Fifty Things

Via the Llamabutchers, fifty things about me:

1. Your name spelled backwards. suinal nhoj

2. Where were your parents born? Dallas, Texas.

3. What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer? Planet of the Apes as Twilight Zone episode (yet another exhibit for short copyright terms and a vibrant public domain).

4. What’s your favorite restaurant? A toss-up: Japon Steakhouse and Sushi Bar (perfect for both romantic dinners and whole-family outings) or III Forks (best ribeye I've ever had).

5. Last time you swam in a pool? Last Saturday at The Texas Pool (our local members-only pool, shaped like the State of Texas with an island where Plano is).

More in the extended entry:

6. Have you ever been in a school play? Yes, I was Marcellus Washburn during my senior year of high school in a production of The Music Man. I had hoped to get the role of Prof. Harold Hill, since he got to kiss Marian the Librarian, who was being played by a girl I had a major crush on at the time.

7. How many kids do you want? We have three, which is how many we wanted. My wife and I both came from families with three kids, and it just feels "right."

8. Type of music you dislike most? Another toss-up. "Nashville" Country and Rap. (I actually like bluegrass if played by someone like Bela Fleck, and I also like old "cowboy" music, like you hear in westerns -- I am not much of a fan of either Nascar culture or gangsta culture).

9. Are you registered to vote? Definitely.

10. Do you have cable? No, we're broadcast-only, spending that monthly money instead on broadband internet, DVDs, and CDs.

11. Have you ever ridden on a moped? No, although I drove a home-built mini-bike (powered by a lawnmower engine) during my early teen years up at the family lakehouse.

12. Ever prank call anybody? I think in 7th or 8th grade we made a few hang-up calls to the cute girls. Not since.

13. Ever get a parking ticket? Only in Washington DC.

14. Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? I would love to try skydiving someday, although I'm afraid I'll have to be a widower before that will happen.

15. Farthest place you ever traveled. Europe (Austria was the most distant point from Texas on the trip).

16. Do you have a garden? Technically speaking, yes, although it has lain fallow for four years now.

17. What’s your favorite comic strip? Yet another toss-up. Current strips - Foxtrot and Get Fuzzy. Classic strips - Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side.

18. Do you really know all the words to your national anthem? Only to the first verse.

19. Bath or Shower, morning or night? Shower, morning.

20. Best movie you’ve seen in the past month? The Bourne Supremacy although I'm currently enjoying Dune on DVD (the recent miniseries, not that David Lynch atrocity).

21. Favorite pizza topping? Pepperoni and more pepperoni. Sometimes jalapeños.

22. Chips or popcorn? Chips, especially Zapp's Hotter 'N Hot Jalapeño Potato Chips

23. What color lipstick do you usually wear? Something sheer and glossy with a hint of pink. . . but only after I've kissed the missus!

24. Have you ever smoked peanut shells? No, nor do I ever plan to.

25. Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? No.

26. Orange Juice or apple? Orange.

27. Who was the last person you went out to dinner with and where did you dine? Went out with the wife and kids and another family to Chuck's Restaurant in Plano for burgers and chicken fingers.

28. Favorite type chocolate bar? Milky Way Midnight bar.

29. When was the last time you voted at the polls? 2002 mid-term elections (and maybe a local bond election in 2003, too).

30. Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? Too long ago. Probably a few months when my parents' container crop first came in.

31. Have you ever won a trophy? Yes, other than the participation trophies I got as a kid, I got two embarrassingly large trophies at high school graduation: one for being Salutatorian, and the other a "Man for Others" award.

32. Are you a good cook? I've been told so by people other than my of-course-perfectly-neutral-fair-and-balanced wife.

33. Do you know how to pump your own gas? Uhh, yeah?

34. Ever order an article from an infomercial? Nope.

35. Sprite or 7-up? Either, but only rarely.

36. Have you ever had to wear a uniform to work? No.

37. Last thing you bought at a pharmacy? Eyedrops.

38. Ever throw up in public? Twice during my sophomore year of college (one of the times had to do with this).

39. Would you prefer being a millionaire or find true love? True love.

40. Do you believe in love at first sight? Yes. My wife and I knew it when we first met as teens, but it took us about 7 years of growing up (never dating - we were just friends) to admit it.

41. Ever call a 1-900 number? Once during college, out of curiosity.

42. Can ex’s be friends? It depends. Usually not, in my experience.

43. Who was the last person you visited in a hospital? My younger sister after she delivered her first child back in February.

44. Did you have a lot of hair when you were a baby? No.

45. What message is on your answering machine? Short and simple. . . and done by my wife.

46. What’s your all time favorite Saturday Night Live Character? Mike Myers' "Dieter" on Sprockets or his "Wayne" of Wayne's World. I prefer MadTV to SNL these days.

47. What was the name of your first pet? A cat named Carrots and a dog named Bandit.

48. What is in your purse? What purse?

49. Favorite thing to do before bedtime? Consult with the missus.

50. What is one thing you are grateful for today? My family.

Posted by JohnL at August 26, 2004 08:35 PM