Lists & Careers

Can't remember who challenged me but this list floated around in the bloggosphere a couple of months ago.

CLOTHES
1) Lace - In bed, or perhaps on a skirt
2) High boots - Yes, I have high boots and boots with high heels and flats. I saw a pair at the shoe shop the other day that are exactly like the ones I bought last year, but with a strap instead of laces at the top back. But I couldn't get an almost identical pair, could I?!!
3) Ancle/wrist length skirts - No, not my thing, I like them knee-length
4) Baggy jeans - No, I prefer them more slim or tight-fit
5) Dressed fashion - I assume this means office wear and yes, I like it. But lately I have gotten a bit tired of it and am wearing jeans to work more often (we can do that if we don't have any meetings). And dark jeans with a nice top and a jacket can look pretty dressed up too.
6) Toe-showing shoes or open shoes - Sandals (if I can find any that I like), flipflops or very dressy shoes for a party, but otherwise, no. And no crocs! Horrific things!
7) Wedges - Nope. Don't really have any but am not completely opposed, it depends on the rest of the shoe
8 ) Cape - Not sure what that is which must mean I don't have one. I do have a little cape-looking knitted thing that I wear once in a while when it's not cold enough for a coat. But does that qualify as a cape?
9) Leopard pattern - No! But they did offer some lingerie and badrock for purchase at the hotel we stayed at in DC this summer
10) Coats in bright colours - Yes, I have a bright red one. But I also have a black longer one I use much more.
11) Check pattern - Skirts and shirts, yes, but it depends on the pattern
12) Vest - Yes, I don't have one but I would like one. I have some knitted ones - I mean sleeveless tops to wear over shirts - but I would like one of a more dressy kind
13) Hat and other headgear - I like hats but I haven't found one I look good in yet. And I'm not sure what kind of occasion I would use it for - I don't go to English weddings too often. But a stylish one for the winter would be nice. I have some nice winter hats (mössa) for the winter though

MY HOME
5 things in my freezer: leftover food in little Tupperware boxes for work lunches, chili chocolate ice-cream, hot dogs buns that are a bit old, quorn in different shapes (filets, mince and cut up pieces) and ice
5 things in my wardrobe: clothes, these clever transparent shoe boxes, gifts for family and friends, our bed cover (it probably spends more time there than on the bed) and pile of clothes that need mending
5 things in my bathroom cupboard: face peeling from Kerstin Florian I should use more often considering the price, a very empty deodorant (forgot to buy a new one today again!), thin floss from Oral B, YSL Elle perfume, day and night creams from Oriflame AND LOTS OF OTHER STUFF!

FIVES
5 places where I lived: Södertälje (hometown), Pittsburgh, London, Oxford and Brussels
5 jobs I have had: paper and mail delivery, supply controller (logistics), political campaigner, consultant, desk officer
5 things in my handbag: access card for work, log in thingy for Internet banking, purse, umbrella, lip balm, keys
5 things in my car: FM radio transmitter for mp3, CDs, napkins, change and umbrellas

Then to the SHOW & TELL from Friday which I haven't managed to produce yet even though I'm the hostess this month at all!

If I could change careers, I would...
I haven't actually thought that seriously about this as I'm pretty happy with my choice of education, qualifications and career although I have to confess I constantly think about changing jobs, albeit within my field. I think I have mentioned this before but my boyfriend calls me the most disloyal employee since I always think of where to go next! That being so, it doesn't mean that I don't give every job 110%. But I do think a lot about the future and where I would work next. There are so many jobs I would want to do and so little time to do it!

But if I changed paths completely I would:

• Train to become a police officer. My boyfriend looked at me strangely when I told him but it's true, I have thought about it somewhat seriously. What appeals to me I think is partly the "doing something for society" and partly the being out and about meeting people. Or perhaps it's the gun and feeling authoritarian in uniform, I don't know! What doesn't appeal to me though is the three-year training. However, when I see police in the streets in Sweden I feel reassured that they have such thorough training - in the UK it only takes two or three months to qualify!
• Start my own consultancy within my field of expertise. Well, I guess this wouldn't be a change of career completely, but I would imagine that running one's own business is quite different from being a "regular" employee. I have tried the private sector already and I wouldn't mind going back after a 20-year career in the public sector. I would do something where I could mix the two sectors, i.e. political consulting or helping companies apply for public funding; the latter is what I did as an consultant. In the interface between the public and the private sector.
• Open up a café. Self-explanatory I guess. Would be fun to run it with a friend who really enjoyed cooking and baking. I would do the running of the business part and my friend the actual work hehehehe... We would also - although this has been done thousands of times before - promote local artists by displaying their works on the walls and selling them to our customers.
• Rent out prams/strollers/pushchairs at airports. This is an idea that a commentator over at Skolfröken's blog mentioned and I can't believe no one has thought of and/or realised it before (or perhaps they have but I don't know about it?). I don't have any children yet but I have many friends that do and I've heard them complain about how they don't like the travel with pram because they often get broken in the handling. So why not offer a pram rental service at the airport! Just book online as you would with a car and pick up by bagage. Return at the same or another airport!