Friday, March 04, 2005

Crikey. Here's 100 factoids about me. This goes down in my blog history as the post that required the most effort for the least satisfaction.

Basic Biographical Facts
1) I'm in the 2nd half of my 30s.
2) I have one older sister.
3) I've been married for nearly 9 years.
4) I have a daughter who is coming up on 6.
5) I was born in New Jersey, but have lived in or near San Francisco since the age of 5.
6) I am a smartass.

The Physical Mike
7) I'm almost 5'10" tall.
8) My nose is too big.
9) I'm too hairy.
10) I have almost no sense of smell.
11) I'm allergic to cats.
12) On my right foot my big toe is the longest toe. On my left foot the 2nd toe is the longest. I call him Frankentoe.
13) I've been told I have flexible hips.

Education
14) I went to public schools and hope my daughter will be able to do the same.
15) In sixth grade I dumbed down the way I talked so that people wouldn't think I was a nerd. It didn't work.
16) I was kicked out of the 6th grade song flute chorus because the director thought I was just making up notes. I was not.
17) Out of all the many thousands of hours I spent studying in high school and college, I probably use 1 of them in my current job.
18) I took basic musicianship in college but wisely dropped the class after the first sight-singing test.
19) I learned how to program a computer at age 12 and it changed my life.
20) My knowledge of geography is abysmal.

Jobs
21) My first job was in fast food at Wendy's.
22) My favorite job was working at a one-hour photo place in Berkeley.
23) I've worked from home for the last 9 years.
24) I mostly like my job.
25) I was almost a dot-com millionaire.
26) I have seriously entertained the notion of being a professional poker player despite the fact that I almost always lose at poker.


Running
27) I ran on my high school cross country team during my junior and senior years and never made varsity.
28) The 2005 Boston Marathon will be the 7th marathon I've run.
29) I hate running.
30) I run about 1000 miles a year.
31) When I run, I have as many as 5 electronic devices strapped to various parts of my body.

Religion and Politics
32) I had a bar mitzvah, but it didn't take.
33) I am an agnostic despite what several of my good friends think.
34) I've never voted for a Republican, but it could happen. There are a few that I like.
35) I had low expectations for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but he has slightly exceeded them.
36) I had low expectations for President George W. Bush, but he has still managed to disappoint me.
37) I had high expectations for President Bill Clinton, but he disappointed me too.
38) I had low expectations for San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, but he has won me over.
39) If it were up to me, the "victimless" crimes like prostitution and drugs would be legalized.

Random Favorites
40) My favorite color is blue.
41) My favorite current TV show is The Daily Show (Jon Stewart).
42) My favorite cancelled TV show is Firefly.
43) My favorite side is my right.
44) My favorite actress is Cate Blanchett
45) My favorite blog is Izzle Pfaff.
46) My favorite sport to watch is baseball.
47) My favorite sport to play is tennis, but I suck at it.
48) My favorite beer is Anchor Steam.
49) My favorite mixed drink is a Ketel One martini (2 olives).

Personal Failures
50) I have no sense of direction.
51) I cannot spit for distance.
52) I love to sing but cannot carry a tune.
53) I rarely remember my dreams.
54) I took up guitar at age 30, but gave it up less than a year later when my daughter was born.
55) I can't draw a likeness of anything except a stick figure.
56) I feel slightly inadequate because I've never set up my own Linux box or built a PC.
57) I absolutely cannot tell the difference between a $2.00 bottle of wine and a $50 bottle of wine.
58) I can't make a shirt look ironed. The best I can do is get rid of that wadded-up look.
59) I suck at all sports.
60) If I wake up in the middle of the night, it often takes me hours to fall back asleep.
61) I've been to the dentist once in the last dozen years.

I Da Man
62) I have a technique for getting rid of the hiccups that always works for me.
63) I memorized 50 digits of pi during the SAT test. I still know them (mostly).
64) I am a nationally ranked Scrabble player, with a rating of over 1400.
65) I can think of 8 words with Q in them that don't have a U. There may be others.
66) I'm the most on-time person I know and probably the most on-time person you know.
67) I can juggle.
68) Last year, in a fantasy baseball league with over 100,000 other teams, my team came in 9th.

Eating
69) I'd happily eat Asian food every meal except for breakfast and dessert.
70) Italian and Mexican food bore me.
71) Broccoli is my favorite vegetable, but only lightly cooked.
72) I eat loads of chocolate.
73) I don't eat pigs because I respect their intelligence.
74) I can't stand sweet foods as part of my dinner. I'm talking to you, yams

Likes/Dislikes
75) I hate talking on the phone.
76) I enjoy torturing telemarketers.
77) I read an absurd amount of science fiction.
78) I hate scary movies and romantic comedies.
79) I can't stand TV news programs.
80) I look at my blog stats obsessively.

Better left unsaid
81) I once had a beer dumped over my head by an ex-girlfriend. I mostly didn't deserve it.
82) I've had more men hit on me than women.
83) Briefs.
84) Body oil from a naked gay porn star once splattered on me.
85) Often I don't leave the house for days at a time. It doesn't bother me.
86) I once petted a kangaroo and ate one on the same day. They are both cute and tasty.
87) You know that guy who waits until the very last second to merge into your lane? I'm him. Sorry.
88) I pee sitting down when I'm at home.
89) I like musicals.
90) Pregnant pauses in conversation make me very uncomfortable.

Where the hell do these go?
91) I've been kicked out of a casino for counting cards in blackjack.
92) I was once on Family Feud.
93) I have never been in a physical fight.
94) My first real kiss was at age 16. Her name was Mimi.
95) When I need to drive somewhere, I often use a Car Share.
96) I recognize that this blog is a stupid waste of time.
97) I didn't learn how to swim until I was 24.
98) I've never had a nickname.
99) I owned a motorcycle for several years, but rarely rode it, and sold it once my daughter was born.

Finally
100) If you met me in the real world, you'd think I was slightly annoying and a little rude. You'd be wrong.

19 comments:

KC said...

And yet reading you is vastly amusing ... Despite the late lane merging, the apparent apathy you have towards Italian and Mexican food, your non-existent sense of direction (I relate, no really I do), and your Frankentoe, which to be honest was way too much information for me to handle.

Mike said...

The Frankentoe bit was one of the few factoids that didn't bore me while I was writing it. Enjoy!

Vivian to Some said...

I love you for #64. But then came #88. So now, I only kind of like you a lot.

Mike said...

Vivian to me, #88 totally makes me more lovable. See, I don't spray my urine around like some territorial monkey. I am house-broken, which is pretty hot.

Mike said...

Vixen, I think the better question is "who hasn't told me that I have flexible hips?". And the answer to that is: everyone except the physical therapist I saw once for a running injury.

And, thanks.

Anonymous said...

Note enough about your obsession with STATS! A glaring oversight.

Mike said...

Everyone, meet the shrill wife. Shrill wife, meet everyone.

(love you, kiss kiss!)

Amy S. Petrik said...

today is april 18th. i just got around to reading this. it's so damn amusing. thank you. i'm pretty positive i'd like you in person. not "like you like you" cuz i know you are married but like you enough to sit and shoot the shit together and not shit as in poop but shit as in mindlessbanter. peace out, inky

formerly known as "a girl called inky" and "wisdom of a moonchild"

Mike said...

Inky, you are not alone. I'm very likable.

Christopher Farrell said...

Your barrington stories were great and brought back many memories. I was there from 88-90 or so.
christopherfarrell@gmail.com

ps. There were a few illegal drugs around, ....etc, and some random rebelliousness, and it was a large part just a bunch of spoiled rich kids, but there was a lot of genuine and amazing creativity. I remember Berkeley Bob, and it appears you moved out the summer I moved in.

Mike said...

Chris, thanks for your comment. Yeah I agree about the folks at Barrington. There were some idiots, a large number of spectators (like me!) and some geniunely remarkable people. It was like party mix, but with hippies.

Austin of Sundrip said...

#69- I'd eat pizza for all 3 meals if it weren't for that stupid lactose intolerance thing.

Austin

Mike said...

Hey Austin, sounds like you need to write 100 Things About Austin. 1 down, 99 to go!

Meg S. said...

So now I came across this post. Couple of years late, sorry.

I'm so glad you learned to swim! I always wanted to know if you learned.

I swear I can remember Mimi -- she had a sister Cami and they went to another high school? I'll leave it at that.

I discovered SciFi this year. Ender's Game got me hooked. Gosh I'm late on everything cool...and I really should be grading spelling tests...

Meg

Mike said...

Megan, Ender's Game is still one of my favorites. I cannot understand why they haven't made it into a movie yet. As for Mimi, it now occurs to me that I first met her at YOUR house. I remember that she plopped onto my lap and I was smitten. Boys (and men) are simple creatures.

Meg S. said...

Apparently it came out last year?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0400403/ I do have a friend who is some big time producer director and has been trying to buy the rights. Also to the Great Brain Series (Which Daisy would love if you haven't read it to her already). So we'll see...

I liked Speaker for the Dead and I'm almost done with the audio version of Xenocide. I just keep falling asleep in the middle. Em wants me to read the Twilight series but it may be a tad teen drama for me these days.

You may also like these podcasts:
http://escapepod.org/
http://www.podiobooks.com/title/7th-son-book-one---descent/

Okay, so it was that Mimi! Forgive me, but I may have pictures of that night! My 16th birthday party. I've emailed my parents for scans of certain pictures I may or may not blackmail you with. Sigh, so I learned that men are simple waaaaay too late in life.

Mike said...

I think there's trouble with the Ender's Game movie. Issues with production and whatnot. As for Mimi, if you have pics, send 'em on. I can barely remember what she looked like

Anonymous said...

Well, Mike, even though you are my bro-in-law, I have lost my blog cherry to you. I have never read a blog before. I couldn't stop reading yours. Definitely mood altering material. I can't believe my sister and I both married men who sit down to pee at home. What are the odds? Once I asked Jeff if for my birthday he would pee standing up. I'm still waiting. See you soon. Sebastian (not ready to open a gmail acct yet)

Mike said...

Sis-in-law, howdy! I give everyone here an alias to protect the innocent, and I'm delighted to see that you've cleverly chosen your own. I'll refer to you as "Sebastian" in here from now on.