variation on the meme

[jaeclectic]

Ten years ago, it was 1996. Twenty years ago, it was 1986. See how things have changed since then:

1) How old were you?
-20 : 25
-10 : 35
NOW : 45

2) Where did you work?
-20 : Applied Science Associates (a consulting firm specializing in human factors and training design, mostly military contracts)
-10 : Westinghouse Electric (a large multinational corporation in the process of fragmenting into non-existance)
NOW : IronPort Systems (a rapidly growing pre-IPO technology company)

3) Where did you live?
-20 : around this time, I was just buying a house in a suburb of Pittsburgh PA called Swissvale
-10 : a rented townhouse in a town north-east of Pittsburgh PA called Blawnox (just back from 2-1/2 years in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England)
NOW : Oakland CA

4) How was your hair style?
-20 : long all over (no bangs), usually in a braid
-10 : long except for bangs, often pinned up or in a braid
NOW : same, except I do multiple braids sometimes

5) Did you wear contacts?
-20 : no
-10 : no change
NOW : same

6) Did you wear glasses?
-20 : no
-10 : this was around the time I first got glasses for distance vision
NOW : only for driving

7) Who do you remember as being your closest friends?
-20 : my lover Jan, her best friend Fran
-10 : Dianne M, Linda A
NOW : Linda A, Kris, and of course you my faithful readers ;)

8) Who were your pets at the time?
-20 : a growing menagerie, not sure exactly how many of them were acquired by 86, but they all lived in the house in Swissvale: Shana and Josie (cats), Whitney and Sam (dogs), Kiki (ring-necked parakeet); later there were two more dogs rescued from Jan's manic-depressive mother
-10 : none
NOW : Lena and Ash (cats)

9) Who was your boyfriend/girlfriend?
-20 : Jan
-10 : no one, although I was trying hard
NOW : still (again) no one, although I am again trying to try harder

11) Who was your celebrity crush?
-20 : Doug Drabek, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. No really. This is what happens to bisexual women who try to repress being attracted to men.
-10 : Not sure, nothing is floating to the top of my brain. Maybe Kevin Kline.
NOW : Johnny Depp, just like every other red-blooded American woman :)

12) Who was your regular-person crush?
-20 : I don't think I was letting myself feel that way.
-10 : Hmm. Various guys. Mostly from work, there were a crew of us who were single and mostly early-thirties who used to go out dancing, a lot of flirting happened that somehow never developed.
NOW : Shopping around for a new one, cause the ones I've got don't fit.

13) How many tattoos did you have?
-20 : none
-10 : none yet
NOW : two, thinking about a third

14) Name at least one favorite band/singer?
-20 : Linda Tillery
-10 : Richard Thompson, The Poozies
NOW : my current musical listening is such a random mishmash of high-octane pop that none really stand out

15) Had you smoked a cigarette?
-20 : yes, at age 12
-10 : not since
NOW : and still not

16) Had you gotten drunk?
-20 : yes, although I drank very little while with Jan, who was a recovered alcoholic
-10 : yes indeed, for instance there was that cocktail that Dianne and I invented to confuse the bartenders
NOW : yes, more often on the beer & wine side of things these days

17) What kind of Car did you drive?
-20 : Nissan sedan of some sort, dark blue, a very sensible dull car
-10 : Eagle Summit, which was really a Mitsubishi. This was the 4-door sedan that I bought when my sister and the then 4-year-old twins moved in with me.
NOW : Mini Cooper, yay!

18) Looking back, are you where you thought you would be in 2006?
I never am able to imagine my life more than a few months in advance.

gacked from ztepf and eac