Various Things Meme

I've looked it up in Wikipedia and I still don't get what a meme is. Well I do understand the words - it's the vagueness of the concept I have the problem with. Anyway Wiki says

A meme (pronounced /miːm/[1]) consists of any unit of cultural information, such as a practice or idea, that gets transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, practices, habits, songs, dances and moods and terms such as race, culture, and ethnicity. Memes propagate themselves and can move through a "culture" in a manner similar to the behavior of a virus. As a unit of cultural evolution, a meme in some ways resembles a gene.

So it's like an evolving chain letter? [shrugs and looks confused] Anyhoo I've been tagged again by Aerin (Thank you Honey - I was searching for something to blog about ;0)) So here goes......


1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

A Meme about Various Things

What were you doing ten years ago?

May 1998? Hmmm well I think I was just enjoying domestic bliss really. My eldest son (who is now nearly 6' tall) was a cute little 3-and-a-half-year-old who was at pre-school and hating it and my daughter was 11 months old and on the cusp of taking her first steps unaided (she did it at a barbeque on May 30th 1998). I'd finally made friends in my neighbourhood and I remember being really happy.
Oh and I had lop-sided boobies because Child #2 was still breastfeeding but would only feed from the lefty!

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

1. At some point I will get dressed.
2. Start laundry
3.Walk doggie
4. Go to friends house for tea and a chat.
5. I've promised a trip to McDonald's to Child #2 because she's being doing the state-sponsored child abuse for 11(ish) year olds called SATS all week. Poor Sausage.

What are some snacks you enjoy?
1. As a total carbohydrate junkie I'd have to say Crisps (For those of you who are American that's what we call Chips. Chips are what we call Fries - clear?)
2. Dark chocolate - actually I like any kind of chocolate (except white - because it's NOT chocolate) - but I Lurve the dark bitter stuff the best.
3. Fruit juice ice lollies (popsicles) when it's hot!

Yup that's pretty much it really. I mean I like healthy stuff like fruit and salad etc but when I need a snack - I'm generally seeking a sugar buzz. (And I wonder why I'm a chubby little paddy).

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Oooh I like this one because I think about this lots and lots. Well I think about being a millionaire actually because a million pounds is quite enough for anyone! And that's the thing isn't it - to decide which currency to fantasise in. Well I'm in England so I'm choosing the GBR£. So I have to think about a billion quid? . . . . Oh well . . if I must!

First things first - pay off the mortgage and as I'm a billionaire I'd pay off the mortgages of my family and my close friends. (If I was only a millionaire I couldn't do that - houses are bloody expensive and our families are big!). I'd give my Dad and T's Mum the means to live out their retirement in total comfort, doing whatever the hell they fancy - because in your 70's you deserve to kick back and hang the cost! Oh sod it! If I'm a billionaire I could make them all millionaires - that'd only be like £15,000,000 out of £100,000,000. Crikey! A billion quid is a serious amount of dosh!

I would immediately give 10% to Street Child Africa which is a charity we support that seek to better the lives of the millions of homeless children throughout Africa. I think it's an amazing outfit and I only wish we could do more for them (which of course I could if I was a Billionaire!)

So £25,000,000 and some small change down (I CANNOT believe I just called my enormous mortgage small change - good grief) - what to do with the rest?

I guess - being pragmatic I'd put a bit away and invest to keep me in clover for life. I'd really like to see if I could actually invest ethically so that none of my cash supports businesses or regimes that damage this world.

I've had this idea that I'd like to run a fleet of sailing ships to transport Fairtrade goods from poorer countries to the West. I love the idea of state of the art Tall Ships sailing the world helping to fight climate change and oppression. That would make me HUGELY happy!

I would build my dream Eco-house. It would have a wrap-around porch with a swing seat. It would be pale yellow. It would have an open fire. It would be brilliantly insulated, run off a heat exchange pump in the garden, have solar panels for hot water, maybe a small wind turbine on the hill behind the property, it would have it's own self-sustaining woodland and I'd have a clean lake in the grounds for swimming in. For waste - we'd use a reed bed and recycle everything we could. And as I'm stinking rich I'd have my own Organic Farm to produce my own food (I'm crap at growing things so I'd have to employ someone for that) and have a chef to cook it for me. And just because I can I'd buy a timeshare here.

And I'd love to travel. I'd like to go all around the world and soak in the beauty. I'd like to visit old friends and new. And New Zealand would be the first port of call. I'd have to get the doggie a pet passport though because I couldn't leave her at home. And as I'm trying not to add to global warming maybe I'd do it on the first of my Tall Ships. Because I'll be spending some of my time jetting over to Denver to work with Aerin as her associate - I feel I should try to carbon offset as much as I can.

Most of all I would enjoy the freedom of being able to write without concern for making money.

And the Millions left... I'd set up a charitable trust to help make this world a happier place where medical research could be funded without the stranglehold of Pharmaceutical Companies, where people like Angela can find a safe haven and people in crisis can get some help.

Would that take care of my Billion?

What are three of your bad habits?

1. I'm quite lazy
2. I scoff my food instead of savouring it.
3. I burp a lot (see #2)

What are five places where you have lived?

1. Limerick, Ireland
2. Galway, Ireland
3. Breuberg, Neustadt, Germany
4. Acton, London, England
5. Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England

What are five jobs you have had?

1. Short order cook at Kook House, Crescent Shopping Centre, Limerick (1981 - 1984)
2. Canning Fruit at Odenwald Konserven, Germany (Summers of 1986, 1987 and 1988)
3. Warehouse technician (testing sound, video and AV equipment for hire for Live Events) for Various Companies 1989- 1992
4. Operations Administrator for Creative Technology (1992- 1994)
5. Childminder (2005 -2007)

What were the last five books you read?

1. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman
2. Looking For Alaska by John Green
3. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
4. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
5. The Accidental Wife by Rowan Coleman

What five people do you want to tag?

Well I'm going to leave it up to you. I would LOVE to read your Various Things Meme so if you fancy doing it just let me know!
(Pete? Jason? Vanilla? Bee? Barrie? Cathy? Rí? T? Low Carbon Kid? Taff?)