Some 25 Things I Happen To Have Decided To Write About Myself

Completely of my own accord and with no outside influence or prompting I decided to write down twenty five things about myself last week. I can't imagine what gave me the idea to do something like this, as it smells of internet survey chain letters which I hate with a passion.

1. There are few things in this world I love more than Ocean Spray 100% Cranberry Juice. In college I drank cranberry juice with pretty much every meal I ate in the dining hall.

2. One day, my senior year of high school, I had to fill out a survey saying what my college major was going to be. I had it limited down to professional acting and electrical/computer engineering. In the course of maybe 30 seconds I decided I would be more content with never having acted professionaly than I would with never having learned how a stereo works. This decision changed the course of my life.

3. I often wear the same pair of pants 5 days a week. I view this as one of the perks of being an engineer - low dress expectations. Convenient since I also despise shopping for clothes. Oh, and haircuts.

4. I once stole a canoe under direct adult supervision.

5. I have performed in around 20 different plays in my life, which gets less and less impressive the older I get. I miss performing more than anything. I think this feeds my tendency towards melodrama.

6. I often don't understand my own ideas until after I've said them - to the point where I am sometimes surprised by the truth or fallacy of something I just said. This is often, or even mostly a bad thing, but I've come to think it's also part of who I am. I feel a compelling need to communicate always. I don't feel resolution until after adequate conversation. I don't feel I'm contributing to a conversation unless I've said something (working on this). I am an unwavering advocate of straight talk.

7. One of my proudest accomplishments was a paper I wrote my senior year of high school arguing for Hamlet's sanity. I love Shakespeare and I will never forgive myself for not making a 5 on the AP English exam.

8. In the 8th grade I accidentally blew up (literally - sounds, sparks, smoke, etc) my best friend's family computer. I still have the hard drive, hoping one day I will be able to return their data.

9. I think blogging, at its core, is lame and worthless. But it's also incredibly fun and addicting (see #6).

10. I play the piano better when I'm tired or tipsy. I think it's because I think less.

11. Speaking of which, the jury is out on whether I've actually ever been drunk. It's on the bucket list.

12. Stealing from my sister Jessica's list, I love my family very much, and I think they're uncannily unique. In particular I have a great deal of respect for my father. Overwhelming respect for your father is something I find to be a sadly rare among most people I meet.

13. I am intimidated by children. I am scared of becoming a father.

14. I am fascinated by vacuum tube audio. This includes the Hammond B3 organ.

15. Paul is my favorite Beatle, hands down. I make no apologies for this.

16. I have an embarrassingly terrible memory. I forget names of people I've known for years, Erin tells me stories from our relationship I don't remember, I pretend to remember things constantly at home and at work. It's tragic sometimes. I hate it.

17. Feeling underproductive makes me ornery.

18. I easily get caught up daydreaming about really dramatic events happening to me - like someone close to me dying tragically. Surely most people do this.

19. People (usually at businesses) call me "ma'm" on the phone all the time. It took a little while to be ok with this. I have decided that I don't necessarily sound like a woman, but I use more inflection than the average male when talking to someone I don't know. If I consciously attempt to sound bored people get my gender right. This is the worst at drive-thru's, but I've learned to laugh at it. You order, drive around, and surprise! I'm a dude. Some employees look shocked or embarrassed, others just pretend like nothing happened.

20. I have been to England three times. I hate England. Scotland is the promised land.

21. Please don't stereotype engineers. Or men who enjoy theatre, poetry, or dance. This is a big thing for me.

22. I was born in Birmingham, Alabama. I like to think of Alabama as a continuing story of redemption.

23. God profoundly changed me through the dcf community.

24. I created and ran an online satirical newspaper at Clemson University.

25. I married my high school sweetheart. She is a lot funnier, a lot more loving, a lot less selfish, a lot more merciful, and a lot more fun than me.