20 Questions!

[karen]

I thought it might be fun to get to know everyone a bit better! I found this thread on another forum I'm on, and it was so much fun I thought we might give it a go.
1. Where are you from?
2. Where is that exactly?
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag!
4. What decade were you born?
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have!
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they?
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been?
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have?
9. What are your pet peeves?
10. What are your hobbies?

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place?
12. What do you do for a living?
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation?
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors?
15. What are your favourite lip colors?
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)?
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse?
18. Do you have any kids/pets?
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally?
20. What's the strangest job you ever had?

1. Where are you from? Upstate New York
2. Where is that exactly? Kind of the middle of nowhere...about an hour from Syracuse in the Finger Lakes Region.
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! It's really beautiful here- lots of trees, great hiking, lakes, Cornell and Ithaca College are here so there's usually something interesting happening.
4. What decade were you born? 70's
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! I can eat fire (went to circus camp as a kid).
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? Pretty much just English at this point. I used to speak French, and a bit of Hebrew/Yiddish- but not so much anymore. DH is Finnish, and I can count to 3, and say "cheeseburger" (juustohampurilainen)- the signs at McDonald's in Finland are HUGE.
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? If you're not much of a traveler- where would you like to go? Yes, we love to travel. I've been to every state on the East Coast, a lot of Eastern Canada, France, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Monaco, England (I didn't get a lot of time in most of them...but we did drive through quite a handful on our last vacation). I'd love to go to India.

8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? Not usually- my mornings are pretty much dedicated to consuming as much caffeine as possible.
9. What are your pet peeves? I'm actually pretty laid-back- not much really bugs me- I'm too busy to get annoyed!
10. What are your hobbies? I knit, read, play with the dogs, occasionally I go through phases where I enjoy cooking.

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? I saw an infomercial for Sheer Cover, and it kind of went from there.
12. What do you do for a living? I own SN.
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? Dry, with a flat-top.
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? I like either really sparkley, flashy "drag queen" colors, or really "blah" mattes.
15. What are your favourite lip colors? I'm a serious ho- but if I had to pick I'd say reds.
16. Are you bad at anything? I'm an awful athlete- really, seriously bad, and I can't carry a tune in a bucket. Oh, and I'm not so hot with computer type things.
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? Yes, 10 years! My favorite thing is that he's here- dependable, reliable, and sweet.
18. Do you have any kids/pets? 2 crazy Boston Terriers- Bitsy 7 months old, and our newest addition Suzie- her mother, who's almost 8. No kids yet.
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? I have a lot...mainly I use the flat top, fiber optic, and the ultimate eye shadow brush- but I also really like the flat eye shadow brush.
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? I've had quite a few strange ones...but I guess professional envelope stuffer is up there.

[lairkeeper]

1. Where are you from? Grand ole South Carolina
2. Where is that exactly? I'm in the Upstate area of the state...
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! Not far from the mountains, not far from the coast. The bible belt is a bit tight her for my liking but I do love living here.
4. What decade were you born? In the Seventies. And would you believe that one of my mom's friends still calls me "Butterfly"? If you saw all 5'10" inches of Amazon woman that I am you would see the humor in this...
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! I can learn to do anything. I make soap,make jewelry and knit and I taught myself how to do it all from the net. I read like a mad woman and can speed read. This comes in handy when playing games that require reading clues because I can read the clue and formulate an answer before others can even finish reading. People usually only play this type of game with me ONCE
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? English and southern...but I want to learn latin..need to find a course for that online...
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? I love to travel, but usually don't have the funds...But I've been to Mexico and New Orleans (I love New Orleans)
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? Coffee and cigarettes...i need to stop smoking
9. What are your pet peeves? A disorganized flatware drawer...it's an illness
10. What are your hobbies? Learning stuff off the net...lol

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? Those mind numbing BE infomercials...never bought the stuff though, I'm too cheap for that
12. What do you do for a living? I'm the manager of a small loan office
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? Flat top dry
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? Purples and neutrals
15. What are your favourite lip colors? Purples and neutrals...lol...I see a pattern
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)? LOL..my husband say's I'm bad at asking for help...I guess that means I'm really bad at relinquishing control
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? I am married and he's wonderful in so many ways that you'd wanna choke me if I listed them...I'mma spoiled brat
18. Do you have any kids/pets? We've got 2 kids (Alix-girl 13 and Sean-boy 12), 2 cats (Phantom and Mystic-both 10 years old this past October) and 2 Border Collies (Cookie 2 and Starr 1)
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? Ummm...counting on fingers....usually 7 on a normal morning, 9 if I'm in a dress up mood
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? Hmmm..I've had a couple...I was a Waffle House waitress in high school, I've sold sex toys, but the strangest way I've ever made money was with a character named "Flo the Trailer Park Floozie". She's kinda like the anti-stripper that appears at bachelor parties and birthdays to embarrass and harass (rather than titillate) the guest of honor. She's quite an unattractive lady and her manners are really bad. But she's made me some good money when she takes possession of my body.

[JenW]

1. Where are you from? Originally, farm country Illinois. Now, suburbia in Ohio
2. Where is that exactly? Right smack dab in the middle of the US
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! Hmmmmmm, lots of farmland and farm critters...
4. What decade were you born? 70's, very early
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! I can plumb the gas (helium, nitrogen, and hydrogen) required to run a Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer. (IOW, I am a true chemistry geek.)
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? English....I took Russian in college and was pretty good, but without use, I lost it.
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? Not a big traveller, but loved the southwest US, Yellowstone, NYC, Boston. I hope to someday get to Napa, Europe, and Hawaii.
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? yes, usually some kind of eggs, and lots of coffee
9. What are your pet peeves? People who can never admit they were wrong, and 'I'm sorry' is not in their vocabulary.
10. What are your hobbies? sewing, knitting, crochet, general crafting, reading

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? I wanted to try BE, but online research pointed me elsewhere
12. What do you do for a living? SN Offsite Gopher (and I love it!)
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? Swirly bowl, dry, with a kabuki
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? Understated highlights, purples, pale pinks. Dramatic liners.
15. What are your favourite lip colors? Nudes and Plums
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)? Keeping up with the house cleaning....being home with the kids for so long lead me to lower my standards for the sake of my sanity.
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? Married 15 years, he takes very good care of all of us.
18. Do you have any kids/pets? 2 kids (12yoDD, 10yoDS), 2 cats
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? Daily: Kabuki, fiber optic, eyeshadow bush, crease brush, eyeliner brush
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? Besides one where I take pictures of my arm over and over? Glass cutter and glazier

[Cupcake]

1. Where are you from? The Scottish Hebrides
2. Where is that exactly? According to the song, "On The Edge Of The World".
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! "They write songs about how beautiful it is here - over the sea to Skye - that is, when it's not raining or thick with tourists and midgies (biting insects)
4. What decade were you born? early 70s
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! I can learn anything quickly. I'm not naturally skilled at anything else, but I can absorb and retain information very well.
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? english, french, high school latin (not spoken, obviously, it's written) with have some handy Hungarian phrases
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? never had the chance yet, but I would adore it.
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? I'm dairy intolerant and shouldn't eat wheat - so yeah, latte and toast it is! hehe.
9. What are your pet peeves? people who think that they are more important than others - even interrupting someone speaking says "what I have to say is more important than what you have to say". God loves us all, it'd be good if we could learn to treat each other with that equal value
10. What are your hobbies? I'm a musician. Spent a couple years working on a travel photography website so I loved doing online research on obscure places. I'm improving my cooking and if I could wish for a hobby, I'd wish for the athletic physique that would enable me to mountain climb. Someday, eh. I come alive revelling in the glory of nature.

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? frustration. Couldn't find foundation pale enough in 'high street' brands
12. What do you do for a living? Currently I get about $140 per week total income from Her Majesty as 'welfare' for being the registered, full-time carer for a sick relative. (plus rent paid). Previously I specialised in advocacy and communications. I was the office manager for the International HQ of a political lobbying charity that worked to represent agriculture, the environment and promoted sustainable investment in disadvantaged European peripheral rural areas. I spent 15 years from age 16 to 30 fighting a chronic illness - some years I couldn't walk, some years wild horses couldn't hold me back from trying to live life to the full - so I've not had the chance to establish a career yet as I've only been recovered a few years - but I've had a lot of short term and eye-opening jobs during that time - almost all directly representing people in advocacy work or training personnel in leisure industry management. It has been said that I have been paid to argue for a living
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? Same as Jen, swirly bowl, flat top kabuki for heavy coverage or round headed kabuki for lighter coverage.
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? soft shimmers in neutral colours - I like delicate complexity that flatters rather than Colour with a capital C. Style over fashion, preferably.
15. What are your favourite lip colors? deep berry tones in a sheer veil of glossy colour. I'd love to pull off a red lip but I don't have the pout for it.
16. Are you bad at anything ? Sometimes I lack the tenacity needed to really breakthrough but that's a bad attitude hanging over from the frustrations of being ill.
17. Are you married? I'm single at the moment but have had moments that'll still make me smile when I'm old.
18. you have any kids/pets? I had cats for the last 30 years. At the moment, just one new baby kitten.
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? I have a set of Ultimate brushes that I'd struggle to do without but my cherished burhses are from a discontinued brand and it's got a large fluffy finishing brish that's joyous and tickly.
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? a one day assignment to monitor the rate of water flowing through sewage pipes and calculate the capacity of the aged rural system before it needed replacing - ever wanted to guess how much 'waste' a home produces? Yuck.

[clivia]

1. Where are you from? Gothenburg, Sweden
2. Where is that exactly? Northern Europe, Gothenburg is on the west coast in the southern parts of Sweden.
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! Well Gothenburg is Sweden's second largest city, it's still quite small and has a cosy small town feeling. It's by the sea and has a beautiful archipelago.
4. What decade were you born? 80's, about 3 months in.
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! I can touch my nose with my tongue I can also put matches in my nostrils using my tongue.
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? 2,5. Swedish, English, tourist French.
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? I absolutely do. I've been to all the Nordic countries, England, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Italy, Greece, USA, Sri Lanka, Thailand. I'd love to go to South America, India, Japan and a few more Asian countries.
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? I don't function without food in the morning and usually have a BIG breakfast. I love eggs, boiled, scrambled, omelette, pancakes, whatever. I also eat yoghurt, sourdough bread, avocado, some sort of dried ham and drink tea with milk, at least 2 large cups.
9. What are your pet peeves? People how drive to slow, actually people that do anything stuff slowly makes me crazy.
10. What are your hobbies? Gardening, knitting, cooking, music and reading.

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? I've never been a fan of putting wet stuff on my face so when I found minerals I was in heaven.
12. What do you do for a living? Look pretty I used to be a gardener, but a few work related accidents put an end to that sadly. Right now I'm trying to figure out what I wanna be when I grow up.
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? Dry, I pretty much use different type of brushes every day.
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? Shimmery and matte neutrals.
15. What are your favourite lip colors? Depends on my mood. I love red lips, but I also like plummy glossy lips.
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)? Mathematics and keeping my mouth shut.
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? No, but I live with my bf of 3 years. I don't think I'm the marrying kind. The best thing about him is that he's my total opposite. We complement each other perfectly. And it doesn't hurt that he makes me pancakes before I even have to ask.
18. Do you have any kids/pets? No but I'm working on it.
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? OMG, brushes is my weakness. I have about 55 and I use them all.
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? I've never really had a strange job, but to me selling furniture felt strange.

[lcash]

Ok, I'll give it a shot.

1. Where are you from? Originally, Massachusetts. Currently, Northern Utah.
2. Where is that exactly? 25 miles north of Salt Lake City, 50 miles south of the Wyoming border.
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! Beautiful mountains, fantastic skiing (major resorts 30 min from the house.) Lots of sun, low humidity.
4. What decade were you born? 50's
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! Playing congas, bongos and tambourines in church orchestra
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? English, basic Spanish, rusty French.
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? Yes. East coast Maine to NY; West coast San Diego to Canada; lived in Puerto Rico; explored Wyoming, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Arizona; cruises to Alaska (the BEST!) and western Caribbean
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? Yup. Slimfast. Always in a hurry in the morning.
9. What are your pet peeves? People who keep everyone waiting; calories; obnoxious laughter; cell phones ringing in church, concerts, et. al.
10. What are your hobbies? Critters (cats, dogs, horses, tropical fish); reading, crocheting, listening to/singing/playing music

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? Tried "free samples" on a whim. Found SN and never turned back (it's been several years)
12. What do you do for a living? junior high school counselor
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? Flat-top kabuki
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? purples, gator green, pinks and the "wild" ones that change color
15. What are your favourite lip colors? Soft pinks, plums
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)? keeping up with friends/relatives. My Christmas newsletter usually goes out in June - if at all.
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? Yup. He spoils me rotten.
18. Do you have any kids/pets? One married son, see above for pets.
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? At least 6
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? Selling "lifetime guarantee"pots and pans door to door to people who couldn't afford it.

[zooeyblue]

1. Where are you from? Originally, East TN; Now, South Carolina
2. Where is that exactly? Upstate, very close to Lairkeeper, who is quite lovely and does not seem THAT tall in person!
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! I can wear my sandals most of the year--it was in the 70's today. I really hate cold weather--can you tell?
4. What decade were you born? early 70's
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! I'm good with tools and am picky about others borrowing anything from my toolbox
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? English and "Southern"
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? Not so much . . . I like driving, when the trip is more important than the destination
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? Sweet tea and cereal with soymilk or a muffin
9. What are your pet peeves? People who pronounce Appalachia "Appa-lay-sha"
10. What are your hobbies? reading, jewelry making
11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? I liked the idea of BE, but could not afford it.
12. What do you do for a living? English, etc. instructor at a technical college
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? dry with a Stila brush (I know--it is not vegan, but I love this brush; when it dies, I will buy a vegan one, promise!)
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? Purrr (big fan of Kitten until I found Purrr!)
15. What are your favourite lip colors? corals, reds, warm pinks
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)? Ditto on keeping up with the house cleaning; I fight my packrat gene daily . . .
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? Happily divorced but semi-attached. That's a complicated story that I'd rather not get into at the moment!
18. Do you have any kids/pets? 1daughter (8) and Frankie the cat
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? Probably 5-10, depending on "the look"; I have many . . .
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? For me, bank teller. I became really great at mumbling curses under my breath while working at the drive through window, and then looking up to brightly chirp, "Have a nice day, y'all!"

[chaye]

1. Where are you from? Singapore.
2. Where is that exactly? 1 degree north of the equator.
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! Singapore is just a tiny city state, 3.5x the size of D.C., I live near the city center. Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia are my neighbors.
4. What decade were you born? Mid 70s
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! I can cook out of the recipe book pretty well even if I have never cooked the dish before.
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? 2 - English and Mandarin, plus a smattering of dialects.
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? Yes!!! US - CA, NY City, Yellowstone, Hawaii, Philly, UK - Edinburgh, London, Wales, Italy - Florence, Venice, Rome, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia.
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? Yes. Toast with peanut butter, marmite or jam. Sometimes local food like noodles and porridge (rice cooked with lots of water)
9. What are your pet peeves? Apartment must be spick and span, cannot stand untidiness.
10. What are your hobbies? Reading, swimming laps.

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? When conventional makeup started working against my skin, plus those BE informercials.
12. What do you do for a living? Housewife with 2 young children.
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? Swirly bowl, kabuki, dry.
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? Picnic, Idolize, Harvest, Charmed.
15. What are your favourite lip colors? Nudes and Reds
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)? Bad at directions, no sense of direction at all.
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? Yes. He makes me see the best in every situation.
18. Do you have any kids/pets? 2 kids - 1 boy and 1 girl, no pets.
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? 4 brushes
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? Going through death certificates and updating the deceased particulars into a database.

[packgal]

It's been fun to read about everyone!
Zooey--how do you say Appalachia correctly? I'm afraid I've been saying it wrong!

1. Where are you from? Mostly the Western US...born in Las Vegas, lived in Albuquerque, and finished with high school in Salt Lake City. Currently I live in a suburb of Cleveland.
2. Where is that exactly? In the frigid northeast Ohio-land
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! I love the foilage here, but can't stand the winters anymore...next July we will be moving back West (likely to Colorado) and I can't wait!
4. What decade were you born? Just made it into the 80s
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! Playing with my makeup stash
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? English mostly. I understand alot of Spanish (thanks to high school) but can't really say anything
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? I do like to travel, but haven't been many places. I've been to about 35/50 states (mostly I need to see more of the South). Recently went to China (awesome); also been to Canada and Mexico...
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? If I don't eat breakfast I am one grumpy girl. I usually just grab cereal, toast, or a granola bar.
9. What are your pet peeves? When the overhead light doesn't come on when I open the car door and it's dark. Bugs me so bad.
10. What are your hobbies? Reading, Cooking, Sewing

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? Those BE infomercials...but never bought any of that expensive stuff, thank goodness
12. What do you do for a living? I'm a physician--in my last year of residency training to be a pediatric dr.
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? dry, with a swirly bowl, using a big jumbo buffer kabuki
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? ALL kinds--although I usually don't do neutrals--I like them, but if I take the time to put on e/s, I like it to stand out
15. What are your favourite lip colors? Anything that's not too dark
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)? I'm bad at not worrying about things...also not so good at sports
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? I am married. The best thing about my spouse is how supportive he is and how often he tells me he loves me.
18. Do you have any kids/pets? 2 furkids (kitties)--they're real characters.
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? For just a fast face in the morning (no eyeshadow)--3. if i do a full face, I use about 9.
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? I managed alot of mice for a year when I worked in a diabetes research lab. I kind of grew to like the little guys.

[darkhairedgirl]

Ooh, this is fun!
1. Where are you from? Born in Chicago, went to college in Arkansas, but spent most of my life in Colorado.
2. Where is that exactly? I'm about an hour's drive from the mountains.
3. Tell us about that state/area! Time to brag! People come to vacation here in Colorado, but I'm lucky enough to live here! We've got skiing, snowboarding, hiking, fishing, camping- lots of fun stuff!
4. What decade were you born? in the 1980's. Yes I wore scrunchies, big t-shirts, and hot pink.
5. Tell us about a (perhaps completely useless) MAD skill you have! I can wiggle my ears! I can wiggle them separately or together.
6. How many languages do you speak? What are they? Just one. I know a little bit of Spanish (un poquito!), too.
7. Do you like to travel? Where have you been? I love to travel! I've only ever been to Mexico, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. I have sooo many places I want to visit, though!
8. Do you eat breakfast? What do you usually have? I try to. I have a super fast metabolism and get hungry every 2 hours or so. I mostly eat oatmeal for breakfast- it's good for ya! Steel cut oats are the best.
9. What are your pet peeves? Hmm, bad drivers, mostly.
10. What are your hobbies? I like to crochet, read, scrapbook, hike, play with makeup...

11. What got you into mineral makeup in the first place? Like many of the other gals, I saw a late night infomercial about it. It intrigued me, so I bought some from the drugstore, then went online to do some research on it.
12. What do you do for a living? I'm a dental hygienist- I clean peoples' teeth.
13. How do you personally apply mineral foundation? Dry, with a kabuki brush.
14. What are your favourite eye shadow colors? I love pearly ones- ones with depth and different colors in it are my favorite!
15. What are your favourite lip colors? You know, I usually just use Blistex, but I have a feeling that's about to change...
16. Are you bad at anything (you can totally say no....everyone knows most SN girls are perfect in every way)? Oh geez- singing. It's bad... really, really bad.
17. Are you married? What's your favorite thing about your spouse? Yes! We're coming up on our two year anniversary. I love that my spouse is more laid back than me, super funny, and very sweet and affectionate!
18. Do you have any kids/pets? No kids, but we have a bird named Baby (she's the one in my avatar pic) and a fish named Sushi.
19. How many makeup brushes are you using personally? Um.. A lot. Usually 5-6, more if I do a more complicated eye look.
20. What's the strangest job you ever had? Hm... lab assistant in college. It involved taking care of mice and cleaning up/killing off Drosophila (fruit flies).