...and once again the week turns to a Friday, and one that was long time in coming. Again, it felt like this week took forever and a day to get here. There were a few days where I surfaced from my office thinking it was time for lunch and it was still breakfast time. We’re talking 8am folks.

Today, hopefully, won't go so slowly, since there's a company meeting around lunchtime. Oooo. Free pizza. But it does mean that I get to bail out for the day after the meeting, since it's so close to home. And supposedly there's a new company giveaway that was based on our jacket sizes from Sundance.

Pity, I can't remember if my jacket was too big or not. And they said we could wear them to the meeting... denim shirt? Another windbreaker? Ah, only time will tell, if they bring things to *this* office, since the email only mentioned the corporate office (I work at the sometimes "red-headed stepchild" part of the organization - Operations).

In the past, July 29 has turned out to be a lucky day for me, so maybe I'll pick up a lottery ticket and hope for the best, and I'm going to hope that it's a denim shirt for me...

Anyway, to wrap up the week, it’s the Friday Forum, and it’s got lots of really good questions. Which usually means one of two things here – either I’ll have lots of really long answers, or lots of "Uh, I’m not sure." I guess you’ll just have to read on and see if you learn anything new about me today.

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1) You are given $1,000,000, but here's the catch: You must either a) donate it anonymously to a charity or b) give it to a stranger. Which option would you choose, and why? How would you dispose of the money?

I certainly wouldn’t donate it to a perfect stranger, because I don’t know what the person would do with it. I don’t know if they have family, or are homeless, or don’t need the money in the first place or would be wasteful with it.

So I’d rather give it anonymously to a charity – which is how I think donations should be handled. Why bother with giving your name, unless you are giving it in the memory of someone else who benefited, or would have benefited, from that charity. I don’t like those massive contributions given by one millionaire or another and the press releases around it, etc. That’s just an attention grabber, a bragging rights sort of thing.

Something like $1 million should be given without fanfare or acknowledgement because it’s the pleasure of the gift and the knowledge that it will go to help someone who needs it that is the best reward. Not the publicity.

So yes, I’d give anonymously to charity. Maybe to breast cancer, maybe to abused women and children… don’t know. I’d have to do some more research on the charity that I would want to grant the money too as well, to make sure that they are one that actually does something with the money and isn’t using it to pad executive salaries of those in the organization.

2) If you could have free, unlimited service for the rest of your life from an extremely good chef, chauffeur, landscaper/gardener, housekeeper, masseuse, or personal assistant, which would you choose? Why?

Oh, that’s a really tough one. You wound me with these questions. Well, let’s pick out what I wouldn’t need.

I don’t need a good chef. I am a good chef, so that’s one off the list.

I don’t need a personal assistant, because I have good time management skills and even though there are a lot of things going on, I can still manage them effectively. Well, mostly effectively. Certainly well enough that I don’t need a personal assistant.

While a chauffer is tempting, I think I’ll pass on that too. I rather like driving my Jeep myself, and really, a town car or a limo is really rather pretentious. So is having a simple car (like an Acura or a Lexus) and having someone drive you everywhere – which I have seen myself, but it was the personal assistant that drove the car. So, no chauffer.

Now it gets difficult. A masseuse, gardener or a housekeeper. In terms of personal satisfaction, I think I’d rather have the masseuse, but that would be a mostly selfish wish. Unless everyone else in the family could use the masseuse. But really, I just have mouse arm/shoulder, and that’s rare because I work it out at the gym.

So, I guess it all boils down into the last two. My front and back yards certainly do need some work. And I could do that work myself, except it needs money and time – two things that I am lacking at the moment, since we’re going to get the house painted. Oh, and a desire for gardening (something that I am lacking). And I don’t think that I’d do anything so high maintenance that would require a full time gardener. Nor would I want to change the landscaping every year – if it works, why break it?

There you have it. I need a housekeeper for the rest of my life. I hate housework and there’s *always* housework to be done. But I can tell you for sure that any housekeeper that I have would get fed well – assuming that they were a live in. I don’t think I could handle one of those services coming in all the time, unless I really trusted them.

3) Do your close friends tend to be older or younger than you? Do you feel that you relate better to people who are older than you, younger than you, or the same age? Why?

My close friends are a mix of older and younger and same age. Age really doesn’t matter – it comes down to interests, compatibility, and frame of mind. Someone who is my own age might not interest me at all as a friend if they’re obsessed with something like a teenager is, or handle issues childishly. Likewise, someone years older (or younger) might be a great friend because of the compassion with which they deal with issues.

Nothing’s a deal breaker when it comes to friends – it’s just a matter of how you respect each other and communicate with each other. And that transcends age every time.

4) Would you generally rather be overdressed or underdressed at a party?

Well, while either would be uncomfortable, I think I’d rather be a little overdressed at a party than be underdressed, although it depends on the definition and the extreme. I could get away with really nice dress slacks at a black tie sort of affair depending on what I paired with it and not be considered too underdressed. But someone in jeans and a tshirt at such a party *would* be noticed.

Believe me, I’ve seen it.

I’ve also seen tuxedos at business casual events, and that didn’t quite seem as out of turn as someone who is underdressed. Although a tux at a company picnic *would* be rather extreme.

Long story short – overdressed. Definitely. You could always make the excuse that you either came from another function or are about to go to another function if someone comments on it.

5) If you could magically project yourself into the future but NEVER return, would you do it? How about if you could take someone along? Who would you take? How far into the future would you go?

Oh. Never return. I just don’t know – I’d miss seeing my girls grow up. Of course I could find out *how* they turned out, but what if something happened that I could have prevented by being around for them. It’s a chancy proposition. Now, if I could take DH and both girls with me, then yeah, I just might consider it.

As for how far in the future could I go? At least a couple of generations worth, but if I resurfaced with my same IDs that could be slightly disturbing. Then again, maybe my net worth will have gone up during that time and I *could* afford to donate a large sum anonymously. Or maybe I’d do that before I leapt into the future so that I could see how it was spent later on.

Ah, so many possibilities…

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Anyway, that’s it for this week, and there’s a weekend filled with possibilities ahead of me. I hope the same holds true for you.