Deb

..This part is always tough--talking about yourself. Well, I'm a former musician (keyboard player) in local rock bands, and I say former because anyone who's played in bands before knows all of the bullshit that goes along with it--huge egos fighting all the time, you're the one with the truck and all of the PA equipment and you're always unloading it and setting it up yourself with minimal help, everyone fights over songs, etc. etc. I still love to play, but I rock out in my basement now with the full PA set up, including 3000 watts of power, a 24 channel mixing board and all kind of effects. And although there's nothing quite like playing live in front of an appreciative audience, it just isn't worth the bullshit that goes along with it anymore.
I love to travel. Anywhere. Anytime. I've seen most everything that I've wanted to in the U.S., and have been to Ireland three times, England six times, Paris once, and Canada a million times, as I used to live very near Canada, eh? I've also been to Scotland twice and Wales twice, but I guess since they're both UK countries, they probably don't count. I'm thinking about Italy next year, or maybe Greece, depending upon how much time I dare take away from the business. After trying to get back from London Heathrow on August 10th of 2006, though, I don't know if I ever want to fly out of there again. That was the day that the terrorists were going to blow up planes over the Atlantic. I was on one of them--American flight 99, and it was only one of two flights allowed out of London Heathrow before they completely shut the airport down. Although I didn't know the exact details of what was going on, when you walk into an airport and there are dudes with submachine guns standing everywhere, it kinda clues you in that it may be something major. O'Hare wasn't much better after landing either. Had to go to the 'red section' where there were lots of *other* guys standing around with submachine guns. Any flight that came in from London had to go to that special 'red area' where they tore my luggage apart. Again. Hell, I just picked it up over there, 20 feet away. What could I have possibly put into it since then?
In 2005 when I was leaving London Heathrow on July 7th, the terrorists were blowing up the Tube (subway), and the first time I went to England in '88, I was on Pan Am flight 102 flying from London Heathrow to New York's JFK airport. Pan Am flight 103 was the one that blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, so if I'd missed my flight...talk about bad karma. People are going to start thinking that *I'm* a terrorist! LOL!
I love dogs, Siberian Huskies in particular. I wolunteer for a rescue called Northern Lights Sleddog Rescue out of Indianapolis (it isn't that far from Chicago) and we find forever homes for Siberian Huskies that people dump at kill shelters. I have my own dogs and then foster dogs that are waiting to be adopted as well. I currently have, uh, 12! Huskies are awesome dogs, but they're a lot of work. They blow coat profusely twice a year, they dig, they try to escape, but they're a highly intelligent and independent breed which really appeals to me. Check out http://community.webshots.com/user/debber0102 for pics of my huskies as well as photo albums from Ireland, England and France.
I'm also a 'car guy.' I love cars, and always have. My current ride is a 2008 Audi S5 after getting rid of the red 2005 BMW M3 convertible last year. I had a deposit down for the BMW M6 convertible but I really didn't like the looks of it. It's about the same size as the M3, but instead of 333 horsepower, it has 507, which is really sweet. It's also a seven speed, rather than the six speed like the M3, but when you're talking about 100 large for a car, I'm thinking a two year old Ferrari might be the better deal. I was looking into a V8 Vantage made by Aston Martin but I'm just not quite there financially yet! LOL!
I also have a 1985 Mazda RX7 GSLSE that sits in my garage. It's one of 1000 made. There were a ton of 1985 RX7s made but only 1000 that are GSLSEs with the bigger 13B rotary engine and fuel injection (the other RX7s made in '85 were carbureted and had the smaller rotary engine). It's just a car that I can't give up, although with 130,000 miles on it, the Apex seals are starting to get weak and it desperately needs a new clutch but it'll be a project car that will get done at some point. It was also the last year of the 'old' bodystyle (James Garner commercials) before they made the thing look like everything else out there.
I'm into genealogy and have my father's side of the family back to about 1550 in England. I've gone to England for the last three years digging up information on that side of the family. June of 2005 was also a trip to Dublin, Ireland to see U2 at Croke Park and then to England for a day and then onto the Eurostar high speed train to Paris for a couple of days and then back to England for a week. That was pretty cool. Yeah, did I mention that I love to travel?! I've been all over the US so Europe is the only way to go for me.
I suppose I should also admit that I'm a computer geek, too. I worked in IT for 10 years (and got burned out) and it's what brought me from NY to Chicago. I still design a few websites here and there, but no more tech support, computer programming or database administration. I can remember *too* many nights of babysitting a long distance database unload/reload at 3:30 in the morning. Over PC Anywhere--a dial up application! And having to edit the scripts when they didn't work. The best part was when things like that happened, I just telecommuted the next day--no Chicago traffic to deal with.
I love sports, too, mainly baseball and football. My Dad got me into baseball when I was small by taking me to a Twins/Yankees game at old Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis. (We were in Minnesota for the summer). Then I tried out for Little League at a time when they first started letting girls try out (yeah, we didn't used to be able to play Little League--it was a 'boy's sport') and I made the team as a catcher. OK, so I was a little bit of a tomboy! I think I still am! I ended up being a New York State all star player and won quite a few trophies along the way--remember, this was a time when they said that 'girls can't play baseball!' At that point, my Dad started taking me to games in Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium, which was the closest ballpark to where we lived (growing up, that was about 40 miles south of Rochester, NY so Pittsburgh had the closest MLB team). Obviously, although I wasn't a big fan of the Pirates, (I loved the Big Red Machine--the Cincinnati Reds), I ended up becoming a huge Steelers fan, which I still am to this day.
I guess that's about it for 'about me.' It's probably quite enough! :-)
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name: Deb
Birthday: January 2 (not giving you the year. YOU figure it out! LOL!)
Birthplace: New York
Current Location: Chicago
Eye Color: Green (sometimes blue)
Hair Color: Uh, I think it's burgundy this week. It's the only way to hide the grey these days.
Height: Midget sized-about 5'0" on a good day... with heels...
Right Handed or Left Handed: Ambidextrous, baby! But I actually prefer my left hand. When I was in grade school, however, it was in the olden days when you got your left hand smacked with a ruler for trying to use it instead of your right hand. Ah...the good ole' days...
Your Heritage: English and German....and all my friends in England ask me if I fight with myself all the time. Yeah, pretty much...
The Shoes You Wore Today: Uh, Nike's I think. I'm not much of a shoe person. That would be my Mom. She has about 900 pairs of shoes in her closet. I'm not kidding.
Your Weakness: Dark eyed men that have eyes that are almost black and that look into my soul. Come to think of it, that's one of my fears, too.
Your Fears: Death. That would be on everyone's top ten, wouldn't it?
Your Perfect Pizza: Heart attack cheese and pepperoni.
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year: Hiring more people for my business. After all, I'm supposed to be running it, not working it and running it.
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant messenger: LOL, without a doubt.
Thoughts First Waking Up: It's usually 'ouch' as one of my Siberian Huskies walks across my face.
Your Best Physical Feature: Eyes, definitely. I've been told that my eyes are mesmerizing. Of course, just like a man to butter you up! LOL! (There it is again--LOL)
Your Bedtime: Depends on how much I'm working. Could be 8 p.m., could be 2 a.m.
Your Most Missed Memory: High school, about 100 years ago with my best friend Kim. God, we were hellraisers. We went to about every rock concert there was in Rochester, NY in the 70s and early 80s.
Pepsi or Coke: Neither-gag
MacDonalds or Burger King: Neither (see above)
Single or Group Dates: Hmm..was going to mention something about group...well, never mind. Either is fine with me.
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: No tea. Ever.
Chocolate or Vanilla: Chocolate! Godiva...oh don't get me going.
Cappuccino or Coffee: Both, can't live without the first few cups of Starbucks in the morning.
Do you Smoke: Sometimes, depends on the stress level
Do you Swear: Not like a drunken sailor, but I've been known to rip off a few, yeah.
Do you Sing: Just like Don Henly, baby! Or so I've been told. I wish he'd come to MY Hotel California...he could check out anytime he liked, but he could never leave.
Do you Shower Daily: Uh, yeah. Hello.
Have you Been in Love: It's been a long time, but I think I can remember that, yeah.
Do you want to go to College: Did it, done it...Music major that didn't do a thing for me.
Do you want to get Married: See above
Do you belive in yourself: Some days are better than others.
Do you get Motion Sickness: Nope.
Do you think you are Attractive: Again, some days are better than others.
Are you a Health Freak: Hell no. (see swearing question above) You see all of these health freaks today, and in about 30 years, you're going to see them all lying around dying of nothing. If I have to die, I want to die from something *good*.
Do you get along with your Parents: Very well.
Do you like Thunderstorms: Love thunderstorms, especially at night. It's nice to sit outside and take it all in at night.
Do you play an Instrument: Keyboards, a little drums, a little bass guitar...wonder why I never picked up a guitar? Seriously, I could probably play any instrument put in front of me. That's my one and only talent--musicianship.
In the past month have you Drank Alcohol: In the past *month*? What kinda question is that? I haven't had a drink yet today...
In the past month have you Smoked: Yeah, stress level went through the roof yesterday when I had to put one of my Siberian Huskies to sleep. I'm a trainwreck.
In the past month have you been on Drugs: No, but remember, I grew up in the 60s and 70s, so I guess there's your answer if you're asking if I *ever* did anything like that.
In the past month have you gone on a Date: What year is it again?
In the past month have you gone to a Mall: God, no. If the terrorists want to bomb something, how about starting with all of the malls?
In the past month have you eaten a box of Oreos: Nope. I don't think I've *ever* eaten a whole box of Oreos.
In the past month have you eaten Sushi: Uh, raw fish...NO! I don't eat anything that swam at one time.
In the past month have you been on Stage: Not in the past month. Used to be onstage all the time with various rock and roll bands that I've played with.
In the past month have you been Dumped: No, not lately.
In the past month have you gone Skinny Dipping: Yeah, well, I was the *original* wild child. Shannon Doherty had *nothing* on me.
In the past month have you Stolen Anything: Nope.
Ever been Drunk: Well, I used to be able to put away a 12 pack of Warsteiner's with the best of them, but I think I'd only pass out from it these days. Maybe a nice bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon?
Ever been called a Tease: Yeah, but usually the guy was too much of a dope to realize that *I wasn't teasing!*
Ever been Beaten up: Nope. I hate conflict and avoid it like the plague.
Ever Shoplifted: Oh, man, maybe when I was 9 or 10, or some other lifetime.
How do you want to Die: In my sleep, but doesn't everyone?
What do you want to be when you Grow Up: YOU MEAN I HAVE TO GROW UP??? Oh, sorry about that. Being a business owner is pretty cool. Yeah, since *rock star* didn't quite work out, I guess I'll stick with business owner.
What country would you most like to Visit: Hmmm...the only European countries I haven't seen that I'd like to would be Italy and Greece.
In a Woman..
Favourite Eye Color: Uh, can we make this 'In a Man' please?! I'm just not that into women. Anyway, dark eyes, almost black, that look right through you is a hell of a turn on.
Favourite Hair Color: Dark, maybe with some whiter shades of pale. A little grey on a guy is *such* a turn on.
Short or Long Hair: Short for sure.
Height: 5'-10" and above is fine. It doesn't really matter, though.
Weight: Again, if you meet someone that you really care about, what does it matter? It's what's on the inside.
Best Clothing Style: I don't know...a little preppy is nice, but if it's a really hot guy, he could look great in a flannel shirt. It really doesn't matter.
Number of Drugs I have taken: Ha-now you're going to make me sit here and COUNT?! Let's just say enough, and call it a day, eh?
Number of CDs I own: Don't know--probably 100. I have a lot more albums than I do CDs--everything from about 1965 to whenever they quit making vinyl.
Number of Piercings: Just my ears, thanks.
Number of Tattoos: No. Never. Gross. Will-not-happen-in-my-lifetime. (now, why don't I tell you how I *really* feel about tattoos...)
Number of things in my Past I Regret: Well, there once was this catcher who played for the Cubs. We happened to run into each other, literally, and were staying at the same hotel in Pittsburg. I had my chance and blew it. I guess it technically wasn't a regret, though. I pretty much knew it would have been a one night stand, and I've never really been into that. God, he was SO hot, though...
Yahoo IM: I don't Yahoo. Sorry...
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