Meme me: 6 things about me

I've done this for email before and sent it out to friends, but never on a blog! Thanks to Amanda for tagging me, I'm always happy to write about myself, so here goes ...

I have to answer 6 questions about myself. At the end of the post, I then tag 6 people and post their names, then go to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read my blog. Then, I must let the person who tagged me know when I’ve posted my answers.

#1: 6 places I have lived

1. Victoria Street, Kalgoorlie (1979/80 - 1982): Hard to believe that this incredibly urban girl could have EVER managed in the "outback", but yes, I did three years service from the ages of 5 - 8. I hardly remember much, except for the red dirt and my incredible imagination expanding beyond all capabilities. Actually, compared to the Greenwood years, I actually remember an awful lot: the fairies under the tree in the front garden, rolling across the above-ground swimming pool cover (which was out-of-bounds of course) and falling in one winter, sucking condensed milk from the tube in Dad's dilly bag in the shed, having my first sister - Miss Kitty, the cat who adopted us, making up the "soap" story about condensed milk, the bloody handprint in Kerry's Dad's ambulance bay, playing maths games on Dad's computer at work, the swingset. My favourite photo of all time is out the front of this house, I will have to scan it in one day. It's of Paul and I in matching yellow waterproofs in the rain holding hands. I reckon he would have been three ... super cute.

2. Sholl Avenue, North Beach, Perth WA (1985 - 1995, 2007 - 2008): Aaah, I used to love this place; then I hated it, missed it, hated it and now tolerate it. It will never be home. The sea used to be welcoming, now I'm afraid of it. My room used to be my sanctuary, now it has demons in it. Paul's room is now safe, I don't mind being here so much, there are worse places to be. I don't like suburbia though, and Sholl Ave is the best example of middle-class middle-aged surburbia I can imagine.

3. Bakersfield, Holloway Prison, Tufnell Park, London N7 (1996): No joke, I lived on the prison grounds. For about six months. It was an old prison warders council flat, across three levels, different rooms on every level, and a disco toilet downstairs. My first proper UK residence (after over two months in the bed-bug ridden hostel in Earls Court), Cath, Sue, Daniel & I eked our existence in this bizarro space. I had the top floor, with my window looking out over the ex-prison grounds and onto the expanse of Tufnell Park, which wasn't terribly flash back in those days. It was far better than Holloway though, which I know became super cool about seven years ago, but back then it was well dodgy. N7 wasn't quite the NW5 postcode I was looking for, but it wasn't far off, and the bus ride down Camden Road to the zoo was pretty short. I remember Cath's massive posters from Our Price decorating the kitchen walls, Jarvis was our hero and he presided over everywhere.

4. Fraser House, Green Dragon Lane, Brentford, MIDDX, England (1996 - 1999): The London years. So much to say, I have no idea where to start. The last place in the world I could ever imagine existed let alone that I would live there, would be the nineteenth floor of a tower block overlooking the M4 and the north-west of London. Sharing a single mattress on the lino floor, living like jakey's with no refridgerator, carpet, curtains or furniture. My first real home though, David and I made it cosy and liveable, however guests, pigeons, jealousy, the band and maturity fucked all that up. I still have a load of fond memories though - the night with Alan, Tag (or was it Keith?) almost falling asleep in the flower bed, rude scrabble with Susannah, talking to Shelbs on the phone in the hall, sleeping on Karl's mattress after David & I had broken up, the divorce settlement consisting mostly of LP's.

5. Oakfield Avenue & Battlefield Gardens, Glasgow G12 & G42, Scotland (2000 - 2003): The Stephen years - lets get a house, House? Freezing nights in G12, awful fights in G42, but lots and lots of cooking, learning and discovering the person I wanted to become. I don't think it had a lot to do with the homes, more to do with the boyf, but still. In G12: Roots and Fruits around the corner!, the night we listened to Billy Connolly when I almost wet myself, the day Mum called to say Aunty Sue died, baking bread, pretending to study in the tiny freezing front room, Mark coming to stay for what seemed like ever! In G42: drunken nights with the Robbos and me screaming at Gem that she couldnae sing, the massive mexicana meals, fisticuffs in the hallway, baths after football, the forbidden emails. Good and bad times.

6. Flat 2/2, 1094 Cathcart Road G42, Scotland (2003 - 2006): MY HOME. The beautiful magnificent flat that I bought all on my own. I can't say enough wonderful things about this place, there are photos and memories galore of the happy happy times there. Yes, I know I also got sick there too, but it was mine, all mine, every single little square inch of it. My 28th birthday party with the Australian theme, the matching silver "whitegoods" in the kitchen, Simon and I staying up til ridiculous hours trying to paint the front room for M&D's impending arrival in the freezing December cold, the massive hall that felt like a ballroom, my days curled up in the cocoon on the couch in front of the TV unable to move, sloping floors and skewed walls, my bag wall in the bedroom, buying a drill to hang wooden blinds in the spare room and coming across all the different colours of paint layered under the window frames, AiH staying the night and having enough pillows for ALL of them! A special magical place, that'll be my Faraway Tree forever, I think?

#2: What was I doing 10 years ago?

July 1998? I was happily ensconced as the Girl Friday @ Jeepster in Kensal Rise, seemingly preparing for the release of TBWTAS (I had to go consult the B&S site to check that!) David & I were going strong, Shelbs was in Brum (I think?), Sinister was up and running and we'd had the very first London picnic. I can't check much else of what I was doing as Sinister is down and that's the only true archive I have of where and what I was saying/doing, how sad is that! It seems like my life revolved around the band, I was planning a trip home to Perth for that Christmas with David and I had a lot of friends and fun.

#3: 5 things on my to-do list today

Bugger, today's almost over. Can I do 5 things for tomorrow instead?

1. Ring Nanna to confirm I can do her washing on Monday and figure out what time to collect it.
2. NOT forget to tape Doctor Who!!!
3. Write on Sian & Stephen's engagement card and take it with me.
4. Make + take my lunch for the meditation day tomorrow.
5. Get back to Amanda about next Sunday and plan the rest of my social calender for the week.

#4: Snacks I like to eat

1. Biscuits - any kind, they are my problem food though and I will eat a PACKET in a go if given the opportunity or I come across the extreme laziness that prevents me from cooking.
2. Chocolate - should be dark, non-dairy, 70%+ cocoa solids, yet Dairy Milk often works too. That reminds me, I have a wrapper for a free Snickers in my bag that needs to be cashed in!

I'm not really a snack person it seems, I will eat anything you put in front of me (as long as there is no meat in it) but I would rather have a meal than a snack. Is that weird?

#5: If I was a billionaire

I would have very very very happy friends! Every so often I daydream of winning the lottery, never do I get to be a billionaire though, that just seems a ridiculous amount to envisage! As long as I could buy a flat in whatever city I wanted to live in (would be Melbourne at the moment), my friends, the bands I've worked for & various mental health, animal & green/socially responsible charities/organisations would get the bulk of the rest. Actually, I'd also try and promote the Arts and the teaching of Philosophy in schools somehow as well. I'd spend my days much as I do now, studying Philosophy and instead of working, I'd be learning Spanish, bass guitar and how to draw/paint as well. I'd buy all of Claude Maus' womens collections in size 8/S when they come out. There'd be lots and lots and lots of (mostly overseas) travelling as well, little jaunts here and there, with many friends as companions to make up for all the time I've had to spend travelling on my own.

#6: 6 bloggers to go to next

changesustain: My best friend Jen is changing her lifestyle in many ways, and this is her blog of the various thought processes that go into some of her & Tom's decisions. She might be far away, but I feel like I'm inside her mind as I read her ponderings, which I love.

Langought: James' semi-photoblog has wonderful little snippets of inspiration and thought that make me wonder what the hell he did that day to provoke them!

Age's Design Blog: I think Age needs to post more, maybe this will be an inspiration? I wanna see your stuff on your blog too, Age!

Hello Mum!: I've often told other friends who write about Lucy's books and blog, but I've never linked to her, so enjoy!

celestronica™ : Celeste's a new friend who's autobiographical posts make me feel like I'm not the only person in the world with a whole lot of crazy in their head who needs to spill it online. A kindred spirit across the miles.

Handful of Marbles: I have no idea what the significance of the title of Richard's blog is, but his travel posts are insightful and absolutely hilarious. I miss his wonderful Northern sense of humour.

That only took me two hours, sheesh! BEDTIME as there is meditation to be learned and practised tomorrow. Except I really fancy watching an episode of Torchwood just now. Oh, the dilemmas ...