Monday, April 2, 2007

100 Things About Me

  1. I was born in Alabama, but spent the formative years in Arkansas and Louisiana. I'm not sure why I don't sound like someone on HeeHaw.
  2. I never met my father. My mother only knew him briefly. I have no idea what his real name is.
  3. I knew I was gay at a very young age.
  4. I don't remember very much about my childhood before the age of 5. Although I have some pretty vivid memories of a beach in Montgomery.
  5. I am deathly afraid of snakes and spiders, but I can watch them on TV (unlike my mother).
  6. I wanted braces all of my life, until I got them.
  7. I never ever think I'm the smartest person in the room.
  8. I wanted to be a drummer when I was a kid. My hero was Roger Taylor from Queen.
  9. I bought a book on breakdancing after seeing some cool video on television. I failed miserably but I never stopped admiring people who could do it.
  10. I lived in the projects until the age of 13.
  11. I attended a predominantly black middle school and was one of 6 white kids.
  12. I never had to study very much in middle and high school. College was a big shock and I thought I would flunk out.
  13. I thought I was going to be a mathematician when I was in grade school. Then I was run over by algebra.
  14. I had a paper route in the 4th grade and delivered them in the afternoon every day after school. When the schedule required that they be delivered in the morning before school, I quit.
  15. I spent all of my paper route earnings on comic books and candy. I never saved a cent.
  16. I was more of a DC than Marvel fan.
  17. I was on the tennis team in High School. I went to state in mixed doubles but lost in the first round. I threw up right before the match. Thus ended my career in athletics.
  18. I secretly hoped my father would show up and take me away from all the poverty and racism of the south.
  19. My mother was raised a pentecostal and I went to church with her exactly one time. There were people crying and speaking in tongues. I never went with her after that.
  20. I went to a baptist church and sunday school with friends from my high school.
  21. I have never thought very much about organized religion. I think it causes more problems than solves. I believe everyone has god in them.
  22. I did, however, pray for the "organizing force" to make me straight.
  23. I had crushes on Grizzly Adams, Charles Ingalls, and Steve Austin. I still do.
  24. I almost learned to play the clarinet. I did choir instead but I can't read music.
  25. I am a very lazy person.
  26. I am a very germ phobic.
  27. Number 25 and 26 are always fighting for dominance.
  28. I LOVE coffee and chocolate. Mochas are my idea of heaven.
  29. I'm much more of an upper person than a downer one.
  30. I thought I was the only person in my town who knew Kraftwerk, Joy Division and Cabaret Voltaire.
  31. I wanted to be a New Romantic.
  32. I'm currently obsessed with knitting. Previous obsessions have been succulents, electronic music and typography.
  33. I used to watch a lot of TV. Now I don't own one.
  34. I watch a LOT of DVDs. We have a pretty big library.
  35. I took a lot of drugs as a undergraduate. Not quite as many in grad school. But then I made up for it when I moved to San Francisco.
  36. I used to work for a Global Apparel Manufacturer that is commonly known as an American Icon. I worked in the Publicity department.
  37. I met Lauryn Hill, Air, Basement Jaxx, Esthero, Black Eyed Peas, Jamiroquai, Phantom Planet, Massive Attack, Sasha. Digweed and a host of other DJs and celebutantes.
  38. I've always had a facility for language, but I'm usually too embarrassed to strike up a conversation in another language.
  39. I have an addictive personality.
  40. I have hazel eyes.
  41. I used to lay on our roof and try to get tan. I'm so shocked that I never developed any skin cancers.
  42. I graduated valedictorian of my high school.
  43. I almost flunked college managerial accounting. My mother was an accountant.
  44. I met my partner in a rock and roll bar. He was the bartender and assistant talent booker.
  45. We've been together for 5 years.
  46. I have a list of all the people I've ever slept with.
  47. My first boyfriend was twice my age.
  48. My grandmother taught me to crochet and knit as a child. I picked up the needles again about 2 years ago when my friend Moreno was working on socks and I made him show me how.
  49. I've never been to the Far East.
  50. I studied abroad my Junior year in college. Actually it was the Spring Semester and a portion of the summer. It was in Angers, France.
  51. I would like to live in another country for a while. Maybe France or Northern England, but I'd be happy with Canada or Mexico.
  52. My partner suffered an aneurysm during our 3rd year together. He is now a paraplegic. We are both hopeful that one day he can walk again.
  53. My mother died at the age of 52.
  54. My older brother, my younger sister and I all have different fathers.
  55. My brother lived with my great-grandparents in Arkansas until he was 16. Then he came to live with us in Louisiana.
  56. My very first musical purchase was the 45 rpm single of "Take A Chance" on Me by Abba.
  57. I think a war on anything solves nothing.
  58. I'm still friends with my best friends in college but I don't speak to any of my friends from high school.
  59. I've had LASIK surgery to correct my vision.
  60. The hair on my neck grows very fast and I have to have touch ups in between proper haircuts.
  61. I hate to drive.
  62. I can fall asleep in the back of a moving car in 5 minutes.
  63. I'd prefer to wash the dishes over cooking.
  64. Fresh breath is a priority in my life.
  65. I prefer thrift and vintage to brand new... except when it comes to shoes.
  66. I am quick to anger.
  67. I'm bad at admitting I'm wrong.
  68. I prefer to pee sitting down.
  69. I cannot poo in public stalls. I'm okay with a private room.
  70. My stress dream is usually about missing a final exam or about realizing at the end of the semester that I forgot to drop a class.
  71. I worry that I'm not enjoying my youth.
  72. I worry that I'm not growing up fast enough.
  73. My sister and her husband have two children and a dog. My brother and his wife have 2 donkeys and a goat.
  74. My brother is 6 years older than me and my sister is 6 years younger than me.
  75. I went back to graduate school at the age of 37 and finished my Master's Degree.
  76. We had a Peekapoo named Tigger when I was a teenager. He had epilepsy.
  77. I kept a diary for a brief period in high school and wrote in it backwards. I thought perhaps I would turn into Leonardo Da Vinci if I did this. I don't think it worked.
  78. I have a serious yarn monkey on my back.
  79. I used to think that wool was hideous but I have since learned that it comes in many fabulous forms.
  80. I prefer the knit stitch to the purl. I prefer stocking stitch to garter stitch. I prefer Fair Isle to Intarsia.
  81. I worship at the altar of Elizabeth Zimmerman.
  82. I love dry gardening.
  83. I prefer non-spiny succulents to cactus but I pretty much love them all.
  84. I prefer dry and hot to cold and wet but the worst is hot and humid.
  85. I am afraid of the dark.
  86. I love maple trees in the fall.
  87. I love the smell of peppermint and sandalwood.
  88. I can't eat fresh tomatoes but I could drink salsa. Bloody Mary's make me gag.
  89. I tried to be vegetarian when I lived in Austin. I couldn't do it. I blame the Salt Lick.
  90. I used to collect Swatch Watches. I still have my collection.
  91. My absolute all-time favorite groups are the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, The Magnetic Fields, Abba, Kraftwerk, New Order and the Smiths.
  92. I love jellyfish, octopus and squid/cuttlefish. If I had an aquarium, It would be filed with only these animals.
  93. If I could have a super power, I'd love to have chromatophores.
  94. I could eat breakfast food for every meal. I adore pancakes.
  95. I could watch Absolutely Fabulous/French & Saunders, Stranger With Candy and the Sopranos on a loop... and I do.
  96. I love a good horror film or thriller.
  97. I hate most action and war films.
  98. My favorite drinks are a lemon drop, closely followed by a filthy martini (3 olives) and finally a cosmopolitan made with a bit more cranberry and a little less Cointreau.
  99. I can't sleep in pajamas nor can I sleep in the nude.
  100. I prefer stout beer and I like it chilled.

9 comments:

Jon said...

I love this list. I really want you to do one on your different hairstyles, with pictures.

WonderMike said...

Thanks, Jon. That's a good future post. I'll start organizing. There were so many colors and cuts....

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Love your list!

I also wanted to be a New Romantic, how funny.

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Oh, I also had LASIK and love the Smiths. But you and have so much in common taste-wise that it's pointless to point it all out!

Anonymous said...

Hey, it's one of number 58. Love ya and miss ya like crazy!

Jon said...

Your blog misses you, mike.

WonderMike said...

I know. I'm sorry. I've been feeling poorly and lazy.... see #25. But I'm working my way out of that. Posts coming tonight....

randi K design said...

I loved your list describing your life... You should write a book!

WonderMike said...

Thanks, Randi. I've been toying with the thought....