International tag ...

... I have a feeling I may have done this before but Ilva’s tagged me, and I’ve not much else to do but blow my nose so – here we go ...
Four jobs I've had:
1. Runner for the TAB. I drove a huge white station wagon to all the TAB outlets in town, dropping off stuff, papers something to do with horse racing. It kept me busy, I improved my driving and finding places skills and they paid me via my very own telephone betting account (rather than into a bank account). I’d walk up to the betting shop each week and empty it, never laid a bet in my life!
2. Journalist (Reporter & Sub Editor, several newspapers). First real job out of uni and had fun for a while but (a) you find news reporting is very cyclical (b) even way back then “news” was beginning to become entertainment (c) subs work at NIGHT which is fine, unless your beloved works during the DAY!
3. Deputy Registrar of a local court – Well I started out at the front counter, being told I’d “ruined” some kid’s xmas because I told some bloke (who asked what would happen if he didn’t pay his fines) that each $100 was a day in the lock up and I couldn’t guarantee the police wouldn’t knock on his door that weekend. And I ended up signing eviction warrants – yes, my soul (such that it is) had shriveled to the size of a pea.
4. Government Drone (not telling) – good for getting wildly agitated and cynical though.
Four places I've lived:
1. Canberra – where I did most of my growing up, went to school, got married etc etc.
2. Sydney – where I was born & returned to, though not to spawn.
3. Ballarat – a lovely gold mining town in Victoria, first place I moved when I left home – 800km from mum, was hard at first but necessary I believe.
4. New York – when I was 2 or something, I don’t remember a thing, except stairs. There’s some good pictures though!
Four places I've been on holiday:
1. Great Ocean Road in Victoria, we keep going back and always in the very early spring when it’s too cold for all the beach people to spoil it. I love the beach, but not in the summer time.
2. New Zealand – an amazing place and we certainly made the most of our short time there. Definitely a place we will be returning to, there’s no such thing as too much bubbling mud.
3. Tasmania – Mr Brown & I had our very first proper holiday together there – not long after we got married, and only because there was a cheap ticket deal (we were so broke back then).
4. Italy – well, what can I say – coming from Australia where European history is only a bit over 200 years old, the old stuff blew me away. And that you could touch it, Roman stones, medieval mosaics, it was never ending and overwhelming.
Four of my favourite foods:
1. Potatoes -roasted, chipped, as crisps, mashed (with butter & garlic), boiled, cooked with cream & cheese in the style that will give you a heart attack ...
2. Avocados - on toast, as Guacamole, with a little dressing, with pasta, in a salad with sun-dried tomatoes ... It would almost be worth moving further north just so I could grow an avocado tree.
3. Meat of the blessed pig – where would we be without piggies (free range of course and not too much at any one time)? Roast pork with crackling, bacon, ham, salami, sausages, Prosciutto ...
4. Pizza, home made of course.
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Norway, watching the maelstrom.
2. New York, visiting museums and central park and eating proper bagels.
3. Venice – more museums and old stuff and the freedom to get lost, without fear.
4. Scotland – leaning up against a standing stone, sipping whisky, sigh.
Four favourite books:
This is really hard, how to choose?
1. Confessions of a Homing Pigeon by Nicholas Meyer.
2. Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido
3. The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer
4. The American Way of Death by Jessica Mitford.
Oh, go look at Librarything, for the rest!
And I'll tag CAW who's generally up for anything and E because I bet her answers will be most interesting.