have to work as often) to charitable organizations.

5. Where are 5 places you have lived?

• A cute, boxy white house built by my family in rural Pennsylvania.
• A dorm room with a gorgeous bay window in Durham, North Carolina.
• The aforementioned high-rise apartment with enormous windows lining one side in Philadelphia.
• An adorable rowhome with a fabulous inside staircase, loft, and huge brick wall in Philly.
• A 500-year-old three-room stone house in southern Italy.

I won’t tag anyone, but if you’re in the mood for a meme, please feel free to play along in the comments or on your own blog and let me know where to find your answers!

So are you ready for 2009 or what?

Related posts:

1. 2009 End of Year Meme
2. Some Fun with a First Meme
3. Love Thursday: Paving the Way with Love
4. Love Thursday: Fall in LOVE Park, Philadelphia

13 beans of wisdom »

13 beans of wisdom to “easing into the new year with a 5 things meme”

1. Gil on 05 Jan 2009 at 7:19 am #

   Happy 2009 to you! I’m ready for everything except for the extra work I do during ‘Tax Season’! Then I have to make sure to stay healthy enough for a trip to Italy after my wife gets done teaching in June. Stay healthy!

   I’ve already started thinking about my taxes, and that’s plenty of tax stress for me…best of luck Gil

2. NewWrldYankee on 05 Jan 2009 at 9:31 am #

   Thanks for participating! Seems like everyone wants to pay off those pesky student loans. You know what I can’t wait for – that time where I can add a new European city to my places I’ve lived list. What do u think? Italy, next?

   Happy New Year to you!

   NewWrldYankee’s last blog post..Yankee Talks to an Expat: Andy Hayes Bares All, Part I – Arriving in Amsterdam

   Actually I’d prefer that my student loans were simply forgiven in a bailout or something

   Yes, Italy is a great country to add to your list…I’ve also written “visit a new European city/country” on my list of goals for this year…hmm….

3. Willym on 05 Jan 2009 at 10:26 am #

   Wish you, P and the girls all good things in the New Year. And I hope La Befana is good to you.

   Willym’s last blog post..Lunedi Lunacy

   Thanks Willym! Same to you and yours

4. Christina | AmiExpat on 05 Jan 2009 at 1:59 pm #

   I can totally picture the exterior of your room in Durham. I lived their for 3 years while in grad school. Would love to have an old house here in Germany. Happy New Year!

   Christina | AmiExpat’s last blog post..AmiExpat.com is a Best European Blog finalist!

   Happy new year to you as well

5. shibori girl on 05 Jan 2009 at 3:52 pm #

   So you went to school in Durham? I live in Chapel Hill! And my husband’s family is from Philly. Cool how these connections appear.

   I’m so glad you had a nice holiday – we did too (VERY quiet)

   It’s good to be getting back into the swing of normal life now.

   Kate

   shibori girl’s last blog post…What’s Cooking Sunday

   I hear you Kate; it *is* rather nice to get back into the old routine. And yes, I went to Duke, and really loved Chapel Hill (the town, not so much the university in it, of course)

6. Leanne in Italy on 05 Jan 2009 at 5:06 pm #

   A very belated Christmas and Happy New Year. Hope La Befana leaves you some sweets tomorrow!
   Just catching up since I am in Rome where the internet works….unlike the lack of ADSL I had in Calabria!!

   Leanne in Italy’s last blog post..I am alive!

   Oh I remember dial-up well…boo. Hope Rome is treating you well

7. anno on 05 Jan 2009 at 5:36 pm #

   It sounds like you had a wonderful Christmas break — welcome to the New Year! Those look like excellent plans for today (and I liked your plans for the big bucks, when you get them!). I hope you get to do everything you wish!

   anno’s last blog post..Sunday Scribblings: Poverty (of feeling)

   Thanks Anno…I still have to get to that Italian lesson!

8. The Food Hunter on 05 Jan 2009 at 6:37 pm #

   Nice to know another Philly native.

   The Food Hunter’s last blog post..HAPPY NEW YEAR!

   Well I’m not a native, but I did spend five great years in the city

9. Connie Costa on 05 Jan 2009 at 6:40 pm #

   I think I am addicted to your blog now! Great work!! AND BUON CAPODANNO A TUTTI!!!!!

   Now that’s great to hear to start off the new year! Happy 2009 to you and yours, Connie

10. Anait on 05 Jan 2009 at 8:39 pm #

    great post It’s so interesting to get a glimps into other people’s pasts. I’m taking Civil Procedure now, and i have to second your opinion….sometimes I have to stab myself with a paperclip just to stay awake!!

    Happy New Year and all the best to you for 2009!!

    Anait’s last blog post..Joyeux Noël !!!

    Oh yuck. Sorry to hear you’re suffering through that, but it is a necessary evil (and hopefully only one semester is required of you)…hope 2009 is good for you as well

11. girasoli on 06 Jan 2009 at 9:45 am #

    Great list! I just did one also. Which one was the hardest for you? Mine was what I was doing 10 years ago. Isn’t it amazing how fast time has passed but then again it also seems so long ago?

    girasoli’s last blog post..processione in mare – part of the festival of Sant’ Erasmo

    Yes, that one was absolutely the hardest for me…part of it was because I was in law school and I wasn’t doing much else!

12. J on 07 Jan 2009 at 4:32 am #

    We have the same 5 favorite snacks. hehe!

    Happy New Year Michelle!

    J’s last blog post..Day Two – Day Four: Adjusting to my new life

    I’d say “great minds,” but maybe it’s more “great stomachs!”

13. Charles on 08 Jan 2009 at 5:01 am #

    I think someone should do a count of the number of year end posts and meme’s floating around out there. I think if I were a millionare I would definitely visit my family more and rescue more dogs.

    Charles’s last blog post..The Cosmopolitan beats the Odds

    Oh that is a great answer about the dogs…I think I’d have to have six things I’d do then

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