Meme 4

Egad, Dave tagged me. I think this is the first time in a while I've been tagged, but maybe not -- I haven't been too good about reading everyone's blog lately, so another one could have slipped through the cracks (so if anyone out there tagged me and I didn't respond, please let me know, so I can at least have the choice of ignoring you rather than merely being ignorant).

FOODOLOGY

Q. What is your salad dressing of choice?
A. Ranch (easy when I don't have to change the answer from the previous person)

Q. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
A. I'm not really a fast-food person, but I do enjoy hitting Taco Bell every year or so.

Q. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
A. Nam Viet in Arlington (this was a tough one -- there are a lot of restaurants I really enjoy, but Nam Viet is probably the only one I've been frequenting for over a decade).

Q. On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant?
A. Probably about 18% (again, just like Dave).

Q. What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick off of?
A. Back in the summer of 1985 I think I probably did live off of Little Caesar's for a couple of weeks when i worked there, but I'm not sure I could do that again, even if I got to pick a different pizza place. Now, I'd be more inclined to go with sushi.

Q. What is your favorite type of gum?
A. Dunno -- it's been at least 20 years since I bought any.

TECHNOLOGY

Q. What is your wallpaper on your computer?
A. This one (though I need to put a more recent one up).

Q. How many televisions are in your house?
A. 2 (one is unplugged and due to be left at the curb for whoever wants it).

BIOLOGY

Q. What’s your best feature?
A. My eyes (so says Kathy).

Q. Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
A. My adenoids, wisdom teeth and frenum.

Q. Which of your five senses do you think is keenest?
A. Taste or touch.

Q. When was the last time you had a cavity?
A. 18 years ago, or so.

Q. What is the heaviest item you lifted last?
A. What a silly question -- the heaviest item I last lifted is by definition the last item I lifted. The last "item" I lifted was Emelia.

Q. Have you ever been knocked unconscious?
A. If being strangled into unconsciousness counts, then yes, otherwise no.

BULLSHITOLOGY

Q. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
A. Yes, but I'd rather know the year than the exact date.

Q. Is love for real?
A. Yes, on many different levels.

Q. If you could change your first name, what would you change it to?
A. I wouldn’t change it (gotta agree with Dave on this one too)

Q. What color do you think looks best on you?
A. Green

Q. Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake?
A. Not that I remember

Q. Have you ever saved someone’s life?
A. No

Q. Has someone ever saved yours?
A. Not that I'm aware of, other than my parents by taking care of me when I was unable to care for myself.

DAREOLOGY

Q. Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000?
A. Yes, if (a) the question is about public embarrassment -- in other words, there wouldn't be additional consequences such as being arrested for it; and (b) the weather was ok for walking around nude (don't want to scorch my feet or freeze to death).

Q. Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100?
A. Sure, if I got to pick the person.

Q. Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000?
A. No.

Q. Would you never blog again for $50,000?
A. Yes.

Q. Would you pose nude in a magazine for $250,000?
A. No -- I'm worth more.

Q. Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000?
A. No.

Q. Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000?
A. No.

Q. Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000?
A. Yes, though it's not like I watch much anyhow. That being said, maybe I'd use some of the money to fund some DC United road trips.

Q. Give up MySpace forever for $30,000?
A. That's easy money -- I've never gone over there, and even if there might someday be something that interested me at such a place, odds are that a new website will show up in a couple of years that'll become the new MySpace.

DUMBOLOGY

Q: What is in your left pocket?
A. Keys and receipts.

Q: Is Napoleon Dynamite actually a good movie?
A. I didn't think so.

Q: Do you have hardwood or carpet in your house?
A. Both

Q: Do you sit or stand in the shower?
A. "Dumbology" seems like the appropriate category for this question. I stand.

Q: Could you live with roommates?
A. I used to all the time before I got married, and even since then we've had long-term house guests (6 months), so yes.

Q: How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?
A. 1

Q: Last time you had a run-in with the cops?
A. About a year ago -- a cop decided to pull over the person in front of me in a turn lane -- she was in the straight-ahead lane, and when the light changed she tried this wacky maneuver to go after him. When she stopped him, she got immediately got out of her car and stopped me, accusing me of interfering with her efforts and threatening me with arrest if I ever did it again.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A. If I knew the answer to that, I might have done something about it by now.

LASTOLOGY

Q: Friend you talked to?
A. Tom

Q: Last person you called?
A. Elisabeth (the person we're doing the nanny share with)

RANDOMOLOGY

Q: First place you went this morning?
A. The bathroom, but if we're talking outside of the home, CVS.

Q: What can you not wait to do?
A. Wear shorts -- the weather here really stinks this Spring.

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?
A. Borat, the day Kathy went into labor.

Q: Are you a friendly person?
A. Yes, except when I'm grumpy.

As for tagging others with this Meme, that's not really my style, so anyone who wants to answer these questions go right ahead. That being said, if either Kathy or my brother wants to use this meme as an excuse to revive a dead blog, I'd be delighted.

Meme

I've done one meme before, voluntarily just to try it. This, however, is the first time I've been tagged. At the outset, I have to note that the participants in this meme generally seem to be of a particular gender, or which I am not a member. I don't know if this makes my participation a good thing or a bad thing.

Remove the top blog from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom.

Childsplayx2
The Weirdgirl
It's Not All Mary Poppins
Lory's blog
aaron's blog

Select five people to play (entirely voluntary, of course)

Evo Morales
turd blossom
Adam Kidan
Michael Schiavo
Marcus Vick

What were you doing ten years ago?

In January 1996 I had just been dumped by my girlfriend of 10 months, a co-worker. I had switched jobs at my agency four months earlier, and was unhappy enough to make another switch three months later -- fortunately, the second switch took, and I remained at that division for nearly eight years. I was living in the basement in a four-person group house in North Arlington.

In the summer of 1996 I would take perhaps my greatest adventure, two weeks on my own in the Czech Republic, showing up unable to speak Czech or German, with no place to stay and no plans, only a return ticket and two guidebooks. It might not have been that big of a deal, but given my limited exposure to foreign travel at the time, it was big -- it opened up my eyes to at least some recognition of what I'd been missing, and I've been traveling lots ever since.

What were you doing one year ago?

Exactly one year ago I was finishing up an amazing two weeks in Costa Rica with Kathy's family, the first week spent volunteering on a collective farm, the second spent traveling around seeing a fraction of the beautiful sights this small country has to offer. Once I got back, everything was pretty much the same as things are now, except I wasn't as miserable in my job.

Five snacks you enjoy.

1. Cashews (they're even better when mixed with chocolate morsels)
2. Baby carrots
3. Bananas
4. Tortilla chips
5. M&Ms

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics.

1. Lengthwise by Phish
2. A New England by Billy Bragg
3. Absolutely Cuckoo by The Magnetic Fields
4. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed by the Allman Brothers
5. Happy Birthday

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire.

1. Travel
2. Travel
3. Travel
4. Travel
5. Travel

Five bad habits.

1. Bite my nails.
2. Cut my own hair -- when I'm at work!
3. Use sarcasm too much.
4. Fail to finish assigned tasks.

Five things you like doing.

1. Drinking good beer.
2. Travel
3. Hanging out with good friends.
4. Going to Soccer games (DC United and US Men's National Team)
5. Traveling with/to see good friends so we can go to soccer games and drink good beer.

Five things you would never wear or buy again.
Here's where that gender discrepancy really comes into play -- guys don't think about what they would or wouldn't wear again, so I'm surprised that I was able to come up with even one of those.

1. Any beer from Budweiser, Miller or Coors.
2. A concert ticket to see Jay Farrar/Son Volt.
3. My hair in a mullet (the old pictures of me with one may be the only thing about me that makes Kathy cringe).
4. A calendar at full-price (half price as of January 2).
5. Non-discounted sneakers (sneakers are sneakers are sneakers -- an outlet or clearance rack does the trick every time).

Five favorite toys.

1. My desktop computer
2. My jukebox
3. My camera
4. The laptop computer
5. Kathy's breasts (the subject is not "my" favorite toys, so please don't think that I'm asserting ownership here. Also please note that the answers contained here are not necessarily listed in order of preference)

Meme

Never done one of these before, but I picked it up from Mary P, so here goes:

What were the three stupidest things you've done in your life?

1. What I said to Kathy on July 10, 2004. Fortunately, she forgave me.

2. Walked along the railroad tracks the night my Dad threw me out of the house -- in my state of mind I honestly don't know if I'd have moved out of the way if a train had come. (Later, on the day my Mom threw me out of the house, I had enough sense to go off in a different direction) .

3. Said No to Hawaii -- my then-girlfriend was sent out there on business while I was in law school, and offered to fly me out for a long weekend. I should have blown off a day or two of law school and gone.

Who has the most influence in your life right now?

- Kathy, naturally.

If you were given a time machine that functioned, and you were allowed to pick only five people to dine with, who would you pick?

Five and only five is tough, but then again, it wouldn't be as challenging (or as interesting to read) if I could pick 20. Truthfully, I see two ways to go with this scenario. The first is the famous people approach, and if I were to take that route, I'd probably go with FDR, Babe Ruth, Mark Twain (before he got old and morbid), Da Vinci (assuming a translator were available), and Thomas Jefferson. Yes they're all men, so I'd probably turn it into a poker night.

But after thinking it over, I think I'd take the second route, and that's more personal. Namely, I'd have my four grandparents together, from when they were all roughly 30 years old. I'd like to know the people they were when they were in the prime of life (I barely knew my paternal grandfather at all -- he died when I was six). By the time they were 30, my Dad's folks had been married with one or two of their three children (not my Dad). My maternal grandparents wouldn't have met by then, so I'd probably sit them next to each other, to see if they'd hook up. For what it's worth, they've all died (my maternal grandfather died most recently, December 2003), so it's not just the prime of life thing, it's also seeing them again, at all. As for the fifth person to join us, that'd have to be Kathy -- I'd need a witness to the evening, not to mention the consummate hostess.

If you had three wishes that were not supernatural, what would they be?

- that everyone would enjoy good beer, to the point that the brewers that produce all the macro swill (Bud, Miller, Molson/Coors, etc.) went out of business and brewers like Stone, Sierra Nevada, and Fantome were everyone's favorites
- good health for Kathy and me until the day we died (the same day)
- enough money to be set for life

I'd wish for world peace, but I figure that crosses into the supernatural.

Name two things you regret your city not having...

- A soccer-only stadium. I can't stand DC United having to share RFK with the Nationals -- it completely ruins the field.
- A great non-smoking beer bar. Fortunately, this may be happening soon.

...and two things people should avoid.

- Georgetown -- it's a place for college students and tourists, and a waste of time for everyone else.
- The National Aquarium. If you want to see a real aquarium, go to Baltimore.

Name one thing that has changed your life:

- Going by myself to the Czech Republic, in 1996, arriving with nothing but a backpack, a guidebook, and a return ticket (I didn't even know where I would stay my first night). It helped me realize how truly self-sufficient I can be, and how much I like to travel.


Tag:
Anyone interested is welcome to play.

100 Things About Me

Seems like a lot of blogs I've stumbled across have done this, and if I want to be a Real Blogger©, I figure that I need to do one as well.

Last edited 04/15/2006

History
1. I was born at Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1968.
2. I was conceived in October 1967 when my Bostonian parents celebrated the Red Sox winning the American League pennant -- they considered naming me Yastrzemski.
3. At birth on July 7 (7/7), I weighed seven pounds and seven ounces.
4. My parents gave me the middle name Russell, in case I didn't like Aaron.
5. I don't like the name Russell.
6. I am the oldest of four children.
7. When I was three I called my Dad at work (in the days before re-dial or speed dial), and I have no idea how I did it.
8. I grew up in Orange Park, Florida, just outside of Jacksonville.
9. My first job that didn't involve yard work or babysitting was as an operator for a telephone answering service when I was 15 (and yes, I worked at an old-fashioned switchboard).
10. I was valedictorian of my high school class of 39.
11. Being a high school valedictorian means diddly within one year of graduation.
12. I was a math major in college.
13. I once woke up 20 minutes after a final exam started, and still finished the exam in time.
14. Between college and law school, a college friend and I did a two-month cross-country road trip that included Canada.
15. Entering Montana from Canada, we were made to wait inside border patrol for a half hour while they did a complete search of our car -- apparently, two long-haired 21-year olds, one from Florida and one from Tennessee, looked suspicious.
16. I lost my virginity at 21.
17. When my childhood dog Puddle died when I was in law school, I couldn't help but think that I'd known her longer than I had my youngest sister.
18. An ex-girlfriend who didn''t want to have anything to do with me moved in next door to where I was living with my then fiancee.
19. I never pulled an all-nighter in college or law school.
20. I have lived in the suburbs of Jacksonville, Florida, the suburbs of Washington, DC, Ithaca, NY, Tallahassee, FL, and Washington, DC proper.

Married and Living in DC
21. I hadn't ever lived in a major city until 1998, when I moved into DC.
22. Within one week of moving into the city, I had met my future wife Kathy at the dog park.
23. I write acrostic poetry to Kathy, where the first letter of each line spells "I love you."
24. I proposed to Kathy reading an acrostic sonnet, in iambic pentameter, where the first letter of each line spelled out "Will You Marry Me," then handing it to her, the question being in enlarged bold.
25. She didn't notice the proposal.
26. Kathy and I got married in 1999.
27. I never want to live in suburbs again.
28. Kathy and I have two dogs, Nora and Junebug.
29. When I met Kathy, my dog was Rosie -- after she died of cancer in 2000, we got Junebug from the pound.
30. For my commute, I either Metro or walk.
31. At our wedding, my cousin Jeff was both the best man and maid of honor.
32. We live on Capitol Hill in a house we bought one month before we got married.
33. Despite living on Capitol Hill, I've never been inside the U.S. Capitol.
34. We would like to have children, but have been unable to conceive.
35. The best present Kathy has ever given me is a digital jukebox.
36. My wife is my best friend.
37. We don't have cable TV.
38. I need more sleep than Kathy does.
39. Together, my wife and I only own one car. We didn't own any car until November 2001, after Kathy had gotten somewhat panicked by 9/11.
40. The thing I most dislike about living in DC is that we have no voting representation in Congress.

Interests
41. I love good beer, and if you give me a chance, I can talk your ear off about it.
42. I have tried over 4000 different beers -- you can see the ones I've rated (and how I've rated them) here.
43. The only beer I've ever given a perfect score to is Three Floyd's Dark Lord Imperial Stout, which is not available where I live.
44. I don't think Sam Adams is a particularly good beer, but I'd still be polite if you said you like it.
45. I'd be polite even if you said you liked Budweiser.
46. For the last nine years I've hosted a holiday beer party, where I ask guests to bring a six-pack of seasonal beer.
47. I have taken many trips for the express purpose of trying beers or meeting up with fellow beer geeks.
48. I'm very good at Boggle, and have played a non-copyrighted version of it regularly on this site for over 10 years.
49. I have hosted a Bogathon and attended a few others.
50. As part of our first date (which started at noon and went until midnight), I played Boggle against Kathy.
51. During the first game, I started laughing because I had found the word "inebriate."
52. Kathy no longer likes playing Boggle with me.
53. I have met over 120 people in person whom I first met through the beer or the boggle site I frequent.
54. My favorite professional sports team is DC United, and I have been a full-season ticket holder since 1998.
55. I have been to five of the ten MLS Cups, including three of DC United's four championships.

Likes and Dislikes, Bests and Worsts, Mosts and Leasts
56. My favorite flavor of ice cream is coffee.
57. I don't drink coffee.
58. I don't drink any other caffeinated beverages, or any type of soda.
59. I don't like asparagus, I don't eat beef, and I'm allergic to shrimp.
60. My favorite ethnic dish is Vietnamese vegetable spring rolls (with peanut sauce).
61. I love sushi.
62. I couldn't possibly pick a favorite band (though I have identified several of my favorites on my profile page), but I do my darnedest to keep up with current music despite not having a decent radio station to listen to in DC.
63. My favorite foreign films are Life is Beautiful and Amelie.
64. While one of my favorite albums of the 1990s is the Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs, my favorite love song of theirs comes from a different album ("It's Only Time," on i).
65. The "loneliest" day in my life was my 21st birthday, when I saw only one other person (while hiking in the Canadian Rockies).
66. The most beautiful moment at a wedding (not my own) that I've attended was when my brother exchanged vows with his then-four-year-old stepson.
67. The most regret I've ever experienced was at my grandmother's funeral (when I was 17), when I discovered how much she had cared for me that I had taken for granted.
68. I love getting a massage.
69. The strangest place I've had sex was in the breakdown lane of an interstate.
70. My favorite season is spring, but I find winter the most beautiful.

Travel
71. My favorite place I've never lived is Portland, Oregon.
72. I have been to every state except Arkansas, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Idaho.
73. I have been to Las Vegas four separate times.
74. I never get tired of vacationing at the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
75. I have no particular desire to visit Hawaii.
76. I have been to Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, France, Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Russia, Belgium, Israel and Jordan.
77. When I visited Prague, I left after four days, afraid that if I didn't leave right then I never would.
78. The country I've not visited that I'd most like to is Turkey.
79. Or maybe it's Thailand.
80. I don't speak any language other than English.

More of What Makes Me Me
81. I am both a cultural Jew and an atheist.
82. I feel that I have lived a very fortunate life.
83. I am very opinionated.
84. I'm only 94.7% as arrogant about my opinions as I used to be.
85. I'm a shade under 6 feet tall, weigh about 165 pounds, and have green eyes.
86. My parents are still married, and live in Clearwater, Florida.
87. My brother Josh and sister Shari live outside of Phoenix, and my sister Rebecca lives outside of Atlanta.
88. I have never smoked tobacco or pot, or done any illicit drugs.
89. I favor legalizing pot.
90. I have way too many things.
91. My best friend from high school lives 25 miles from me and I haven't seen him since my wedding. I was first runner up in a Style Invitational contest for writing a poem that used only the first row of letters on a keyboard.
92. I wouldn't want to live forever.
93. I saw the Grateful Dead three times.
94. I have never been to an NFL game, and I haven't been to a Major League Baseball game since the strike of 1994.
95. I use puns way too much.
96. I cry on occasion.
97. Ive stood naked on my roof before.
98. I cut my own hair.
99. For me, work is a means to an end rather than an end unto itself.
100. I envy people who love their work, but I don't know what I'd love to do.