Here is my second bi-annual list of 100 random facts about myself. My first one, from Nov 1, 2005, is here: http://www.xanga.com/thepipesthepipesarecalling/379128911/item.html. Sorry if I repeat anything, but it's too long to reread my old list. :)
1. The one thing Facebook has taught me is that my groups of friends are very separate from one another. While other people's "friend wheel" somewhat melds together, mine clearly delineates three different groups, and I have a fourth and fifth that aren't on facebook.
2. I use to love the "Friend Request" notifier on Myspace, until I realized almost every time it was a spammer. As if I'd be friends with a spammer. As if.
3. Even though my life is crazy right now, I somewhat love the busyness. It distracts me from figuring out how to make the bigger things in life work.
4. In high school I was all about getting married and having kids like right away. Right now, the thought of both is a little weird. I cannot imagine being married or especially having kids right now. I realize more now than then what a commitment both really are.
5. I sometimes wonder how people younger than me can make it in marriage and parenthood. It has to be tough.
6. I've done Nanowrimo for like 5 years now, but have yet to get past 10k words. After all, if the plot is stupid, why keep writing? This year will probably be no exception, but mainly due to lack of time instead of a poor plot.
7. My goal is to move to Alaska at some point. I imagine it being an awesome place to live, in my daydreams.
8. The only two things I'll spend money on without hesitation are books and musical instruments/equipment. As long as my kids have those interests, they may well be spoiled.
9. I sincerely believe the world is too loud and it's hard to hear God over the noise. That's why it doesn't bother me to have some alone time for a few days, or spend some time in my room alone.
10. I think a lot of people fear being alone because they either don't like themselves, or what God might bring up in such a situation. I feel sad for those people, because they'll never be able to rest.
11. I am learning how to cross stitch. Mainly because you can't fully make fun of something until you've tried it and succeeded.
12. I wish I could relive 48 hours back in high school. Oh, there would be so many changes.
13. I also wonder how different the world would be if Alf was still on the air.
14. I'm not a big fan of girl pop singers, but throw a little faux angst in there and it warms my heart.
15. I work best when I'm forced to do the impossible. Not impossible as far as feasibility, but more time constraints. If I'm given a week to finish and a year to finish, I'm more likely to do better work if it's a week.
16. I think Kennesaw State University is superior to Georgia Tech, despite what most people would have you think. I believe there is more to education than GT provides, and KSU has a better balance.
17. I have like a new business idea each month, but never realize them. My thought is that if one ever lasts longer than a month of my tearing it down, that will be the one worth doing. I'm up to 27 days on one of them.
18. I'm pretty darn good at about 6-7 different things. But I'm not expert quality at anything. Sometimes that aggravates me.
19. I don't like playing sax or guitar around other musicians. I love playing them WITH other musicians, but not just around them, like in Guitar Center. I also wonder if people practice riffs just so they can sound cool when they go into such a store.
20. I don't really feel any older than when I was 18, but my new balding area proves I must be aging anyway.
21. Monopoly is my favorite game of all time, ever. I hate that anytime I try to play it in real life, the other pansies can't hold out for the 5-6 hours it takes to complete a game.
22. I buy other video games, and even console games, but I usually get bored before I beat a game. I think the only ones that kept me successfully immersed until I beat them were Super Mario 3 (on NES) and Final Fantasy VII (on PC).
23. Every year, I play that stupid McDonald's Monopoly game, but first of all I never win anything but McFlurries, and hey do I need another McFlurry in my life, and second of all I start hating McDonalds food after like day 4 of the game. So why bother? Because it's stupid Monopoly.
24. I find myself stuck in politics between my ideal (libertarianism) and what should probably actually take place from a governing perspective (somewhere in the middle). For example, while I personally hate the idea of universal healthcare, it would probably make our country better. Some examples don't hold, like for instance getting rid of public education.
25. I see all these TV shows where ugly guys go to get a makeover or something and the first thing they show is people ripping hair out of their backs and chest. I see that, and wonder if it is how cows would feel if they saw a series of steakhouse commercials.
26. By the law of averages, there is a woman somewhere on this planet who doesn't mind a little fur (ok, a lot), and thus there will be no "makeovers" for me.
27. I think this is the first time I have less stuff than I had a year previous. Here's hoping the trend continues.
28. My real real dream job would be a full time musician. However, somewhere along the road I simply discounted that as a remote possibility, and never tried to actually pursue such a thing. I think instead, I settled for pursuing a bunch of "almost-dream-jobs". Which is fine, but I just wonder why I did that.
29. I still battle with the necessity of finishing college, and probably will even after I graduate.
30. I have much too long left before I graduate.
31. When I own a business, I will give preference to people who put actual accomplishments in bigger text than their college degree.
32. I don't like any of the Election 08 candidates. None of them.
33. I enjoy making up foods. Not like imaginary foods, but just cooking something that might not have been done before, with no recipe.
34. I write long emails. And while the result is that most people won't read them, I don't care. It's not my fault.
35. God has always taken care of me. I really have no reason to doubt him, yet I sometimes do. Like, I lost my job, but had found another one before I was laid off, and the new one is a better environment with a raise. Go figure. I had to budget tight for like a week, max.
36. It might make me a bad person, but I don't think sweatshops are inherently evil.
37. I was never able to take naps (sleep for 8 hours or not at all), but recently in life I can easily (and gratefully) take 2-3 hour naps with the best of them.
38. I am also warming to the idea of tomatoes being on sandwiches. Still not 100% convinced it's a better way.
39. There are a lot of times when I can't think of what to pray for, and in those times I pray for my future family. There's always something, I guess.
40. I don't really like a bunch of other men. For that matter, there aren't a lot of women I enjoy being around a lot, either.
41. I really dislike the culture in music where people say "ooh this really defines me", only to trash it two months later for another "defining" song. I think you can't really claim a song is the best song ever until you've felt that way for about 10 years or more. For that matter, I've liked several songs for more than a decade, and none of them I would classify as "defining". While music is powerful, some people give it too much credit sometimes.
42. At this point, I am thinking I could be a dork and make a Douglas Adams reference here.
43. Good thing I'm not a dork!!
44. There are certain facts about my future wife that God has revealed to me. For instance, I know her name will be Natalie Portman. So, we'll see.
45. While I am bitter about my time at Georgia Tech, I do have a few fond memories that make it worth the academic stuff.
46. One of those memories is the time when I had downloaded "The Little Mermaid", and it was late at night, and when "Part of your World" came on my roommate and I bumped up the volume and started singing it. A few other guys were walking by, and instead of making fun of us, they started joining in. More guys from down the hall joined in, until it was about at least 6-7 guys in our room and hallway all singing to The Little Mermaid. When it was over, everyone just laughed and walked back to their rooms. It was probably one of the most surreal moments in my life, and something none of us talked about later.
47. A childhood buddy and I used to race each other (both running and bikes), to compete for a girl. Of course, she never knew we were competing for her, and probably always wondered why we were running all the time instead of talking to her.
48. My favorite Ninja Turtle was Donatello, because he was always inventing stuff. I even wore purple shirts for the longest time, because after all if he wore it, it couldn't be that bad.
49. I wonder why my dad let me wear purple shirts all the time.
50. I like big dogs and I cannot lie / you other brothers can't deny / that when a dog walks in with some slobber on his face / and takes up a ton of space / you have FUN.
51. I enjoy rewriting lyrics to songs, even if it isn't always perfect.
52. There is both a medium sized and small sized dog at work, but unfortunately they don't add up to one big dog, and thus I am still not fulfilled.
53. I actually enjoy listening to myself play music, reading things I've written, etc. I don't see the point in doing it if I couldn't appreciate my own work.
54. I'll tell this story because everyone loves it, even though it's probably on my last list too. In first grade, we were playing wheel of fortune, and I had to use the bathroom badly. So, I kept raising my hands, but the teacher thought I was trying to take someone else's turn and kept telling me to put my hand down. I peed in my pants. Then, she let me go to the bathroom. In the bathroom, a kid came in, so I was all "Don't you hate it when you spill milk on your pants?" and "Man, this milk would have smelled bad if I wasn't cleaning it up".
55. I love the fall.
56. One of my biggest reasons for moving out and getting my own apartment is so I can keep it the temperature I want, whenever I want.
57. Another story people like is when I ran away as a little kid. Only I ran away with only my underwear on, so I only made it out to my parents' car, where I climbed in. While I was busy teaching them a lesson, my mom could clearly see me from the kitchen window. I came back in a few hours later.
58. When a movie sucks, I make it fun by talking and joking. I'm not loud, but I make sure everyone around me gets a laugh. One day, I'm going to demand some payment by the movie producers for this service I provide.
59. I always buy halloween candy, but nobody ever comes to get it. They're missing out this year, because it's fun sized m&ms, snickers, and skittles.
60. I have more unread books right now than I will be able to finish in the next decade. It's like 300 of them or so.
61. That will not stop me from buying more books.
62. I actually have a decent sense of decor, but I'm not willing to spend money on things only for decoration.
63. My fantasy-self, who lives inside my brain and mind, just said "who needs decoration when you have 18 double-platinum albums and tons of pictures of collaborating with famous musicians".
64. When I tell people I'm going to hire movers when I move next time, they scoff and say I'm lazy. For me, the value is worth a few hundred bucks. I hate moving, and it takes enough energy to pack and unpack anyway. I'd hire packers and unpackers, too, if they had them.
65. I'm actually fine with my life the way it is, and enjoy living each day, problems and all. I wonder why more people can't enjoy both the good and bad about life.
66. I love how parents worry how unwrapped candy might have had razor blades or needles put into them by an evil person, yet do not consider that the same evil person may have bought a candy factory and hired people to put razor blades in all the candy BEFORE it was wrapped.
67. I was just entered into some FBI database, I'm sure.
68. I'm also sure it's not the first time.
69. I don't think I've ever played an actual game of "Mouse Trap". I remember just assembling it over and over to see how it all worked.
70. As much as I like polar bears, I am sure if I ever met one, he would not hesitate to make me his dinner.
71. I don't really have a lot of memories from my middle school days, primarily because that tended to be a very dark turning point in my life as far as external circumstances.
72. I once combined pop rocks and coke (supposedly how Mikey died), and lived to tell the tale. It was a bit crazy, but I never felt like I was going to die.
73. I once also ate spicy curry 3 meals in a row, and did not die.
74. I have few tangible fears, but several recurring nightmares involve going down steep inclines or stairs.
75. My favorite TV shows are those with strong but dark female leads. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Alias, Veronica Mars, and Heroes are but a few.
76. I'd rather be around people who do and create things, than people who just talk about what they know. I find Georgia Tech produces more in the latter category.
77. I did not enjoy many children's shows as a kid. Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, Sesame Street, etc. were all lost on me.
78. I think a lot of men watch sports and sports news just so they have something to talk about with other men who are doing the same thing.
79. I don't like Spongebob Squarepants.
80. I don't like most of Adult Swim on Cartoon Network.
81. I don't usually like things that are trendy, unless they have actual value to them.
82. I don't care that I'm different than most people. While it doesn't get me a lot of BFFs, I can always look back and say I was myself, and that's enough.
83. I really believe God loves me. Call me old-school, but I do.
84. When I was a kid, my sandals were dirty and so I started licking them to clean them. Granted, my parents and doctor did not believe it was just to clean them, and called it a vitamin deficiency, and forced me to take vitamins for a long time. I never licked my sandals clean again. I would also eat bugs sometimes, so there might be some truth to the vitamin thing.
85. I was a romantic early on. I would yell things like "you're pretty" to girls in elementary school. Only, I would yell it to the tomboys, and then they would chase me around the playground for the rest of the day. Luckily I had practice running.
86. When I was little, I could bike all over the neighborhood, we'd bike down to old dirt pits with old cars in them, and bike to someone's swimming pool or something, and spend an entire day out of the house. I'm very sad that due to overpopulation, the increase of crime against children, and a general evil nature of modern society, that my kids will never be able to have those sort of childhood adventures.
87. I started my modeling career early on. When I was about 5, I was in a full-page United Way ad, doing this "praying hands" thing with some old guy. I take a mean black and white shot.
88. Back in middle school, I designed my future house. The concept was that it was Q-shaped, but kinda a square Q. So it's basically rectangular, 2 stories, but with this big garden/atrium area in the center, with a glass ceiling like the Louvre. In the center of the front, there is a foyer area that juts out of the house at an angle and goes just a little bit into the atrium. Like a Q, but not necessarily rounded.
89. I cannot stand being with picky people at restaurants. Sending food back for little reasons (undercooked or wrong is ok), complaining about terrible service, complaining about food, or whatever, is simply not something I enjoy doing, nor being around. Whether "I'm paying for it" or not does not mean I'm incapable of accepting a little human imperfection, nor is it my job to make someone else's day worse. Same with people who leave stingy tips.
90. I hate small talk. Since small talk is usually step 1 of any relationship, you'll find that most of my better friends are the type that usually jump right in and start relating without all the small talk. Ashley Feagin is probably the best example of this.
91. I sometimes enjoy just chilling with people, without having to talk about a lot of things or do a lot of things. For example, one of my best chill moments was with Aaron Hawkins in L.A., when we just hung out at this pie shop, ate some food, and didn't really have to talk the whole time. It's hard for me to trust people who are afraid of silence. Silence is only awkward when someone feels a need to keep talking.
92. Outside of my family, the only person from back home I see on a semi-regular basis (few times per year) is a high school buddy, Tim Williamson, who keeps trying to get me to move to D.C. He may be successful, once I graduate...
93. I have just a few major life goals left (ones requiring major moves). One is to work a corporate job in D.C. or L.A., and then to teach for awhile back home (or somewhere near home). The first one, because I must hate myself, and the second because I miss being in a much simpler place and want to teach.
94. I take pride in my work, programming-wise. When I see sites as badly done as Myspace make billions of dollars and get millions of users, it makes me want to cry. I suppose the ignorant masses don't care about how talented the developer was, in the end.
95. I went shopping while I was sick the other day, which is a bad idea. While my food items turned out ok (though I bought raisin bran for some reason), I bought these very-ruby-red 400 thread count sheets for my bed. I probably bought them because they were soft, but waking up the next morning was interesting, considering I'm more a muted color kind of guy. Oh, when I'm sick I don't remember much the next day.
96. I don't like it when people try to one-up you at knowing a person better. Like, if you say "yeah, I'm friends with ____", and then they tell some anecdote about how they know the person better. Really, the same goes for people who do that about any subject. This happens all the time at weddings it seems, which is why I'm not a huge fan of them. "I was a college friend of the bride"... "well, I was roommates for 11 years with the groom and was responsible for them getting together!".
97. I think I'm worn out of the church as a whole, as a system. To believe that God brought us life and rest, and yet most of the church brings bitterness and work, it just gets old. When the rest of the world merely views us as gay-bashers and fun-haters, something is wrong.
98. My ideal setting for my future marriage: a cabin in some cold place (Alaska maybe???), no electronics, a fireplace, sipping wine or maybe root beer, with a ton of books and all sorts of musical instruments laying around, being artsy, et cetera. Maybe also the lottery was won at some point previous.
99. I answer emails more quickly than I answer my phone. It's just the way I am.
100. I rarely get to use them, but I love double contractions, like I'd've or couldn't've. I only wish triple contractions (e.g. "I'd've'd" or "I would have had") would be fair game.
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