Before I decided that Facebook was a bad thing for me to use, my daughter asked me to complete this. I learned a bit about myself...
Not Quite 25 Random Things About Me
Rules:
Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a
note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the
end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who
tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about
you.
1.) I am very
proud of my daughter Rhianna. She's incredibly smart, and talented,
funny, and beautiful. She amazes me everyday! (and this will probably
embarrass her)
2.) I have permanent nerve damage in my left
arm because of my bunk neck. The most irritating thing about this is
that I play my guitars like a beginner (again). That bothers me a
lot. Every now and then I have to remind myself that I avoided a
wheelchair. I have similar damage to my left leg due to lower back
issues... I trip a lot.
3.) I have never really understood
"hate", and I have no patience for the narrow-minded
pinheads that get caught up in the whole us/them, I'm right and
you're wrong dynamic. There are always at least six sides to every
argument, and if you can't acknowledge that the other person might
possibly have a valid point you should go sit in the corner until you
can behave rationally. This applies to most Republicans... and
Democrats, Christians, Muslims, Hebrews... you get the idea.
4.)
I have three cats that have absolutely nothing in common except for
being cats. I have a laundry cat, a kitchen cat, and a bathroom cat.
The laundry cat has since moved to the bedroom, and the bathroom cat
has passed away. I now have a lap-cat, which makes it very difficult
to get things done.
5.) People look at me funny when I start a
sentence with, "One of my ex-wives..."
6.) I firmly
believe that NOT choosing is a choice.
7.) When I first
started working with Developmentally Disabled Adults, I felt that I
had to justify what I did because I made so little money. Then I
noticed that a lot of people apologized for what they did because
they felt their profession wasn't as meaningful. Eventually I figured
out that as long as you're happy, it doesn't really matter what you
do for a living. Unless you are really self-centered, you will have a
positive impact on the people around you.
8.) If you can't
laugh, you probably need to go the bathroom. Everyone needs a sense
of humor.
9.) Someone once said, "A good book is like an
old friend." He was very wise. I would rather read, or re-read a
good book than watch TV... of course I need to eat while I do
it.
10.) I have wanted a sailboat since my parents got their
first sailboat, the Jabberwocky in the early 90s. After my first
divorce I started budgeting for a 27 foot boat; we spent that money
fixing up and selling my second wife's house. We then agreed that we
would put her through graduate school, after which I could get a
sailboat. Well, she went to graduate school anyway. I 'd still like a
sailboat, but other things have become more important.
11.) I
am deathly afraid of heights! It doesn't matter if it's an airplane,
ladder, or roof of my house... I can't do it. Despite that, I took a
running jump off a boathouse roof, and I have flown in an airplane
seven times; it wasn't at all fun.
12.) I have had some sort
of webpage since the late 90s. My first site, The Cavymage Pages was
my opinions on socio-political things. My second, and current site at
www.frogdrool.blogspot.com/ is mostly devoted to humorous emails I've
received, plus a little bit about me or my family.
13.) I am a
wallflower. Being the center of attention, introducing myself to
strangers, making friends, or even asking for help is very difficult
for me.
14.) I absolutely can't stand hurting people's
feelings. This is almost funny, or maybe very sad, when you consider
I have been in supervisory positions for over twenty years. I have
probably terminated more employees than all of my immediate coworkers
combined. I will say that I am very protective of the people who work
for me, but sometimes they just have to go.
15.) My favorite
analogy is that, "People are like swiss cheese. Their holes,
their skills and abilities, their shortcomings, faults and blind
spots are of varying sizes, and differing locations."
16.)
I have treated some very good people badly. I don't know how to fix
that... I'm very, VERY sorry.
17.) After having several
girlfriends and wives, I can safely say that having compatible
beliefs is essential for a successful relationship. Arguing about
politics and religion is great among friends, but not with someone
you live with. The same can be said about temperment; boring people
and exciting people don't do well together. I'm pretty boring, and
excitement gives me ulcers.
18.) I met retired Brigadier
General Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay. He dropped the atom
bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 5, 1945. He believed
that he did the right thing given the circumstances.
19.) I
was a member of the Communist (Trotskyist) club my freshman year of
college.
20.) I taught a small child to sing to her potatoes
before eating them. I also taught her to spit and play darts... and I
taught my cousin's daughter to pick her nose. Eventually, children
learned to check with their mothers before acting on anything I told
them.
21.) A nerve conduction study (EMG) was the most painful
thing I had ever experienced... until I had a balloon catheter
removed. During an EMG they hook you up to a bunch of electrodes, and
administer electric shocks while listening to your nerves scream.
After an hour of shocks, they start poking you with long and rather
thick needles, and they wiggle and twist them while they're embedded
in your muscles. Do I really have to explain about catheters?
22.)
Although I never tell him, my Dad is my hero. He compares favorably
to DaVinci in every way... and maybe beats him out in a few areas. Go
Dad!
23.) I don't believe there is such a thing as equity in
real life.
24.) I value integrity above any other character
trait, and am painfully aware of every time I haven't measured up. I
don't think I will discuss my shortcomings here. I would prefer it if
my family doesn't discuss them either.
25.) There are some
people that for one reason or another, you are tied to for the rest
of your life. For me, these include: my daughter, Rhianna the
reasons for whom I think are self-explanatory; my third and best
wife, Shannon for whom I would do anything; Shannon's mini-man, my
son Tim who reminds me of the importance of humor on a daily basis;
Shannon's daughter, Amber whom I would be proud to call my own if
she'd let me; my former stepdaughter, Branwen who has my sense of
humor; an one-time almost stepdaughter, Madeline who believed I would
always be there to save her; two of my clients, Brian and Melissa
with whom I spent 9/11 at a Creative Options conference; a former
client, another Brian whose eulogy his parents asked me to give
during his memorial service; and then there are those people who have
caused me incredible amounts of pain... I 'm tied to them, and they
probably know who they are, but I don't think I'll go there...
sometimes remembered pain is as awful as when it first occurred.
