25 Random Things About Me

Here about three years ago a Facebook meme swept the land - a simple request for people to tell the world 25 random facts about them and keep it as a FB note.  It was so popular that by itself it doubled the amount of notes created over the entire network.  Powerful stuff indeed.  Well  I wrote my 25; some facts you already know, others (like #2) most of you do not know. I'm going to reprint them here unaltered (except to clarify a time reference), even though my views on Chinese food and PB&J sammiches have changed some. Enjoy.

(Date first printed: 9 February 2009)

1. The family member to whom I bear the closest physical resemblance is my mother.

2. I attended and graduated a school for professional baseball umpires.

3. I'm a cat person, and cats seem to know this pretty much universally.

4. I suffered an accident in which I [simultaneously] broke both my wrists.

5. Mushrooms give me the heebie jeebies.

6. I think one of my old bosses was in the mob.

7. I've been drunk perhaps five times in my entire life.

8. I play the guitar and the drums, neither particularly well but not horribly, either.

9. I get along with all my in-laws, from every corner of my family.

10. I am left-handed.

11. If I were ever told that all I could eat was Chinese food, my life would be short but quite happy.

12. The worst job I ever had was taking care of severely developmentally disabled teens - hard work and soul-sapping.

13. I lost my father [May 5, 2008]; it was the single hardest thing I've ever endured. I miss him every day.

14. Two of my favorite TV shows are The West Wing and Hogan's Heroes. One is the smartest show that TV ever produced; the other is the stupidest.

15. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread is one of nature's most perfect creations.

16. My favorite woman from a "physical type" perspective is a redhead with freckles and curves. I have never once gone out with a woman like this.

17. The highest compliment anyone ever paid me was when someone said I was a good son.

18. I love my cousins like they were my brother and sisters. I don't talk to them or hang out with them nearly enough.

19. I hate cringe comedy, like The Office. I find nothing funny in watching an uncomfortable situation.

20. I hold grudges longer than is probably healthy, but I can't help myself.

21. I find it difficult to take seriously anyone who says they don't like the Beatles.

22. My brother is a real honest-to-goodness genius. I'm both proud of that and jealous of it.

23. I wish I loved writing as much as I love having written.

24. I would trade every stitch of talent I possess in any creative endeavor in return for the ability to play piano.

25. I have three or four friends who would kill or die for me if it came down to it. In that respect I'm the luckiest sonofabitch on the planet.

So that's my list of 25 random things about me.  You guys want to make it a 25 things weekend, I'll read them all with enthusiasm, gusto, brio, and several other words that mean roughly the same thing.