Once upon a time I was in my 20’s. I lived life dangerously. I drank too much and partied too much. Life was fun I thought. Until the next morning.Somedays I couldn’t remember where I parked my car. Some mornings I wasn’t alone. Sometimes it was the right guy and sometimes it wasn’t. My room mate was worse. OFten there were strange men walking out of her room in the morning. Then we got responsible. Stopped smoking. Slowed down the going out every night. Tried to have a real job, but working in a grocery store doesn’t seem so real. Only when I got an office job did I start to feel grown up. When I hooked up with the man who would be my husband, I realized I could be loved for who I was.

I was in college for two years. I ran out of money. I didn’t know what to do, so I robbed a house. I got away with it…for a while. I sold everything I took, DVD players, jewelry, a t.v. a pawned it all. I had enough money to live for about a month. I ran out again. I robbed another house. This time, I was caught. Somebody saw my car outside the house I was robbing and called the cops. I was thrown into prison for 2 months. My girlfriend of two years dumped me. She was the best thing that would ever happen to me, and my chances of ever being with somebody as great is disappearing, and I have chronic psoriasis developing on my face. My lawyer got me transferred from prison to a Drug Rehab facility for the next three months. I was not a drug addict, never touched the stuff, but I played along. It was better than being in jail. I came home and started a screen printing company. Its been on and off a lot, but mostly off. I get a job every now and then. I have a personality. I am funny. My mom thinks my personality is the only chance I have in life. She signed me up for improvisation classes at The Second City, Chicago. A lot of the greats got their start there, so maybe I’ll get lucky. God isn’t with me anymore. In fact, it feels like he’s against me. I screwed up my life, I have no money, and I fill out surveys online for less than sweat shop workers in China are paid. I would do anything to go back in time and do things the right way. All I have to show for my 20 years on this earth is a high school Deploma and a criminal record.

I find myself in my late 40’s in front of a keyboard. I loved the computer before the world become unable to function without them. I remember the 300 baud modem and actually plugging the telephone headset into the modem box. Telephones had cords. My printer was just a really fast typewriter, actually striking the letters onto the page. I stay home to educate my children. Not because I am a fanatic, but because I really love watching the learning process takes place. The “aha” moments in life get fewer as we age, but in the young, they are magical and I don’t want to give them to someone else. I rescue dogs and find them good homes after nursing them back to health and restoring their faith in mankind. I used to do stand up comedy, but it gets harder and harder for me to come up with new material - not that there is less to laugh at but because the industry as a whole has become so crass. I am a woman of faith and hope in Jesus. I find comfort in thinking that all the things that happen here aren’t all that there is. I look forward to a time when there is peace, true peace on this earth. I love raspberry sherbet. I bring the receipt back into the store if I am undercharged. My hair is short now because it looks like a cross between a bad Seuss drawing and a brillo pad.

During the spring of 2008, I got my last first kiss. I finally won over the girl of my dreams. We had been constant companions throughout college and I was finaly able to tell her how I felt about her. We started dating in May and after only a few days of dating I told her that I loved her and we kissed in the courtyard of our university. It was such a magical moment. I felt like nothing else in the world mattered. Even before that kiss, I knew that this was the woman with whom I would spend the rest of my life. But in that moment, I was overtaken with love and care for this sweet girl. All of a sudden, the clouds above us unleashed a downpour of rain. As people scurried from the courtyard, we remained seated on the ledge surrounding the fountain. Neither of us wanted this moment to end. We let the rain cover us and soon, we were the only two souls in the courtyard. The rain shielded us from the view of anyone that may have been peering out of windows or doorways of surrounding buildings. We sat and talked and laughed there in the rain, not caring how soaked our clothing became. It was the perfect ending to a semester. I will never be able to forget the night I had my last first kiss.

I was out with my friend on the new year party in the year 2004. We had a real good time singing, dancing and drinking and by the time i came to my senses that i have to go back to my room (i used to live in a hostel those days) it was very late about 2:30am. My friend dropped me back at the hostel. The doors were closed and i tried to convince the gaurd to let me in without letting someone know. But that idiot guy was adamant and dint let em in. I had no option. My friend tried to find a hotel but they were very expensive and we dint have enough monye. So the last option was that we spent whole night on a bench at a bus stop. This was my amazing new year party!!!

Bleh. I can’t sleep. A meal at the Melting Pot can cost over $100/person and their parking lot is packed. This is the story of my time. I can’t find a job, I’m not going to apply at Pizza Hut, and I have not yet figured out how to make money off this thing. Then I find out the plasma people don’t give much in these parts and no one has come calling about my eggs, which I thought were pretty valuable. One of my friends just had an abortion and two more are getting married. My family is too far away. I’m supposed to be a writer but I can’t find enough to say or the will to make it sound pretty. I guess I’ll go read a book… Maybe I should do a garage sale next week.

I have spent my life working as hard as I possibly can to achieve my goals of a successful career and life. School was never particularly difficult until I reached my junior year of high school. I was in a magnet program geared toward preparing students for college. I made it through the program, passed all of the exams, and was able to enter college with two years of credits. College was harder than I expected, everybody always told me how much easier college would be now that I had had a taste of it in high school. However, I still found myself working hard and trying as much as possible to get the best grades I could. One day I finally realized I was trying so hard to set up a great future that I never really stopped to enjoy each day or take advantage of the opportunities front of me. For this very reason, I have taken a whole new view on life. Of course, I am still looking to have a successful career and future and I know that I need to work hard in order to do so. However, now I am looking to have more meaning in my life, looking to make a difference and help others rather than only focusing on myself. I have always had an idea of what I am going to be in life, and although this idea has not changed entirely I have modified it to include living life to the fullest.

My story is that I’m going through the financial problems that many other people are these days. I work out of my house doing transcription. We’ve had medical problems in the family and I need cash fast. When you go looking for a job, maybe you’ll get an interview in a month, and then maybe they’ll think about it for a few weeks, then call you back to talk to Mr. So-and-So, then do a background check, then think about it some more. Even if they decide to hire you, it might be another two weeks or a month before you see a paycheck. With mturk I can sign on, do some transcripts or write a few articles today and have money tomorrow. Yes, the rates are low by American office worker standards, but I’d rather have one dollar in hand today than 15 theoretical dollars per hour in some employment Never-Never Land.

I am a college student that has quickly racked up about $60,000 of debt, with at least 2 years go to before I leap into law school! I believe that higher education is to pursue a higher level of knowledge – not to lead me to a career. Though I do want to go to law school, chances are my life pursuits will lead me elsewhere first. I have a thirst to immerse myself in every culture of the world. Unfortunately, that cannot be done for free. I am at home living with my parents for the summer, trying to make money. I am a cashier at a local grocery store, but that only gives me 10 or 15 hours each week. I also picked up a babysitting job that is all day, twice a week. I have been searching for other jobs, but like everyone else in the U.S. right now, I am coming up short. This has led me to online services, such as kgb_ and mechanical turks. The pay isn’t too great for either, but since I have nothing else to fill my time, it is better to be making some money than no money at all. In the rest of my time, I like to call myself a musical explorer. I spend a lot of time listening to new music, just to broaden my horizon with new styles. I also spend a lot of time with my adorable nephew, as well as garden and enjoy the sunshine while it’s here for a few months!

I’m a hockey fan. My team is the Canucks, but my adopted team is the Pens, simply because I’m in lust with a guy who’s a die-hard Pittsburgher. Poor me. Two hockey teams to root for and follow. I suppose it’s my fault for moving to Pittsburgh, but really, it’s my fault for being a gal who’s into hockey. I’m a smart ass. I enjoy practical jokes and potty humor. Nothing makes me laugh harder than a fart or poop joke. Whoopee cushions are the greatest invention ever in my opinion. I’m an educated nerd. I signed up for a job because I get to read over 500 court cases for it. Yes, I enjoy my job. I’ll take any job for which I get paid to read. I’m constantly connected to the interwebs. A day without email doesn’t happen, not even on vacation. Five waking hours without checking my email starts me shaking. Music. I constantly listen to music. Anything I can get my hands on. Alt Country. Prog Rock. Italia-Disco. Punk. Jazz. Mash-ups. Hip-Hop. Send it to me, send me a link; I’ll listen and probably like it. I’m a vagabond. I’ve lived all over the world, and still can’t decide where I want to settle down. I suppose by the time it gets to that I’ll be dead. I’m an enigma. Most folks think they know me, but they only know what I want them to know. Everyone has secrets and I hold my secrets very close.