Fifty+ Random Things About Me

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  1. I’m 0.000000000000000188150167 lightyears tall, give or take a few million angstroms.
  2. My favorite color is purple and my favorite purple is indigo, but if I get to pick two, I think pink and purple make a great team.
  3. I’m not a fan of pet rabbits… only cartoon ones.
  4. I have flown a plane.
  5. I have never smelled a flower.
  6. My great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather was Geoffrey Chaucer.
  7. Even though most people consider me to be a technical guru, microwaves, fax machines, and cell phones still love to make a fool of me. (edit: I think I finally got the hang of those phones.)
  8. I can read Greek, Cyrillic, and Hiragana even though I don’t speak any Greek, Russian, or Japanese.
  9. I really hate my feet.
  10. I have sailed several 26′ yachts. (I can rig up and sail a MacGregor26 all by myself!)
  11. In spite of a fairly successful career, I feel like a dropout, and would give almost anything to go back to school and finish my degree.
  12. I have a license to operate an amateur space station.
  13. I am diagnosed with three mental disorders.
  14. I have visited Mexico, The Bahamas, and France. While in France, I tried to speak as little English as possible.
  15. All four of my top incisors are fake.
  16. I have worked as a professional musician in a small traditional Irish band. I play tin whistle, bodhrán, chorded zither, and occasionally bagpipes, but primarily I sing.
  17. The most trouble I ever have is self inflicted. I frequently “over promise” myself with the very best intentions, but can’t always come through. :(
  18. My first computer was a TRS-80, but my favorite was the Atari ST 520. I still have both of them working!
  19. I once got hit on the head and had amnesia for over a week.
  20. I am the second of six kids, and loved every minute of it! Big families are wonderful.
  21. Moved away from my hometown in 1986, but will always consider myself a Houstonian.
  22. I collect penguins!
  23. I have never had my own bedroom.
  24. I own (and LOVE!) more than one pair of adult sized footed pajamas.
  25. I’ve met less than half a dozen people I’ve ever thought of as peers. I define a peer as a person of similar age and interest, but the majority of people are either one or the other.
  26. I have the same birthday as LeVar Burton, and the same hometown as Brent Spiner.
  27. My record for not speaking at home to see if anyone noticed: 3 days.
  28. I started my first real business when I was 17. It was an BBS/ISP.
  29. I am the world’s worst nail biter. I cause myself a great deal of physical pain with this.
  30. My best (toy) friend is a penguin I got in 1996. I’m going to keep her forever.
  31. At my heaviest, I had a BMI of over 44. :( I could give a buffet owner regrets.
  32. The last Microsoft operating system I ever ran on my own computer for personal use was MS-DOS 6.22. After that, I switched to the GNU operating system and have never looked back.
  33. I was computer literate (which meant a LOT more back then) when I was 4 and could program in BASIC by 6.
  34. My medicine causes me to have frequent nap attacks throughout the day.
  35. I can clearly remember back further than I probably should. I remember when I used to pull off my pillow case and use it for a sleeping bag. I even remember being held by my parents and being bathed in the sink.
  36. I learned to read when I was 3. In kindergarten, when the other kids took naps, I was taken to another classroom where a special teacher dusted off the actual old Dick Jane and Spot books with me!
  37. I’ve been on the Internet since 1984-1985. Not sure exactly when, but I do remember UPGRADING to a 1200 baud modem!
  38. My first personal email address was skotos.anemos@uumrt.uu.holonet.net. I remember trying to to write it all in on one side of a napkin for a friend.
  39. I have always enjoyed having blue eyes and strawberry blonde hair and have never wanted to change them.
  40. I do wish more of the strawberry would come back though. It seems to be fading with time.
  41. I drive a scooter! :)
  42. All through grade school, I was in and out of classes for “learning disabled” students.
  43. I can speak Esperanto when needed.
  44. I have trouble recognizing faces. I just assume anyone who seems to know me and acts friendly must be a friends until I can figure out who they are.
  45. I know way too much about pet rats. I used to breed them.
  46. Sometimes I get really depressed and feel like a total failure since there is no way I’d be able to hold a job with the medicine I have to take every day.
  47. I’m a big fan of Simon and Garfunkel!
  48. You might be surprised by the number of fruits I don’t like. Watermelons, cantaloupes, peaches, strawberries, cucumbers… many more.
  49. I enjoy my solitude, but I can’t remember ever want to go do anything by myself. I don’t even like to eat by myself.
  50. Which is sad because all my “hanging out” type friends are on the Internet. I’ve never even met most of them.
  51. Many of my foreign friends agree that I seem very European and should have been born over there instead of here.
  52. One day I’d love to live in another country.
  53. At a moment’s notice, I would love to unplug all the computers, and go skiing, sailing, bowling, skating, or lots of other things with you!
  54. I’ve had many second degree (bleeding) sunburns in my life. My parents weren’t prepares to take care of skin like mine.
  55. My daughter has always had my experience to draw on. I’m so happy I could give her that. :)