Okay, here goes, the Meme of Four

Four Jobs I have had or have in my life

1. My very first job was as a caddy at a local country club. I hated it like poison. My folks thought it was a great idea, and actually forced me and my brother to ride down there every Saturday (on our bikes, it was like five miles away, did I mention I hated it?) at 5:30am so we could lug a leather sack of lead sticks up and down a few miles of grass. If you were lucky you got a dollar tip and a single hot dog for your troubles. No I am not over it yet.

2. Dish dog!! Another job I had was dish washer at the Bell Buoy Restaurant in my coastal New England town. My brother also worked with me, and for a job that usually gets a bad rap, we had a great time working there. It was my first gig in food service, an industry I would be in and out of for the next 20 years, so it was kind of a seminal experience for me that I look upon with fondness. It's possible that time has rosed up the glasses I use to look at this particular job, but who cares, I smile when I think of it.

3. Bicycle Courier. Can you think of a more dangerous job than being a bike courier in a city renowned to be the training ground for taxi drivers in Beirut? I have broken a thumb, several toes, two front teeth, and have had about 30 feet of road rash in total in my short stint as courier. However, on a cool autumn day, no wind, temps in the sixties, there really is no better way to turn a buck.

4. I have mentioned it before, I know, but I was also a chef. This I have done for the bulk of my working career. Now I say chef, which is a head of a kitchen, which I did do for a few years (a catering kitchen called Barsamian's), but I ended my career a simple line cook. This is not as bad as it sounds though, as it was in a prestigious restaurant working under a renowned chef, and at the time it was an excellent opportunity.

Four countries I have visited

1. United States
2. Canada
3. The undiscovered country (my favorite of the Star Trek films)
4. nowhere else *sigh*

Four places I would rather be right now

1. Well, I have to admit, I am a bit of a homebody. I love being home, fiddling with my computers, hanging out with my son, preparing some barbecue treats, and I am home at the moment and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. But this is the game, so the next three answers will be in line with the rules, I just wanted to make the point that I am happy with being right here, right now.

2. Japan. Tokyo in particular, seems to be one of the most amazing places on earth. The shear amount of glittery lights, neon, and LED's would send me into an epileptic seizure, I am sure, but it's a chance I am willing to take.

3. Italy. There is something about a country that doesn't provide phone service in all locations, and yet has serious governmental bodies that manage the authenticity of cheese and vinegar that appeals to me. They have their priorities in order.

4. Ireland. I am an Irish American, my families roots are there, and I would love to spend some time on the island. I would take the time to visit Scotland and England as well, while I was there of course.

Four foods I would like to eat

1. Barbecued St. Louis cut pork ribs with Carolina style BBQ sauce. See my earlier posts on this, it is a passion of mine, there is something about the low and slow method of cooking that really appeals to me. I put a lot of love into it.

2. Fried chicken. My recipe is strong, my technique is solid, my chicken is the bomb.

3. Linguine with Clam Sauce. I remember when I was about five my folks took us to an Italian restaurant, and I ordered the linguine with clam sauce, and so began a life long love of the dish. The salty, cheesy, clammy (in a good way) sauce, spiked with red pepper flake and finished with butter was an eye opener for me. For those without an Irish American mother in the 70's, everything I ate before this was boiled to death, I thought I hated food, it was an epiphany. In the future I will post my recipe, try it, you'll like it!

4. Okay, it's a little white trash, but it's my Achilles heal. Taco night. Old El Paso taco kit. I know, I know!!! It's terrible!!! I actually have to push the table away when we make these, or I will gorge myself to sickness on them. I have made fish tacos on several occasions (no kit, corn tortillas, frying my own fist, etc.), and that's really quite nice, but I do love regular old taco night.

Four personal heroes

Wow, I never thought of this before, here goes.

1. Lou Reed. Here's a guy who has kept it real from day one. The Velvet Underground was one of the greatest bands of the 70's, and it's influence can be heard still. I saw Lou play at the Orpheum theater in Boston when I was 18, the band that opened up for them was a little known outfit at the time known as The Pixies. It was a freaking awesome show.

2. Malcomb Reynolds. I know he isn't real, but damn I love his Han Solo attitude, and his theify ways. Who said the heroes have to be real people?

3. My older brother. He can be a crank, a poor sport, and not always right about things, but no one has stood by me or come to my rescue in times of need. He never even questioned a thing when my wife and I lost our apartment a few years back due to a shady landlord, he just left work, got his truck, and helped us move our stuff into storage, lickety split. I owe him quite a bit, and he would never ask me to pay it back.

4. Can I say my wife? A few years back I broke my leg in 3 places. I was out of work for 11 months, and for the first 3 weeks or so after I got out of the hospital, I was so laid out I couldn't even put on my own underwear. She supported our household, and took care of me all by herself and stuck with me through thick and thin. She is truly my personal hero.

Man, that got schmaltzy eh? I guess I am just an old softie.

Four books I have just read, or am reading

1. Dress our Family in Corduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris. Funny collection of essays by the brother of Amy Sedaris, and NPR contributor.

2. Snow Crash, by Neil Stephenson. My friend loaned me this book since I love anachronistic science fiction (preferably the short stories of the golden age), and this fit the bill. It was a tremendously fun read.

3. A Scanner Darkly, by Phillip K. Dick. Good stuff, I even liked the movie based on it, it wasn't a perfect translation (a lot was left out, especially in the end), but served its purpose. Again, anachronistic sci-fi. We don't have plastic houses.

4. Windows Server 2003: Network Administrator, by Craig Hunt and Roberta Bragg. Dry as toast technical manual, however, it's the server software my firm uses, and if I ever want to move up, I have to keep expanding and learning, I am reading this now.

I don't know if I am causing a 'broken chain' situation if I don't tag anyone else. I am new in this here blogosphere, and only know a few folks. To be honest, I was much more of a lurker in the past, and not a poster, and am not sure of who to tag. If I am making a giant breach of protocol by not forwarding this meme please let me know and I will come up with something, but for now would it be ok if I just left it like this?