OK, so it’s Friday afternoon, I don’t feel like doing actual work, but I’m stumped for a topic to start a new thread on. So, I’ll just steal an idea for a thread that tends to get recycled every month or so on Facebook or MySpace. Just post 25 facts about yourself. No matter how arbitrary, random or ordinary.
I’m a Taurus.
I was born in the year of the rooster ('69).
I am the fifth of eight kids. (Need I mention that we were Catholic?)
I had my first sip of alcohol at age 10.
I had my last (thus far) alcoholic drink at age 33.
I work in the publishing industry.
The first rock concert I ever attended was Kiss, in '78. I was in the third grade.
Last rock concert (thus far) that I’ve seen was Medeski, Martin & Wood about (I think) four years ago.
I was born & raised in Buffalo, NY. I live in NYC (Brooklyn) currently.
The farthest I’ve travelled away from home (either Buf of NYC) is Berlin, Germany.
My favorite vegetable is brussell sprouts.
The book I am currently reading: “the World Without Us” by Alan Weisman.
Every Saturday night I go C/W dancing, even though I’m not an especially avid country music fan.
I can’t snap my fingers.
I lost my viriginity at age 16, but didn’t have sex again until I was 20.
I have posted on the SDMB for almost ten years now, under 4 different user names.
At one point in time, I was in credit card debt close to $30,000 (a hefty chunk of change considering I was only making $25,000/year at the time.) It’s almost all paid off - still owe $5000.
According to a ‘professional color consultant’ I met once (only socially, I didn’t pay him for his reading) I’m a winter and my optimal clothing color is forest green.
I take a weekly pilades class. I dread going into it, hate every minute I am there, but must admit - I look good!
My current username is a little joke on the idea that DC Comics does nothing but publish sweeping ‘Crisis’ style revamp mini-series that ‘change everything completely’ just about every other week nowadays.
Actually, my all-time favorite comic book (during my collecting heyday) was ‘the Mighty Avengers.’
Current earworm - the theme song for “Bewitched.” I have no idea why.
I drink waaaaay too much coffee. I always drink it black, with only one Equal. Occasionally I add a splash of cinnamon or nutmeg.
I have been dating someone for six months now, but it doesn’t seem to be working out any more.
About six months ago, I was walking across the street and bumped into a lady who was passing by. “Excuse me,” I said without really looking at her, and walked around her. Then, a complete stranger grabbed my arm and said “OHMYGOD! Do you know who just bumped into? THAT WAS MADONNA!!” I had no idea. I looked back, the lady in question was already almost a block away, but I could see every single person turn their head to look as she passed by.
I’ll just mostly use your topics and change the details, due to a lack of imagination…
I’m an Aries.
I was born in the year of the sheep.
I am the second of four kids.
I had my first sip of alcohol sometime before kindergarten. We got a sip of wine to toast Thanksgiving every year.
I had my most recent alcoholic drink a couple weeks ago. I bought a bottle of wine today.
I’m retired.
The first rock concert I ever attended was Jethro Tull, sometime in the 70’s. I’m doing well to remember anything from the 70’s.
Last rock concert that I’ve seen was Frank Zappa. I don’t know when, but before he died, I’m pretty sure about that.
I was born & raised in St. Louis MO. I live in unincorporated Jefferson County, near St. Louis.
The farthest I’ve travelled away from home is Vienna, Austria.
My favorite vegetable is garlic.
The latest issue of CarCraft just arrived and I just finished the article on strengthening a 200-4R.
I never go anywhere.
I can snap my fingers. I can roll my tongue. I can wiggle my ears.
I once ate about four ounces of hash in a half hour. Then I went to the record store. That wasn’t my wierdest trip to the record store ever.
I have posted on the SDMB for a little over a year.
I don’t have much, but everything I have is paid for.
I like green. I have a dozen plaid flannel shirts and I think eight of them are green plaids.
I walk at least 3 miles a day.
My username is a little joke on “40 acres and a mule”.
I don’t exactly have a favorite comic book, but I remember one called something like “Turok: Son of Stone” that I liked.
Current earworm - the Tom Rush version of “These Days”. The last line is stuck in my head.
I drink plain old Folgers coffee, black.
I haven’t dated for ten or eleven years.
I once saw Marlin Perkins at the St. Louis Zoo when I was a kid; none of the other kids recognized him. I ran up and said hi and shook his hand. (He was the director of the zoo and the host of Wild Kingdom, which was HUGE with all the kids I knew then.)
25 is too many. I’m left-handed, colour-blind atheist aries (but nonbeliever in Astrology) born on the same day as Kate Hudson, and my birthday is one day before Hitler’s.
Can you explain how you can lose your virginity without having sex?
I’m a Capricorn with a Sagittarius ascendant and a moon in Pisces.
I’m both right-handed and right-footed.
I have lived in 7 different states.
My middle name is Mary, after both my WASP grandmother (who went by Molly) and my Lithuanian grandmother (Mariana).
I am allergic to shrimp.
I only drink coffee socially.
I don’t drink alcohol at all.
I have been clean and sober since 12/22/85.
When I find out that Derek Trucks is playing in the Philly area, I buy tickets first, figure out who I’m taking later.
Most recent Derek Trucks (with Susan Tedeschi) concert was last July – had front row, center tickets and took my brother-in-law.
I prefer juicy fruits (peaches, pears) to crunchy ones (apples).
I lost my virginity on my 20th birthday.
I’m still friends with that guy, almost 35 years later.
I do not currently have a driver’s license.
Despite my skill at word puzzles, I’m not a natural anagrammer.
I haven’t been to a Super Bowl party since 1984.
I intend to mark the 25th anniversary of that event Sunday by going to the movies (probably The Wrestler, though that’s still in negotiation).
I’ve only been to Europe three times.
Someone other than me paid for each of those trips.
My ears are triple pierced but I don’t wear earrings in any of the holes.
I have two cats, Zebulon and Jezebel, who are brother and sister.
My previous cat, Elvis, lived to age 19.
I’m the youngest of three children.
I had brunch with my brother and his wife a few weeks ago – it was the first time I’d seen him in almost four years.
I’ll be having dinner with my sister and her husband tomorrow – I last saw them at Christmas, though she did call (from England) on my birthday (12/31).
This has been an informative exercise for me. Turns out I can’t think of things that are mundane and pointless about me. I imagine that every stupid little thing is important and seem to have no capacity limit for self absorption. See? See? I’m still talking about me. Jeez, how annoying.
I cut a light cord with metal scissors when I was 5 because I wanted to know if there was still electricity in the wire when the light was out. There was.
My dad died when I was 7.
My dad let me have a sip of his beer, so alcohol was consumed before age 7.
My first car was a 1968 Mustang. It was green.
My second was a 1996 F-150. I still have it. It’s green.
I bought a house 7 years ago. I had the siding replaced, it’s green.
I think my favorite color is green.
I’m drinking a beer.
I first shot a bow in the year 2001.
I went on my first deer hunt at age 35.
I work on a farm that does turfgrass research.
I am circumcised.
I have two dogs, soon to be one, unfortuately.
During my life, I have broken my wrist, collarbone, nose (Twice), dislocated a shoulder, and torn my knees up three times.
The most painful thing I’ve ever experienced was having my shoulder put back in place.
My stepbrother is an actor.
The furthest I’ve been away from home is San Francisco.
The first concert I went to was Journey in the early 1980’s.
The last one was Metallica.
My current earworm is “All Nightmare Long” by Metallica.
My TV has rabbit ears.
My first two cups of coffee must have cream and sugar, any other cups must be black.
I just finished “Just After Sunset” by Stephen King.
[ol]
[li]Don McLean’s “American Pie” reached number one on my birthday.[/li][li]I used to have a serious dog phobia I only recently conquered. [/li][li]I name all my computers. To date it’s always been girl names, but that’s just because the computers have always seemed female to me.[/li][li]Part of me is in love with Taye Diggs. [/li][li]I own upwards of a thousand books.[/li][li]I own only 3 DVDs.[/li][li]Rice in any form makes my blood sugar spike.[/li][li]I don’t know my sign, nor do I intend to find out.[/li][li]I have 7 siblings.[/li][li]Occasionally, when asked nosy questions, I make up long involved lies just to see how large I can make it before the bubble pops.[/li][li]I felt geeky for seeing the first Lord of the Rings movie 4times until I went out on a date with a woman who had seen it THIRTY-FIVE times.[/li][li]Given my druthers, I’d always live at least 6 stories off the ground.[/li][li]I once impressed a girl in a laundry room with my mad clothes-folding skills.[/li][li]The manager of my favorite Starbucks likes me and as a result I generally get everything free.[/li][li]Twice last year I should have gotten moving violations (running a red light in one case and a stop sign in the other) but, mysteriously, the cop chose to let me off.[/li][li]I got drunk for the first time at the age of 29.[/li][li]I was once arrested on an extremely embarrasing charge because I chanced to have the same name as the person the warrant was actually intended for.[/li][li]Despite having been cured of my dog phobia, I still can’t stand the bastards.[/li][li]I named my cat after a character in a Madeleine L’Engle novel.[/li][li]I simply refuse to ever hit a woman unless I am in immediate danger of serious physical haarm from her.[/li][li]I have an older brother whom I so despise that, if he’s ever found dead, even I would think myself a reasonable suspect.[/li][li]Whenever I see a 3-6 digit number and am otherwise idle, I start breaking it into prime factors in my head.[/li][li]I used to smoke one cigarette a year on the day of the Great American Smoke-Out.[/li][li]I love cheese far more than is healthy.[/li][li]The same is true of ginger snaps.[/li][/ol]
I have Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. Not to be confused with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
I love milk duds, almost to an obsessive point. I can’t make myself not eat an entire box.
I am abnormally suspicious of everything that my SO does, but I never say anything out loud about it.
I have been the last person to talk to over 10 people before they died.
My marriage was never legal, I never filed it. Even the ex-husband doesn’t know. I didn’t know until well after the fact.
I wonder all the time if I really love people, mostly my family. If I would care if they were gone.
I don’t really like kids much, my SO has three. I am not mean to them, quite the opposite really. I just don’t like them much. It gets better and better the older they get. I can see them becoming “actual” people.
I spent an exorbitant amount of time in the shower, I feel guilty about it, but it is the best part of my day.
I didn’t start driving until after I turned 17, and didn’t get a license until I was 18.
I tell people I love being a stay at home mom, but really I a too scared and lazy to get another job.
I watch Sex & The City re-runs and Family Guy religiously.
I am honest to a fault, sometimes I feel guilty for telling people the truth, because in all actuality, it does hurt.
I wear fake boob inserts almost everywhere.
I love the color green, I am abnormally drawn to it.
I am currently reading The Reef by Nora Roberts and it is terrible, but what did I expect really?
I rarely shave above my knees
I can’t play Guild Wars anymore, because high speed Internet isn’t available in my area. I miss it more than I do my parents, who I live further away from than ever.
I am terrified of deep water
My last meal would be: Fried Chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans. Ice cold Coke and Cheesecake.
I read anywhere from 4 to 20 books a month, depending on my mood.
I am reasonably intelligent, but most “higher learning” bores me.
I am a natural red head
I have been clean and sober (from meth) for almost 4 years.
I could not imagine a world without sharp cheddar cheese although I only eat it rarely.
I’m an Eagle Scout.
I own a turtle.
I had eye surgery at the age of 14. They took my eyes out of the sockets. I did not know that fact for at least 4 years until my eye doctor casually mentioned it during a checkup.
I can draw a dead on Homer Simpson but no other characters from the show. I can only draw his head, though.
I draw buildings… Or drew rather… In one summer I realized I had this artistic talent and could only draw buildings, nothing else. I was paid by several local businesses to draw their places two years ago (one still uses theirs as a postcard that I get a bit of cash for every time they get a batch of 500 reprinted). One day I got tired of it and stopped for some reason. I don’t know if I’ll ever draw again, but that was an interesting summer meeting other artistic people.
Now I’m an amateur photographer and keep up with that hobby. I think I chose it because its just easier and less time consuming when I already spend A LOT of time at work. I don’t know.
I bought a motorcycle that’s older than I am on a whim and am learning to ride it. It got too cold before I could get my license so it’ll have to wait for spring. I’m absolutely terrified of getting hurt but I realized I had to get out and do something fun and this jumped out at me. I’m still scared shitless.
My favorite snack is an english muffin (untoasted) fried in a frying pan with cheddar cheese on it like a cheese sandwich. I used to make them with my dad when I was very young and only recently remembered them and started eating them again. They’re damn good.
I always carry a Leatherman Wave on me. There are few times its more than a couple feet away from me ever.
I was at the movie premiere of the Simpsons Movie. Actually I was in the third of three showings of it that day. I was not invited or even guaranteed a ticket. I showed up and stood near the doors until someone that worked there gave me a ticket for still being dressed in scrubs from work and having driven a few hours just to be there. I was a geek and stood there for a few hours. It was a week before the movie was released nationally.
Geekily, I’m proud of number 13.
I once got my arm stuck in my own door for a couple of hours. I was locked out and the window was plexiglass. Strangely nobody heard me screaming for help in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It was embarrassing. The cops showed up and thought I was robbing the place.
I once spent 20 and a half hours on a park bench just to do it.
I grew up in a remodeled one room school house that was built in the 1890s. You could see the nail holes on the floor where the desks were nailed down. Growing up in a rural area and just that being that way my whole life I didn’t ever think it odd until people would say “Woah! That’s cool!”.
I can bend my thumbs back over the knuckles of my pointer fingers and keep them that way. Grossing people out this way was a great source of amusement to people when I was a little kid.
I don’t watch tv. That’s only partly true, though, because I keep up with the NBC nightly news as a podcast, I sometimes catch jeopardy at work, and I will sometimes watch the daily show or colbert report on hulu.com. All in all though my TV watching is probably down to a couple hours a week.
I live a very short distance from the Canadian border. People think this is strange for some reason. It is true about northern NY, Canadian money is commonplace but usually treated with distaste… Even if it has been traded at the correct exchange rate.
I never tell anyone my astrological sign when asked. I always figure that if you’re that interested in it then it must mean something to you and, therefore, you should be able to figure it out on your own.
For me, hell is Wal-Mart (or any other crowded store, locally owned or otherwise) on a Saturday. I hate crowds and get very nervous when I’m surrounded by that many people. I thought Disneyland was going to kill me.
I spend a lot of time looking through a 10x hand lens at stuff that was made thousands of years ago.
I have three dogs, three cats, and a turtle. I really only like one of the dogs and one of the cats. The turtle is okay but he can be a bit needy at times.
I’m the oldest of five. The youngest is 12 years younger than I am…we don’t have much in common.
Interestingly, I have quite a bit in common with my youngest brother. Now that he’s an adult we get along really well.
My younger boy is smarter but my older boy is better at sports. They fight constantly but can’t stand to be apart. Go figure.
I’m 37 and have been hanging out with the same group of guys since junior high.
In my life, I have been pulled over three times and gotten three tickets. I have never been given a warning and let go.
My username is a Lord of the Rings reference.
Although incongruous to some purists, I own both a Jeep CJ-7 and a Toyota FJ55.
I really like Alico hiking boots.
I used to backpack a lot before I had kids. I took them (7 and 9) on their first overnight backpacking trip last summer and it was great.
I love to gamble, especially Pai Gow poker. I refuse to play slots.
I like bourbon…a lot.
At the age of 35 I did my first triathlon. It has been great and I’ve done five more since then as well as a half-marathon.
I despise running. Hate it, hate it, hate it. I keep waiting for that “runner’s high” everyone keeps talking about.
My favorite game of all time is Civilization.
I think Bruce Campbell is vastly underrated as an actor.
The last concert I went to is They Might Be Giants.
My first concert was The Untouchables at the Tulare County Fair. They opened for the Timex Social Club. Needless to say, there were two very disparate groups of people at that show.
I get tired of how much teacher’s like to talk to other teachers about teaching (my wife, my mother, my best guy friend, and best guy friend’s wife are all teachers).
I used to work in Germany as a nanny.
I flunked out of college the first time I went but now have a M.A.
I’ve never thrown out a book. Given them away to friends, donated them to others, but never thrown one away.