Just another silly survey

I ran across this survey on my Tumblr dashboard, and question 3 really intrigued me.  Here’s what I wrote and what I wanted to expand.

1. Ten years ago I was:

um… 13.  I don’t remember much about being 13 except that it was the first year I was officially a teenager.  I don’t even remember what grade I was in.

2. Five things on today’s to do list:

• Start reading Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good by Sarah Lacy.  Why?  Because I don’t want to sound stupid at her book signing… it’s also a quick/interesting read.
• Figure out how to post stuff to a newspaper’s event section.
• Design clipping for the office.
• Eat Jambalaya (I’m going to enjoy this one!).
• Lotion.  I’ve been cracking lately.

3. Things I’d do if I were a billionaire:

• Quit my job and travel world wide
• Invest 70% of wealth… and make those Wharton suits clamor for the account
• Give away 15% to charity
  • 2-3% for immediate aid to Chinese quake victims
    • UPDATED: Whoohoo to my Chinese peoples!  The tragedy levels are through the roof but so are the influx of heart felt stories.  Honestly, I feel like the morals taught in China give way to so many many tales of self sacrifice that is often hard to find in the States.  That’s a gross generalization I completely agree, but I still feel that way.
    • My mom told me and I saw on the news that Chinese Americans all over are gathering money for aid.  No one gave $5, $10, or $20 bills.  They were all hundreds.  My dad said that all the MDs at MD Anderson Cancer Center (go #1!) write checks in thousands.  If there’s really that much wrong with China, do you think Chinese Americans who have left would really do that?
  • 2-3% for infrastructure in Southeast Asia such as schools, roads, etc.
    • UPDATED: I haven’t quite studied Southeast Asia to the extend I’m very comfortable speaking to the aid needed.  I do know that I definitely want to establish schools in Culcutta; roads, telephones, etc. for entrepreneurs in somewhat recently war torn Cambodia; and a cultural reestablishment program for smaller villages in the Pacific Islands that see many of their young ones leaving for the cities.
  • 2-3% for research/set up (including initial investment and education) on developing sustainable economic/social development in subsaharan africa- especially areas that are facing desertification
    • UPDATED: It’s the story of give a man a fish vs. teaching him to fish.  I don’t believe that the OECDs giving Africa sustained aid will help anyone except the OECDs.  What needs to happen is business investment, especially in the areas battling drought.  I don’t mean oil, at least not when profits are paid to the government and not the locals.  More so, I want to see development such as textile mills in Zambia with heavy subsedies to combat the learning curve and influx of cheaper goods pouring in from abroad.  A documentary on PBS called T-Shirt Travels explains how 98% of T-shirts donated in the U.S. get shipped and resold in Africa, which is why so many random kids are wearing Michael Jackson tees.  The people who make money are the import/exporters, not your local Salvation Army and most definitely not the half starving young men/boys who are selling the shirts.
    • Additionally, to help with the lack of food, bring in the irrigation technology that I think many Middle Easterns have used in their desert areas.  It creates job and food, but I’m still trying to work on the expensive variable cost component.
  • 2-3% to aids work in Botswana/South Africa
    • UPDATED: Obviously, pills!  Lots and lots and lots of pills!  Pills that would cost us $2 but is worth a weeks of food for whatever reason.  And you know what?  I’d also fund an illegal clinic to reproduce AIDS drugs, and if the pharmas choose to sue, there will be a $500k endowment formed specifically to pay the lawyers.  If large companies can afford to stay in the court system for a decade, then they should be able to take it.
    • I also want to start a fund that take young Africans in Botswana, South Africa, etc. and put them through schooling/college and medical school.  The caviat is that they must go back to their communities and volunteer with an AIDS program after graduation.  This is a form of giving back and having Africans give aid to Africans.  I think it would hugely boost the self-esteem of the nations, who so often see foreigners coming in to assist.  Hopefully, the program will also reverse the brain drain.
  • 2-3% to women’s education in Afghanistan/Tibet/Asia minor… only if they want it and discreetly in Islamic countries
    • UPDATED: I pretty much know nothing about Asia minor/former USSR countries/the far off side of China, but I do remember seeing something about kidnapping a bride as a tradition in one of the -stans (I think it was Kyrgyzstan).  The women are usually in tears, and the mother-in-law convinces them it’s okay after about a day or two of crying, and these women simply “adapt.”  That’s just fucked up.  Sorry, I’m usually not one to bash another’s traditions, but hell to the fuck no!  That’s just my personal opinion though.  The point is to increase education, not “Westernize” the culture. 
  • 2-3% to weapons manufacturing and training in Darfur and Eastern Chad.  The UN isn’t going to do much, so at least people shouldn’t starve/should be able to defend themselves/be empowered to take control and fight their way back home.
    • UPDATED: This is a very temporary solution.  Two wrongs don’t make a right, etc. etc.  However, if these people are in refugees camps wasting away in fear and crap food, they might as well have the option to fight back.  This is a temporary fix, but the political situation is so tense, that refugees may be displaced for years, even decades. 
• Give 10% to parents and relatives
• Spend 5% on me
• Use my new found wealth to pressure NGOs and give speaking power to developing nations, whose interests often get overlooked during UN/IMF, etc. decision. 

4. Three bad habits:

• Being inpatient
• Shoe fanatic
• Being a huge procrastinator

5. Six places I’ve lived:

• Hefei, China
• Goettingen, Germany
• Houston, Texas
• Philadelphia, PA
• San Mateo, CA
• Oakland, CA

6. Six jobs I’ve had in my life:

• Hostess, Papasitos
• Activist, PennEnvironment
• Research Assistant, The Wharton School 
• Marketing Intern, Agilent
• Volunteer, Kimmel Center
• Director of Marketing, MSI
• Currently: Senior Marketing Specialist, SHIFT Communications