My lifestyle questions

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spider

I've got all day and would love to hear your stories.

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O.K. You asked for it - but boy, will you pay. I'll start with my wife's family-

Her great-however many-grandfather was an indentured servant from Ireland who broke his contract and ran away from the indenture when he was 15. According to the family legend, he ran because his master was not following the contract: He was being given oysters for more than 4 meals per week which had been specifically proscribed in the contract. He apparently took some tools when he left, fled South Carolina for the hills of Tennesee, and carved out a small farm. He married a young woman and they had several kids. She sickened (smallpox?) and died. Her sister came to take care of the kids. He married her and they had several kids. She sickened (they think smallpox again) and died. The next sister came to take care of the kids. Yep, he married her and they had another batch of kids. Shortly after she arrived to take care of the kids the cabin burned down - destroying all of the bedding, clothing, etc. It would have also "disinfected" the smallpox. The old man was apparently naturally immune (or, maybe had gotten cowpox) but several of the kids died from the sickness also. By the time he was through - 17 children (who lived) with the three wives, all sisters.

Grandfather was on the second wave of Normandy in WWII ... made it into Germany where he met my grandmother, a German-Ukrainian that was uprooted from the Ukraine before Hitler's troops moved in.

I'm part of the first generation on my mother's side born in the U.S. ... granted, I was after pretty much everyone else and I'm still the last one not to be married and not to have kids (with the exception of my 14-year old cousin ... who will probably beat me to it.)

Dart - don't give up hope... I am sure there are some nice Amish girls around this area you could date :) Just kidding...

Blockbuster or Netflix or On-demand?
Netflix, but considering switching

Do you love Adobe or Microsoft?
I have no love for large software companies

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?
Dark

Listen to podcasts?
No

Ever buy a ringtone?
No, I don't have a cell phone

Buy CDs?
Very rarely

Alphabetize CDs?
I don't have enough to bother

Recycle?
Yes

Use CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs)?
Plan to start

Garden?
No. My wife has a fantastic flower and vegetable garden but I refused to do anything.

How often do you pack lunch for work?
About 4 times per week

Take public transportation?
None available where I live

Amazon.com or library?
Usually Borders, but have recently going to used bookstores.

How many lists do you make in a week?
None

What?s the most interesting thing you know about someone(living or dead) in your family?
Two relatives on my mother's side were on the Mayflower.

Blockbuster or Netflix or On-demand? - Whatever is on TV

Do you love Adobe or Microsoft? - Isn't "love" a bit strong of a word to describe either of these? I don't have anything against either one.

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? - Prefer milk, but don't eat too much. It's probably the only thing that's bad for you that I don't really eat regularly.

Listen to podcasts? - I can count the number I've listened to on 1 hand.

Ever buy a ringtone? - No

Buy CDs? - Not since I met my best friend that I like to call Limewire.

Alphabetize CDs? - I don't have that much spare time.

Recycle? - Don't go out of my way to.

Use CFLs (Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs)? - Perhaps?

Garden? - I'd rather take a fire poker to the eyeball

How often do you pack lunch for work? - Never, that would require me to get up at least 5 minutes early, which isn't gonna happen.

Take public transportation? - No, I have my own not-so-pimp ride.

Amazon.com or library? - If a book is good enough, they'll eventually make a movie out of it. I'll just wait til then.

How many lists do you make in a week? - Zero

What?s the most interesting thing you know about someone(living or dead) in your family? - My uncle Robert can write some mean poetry. J/K

Blockbuster or Netflix or On-demand?

Blockbuster

Do you love Adobe or Microsoft?

M$

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate?

Milk

Listen to podcasts?

No

Ever buy a ringtone?

Yes

Buy CDs?

No

Alphabetize CDs?

No

Recycle?

Yes

Use CFLs (Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs)?

Yes

Garden?
Yes

How often do you pack lunch for work?

Never

Take public transportation?

In larger cities, not Minneapolis

Amazon.com or library?

Amazon.com

How many lists do you make in a week?

6 - Daily To Do lists Mon-Sat.

Blockbuster or Netflix or On-demand? On-demand.

Do you love Adobe or Microsoft? Adobe!!!! I do Photoshop and Illustrator all day at work.

Dark chocolate or milk chocolate? Dark.

Listen to podcasts? Yes. NPR Story of the Day and This American Life, Slate.com, More Hip than Hippie, Grammar Girl, Nightline and Adobe tutorials.

Ever buy a ringtone? One. I Heard it Through the Grapevine. I didn't listen to it before I bought it- I love the song, but it's obnoxious as a ringtone.

Buy CDs? Not much.

Alphabetize CDs? I have people for that.

Recycle? Yes! Everything I can. We do it at work too. I use reusable bags too.

Use CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs)? Yes.

Garden? Yes. No lawn - just garden and patio,

How often do you pack lunch for work? About 2 days a week.

Take public transportation? I'd love to, but it would take about 3 hours to get to work that way. Bus to the train, another train and then another bus.

Amazon.com or library? Amazon, their used books or other stores about 75% of the time.

How many lists do you make in a week? At least one a day.

What’s the most interesting thing you know about someone(living or dead) in your family?
Lots of cool stuff. First known written record of my family is 1417 in Antwerp. All artisans - they moved to the Netherlands during the time of the Iconoclasm and the invasion of Antwerp by the Spanish - about 1575-1577. There were several generations of landscape painters at the time of Vermeer and Rembrandt. Another line were gardeners in Germany, moved to the Netherlands around 1750.
The thing I'm most interested in lately is that I found a Civil War Pension record of my husband's great great grandfather. It's always been weird knowing so much about my family and next to nothing about his, but African-American records are hard to come by. It was an unusual name and I plugged it into Ancestry.com and I found a pension record that listed three Colored Heavy Artillery units that he fought in. I filled out the paperwork with the National Archives to get all of the records but it could take four months to get the info. It's pretty cool, no one in my family was even living in the US at that time.