49 posts tagged “qotd”

What was your very first job? 
Submitted by Laurel.

I was an early entrepreneur. In fourth grade I got into a leather wristband jag. Hey, it was the 70s! Anyway, I had a whole kit of leather-working tools, stamps, cutters, punchers, etc. I would purchase scraps from a local shoe and moccasin store. Initially, I made them for myself. But friends loved them and offered to pay. I ended up with a fast-growing business with excellent margins - until the school shut me down. Apparently, they were concerned that the wristbands were somehow gang-related. Yeah, rural Massachusetts middle schools were teeming with gangs back then.

How many places have you lived in your life?

How many places have you lived in your life?

I doubt that I will get this 100% accurate. These were at least places that I got mail.

1. Born in Cambridge, lived in North Cambridge on Craigie St.

2. Arlington Heights, MA: the summer of love

3. Stow, MA: wild times

4. Stow, MA: 2nd house strange times

5. Andover, MA: boarding school

6. Newburyport, MA: ocean times

7. Brookline, MA: finishing high school

8. Beacon Hill, Boston, MA: no really, finishing high school

9. Claremont Ave, NYC: first apt in NY

10. Newburyport, MA: apt in between time

11. 103rd St, NYC: back to school

12. 107th St NYC: try a better apt

13. Amsterdam and 106th, NYC: maybe three's a charm?

14. Lefferts Heights, Brooklyn: settled into a beautiful townhouse (pretty sure I've got the timeline screwed up, but it's close)

15. 2nd and St. Marks: NYC punk

16.  7th and D: NYC punker

17. 96th St.: NYC settled down with girlfriend

18. Cleveland: OH oops

19. Ludlow St.: NYC try this again

20. Broadway in Soho amazing loft

21. Brooklyn Heights 1st place really settling down

22. Brooklyn Heights 2nd place moved three houses from first place

23. Brooklyn Heights 3rd place moved about a tenth of a mile

24. San Francisco today

I'm pretty sure I left a few places out.

What's your favorite way to keep in touch? Phone, snail mail, email, text message, Vox, _____ ?

Vox!

What's the nerdiest thing about you?

Definitely, my wine obsession. It's way out of perspective. I can name all of the grand cru and 1er cru Burgundy vineyards and lieu dit, describe the growing conditions for the various areas of the Loire valley going back several decades - and a few older than that, and describe a number of chemical processes associated with fermenting and aging grape juice. And no, I'm not in the business.

Tell us a little something about your first car.  Do you have any photos you can share? 
Submitted by tamara.

Sprite

A 1960 Bugeye Sprite. Had an engine smaller than many motorcycles these days. Only three gears. Lousy suspension. Tricky clutch. Iffy brakes. Push-button starter. I loved this car.

How well do you know your next-door neighbors?

We have a new neighbor to the west of us. He seems ok. The building to the east is a small apartment complex. One of the occupants does some wonderful bonsai and does some garden care for us too. There's a couple that lives in the flat about our garage (also in the complex). They're Polish (I think) and have a cat.

What's your morning beverage of choice?  Coffee, tea, juice?  Homemade or store-bought?

Teanew

A cappucino made of organic 1% milk and blue bottle roman espresso coffee, brewed by me on one of these.

When you were younger, were there any game shows that you religiously watched and wanted to be a contestant on?

The best of Groucho clip #2

Although I only saw it in reruns long after the show had gone off the air, I would have done just about anything to be on "You Bet Your Life." Sure most of the guests were humiliated, but that's TV. I'd have said, "Aw, shucks, Groucho. I'm just a kid. What do I know? Can I guess the Secret Word?!" 

What magazines do you subscribe to, and why?

The Economist because it's the only news really worth printing and reading.

The New Yorker because Kitty insists she needs it for her business 

What do you usually do on Sunday?

Not much. Recover from Saturday. Run. Cook. Play a game with Carson. Watch a show. Do a crossword.