The 20 random things you may not have known about me... thread.

[williamsonrg]

By the standard definition most of the Americans I know define themselves as whatever their ancestries were. Only, so none of them here seems to define themselves as Americans. Too simple?

Ready my "20 things". I called myself American.

 

[jefhatfield]

this list is great

...and everybody here seems so nice, smart and accomplished

...so what five things about yourself bugs other people or bugs you about yourself?

here are mine:

1) i could get very one track minded (my mom goes ballistic over that one)
2) sometimes when i like a song, i listen to it over and over (also bugs mom when i did this a lot as a teenager...john denver, the eagles, kiss, glenn miller)
3) i eat standing up or when i am cooking, i sample too much of the food (this is a family trait which bugs my wife who was raised never to eat standing up)
4) i talk blue state politics too much around red state people (this bugs red state people and some blue state people who were taught never to discusss politics around strangers or mixed company)
5) i could be extremely absent minded and not be present (this bugs everybody)

 

[jayscheuerle]

...so what five things about yourself bugs other people or bugs you about yourself?

How about an even "What makes you, YOU?" kind of thing, the good, bad and ugly included?

 

[jefhatfield]

How about an even "What makes you, YOU?" kind of thing, the good, bad and ugly included?

oh, and i used to hate my unibrow but when a lot of the guys reached puberty, they also grew unibrows that made me look like i didn't have one at all

 

[MOFS]

1. As a toddler, I once wandered away from my mother at Sears and a man in the parking lot led me back to the store.

2. I like raw vegetables. I hate cooked yellow vegetables.

3. I love Japanese food and Thai food, but think there is no better food in the world than a milkshake that comes with the silver cannister from the mixing machine.

4. I've given my wife a gift on our monthly anniversary every month since we've been married. I don't use a reminder system yet I've never missed one.

5. My two favorite classical pieces are "Scheherazade" by Rimsky-Korsakov and "March from The Love for Three Oranges" by Prokofiev. Almost all other music I like is rock.

6. I have a written list of every movie I've ever seen in a theater. I never read it, but I keep it up to date in case I'll ever want to.

7. I've committed a theft only once in my life, when I stole the "Penalty for Theft" anti-shoplifting warning sign from a supermarket.

8. Everyone in my family has their birthday on the same day of the week in any given year. If my birthday is on a Monday, so will my father, mother, and siblings.

9. I notice things like #8.

10. My sister has gone sky diving. My brother has gone bungie jumping. I have gone used-car shopping.

11. I memorized the first 72 decimal digits of pi in 7th grade, just for fun, and still remember them, but I've never been able to remember my driver's license number (one letter and 7 digits).

12. I hope someday to see the Aurora Borealis (northern lights).

13. I celebrated my 22nd birthday by having 21 helpings of dessert. I survived.

14. I'm a pretty good skier and table tennis player.

15. I've never broken a fingernail.

16. I tried aquavit only once, and that was the only time I've ever been drunk.

17. I have only two phobias: dropping my keys down the crack where the elevator door opens, and getting cut badly on my Achilles tendon.

18. Before I was a computer fanatic, school volunteer fanatic, and MacRumors fanatic, I was a college basketball fan(atic), and held the university record for the most consecutive home basketball games attended by a student.

19. My favorite number is 32. My favorite card in the deck is 64 (six of clubs). I decided to live to exactly age 96 because it's a multiple of 32.

And the most shameful fact about me that you didn't know...

20. My favorite computer game is Freecell for Windows NT/2000. I select the games by number (game 1, game 2, ...), in order, one by one, until I beat them. As of today, I have beaten games 1 through 1,060.

I think I understand now why you're always completing those wonderful stats for us all to view - your attention to detail (and numbers!) seems to be absolutely amazing!

 

[Doctor Q]

I think I understand now why you're always completing those wonderful stats...

I appreciate your nice comment. And thank you for not commenting on my embarrassing Freecell addiction. I love playing that game, even when I have to stare at the screen, thinking, for 10 to 15 minutes before making my next move. The Mac versions of the game that I've tried were somehow never as pleasant as the straightforward Windows version. Oh well.

 

[clayj]

1. As a toddler, I once wandered away from my mother at Sears and a man in the parking lot led me back to the store.

I did the same thing, at the Sears at Kahala Mall in Honolulu when I was 3 years old. I managed to cross a six-lane highway and get home, where my (in hysterics) mother found me.

8. Everyone in my family has their birthday on the same day of the week in any given year. If my birthday is on a Monday, so will my father, mother, and siblings.

9. I notice things like #8.

Based on your statement, I predict that none of them have a birthday in January or February. If I'm wrong, then so are you. (And yes, I notice things like that, too.)

10. My sister has gone sky diving. My brother has gone bungie jumping. I have gone used-car shopping.

My dad jumped out of airplanes 99 times while serving in the Air Force... at various times, he was attached to Army Airborne units. He missed his 100th jump due to retiring after 26 years in the USAF. I, on the other hand, would only jump out of an airplane if it was about to crash.

 

[jayscheuerle]

After some thought (for those who care...)

1) I love my daughter more than I ever thought it was possible to love ANYTHING in the world. Until her, I couldn't imagine taking a bullet for anybody.

2) I love playing pranks, messing with people, but in a non-malicious way.

3) I'm arrogant and think I'm right all the time, which would be more disturbing if I actually wasn't right all the time. ;-)

4) I joined Mensa to meet chicks. I stopped going when I saw what Mensa chicks were like. Joining for this reason is enough to question their admission requirements.

5) I love creating things/solving problems, but feel deep inside that what I create on a computer is less "real" than when I create a tangible object in my wood-shop.

6) I'm impatient and have a horrendous time with languages and musical instruments, yet have a curious affinity for a cappella music and would love to learn the upright bass.

7) I love failure and being proved wrong, getting off on the learning process that follows both.

8) I plan out creation projects to the point that when it comes time to do the actual work, I can just enjoy immersing myself in the tools, knowing all the groundwork has been laid.

9) I'd love to have a few pints with Leonardo Da Vinci and Ben Franklin, then work together solving an apparently simple mechanical engineering problem in a new and better way.

10) I'm a f**kin' horny old bastard and my much younger girlfriend loves it and matches it.

11) I get no big thrill out of roller coasters, bungee-jumping or parachuting because most of their risk has been removed. Stick me in a situation where I have to rely on my skill (when I have none) to keep me from getting physically hurt and my adrenaline rush is almost debilitating. The first time I went rock-climbing in the Gunks with my brother was terrifying, but I loved it once I was off the rock face.

12) I know the Secret of Life, but it's not something I can share with words, besides, nobody can understand it until they get there on their own.

13) I am tight with money and am embarrassed as to how little I ever give to charities.

14) I am very giving of my time to my friends and would help any one of them with anything just for asking.

15) I'm teaching myself to cook during my daughterless weeks and am having more fun than I would have ever thought, finally realizing how much it is like design combined with sex.

16) I'm not small, 6'1 & 195lbs., but I'm MUCH stronger than my size would indicate, even when out of shape. This wins me bets.

17) I love being 40, looking 33 and acting 12 when possible. Knowing your inner child is immeasurably important, as is being reliable and responsible.

18) I'm trusting to a fault, but would rather be burnt a few times than to be cynical and mistrusting. I seldom get burnt.

19) Both my sister and I are missing a tooth on the bottom since birth. This proves us heirs to the German throne. I'm still waiting for my crown.

20) Give me an hour in a hammock on a sunny 75 degree (F) day with an Schneider Aventinus, the Sunday paper and my favorite 4 legged pet between my legs and I'm in heaven. Convince me that your religion will guarantee this as my ever-running afterlife and I'll sign the dotted line.

 

[Doctor Q]

1) I love my daughter more than I ever thought it was possible to love ANYTHING in the world. Until her, I couldn't imagine taking a bullet for anybody.

12) I know the Secret of Life, but it's not something I can share with words, besides, nobody can understand it until they get there on their own.

I think you gave it away yourself!

 

[jayscheuerle]

I think you gave it away yourself!

Ah! Very nice! But if you've seen us together, it's no secret!

 

[ToddW]

1. The only thing I can attest to is being 1/4 welsh and 1/4 polish.
2. I'm 27
3. I have a wife and a two year old boy, who I call poot!
4. We have a dog that my wife named, but my son and I call dog!
5. I know there is something in this world that is meant for me, I just wish I knew what.
6. Engineering isn't all it is cracked up to be.
7. My best friend and I started up some websites, I find this to be both fun, creative, and something neat to learn. dicksonstreet3.com
8. I have a thing for blondes, redheads, and chicks in glasses (my wife is a brunette, go figure!)
9. I'm not close with my immediate family
10. I grew up poor in the rural south, I thought it was the best motivation to make something out of myself.
11. I went to a total of 12 schools before a graduate high school. I only got kicked out of two.
12. I was diagnosed with depression at the end of last year.
13. I hate rap and country
14. Switch to the mac was the best thing I've ever done.
15. I've been told that I have a story for everything
16. I swear way to much
17. I think about sex roughly once every 30 minutes
18. I'm thinking of seeing a counselor
19. I have a connection with my son, that I thought I could never have with another person, we seem to know what each other is thinking.
20. There is nothing more refreshing then a good crown and coke

 

[trebblekicked]

20. there is no way the twenty things i would list would be interesting enough to warrant the bandwidth used to display them.

 

[jmsait19]

First of all, ATHF is awesome.
Secondly, clearly you are from St. Louis, so I have to ask... what high school did you go to?

Funny you say that. I almost put that in there somewhere because I know we here are famous for asking everyone what high school they went to within the first five minutes of meeting them? Are we really the only ones who do that? Anyway, I went to St. Charles West.

Are you from St. Louis, if so, I must reciprocate the question. Where did you go to high school

 

[Lyle]

1. I'm not that interesting

I thought it was supposed to be things we didn't know about you...

P.S. Just kidding. Please put down that rock.

 

[vouder17]

1. I am Dutch
2. I have lived most my life in Swaziland/South Africa...thus i don't feel very dutch.
3. I am the BIGGEST FAN of SURVIVOR!!!
4. I also did IB
5. I like all women...
6. I Love to drive and started when i was 17 years old.
7. The fastest i have ever gone is 200km/hr in an unsteady car...not a good idea.
8. I am a DJ
9. I love music, especially african house, except not Crunk..if that is even considered music.
10. I love the outdoors
11. I hate Winter
12. One day i hope to live in South Africa
13. My favourite alcholic drink is beer, non-alcholic is water
14. I have never owned a Windows PC!!!
15. I am 19
16. I don't believe in God/Heaven/Hell..but i am catholic
17. I saw Michael Jackson as a kid....not in that sort of way though..hehe
18. I am really scared of heights and snakes!!!
19. I hate cigarettes and smoke..they should be banned
20. I am a fan of pretty much any food...you put it on my plate i will eat it!

 

[Mechcozmo]

19. I hate cigarettes and smoke..they should be banned

I agree!

 

[Mechcozmo]

After much deliberation I decided to come up with this:

1. I like being sarcastic.
2. I have 3 computers on my desk, a 4th downstairs, and more that I "manage"
3. I am not from outer space.
4. I like to make things up because they usually are funny.
5. If 802.11b/g and Bluetooth radios waves were deadly, I wouldn't be posting this
6. I run cross country.
7. Look up what cross country is (a SPORT) before asking how I can run so many thousands of miles.
8. I have memorized nearly all of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and quote it often
9. I despise stupid people. "If idiots could fly, this would be an airport" is a favored motto.
10. What I say here is false.
11. I like my screen name for an odd reason. It sounds cool. But that isn't the reason. Its odd and that reason isn't odd enough.
12. Number 13 is false.
13. Number 12 is false.
14. I am filling space by writing this in for number 14.
15. I do not like rap.
16. My technical expertise is larger than most people who do this for a living.
17. "This" in number 16 refers to building computers or providing tech support.
18. I have never failed a class, but various assignments I have.
19. I hope that LCDs don't give off lethal rays or I am a goner.
20. I can type at approximately 6000 words per hour.

 

[MOFS]

I appreciate your nice comment. And thank you for not commenting on my embarrassing Freecell addiction. I love playing that game, even when I have to stare at the screen, thinking, for 10 to 15 minutes before making my next move. The Mac versions of the game that I've tried were somehow never as pleasant as the straightforward Windows version. Oh well.

No problemo. And I don't know anything about Freecell (some kinda Windows card game yeah) but I can hardly complain when I know I messed up my medical exams almost purely because of a total addiction to Championship Manager games. Still a medical student tho' - just...

 

[cheekyspanky]

1. I am Welsh, but I don't sound it
2. I don't know my family history beyond my grandparents
3. I think Elisha Cuthbert is gorgeous
4. I have only ever sold one thing on eBay (An Apple Lucky Bag)
5. I seem to end up chatting to an old person everytime I go on a train
6. I'm studying Computer Aided Product Design, but I don't enjoy it
7. I have no idea what job I want - which scares me
8. I was at the Apple Store London opening, about 180th in the queue and was wearing 2 pairs of jeans, 2 tshirts, a hoody, a coat, a scarf, 2 pairs of socks, gloves..and was still cold
9. I drove yesterday for the first time since June, and I may have been caught speeding in a 30mph zone
10. My eyes are blue and I wear glasses but want contacts
11. I leave almost all of my work til the last minute, just to see if I can still finish it on time, causing myself huge stress - and I hate myself for doing it, but I can't seem to change.
12. When I wash and dry my clothes I am sometimes too lazy to put them on hangers, so I leave them in a pile on the floor in my bedroom
13. I am almost always late - for everything
14. My parents think my iPod cost less than it actually did
15. I don't appear stressed when I actually am, leading people to think I'm just not interested
16. I passed my driving test first time a month after my 18th birthday with 4 minors.
17. I have driven less than 1000 miles since then (in almost 3 years)
18. I'd like to work for Apple but I'm probably not good enough
19. I enjoy photography but have a fairly rubbish camera (4MegaPixel point, click and hope)
20. I often wonder if any of you recognise me by username

 

[Doctor Q]

I used up my allotment of 20 random facts, so I guess I won't get to tell the story behind this one:

21. I failed my 10th grade math final.

(Edit: I relent and explain this one later in the thread.)

 

[jsw]

I used up my allotment of 20 random facts, so I guess I won't get to tell the story behind this one:

21. I failed my 10th grade math final.

Don't feel bad. I got a "C" on my 10th grade math final, which resulted in my only "B" in high school, which made me the only non-valedictorian in my family (two younger brothers got straight A's). Hence, I'm the family idiot.

 

[vouder17]

I agree!

We should start a petition/campaign/world dominance...maybe some good will come from it..hehehe

DjVoTeZ

 

[Awimoway]

I used up my allotment of 20 random facts, so I guess I won't get to tell the story behind this one:

21. I failed my 10th grade math final.

Perhaps you'll enjoy my #11.

1. I'm 1/4 Norwegian. The rest is mostly English, maybe a little Irish.
2. My dream life would be to live near the ocean in the Pacific Northwest and raise a Poison Garden.
3. I met the love of my life when we were 18. We were engaged within 6 weeks, but did not marry until four years later. Despite being faithfully engaged, we were not able to see each for three of those four years.
4. I consider myself a member of the "religious left."
5. I probably have an autoimmune disorder (am working on getting it diagnosed).
6. I practice secret rites.
7. My diet is increasingly vegan (in other worse, I occasionally cheat -- it's not for ideological reasons).
8. My surname is only found in North America. No one knows for sure where it comes from.
9. I hate fish. My grandparents, who grew up on the shores of Puget Sound, are appalled.
10. I have phobias of large spiders and being in very deep water (oceans, lakes).
11. In high school, I once had a report card with a 3.5 GPA and one F. Needless to say, math isn't my strong suit.
12. I love watching, in this order, baseball and professional (American) football. I loathe basketball. I'm not particularly loyal to any teams, though.
13. I have the highly annoying tendency to behave as though I'm paying attention to someone talking to me even though my mind has wandered off and I have no idea what I'm being told.
14. I am working on writing four completely different novels more or less simultaneously. I have never published but I did win a writing award in college. Feel free to laugh.
15. I never used any illegal drugs before my 28th birthday. See #5 and #17 for reasons why that changed.
16. I like to chase thunderstorms. Someday I'll do one of those tornado-hunting vacations in the American Midwest.
17. I have several herniated discs.
18. I prefer cool, rainy weather to hot, sunny weather. I don't like living in southern California.
19. Professionally, I'm a hypocrite: I make newspapers, but I don't read them (I get my news from the 'net).
20. I'm not afraid to die, but I'd rather live long enough to accomplish a few goals and dreams.

 

[MattG]

Okay here goes:

1. I'm 1/2 Jewish, 1/4 Russian, and 1/4 Lithuanian.
2. I detest cigarettes and the people that smoke them.
3. My favorite movie is The Big Lebowski -- I watch it at least once a month, have probably seen it 100 times now, and can quote from it on demand!
4. People always say, "wow, I didn't think you liked that" when they hear about the kinds of music I listen to. I can't stand Rap music, but otherwise my music collection includes everything from The Dixie Chicks to Dream Theater.
5. I'm actually quite introverted.
6. I've only been using Macs for about 3 years now. I've been using Windows (and still am to some extent) since it was only at version 3.1.
7. I can't stand meat loaf (the food, not the recording artist).
8. I play guitar. I've been playing for about ten years now.
9. I like collecting TV shows that have been put onto DVD.
10. I like photography. I used to be way more into it in high school. One day when I can afford some new equipment, I'd like to get started up on it again.
11. I like cats and dogs but cannot stand to be around them -- my allergies flare up to badly.
12. I don't really like to party. I'd much rather crash on the couch and watch TV or a movie, rather than go out to some smoke-filled bar and socialize.
13. I have this weird fear of anything plumbing related. I'm always afraid that I'm going to come home and find that one of the pipes broke, or that something started leaking. I routinely look under the sink just to make sure everything looks "okay."
14. Last time I checked, I can type around 120 words per minute. I work for the IT Department for a college, and whenever they see me type, they look at me like I have two heads.
15. I like really, really hot (spicy) food.
16. I tend to be kind of arrogant, and look down upon other people for things I think are "below me."
17. At present, I've got 6200+ songs in my iTunes library.
18. I've got a bumper sticker that says "Wake Me In 2008" on my car.
19. I *hate* bugs...big ones, tiny ones, whatever. If I see one flying around my condo, I'm not satisfied until I find it and kill it.
20. Bigshots in their trucks/SUVs/sports cars that drive around and think they're such big men really piss me off. Get over yourselves.

 

[Mechcozmo]

I used up my allotment of 20 random facts, so I guess I won't get to tell the story behind this one:

21. I failed my 10th grade math final.

You're math class must have been repainted that morning if your math skills here are any indication of your abilities then.

We should start a petition/campaign/world dominance...maybe some good will come from it..hehehe

DjVoTeZ

Actually in California (where I live) you cannot smoke in public places like restaurants, etc. Its really nice. Smokers can stand on the street, but few do because its too cold at night. Well, for them at least. It isn't really that bad... but freezing your butt off to be able to suck on a rolled paper tube with some crap stuck into it doesn't seem like a good idea when your friends are all inside.