OK, call me a rip off. But today my friend and fellow ASU alum, Tim, posted a list of “random facts” on his blog. Seemed like a good idea for a mid-week, too busy to write something blog entry, so I'm rippin' it right off. I'm shooting for 50, but I'll stop before there if I run out of things that may actually be interesting.
1. I never learned to ride a bike. I've often considered having my dad teach me to ride a bike now, filming it, and showing it to visiting friends as “an old movie of my dad teaching me to ride a bike.” I think it would be good for a laugh.
2. I've had better than perfect vision most of my life (20/15). Although, I think it has begun to deteriorate.
3. I've made extensive use of LSD and mushrooms.
4. I've never smoked. Anything.
5. I've never drank alcohol or been drunk.
6. I used to have a mild phobia of the police, which went away, ironically, the first time I did LSD, which was also the first time in my life I had a legitimate reason to be afraid of the police.
7. I used to have much more pronounced canine teeth, and serrated incisors, which I thought were really cool. A former dentist of mine filed them down during a routine filling without bothering to ask me, or even inform me. So much for picking up goth chicks…
8. When I was a young kid, I had perfectly straight, bright blonde hair. Now it is curly-ish brown.
9. I've never broken a bone. I have chipped a tooth, and a knuckle, but no breaks. I'm nigh indestructible.
10. I used to be able to influence physical reality through intense concentration (or so I thought) that enabled me to injure a bully from a distance, and to change the outcome of a world series baseball game. Maybe it was coincidence, but neither event has been adequately explained to me.
11. During high school, a psychic once approached me at Waldenbooks, where I was shopping. She asked me if I worked there, I said no. She said “You will”. (I worked at Waldenbooks for 3 years during and after college). She also said many creepy things about me and my friends and that it was important for her to meet with us, but that's a story for another time. She finished by saying I'd have bad knees. My knees are still fine.
12. I have an internet alter-ego called Bob. Some people still know me only as Bob. Bob is a funny guy.
13. In high school, I went from unknown, to outcast, to widely accepted, to winning voting for “Most Talented” my senior year. There's actually a picture of me in my freshmen yearbook eating lunch alone. I came a long way.
14. Another bully once told me that he never picked on me because I looked like I knew Karate. Still another told me it was because I looked like I knew something everyone else didn't. I always wondered why I wasn't picked on more.
15. I have a double degree in Anthropology and Psychology. I am using neither.
16. When I was a kid, there was a creepy abandoned 19th century house next door. I used to take my friends out there at night to scare the crap out of them. More than once, I ended up just as scared due to strange occurrences that are stories for another time.
17. My dad, brother and I built a large plywood table in our basement on which was a train set with little buildings and stuff. Later, we added more buildings and incorporated some of my matchbox cars. In middle school, me and my best friend josh turned it into a post-apocalyptic diorama by burning the matchbox cars to melt them into wrecks and war-zone looking things. We half tore down the buildings, and used plastic army men to add bodies and soldiers to the scene. Not long after that my dad got a pool table and the train set got “put away”.
18. In college, I believed I had a “psychic umbrella”. I used it to successfully cross Sanford Mall (The big grassy area in the middle of campus) during a rainstorm without getting a drop on me. This event has also never been explained.
19. Sometimes I think I'm crazy. You might also by the time I get to the end of this list.
20. My first ever live performance playing guitar was during my high school sophomore year talent show. My band, “Phoenix”, played “Comfortably Numb” and were so riddled with technical issues that we had to stop and start again. I have it on video tape. I show it to all who want to see it. It's good for a laugh and retaining humility.
21. I went undefeated for six years on the pool table that was brought in to replace my post apocalyptic diorama in our basement.
22. I am a virgin. There, I said it. Does this change your opinion of me in any way? If so, how? It is by choice.
23. I am creating a religion, but I don't share it with anyone because I believe everyone should create their own religion.
24. Before discovering music, I wanted to be a stand-up comedian.
25. The woods around and near where I grew up were home to many magical things, such as a 18th century roadway that could still be followed, a long forgotten and collapsed stone bridge, mysterious ruins of unknown origin (probably all 19th century dwellings), the remains of a turn of the century YMCA club house, tree carvings that dated back as far as 1904, two sets of small, but still very impressive cliffs, and the aforementioned creepy abandoned house. Any wonder I grew an interest in Archeology?
26. My first ever concert that wasn't me was the Grateful Dead. I wasn't and still am not a fan, but I wanted to experience it.
27. Once, in college, my friend and Bob Spelled Backwards member, Jesse, went to visit friends at NC State. During his visit he was walking around in one of the dorms and encountered a group of people having a party and who were playing a copy of the earliest recordings of Bob Spelled Backwards. Stunned, he asked how they got a hold of the recording. I don't remember what their answer was, but they claimed to be a Bob Spelled Backwards fan club. Jesse said they refused to believe that he was a member of the band.
28. I have written songs in my sleep.
29. The song I've had stuck in my head for 3 days just came up on my iPod's shuffle.
30. The first time I ever set foot in the state of California was the day I moved here. For the rest of you, I recommend visiting first.
31. My favorite part of a loaf of bread is the heel pieces at either end.
32. I may be allergic to fish. I avoid it just in case.
33. I am allergic to cats, but love to be around them any chance I get.
34. I got really sick in 1985. I then didn't get sick again until New Year's day, 2000. I then didn't get sick again until about 3 months ago.
35. I missed 3 days of high school total, and I've only called in sick to work 4 times in my life (twice in the last 6 months).
36. I have one mutant eyebrow hair that grows 2-3 times as long as the others. I keep it and have nicknamed it “My Wild Hair”.
37. I am so non-intimidating that wild animals often don't fear me. Twice I've almost captured mice in my house simply by sitting still and waiting for them to crawl to where I could grab them. One of those times it actually crawled onto my leg. Both times I didn't have the heart to frighten them, so I let them go.
38. I have double jointed top knuckles in my fingers and thumbs, one of the secrets to my guitar technique. It also freaks people out at parties.
39. I have successfully communicated with someone through dreaming at least once.
40. I often dream of flying, but not like a bird, its more like a manipulation of magnetic fields that projects me along through the contraction of specific muscles and concentration. I have often described it as “climbing the air”. I often awake from these dreams positive that I can actually do it, but I can never remember exactly how.
41. I'm pretty sure I very nearly levitated once, during mediation.
42. I have had waking visions, many of which were not related to LSD or mushroom use.
43. Four of the five or six visible scars I have were the result of dog attacks. I still love dogs.
44. Paris Hilton, Tommy Lee and Pink have all attended a concert of mine. I have attended none of theirs.
45. I have never been in a fight, or punched anyone other than jokingly. I have been punched once, by my childhood friend Amir. He then ran away. I chased him but only because I wanted to know why he punched me. I wasn't even mad. He gave me my only black eye ever.
46. I don't have a favorite color, movie, band, book, or song.
47. I take that back, my favorite song is usually the newest one I'm working on.
48. I have a bad habit of falling for women who live very far away from me.
49. The place that most inspires my thoughts and creativity, for some reason, is the shower.
50. My normal body temperature is 97.1 degrees.
51. I have a terrible sense of smell. I often don't smell things that most people smell. I often mistake smells for other smells. Just yesterday I came in to work and asked, “Who brought fried chicken?” My co-worker said, “Nobody, but I have french fries”. So, if I smell bad, let me know, I may not notice, or think I smell good…
There, don't you feel enlightened?
