25 Things, a meme reborn

During the year that I was on Facebook (2009), I participated in the viral survey called “25 Random Things About Me.” The idea behind it was simple: you list 25 random tidbits about yourself and post it in hopes that people find you more interesting. It proved incredibly appealing (and annoying) and for about a month everyone had one to share.

Unfortunately I don’t have a copy of the list I made then (I wish I did), so in the spirit of vanity I’m going to do it again, from scratch based on life as it is in 2011.

25 Things

1. I don’t own a microwave.
2. I have cats, not children. They sleep on my face.
3. I hold my breath while sleeping. This is not related to #2.
4. I went to third grade at the US Embassy in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. I once spent an afternoon roaming the subway system there, alone.
5. As a teenager I lived in perpetual terror that someone was going to slip me LSD. Ironically, this actually happened to my wife Stephanie at a party.
6. I’ve forgotten most of what I learned in grad school.
7. It’s true, my brother has a very high IQ, but I’m taller.
8. I’m more likely to learn Finnish than finish Infinite Jest.
9. I often struggle to remember the names of things. I will call a chair a curtain, or a dog a grape. This is a quirk I inherited from my mom, the other musician in the family.
10. Buying a Steinway was the best $35,000 I’ve ever spent.
11. In the past couple years I’ve discovered that I love exercising
12. And reading (or should say, re-discovered)
13. When I stay in hotels I never turn on the television.
14. I almost burned my house down when I was 11.
15. I once owned a bar in rural Texas.
16. I once camped out in a parking lot waiting for Steph to get off work, then pretended to run into her as she was leaving. That contrived encounter morphed into our first date.
17. When I was 9, I had a man crush on Barry Manilow. I even performed “I Write The Songs” for my fourth grade class. I later dumped him for Stevie Wonder.
18. When I was 14, my hero was Michael Boddicker, someone you’ve probably never heard of, yet his work as a studio synthesizer player was ubiquitous during the early ’80s (Thriller, Xanadu, Flashdance). I wrote him a six page fan letter. Three months later he responded. I still have the letter.
19. Winning the Presidential Physical Fitness Award in sixth grade was my first great moment in life, mostly because I wanted it more than anything and worked my butt off to get it. Proof that any goal can be attained if so desired.
20. That being said I have no talent for sports.
21. I dry shave
22. …while driving
23. In retrospect, I wish I had majored in something other than Mathematics.
24. I can name all the Best Picture Oscar winners since 1966. On a good day, I can enumerate all the presidents too. I’m always eager to demonstrate this important skill.
25. Every day I suggest an alternate name for myself, like “Today I think I’m going to change my name to Uma Thurman.” I usually forget these monikers within ten minutes.