1. What do you do for a living?
Product/process research and development on Philadelphia® cream cheese

2. What do you like most about your job?
Every day’s got different challenges.

3. What do you like least about your job?
Dealing with people who’re thinking “right now” versus our long-term best interests

4. When you have a bad day at work it’s usually because _____…
All of those challenges are impossible.

5. What other career(s) are you interested in?
Rock star. (kidding!)

Ok…this time, Marcie’s picking the questions for me…

1. What was the first thing you ever cooked?
I think probably macaroni and cheese as a kid.

2. What’s your signature dish?
I haven’t cooked enough for other people to say I have a signature dish. I do a wicked chicken parmesan, though.

3. Ever had a cooking disaster? (tasted like crap, didn’t work, etc.) Describe.
Ruined a pork tenderloin because of a bad meat thermometer - it never read 165 F, so I never figured it was done. It was like chewing leather.

4. If skill and money were no object, what would make for your dream meal?
Not something fancy with words no one could recognize. I’d just go for the world’s best steak.

5. What are you planning on cooking this weekend?
Well, maybe some Philly cheesesteaks for dinner tonight, and I’ll probably be eating out tomorrow.

Once again, I had to dig into the Friday Five archives for this week:

1. How many houses/apartments have you lived in throughout your life?
Eight.

2. Which was your favorite and why?
The house I spent most of my life in back in Glen Carbon, if only because I spent so long there (13 or14 years?)

3. Do you find moving house more exciting or stressful? Why?
Stressful. It’s like having to clean the house, but even more so. Then you’re worried about damaging stuff (especially when driving I-90 through Ohio), and then you have to unpack everything

4. What’s more important, location or price?
Depends. I’m willing to pay a little more for a good location, but not an exorbitant markup

5. What features does your dream house have (pool, spa bath, big yard, etc.)?
A nice home-theater type room, no “too-small” rooms, a yard I can mow in under an hour. A jacuzzi-type tub would be nice too.

1. What was the last song you heard?
“They All Laughed” (originally by the Gershwins, in the soundtrack of the last movie I saw)

2. What were the last two movies you saw?
“The Whole Nine Yards” and “Groundhog Day”

3. What were the last three things you purchased?
A pizza for dinner tonight, dinner at the Detroit airport last night (tacos), and an extension cable for my PlayStation 2 controller

4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?
Nothing, nothing, nothing, and kick Tiger Woods’ butt at golf

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?
Marcie, the pizza guy, my mom, Marcie, Marcie.

Looks like fridayfive.org is taking the week off, so here’s a random selection from their archives (February 21, 2003):

1. What is your most prized material possession?
Either my computer or my car. The computer because of the time invested into it…the car due to the money.

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?
Well, I’m wearing a polo shirt that dates at least to freshman year of college today. Electronic stuff…the TV is 5 years old…my car is 3 years old, my computer is 2 years old.

3. Are you a packrat?
In some ways yes…but it’s usually out of laziness than being a packrat.

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?
I prefer a little bit. But, sometimes I’m not too motivated, and I end up with more than a little clutter.

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?
Well, because I’m in a temporary apartment, it’s a mix of the stuff that was there and my things. I like a mix of classic (hardwood floors, club-style leather sofas, Oriental rugs) and modern (as in not too frilly-looking stuff - Mission-style furniture is what I’d prefer).

When was the last time you…

1. …went to the doctor?
Umm…probably when I was 18 or so?

2. …went to the dentist?
No comment I am going soon though…

3. …filled your gas tank?
A couple days ago (Monday, maybe?)

4. …got enough sleep?
Not this week…I’ve been doing 3rd shift the past couple days (it’s 6:40am and I’ve already been here a while!). Probably sometime last week I had one good night of sleep.

5. …backed up your computer?
Real men don’t need backups. Actually, all my absolutely unreplaceable stuff (photos) I backed up a month or so ago.

At this moment, what is your favorite…

1. …song?
“Waiting For You” by Seal

2. …food?
Mozzarella sticks…I’ve just been craving them a lot lately.

3. …tv show?
Band of Brothers - I know it was a mini-series a couple years ago, but I just rewatched it last weekend.

4. …scent?
Fresh snow.

5. …quote?
“Pull yourself together, man!” - a running line a few of us at the plant have been using on each other…

What one thing are you most looking forward to . . .

1. …today?
A quiet night to unwind
2. …over the next week?
Temperatures above 0ºF
3. …this year?
Getting married!
4. …over the next five years?
Kids?
5. …for the rest of your life?
Someone wonderful

A 5-by-5 Friday Five today:

All of my lists are in no particular order:

1. List your five favorite beverages.

• Diet Coke/Pepsi
• Hot chocolate
• A good fresh-squeezed lemonade
• Hard cider
• Diet Sprite

2. List your five favorite websites.

• Chicago Tribune
• Slashdot
• Salon.com
• iPodLounge
• Head-Fi

3. List your five favorite snack foods.

• Tortilla chips
• Wheat Thins
• Kit Kat Bites
• Starburst
• Gummi Life Savers

4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.

• Aggravation
• Trivial Pursuit
• Blackjack
• Spades
• Hearts

5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.

• Ages of Empires 2
• 007: Goldeneye
• Mario Kart 64
• Flight Simulator 2004
• Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.
Soda with caffeine, soda without caffeine, water, beer, salami

2. Name five things in your freezer.
Steaks, ice cubes, chicken breasts, frozen veggies, ice pack

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.
Empty grocery bags, dishpan, cleaning supplies, dust bunnies, Drano

4. Name five things around your computer.
Cellphone charger(s), file cabinet, lots of random wires, three power strips, a couple empty soda cans

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.
Toothpaste, contact lens solutions, deodorant, cologne, Advil

Yes, I have a dull apartment…

From fridayfive.org:

How are you planning to spend the summer?
Working for The Man.
What was your first summer job?
Cleaning up stuff at home construction sites
If you could go anywhere this summer, where would you go?
Alaska (and I am going)
What was your worst vacation ever?
“Bad vacation” is an oxymoron!
What was your best vacation ever?
California, summer 1998