1986: 20 years ago.
Living in: St. Joesph, MI, probably on Willa. This was back when I really *was* from Michigan. First busing I ever did for school and last.
Age: 12, 6 or 7th grade.
Working: Surviving Junior High.
Dating: Various notes were passed back and forth with things like "do you like me check yes or no." I will admit this was in the Drama Queen years.
Driving: I was rocking it on my tan 10 speed bike that has been purchase from a friend's sister. Though the upper hand brakes didn't work, that was the best damn bike. I miss that bike.
Listening to: This is the hodge-podge. On one hand I was listening to things that my folks were listening to, classic, organ, my dad playing piano. On the other, I was just starting to have sleep overs and listen to my first "rock" record, Thriller by Michael Jackson. (oh the shame)
The Hair: Fuzzy. Chopped off my long hair in 2nd grade, I had been wearing odd boofie haircuts ever since. The 80's were just a bad hair decade for me.
Piercings: I think I had my ears pierced by then, but that might also have been when I was 14. Originally I had to wait unti I was 16, but got a reprieve after a couple of good hygene years. :)
Wearing: Stripes. Big honking glasses of the plastic varity. Bad experiences with pastels. All cotton stuff. No jeans as of yet.
Making: I think I learned how to do pysanky the following year at age 13. Not much else happening other than any craft project that crossed my path.
Playing: I had given up on piano a few years before this because of my spectacularly bad playing with my left hand. I was playing viola in the regular St. joe system, with Mr. Tennarli in the junior high. I was not taking lessons and it showed. We were playing fun things like Egmont overture, brandenburg suite.

Intervening Years:[1987-1995]
Move to KY. Graduate High School. Various Boyfriends. Culture Shock. Go to K. Various Boyfriends. Meet, Date,Break-Up,Re-Date Guru. Go Abroad to Rome.

1996: 10 years ago.
Living in: MI-FL-PA The year of the move. The year started out with an engagement to Guruzilla, then graduation from K, followed by bridal shower and then down to Fl to get my wisdom teeth out. Arranging a wedding from 7 states away. Fortunatelly the Steinman's took pity on me and let me spend the last few months leading up to the wedding in St. Joe. Got married and ran away to the UP for a week. Then we drove down the PA with a U-Haul and parents in tow to get guru started at TESM. Finished the year in a railroad car apartment in some god-awful peach color and happy as clams. 30 minute commute to work over the hills and through the woods. First car accident on an ice road on one of those hills.
Age: 22
Working: PA Fashions as a receptionist. This is where I began to understand why work sucks.
Marrying: guruzilla in all his glory. :)
Driving: First the brick, then the 1991 Green explorer from the folks.
Listening to: Out of Time REM, Beatles, Adam Again, Breakfast with Amy, A touch of the Smiths, Kronos Quartet, Original recording of Once Upon a Mattress, Jesus Christ Superstar.
The Hair: Long again. Pulled back tight with two antenna curls. Many of you have expresed an urge to "poing" them. :)
Piercings: Ears only, but pierced twice now.
Wearing: Jeans. Navy blue. Pull over college stuff. Wire tortiose shell frames on my glasses. Wedding dress.
Making:Video for SIP on Papyrology at UMich. A home.
Playing:Nothing. I had dropped viola my sophomore year at K because of time constraints and it was a while after that that I was confident enough to start playing in a group again. I became confused over whether adults should take private lessons.

Intervening Years:[1997-2000]
Work more, sleep less. Get to know Pgh as we bounce around from place to place. Meet people over the internet. Start blogging. Short trip to Japan. Many trips to Waltham, MA.


2001: 5 years ago.
Living in:Ambridge, PA in our first house, albeit rented. It had a great little second kitchen on the second floor that became something of a studio for me. My hope is to end up with something like this again. 1 hour commute to work by car. 2 hours by bus.
Age:27
Working:WhizBang! Labs as an Office Manager.
Driving:Still driving the 1991 Green Explorer. The odometer had flipped back over to zero again. We had a second car by then, the tan Taurus station wagon.
Listening to:Propellerheads, Over the Rhine with frequent concerts, Tori Amos, Terry Taylor
The Hair:Short again. This time in a bob. Finally found something to maintain curls and not friz. Spent way too much money on haircuts.
Piercings:Ears re-pierced twice since the last set had closed. Third upper ear pierced on left side with cheshie. :)
Wearing: Lots of landsend slacks and sweaters. Jeans on the weekends. Lofers. Glasses were some variation on the wireframe. Bifoculs for reading added.
Making:Websites for fun. Newsletters at church. Knitting and crocheting with friends, scrapbooking
Playing: Joined a local orchestra and found out what it was like to be the only viola in a group. Started playing a lot of things from the Lawrence Welk show.

2003: 3 years ago.
Living in: City of Pittsburgh in a cute 1926 quadplex. On top of a hill. In site of the city. Next to a ravine they called a park. Great views and a washer and dryer in the basement.
Age:29
Working:Holding down 3 jobs to cobble together one salary. The good news is all of them were design related in someway. I'd finished my graphic design associate and was flowing from one job opportunity to the next.
Driving:Lost the breaks in the tan taurus and ended up trading both cars in on a blue Taurus SES. The Explorer traded in for $50. We had replaced everything but the engine.
Listening to:Over the Rhine, News Radio 1014am
The Hair:Short still, variations on a theme.
Piercings:No changes.
Wearing:More jeans at TESM, more lands end at USS. Wireframe brown glasses.
Making:Brochures, academic catalogs, large foamcore signs
Playing:Joined a great local orchestra in the north hills and played with one of the best directors I've ever had. Playing more show music with a few classical big symphonies thown in. Also had been playing local high school shows for a few years by now and realized I really like being in the pit and playing show music.

2005: Last year.
Living in:Denver, CO in a cheap, unimagantive apartment in Englewood.
Age:31
Working:Small printer that specializes in real estate mailers. But I'm working full time as the only designer. Commute is 35 minutes by car.
Driving:Still driving blue Tauras SES. I'm glad we bought it a year old. No major problems with it as of yet.
Listening to:Muse, Radiohead, Runferyourlife, The Decemberests, Bach, NPR, great AM Alternative Radio channel. Yoko Kanno Napple Tale stuff. Tom Waitts, The Sundays, Nick Drake, Cake.
The Hair:Almost got it long again, but gave up at the last moment.
Piercings:Same.
Wearing:Jeans all the time. I don't have any dress clothes. Mostly wearing muted dark colors like reds, blues and greens.
Making:Projects at work. Knitting. Writing attempt at fiction. A Mess.
Playing:Practicing with a local violin but nothing organized. Found a local group I could join, but I need to practice an audition piece. Fear.


2006: This year.
Living in:Same unimagantive apartment. May move closer to ACME Interntional to cut down on Guru's commute at the end of the year. Looking for some relief from the subdiversions of denver.
Age:will be 32
Working:Same little print place, which will probably grow like weeds in the next year. Getting ready to be do more design - less production work this year. I will update my portfolio. Honest. Wrap up major credit cards.
Married: Ten year annivesary for guruzilla and me. Time for some fun! Planning a great trip of epic proportions to pgh in the summer.
Driving:Same blue taurus. Seems to have adjusted to the alttitude better than we did.
Listening to:AM Radio channel gets sold and changes it's genre. We are left with crap top-forty to listen to now at work. :(
The Hair:Variation on short again. I'm going to try and grow it out again. I need a better idea of what to do with it.
Piercings:Same as usual.
Wearing:Jeans, lofters and dark colors. Trying to grow my wardrobe with more proffessional/dress options. I've found a couple of shops that I like.
Making:Knitting like mad but not much else. I miss personal projects and the space to do them.
Playing:Might look more seriously to joining the local orchestra group. I now have some solos to work on and will continue to meet with the violinst. Some discussion over the family piano and where it will end up in the future. Wouldn't it be nice to have a piano again...

Intervening Years:[2007-2015]
Pay off student loan debt. Vision trip to Japan. Educate Guru more. Kids. Dog. buy a home.

2016: Ten years from now.
Living in:
A. The Midwest, rural: ideally on a lot of acreage. Animals and kids abound. Own our own land with a clear field of fire as guru says.
B. The Midwest, metro: nice walk up in some metro city. Close to public transit in a city we like, with friends of old. Possibly a duplex with family on the other side of the wall. A dog and kids abound.
Age:42. Ack.
Working:Independent designer, working from home and running my own business, or a branch business of my current employer.
Married: 20 year annavesary for me and guruzilla. I think another epic trip is in order. Maybe to europe.
Driving:Hopefully driving two cars/trucks again, ideally something that is enviromentally friendly.
Listening to:More of the same I bet!
The Hair:More of the same again.
Piercings:no new plans that I know of. :)
Wearing:Jeans, lofters and dark colors.
Making:Pottery, painting, pysanky or anything else I damn well feel like making in my pole barn.
Playing:I'd love to be able to be an ametuer pit musician for a local theater and/or join a local orchestra and play a few concerts a year.