TMI Tuesday – Let’s travel down memory lane.

Jack’s Answers

Home:

1. Your current home: House? Apartment? Trailer? Condo? Other?
My current home is a condo. It’s the same condo Jill was living in when I met her. And while it was sufficiently spacious enough for her when she lived alone, and more or less sufficiently spacious for both of us when we lived together, for a family of three it’s way too cramped. To say nothing of the fact that my parents are in town semi-regularly and the idea that five people (four of them adults) can fit comfortably in a condo this size is laughable.

2. Which is bigger, your childhood home or your current home?
My childhood closet is bigger than my current home. My childhood home had two bedrooms and one bath when my parents bought it. Additionally, there was a living room. While that’s actually one bathroom less than the condo has, my childhood home was actually larger. Additionally, in the 1980s my father added on an enormous family room and a half-bath, plus a second floor with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. I’m guessing you could fit most of our condo into the second floor and still have room to move around.

3. Which is better, your childhood home or current home? Why?
My childhood home is better. See #2. Additionally, while the neighborhood wherein my childhood home is located was probably not quite as safe as the neighborhood wherein the condo is located, and while our current place is a much shorter walk to multiple parks and libraries as well as all manner of retail and dining options – or at least it seems that way; it might actually be roughly equal – when you’re, say, nine years old, all you really care about is having enough room for all your toys. Having enough room to have friends over to play. A nice backyard where you can ride your skateboard while your dad barbecues. And sometimes I feel like a shit father for denying my kid these things.

School:

4. What was your favorite subject in school? (consider high school, college, grad school). Why was this your favorite subject?
English was always my favorite subject. I am naturally drawn to writing, reading, and the English language itself. I always lacked interest in math, and while I always found science interesting it wasn’t hip or cool to be a fan so I had to downplay that. Additionally, my in-born ability to bullshit my way through just about anything served me well in English class, typically while analyzing some work of literature. Being able to bullshit doesn’t help you much when you’re taking a math test.

5. Are you currently working in a field that you studied in college?
I did take some business classes in college, and I currently run my own business. So yeah, I guess so.

Job:

6. Describe your first job.
My first job was as a volunteer aide for the county daycare center. At the time, as a teenager, I planned to go into Early Childhood Education professionally; I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. Over the next several years, until I realized I lacked the patience and the temperament to deal with multiple young children all at once, I did many education-related jobs, from preschool teacher’s aide to after-school tutor (both at schools and in-home). I worked primarily with children at the elementary school level, though I also tutored junior high school students.

7. What was your favorite job and why?
My two current jobs are my favorite. I refer to the business I own and manage, but also the job of parent. Both are rewarding in different ways, and both are similarly taxing. Given the choice, I don’t think I’d change a thing.

Bonus: What haven’t we talked about in TMI Tuesday that you would like to discuss?
My prodigious sexual prowess would be a good topic for a future TMI Tuesday.

Jill’s Answers

Home:

1. Your current home: House? Apartment? Trailer? Condo? Other?
We currently live in a condo. It’s a two-bedroom two-bath, but we have much more stuff than we have space to store it all. I’d love to upgrade to something more spacious, but given where we live I’m certain we’ll never be able to afford it.

2. Which is bigger, your childhood home or your current home?
My childhood home is much bigger than my current home, but there were also three times as many people living in my childhood home than live in the condo.

3. Which is better, your childhood home or current home? Why?
My childhood home is much better. It’s in a safer area than where we currently live. It has a huge backyard and front yard, whereas we have neither. It’s two blocks from an enormous park, and about four blocks from a major shopping and dining area. Plus it’s on a quiet street, unlike our building which is on a very busy main thoroughfare. There are sidewalks so you can walk safely. The neighborhood surrounding our building doesn’t even have sidewalks throughout much of it. And since we live in a building very close to other residents, we are at the mercy of whomever else happens to live among us.

School:

4. What was your favorite subject in school? (consider high school, college, grad school). Why was this your favorite subject?
Math has always been my favorite subject and probably still is. It made sense to me. It had a single right answer, rather than some abstrat solution that was open to interpretation. Math came easy to me, and I enjoyed it. I loved solving problems. On the other hand, language arts and writing were always more difficult for me.

5. Are you currently working in a field that you studied in college?
Yes. I got my Bachelor of Arts degree and my teaching credential, and I currently work as a teacher.

Job:

6. Describe your first job.
My first job was technically babysitting my many siblings, as well as the neighborhood kids. I enjoyed it. However, my first job outside the house was in a fast food restaurant at our local mall. It was not my favorite job, as I hated coming home smelling of grease every night.

7. What was your favorite job and why?
My current job is my favorite. While it isn’t always easy and the pay is ridiculously low for the amount of time, effort, and money that I put into it, I do enjoy making a difference in the lives of my students.

Bonus: What haven’t we talked about in TMI Tuesday that you would like to discuss?
I can’t think of anything.

How to play TMI Tuesday: Copy the above TMI Tuesday questions to your webspace (i.e., a blog). Answer the questions there, then leave a comment below, on this blog post, so we’ll all know where to read your responses. Please don’t forget to link to tmituesdayblog from your website!