Tagged by a Blogger Socialite...

This weekend, I'll be taking part in a large gathering of marketing bloggers in NYC. The event is called Blogger Social and I'm extremely excited to be participating. Not only am I going to be surrounded by the best minds in marketing, but I'll be able to engage them in conversation, ask questions and have many opportunities to learn.

I was tagged last week by Mark Goren, of Transmission Marketing, to tell the other attendees a little bit about myself. Since I've never been tagged before (and I'm probably the least-known of the group), I decided to take part in the 4x4 challenge. Thanks for thinking of me Mark and I hope this helps as a get-to-know-Tara primer.

4 jobs I've had:

• Starbuck's barista...This seems to be the new coming-of-age job. Once you've made coffee for other people, you'll either become a coffee snob (never leaving your house for a latte) or extremely empathetic towards those currently working as baristas (meaning that you are a big tipper and don't order the ridiculous drinks). I'm most definitely the latter.
• 7th grade Language Arts teacher...You have to be a little crazy to teach middle school.
• Tech support...I worked in a corporate call center, helping customers with web and phone conferencing issues. Most of the time it was a pop-up blocker or a fat-finger problem. Realized the importance of humor when dealing with angry customers.
• Pub manager...After this job, I learned that working with beer everyday isn't all it's cracked up to be. Realized the importance of humor when dealing with drunk customers.

4 places I've been that I absolutely loved:

• Barcelona, Spain...It was my first solo backpacking trip and at the age of 21, one of the best things I could have done for myself.
• John Muir Trail...Nothing like a 211-mile hike through the Sierra Nevada mountains, ending with a sunrise ascent of Mt. Whitney. (So this really constitutes many places, but I couldn't just pick one part of the trail!)
• Grand Gulch, Utah...My first time backpacking through canyons with primitive ruins. Amazing geology, history and energy.
• My bed...Seriously. Absolutely love it there.

4 music artists that I'm listening to now:

• Stars...This band was recommended by a Canadian friend and I can't wait to see them perform in Boulder at the end of April.
• LCD Soundsystem...These guys help me with my long-distance runs. I saw them open for Arcade Fire at Red Rocks last summer and it was one of the best live shows I've ever seen.
• Spoon...I haven't stopped listening since finding this band two years ago.
• These United States...A very recent discovery from a good friend who is promoting the band and got me on a few lists to see them perform at SXSW.

4 of my favorite foods:

• broccoli...doesn't matter how it's prepared or with what
• almonds...same deal as above
• blueberries...as often as possible
• dark chocolate...once again, the specifics aren't important

So there you have it. Not anything extremely deep or insightful but enough material to start a conversation, if you happen to find yourself in such a situation. I'm only tagging those people that I think will not respond because it will be that much funnier if they do...Leslie, Derek, Daniel and Walter, please feel free to prove me wrong and tell us a little more about yourselves.

(Also, just to be clear, you can pick any four topics that you like.)

Comments

[Mark Goren]

Thanks for playing along, Tara. One more question for you, though: What's the one song you'd like to hear on Saturday night at BS08?

Head on over and join the playlist: http://transmissionmarketing.ca/?p=377

[Todd Vernon]

Hmm, I love broccoli and dark chocolate, like blueberry's, almonds are just ok...

[Derek]

Okay, challenge accepted. I hope they don't have to be too current, since I haven't listened to too much new music lately.

4 music artists I'm listening to now:

1. Minus the Bear - Tara rates this a "meh" on first listen, but I really like them. Reminds me of Hot Hot Heat. That's not a bad thing.
2. Pinback - One of my favorite bands. I'm making a mixtape of which they and my next item feature heavily.
3. Pavement - Hands down my favorite band.
4. Boards of Canada - great ambient music. I listen to this a lot when I want to space out at work and write code.

[Derek]

Oh... any 4 topics total, or any one of the four topics in your post?

[Tara Anderson]

Derek, I should have included instructions on what to do once I've tagged you. I just assumed that you knew what I was doing and how it worked. Daniel had never heard of it before either so here's what you do: You post your answers on your blog. Since the tag is called 4X4, you can pick any four topics and write four things about it.

It's like an icebreaker for bloggers. And although I feel like I know you pretty well, I thought this might be a fun thing to do for your stalkers out there. Don't ever say I didn't give you content for your blog, mmmmmkay?

[Julie]

I was at that Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem concert at the Red Rocks, and I totally agree. LCD Sound Systems totally blew me away, but I never get feel like it's captured in their albums. I felt a bit of the reverse for Arcade Fire.