Getting Personal is an email Q&A with a local personality. Here, Melissa Merli chats with Champaign resident James Barham, owner of Barham Benefit Group of Champaign and the Indi Go Artist Co-Op in downtown Champaign. Getting Personal appears first in print, in Sunday editions of The News-Gazette. Coming on Sept. 25: Chris Kaler, executive director of the Rantoul Area Chamber of Commerce.

 What time do you typically get up? What do you do the first hour of the morning?

 I´m never in a rush. I turn on MSNBC.

 What did you have for lunch today? Where? With whom?

 Barbecue salmon salad at Houlihan´s with Mark Pollard.

 Best high school memory.

 All the great friendships, and many are still in my life.

 Tell me about your favorite pair of shoes.

 They aren´t shoes, and they just broke. I bought a pair of fake Birkenstocks for $10 10 years ago. They were so ugly, people I didn´t know would come up and complain about them. I will miss them.

 What does a perfect Sunday afternoon include?

 Riding my bike or mowing. Both activities are my yoga.

 Was there one book you read as a child that you still cherish? Own? Read?

 “I am Sam, Sam I am.”

 Where on earth are you dying to go? Why?

 Italy, to see the land that inspired the Medicis.

 Tell me about your favorite pet.

 My dad bribed me with a German shepherd to move out to Rising Road (in west Champaign) when I was in ninth grade. It ended up being a great trade.

 Have you discovered as you matured that you are becoming like one of your parents? Which one and how?

 Define matured? I have the emotions of my mother and the generosity of my father.

 What would you order for your last meal?

 American Wagyu Sirloin with Pumpernickel Dust; Pink Lady & Fuji Apple Salad; Black Truffles from Perigord, France; and Tosa Soy Warm Asparagus. Served at the Cut in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

 What can you not live without?

 My day is not complete without reading The News-Gazette, The Chicago Tribune and USA Today. Plus, The New York Times on Sunday.

 Who do you have on your iPod?

 I have an iPhone, but I don´t use it for music. I still like scanning the airwaves for music. Growing up with a bunch of musician friends in my youth, I literally like most of the music out there.

 What´s the happiest memory of your life?

 Lying on the beach in Santa Barbara at 21 years old, wondering, ‘How did I end up living here?´

 If you could host a dinner party with any three living people in the world, whom would you invite?

 I always enjoy my monthly lunches with Mark Dixon, Phil Bloomer and Jerry Ramshaw, so a dinner party with them would be a great time, too.

 What´s the best advice you´ve ever been given?

 On my 21st birthday, someone told me to be careful as they go quickly after that.

 What´s your best piece of advice?

 It takes all types to fill those highways; try to enjoy them all.

 What was your first job, and how much did you make an hour?

 Skip´s Shell, $1.60.

 What was a pivotal decision in your career, and how did you arrive at that decision?

 The decision was made for me, but it led me to start my own company.

 Do you have a bad habit? What is it?

 Being single, but it has its perks.

 How do you handle a stressful situation?

 Bacaro, and it works every time.