Just for fun I’m taking part in an interview meme that Nilsa and Tara have done – I asked Tara to interview me and I couldn’t resist!

The Rules

1. If you want to participate, leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” (And your e-mail address, please.)
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

It’s still the holidays until Monday, so I’ll write individual questions for everyone and everything if you want to play along!

1. Since I think you have a unique viewpoint, being married to a dual citizen, yet being Canadian, what do you think the United States is doing the most wrong? What would you tell us to just stop doing right this very moment if you could? Be honest!

You all should definitely eat more poutine. And send more kettle corn up here, because it doesn’t exist in Manitoba which is an out and out crime.

When I start to think about this question seriously my knees start to buckle a little and I get kind of swoony. My B.A is in politics, and took lots of classes on the US so I’m informed enough to be intimidated by answering it.  My response might be a typically Canadian perspective, but I would say that far and away, I think health care has to change.

I would love to move to the states, and we could – it would be a huge process and would mean starting wholly from scratch….but to live somewhere like Austin or Chicago I would do it in a moment. Except that I can’t fathom the health care system. I think you’re all incredibly brave. I don’t know what would fix the system, but I’m hoping that something comes down soon so I won’t worry so much about my bloggy friends in the States.

2. Are you already looking forward to what your marriage will look like on your first anniversary? Are you wondering already what it will look like through the years?

I am! Especially because I’ve never really been around a functioning marriage.

I watch his parents more now when we’re with them and try to pick up on their coping mechanisms and how their relationship works. They’re the only married couple who I really know, because they’re his only family in The Prairies and everyone in my family is divorced.

I’m really interested to see how our relationship changes over the years because I never saw my parent’s or grandparent’s or aunt’s or uncle’s relationships go beyond a certain stage. I’m attempting to not doom us to failure, in spite of not knowing how these things function is what I’m saying. So far my rules are: be nice & clean up after yourself. It seems to be working!

3. If you were given $100,000 dollars and told that you had to give away at least 80% of it, who would you give it to and how would you spend your share? You cannot give any part of the 80% to your family members. Or your husband’s family members. Or your friends.

I would definitely give the money I had to give away to charity. I work for a not for profit, so I would make a donation there and I went to a private high school that was really outstanding so I would create a bursary fund there so that someone who couldn’t afford it could go. I would look into Aboriginal communities in northern Manitoba and see if I could help fund greenhouse building projects to offset food costs.

If I could spend it on friends but not family, I would help all of my friends become debt free. I would help Emily Jane got to school for whatever she liked.

With my portion I would pay off our car and put some aside. I would buy Mister another suit. I would buy another pair of boots and a tripod. I would have my iPhone plated in gold and lowered, and I would check my bank account balance just for fun.
4. If I offered you a month long all expenses paid luxury vacation to any destination you choose, would you take it if I asked that you go and spend a month working to help out somehow in a third world country? I would even let you choose what country and what sort of work you wanted to do. One month’s work for one month’s dream life?

Without a moment’s hesitation yes. If the work was 80 hour weeks at 7-11 then I would think about it more, but I would love to go abroad and help build houses, or audit World Vision to make sure that all the Christmas goats that were purchased for villagers were actually being delivered. I would probably do that even without the vacation, if we could pay the mortgage with me not working for a month.

5. In 2008, what was your biggest achievement, and what was your biggest disappointment?

My biggest achievement in 2008 was buying our first home. I love it here, and that we’ve been able to make it happen from three years of crazy saving. It’s perfect for us.

My biggest disappointment… Between everything that happened I was always so focused on just getting the next thing done, I couldn’t focus on the negative things that were happening – so I really couldn’t tell you what my biggest disappointment was. While I won’t set out to have another year that was this big, I don’t mind that as being one of the side effects of moving that fast. But I will say that every house we lost out on in bidding felt like it was the biggest disappointment of 2008, every time.