HOM: 25 Things About Me

Yeah, peer pressure shoved me into getting on Facebook, and once there was tagged by several folks to do a "25 things about me" list. This "25 Things" thing has been floating around on Facebook, and I got conned (nagged) into doing one, then it was suggested I stick it on here as it fits the HOM theme. Okay - here!! ---------- 1. My worst habit is procrastination, which is why I put off really doing this until I got tagged by three different people and ragged on by two. Sometimes putting things off makes problems go away, sometimes it makes them worse, sometimes it makes them much worse. In this case putting off a response was probably good as it let me think out a little of what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. I am so consistent at "putting off" that the ladies from the utility companies walk in with a smile every third month and say "Time to get the bill caught up, Jim!" as they trade me the warning notice for a signed check. 2. I am a loner, am usually happiest & most relaxed when not around people. I suppose this is a result of a childhood spent as the only child in a rural home with a verbally abusive step-father and no neighbors with kids my age. For six of my eight years of grade school I was the only kid in my class. Social ineptness was/is my specialty. 3. I am selfish to the bone -- which makes #2 above a GOOD thing! I ALWAYS do what pleases me most to do in any given situation, though doing so can be misinterpreted as generosity by others. I do whatever it is I do to please ME, not you! I guess this ties in with being a "Loner" -- when you are alone you don't have to please anyone else. 4. I love books. I love seeing them, reading them, handling them, being surrounded by them, tripping over them, lying on them, buying them, trading them, selling them, sleeping on them and giving them away. They are my life as well as my living. 5. I hate telephones, though I admit that at times they are invaluable. I suppose that answering phones all day at work has burned me out -- it seems like whenever I gather up an armload of books, take a bite of food, take in a mouthful of coffee, get into the middle of an interesting conversation, get ALMOST to the bathroom door, get into the most interesting part of a book or the most intense part of a computer game, or just figure out the perfect wording when I am trying to write - THE PHONE RINGS!!! Pavlov's dogs slobbered when they heard a bell ring -- I get mad whenever I hear a phone ring. Sorry -- it's a conditioned reflex! 6. I am a gadget freak. I blame my Irish Paternal Grandfather who was a railroader, machinist & lathe operator, and my Swiss Maternal Grandfather, since Switzerland is the original home of gadgeteering. This gadgeteering trait manifests itself with me in technologies as diverse as firearms and cell phones. (Yes, cell phones. I like them, as long as I don't have to answer them!) I dream of owning an enormous shop laden with computer controlled wood and metal working tools and a warehouse full of antique & modern gadgets to play with. 7. I am a veteran and spent the better part of 18 months on a boat in Vietnam. I spent a lot of years kinda burying that fact, which has peeved the women in my life at times. I am not sure why I did -- it may have had to do with the way some vets were treated back in the days of Flower Power, it may be a reaction to listening to too many "I was there!" stories from folks that WEREN'T there. I was, & I had the Tee Shirt to show for it -- it was olive drab. 8. I love adventure, but prefer to do it from an armchair. For part of the reason, see #7, above. Reading about it is much more comfy than going out and doing it, adventurewise. I read tons of books on travel & exploration, both modern and ancient. I collect books on hunting dangerous game. 9. I am lazy, which is a contributing factor to #8, above. I also abhor all forms of responsibility that concern or affect other people. 10. I am sloppy to the point of slobbishness, possibly a result of #9 and certainly not a result of upbringing. Mom was constantly after me to pick up after myself when I was little. The quirky part of this is that I hit a point periodically where enough is enough and I clean drastically. I need to hit that point daily instead of biannually, however. 11. I lack patience. I refuse to ask God for it because He teaches it the hard way & I have had a lot of lessons already -- they didn't take. Lack of patience paired with lack of coordination means that I am less than a master craftsman, a major disappointment to me. 12. I don't like crowds. Actually I detest crowds. I do like quiet one-on-one times with friends. Add one more person and I tend to draw back a bit, add one more & I am completely out of the conversation, see ya later. There are exceptions, but they are rare. I find I am most outgoing here in the store & totally withdrawn in a crowd of semi-strangers. I suppose I am shy, but don't have enough perspective to know for sure. 13. I have never been attracted to bland women. It is both the bane and blessing of my life that the women that I tend to fall in love with are always ornery, independant, sarcastic and smarter than I am. The feature of a woman that attracts me the most? Her smile. Or her grin, as the case might be. Actually, I fell in love a while back at Murdocks. I was looking for a shock collar for a dog, and I asked the perky little sales girl if she would mind trying one on and barking for me. She didn't hesitate for second -- she called her brother over and ordered him to put one on and bark. Instant infatuation! Yeah, I'm cursed. 14. I am NOT a TV watcher. TV bores the crap out of me. I am not much of a movie watcher either. A fair part of the reason for that is #12, above, and if you look at #11 and consider how often a TV show is busted into by a commercial you might see another reason I am not a TV person. Couch potato, yes. Boobtoober, no. My preferred way to watch a movie is via widescreen DVD on my computer, alone. Widescreen, because I always feel something interesting has been trimmed to cut the scenes down to full screen. DVD for speed and ease. Alone so I can replay scenes to my heart's content. Alone so I can crank the volume up or turn on closed captioning if I want to. 15. Which reminds me -- I hear REALLY, REALLY WELL for a deaf guy! This wasn't an inherited condition -- I developed it on my own. Detonations, loud working environments and chain saws all contributed. Unlike some younger folks, music isn't to blame, I like quiet music. Did you say something? Yes, sometimes deafness is convenient. Did you say something that time? Sorry! 16. Yes, I have been shot at. Yes, I have shot back. This is FYI & subject is closed. 17. I like animals -- some to eat and some to pet. I was raised on a farm & I've had a lifetime enjoyment of the companionship of dogs, cats & horses, literally have the scars to show for it, and have no regrets. My only complaint with animals is that they grow old & leave us too soon. Scars? Besides the ones on my heart, I have some on my arms from being pulled into a barbed wire fence by a pony, one on my ear from being thrown off a bucking pig, a couple on face and arms from dogs that didn't like me, some sprung ribs from rolling a horse over on top of myself, miscellaneous half-healed wounds from playing with cats and a thumb that had to be reattached after it intruded into a dog fight. And no regrets. 18. Growing old. Here is some advice for you under-40's out there. Never look at an old person and think "I will never be THAT way." I got news for you -- you will be. Bookmark this and refer back to it when you reach 60. I'll be gone by then, but you can still nod your head and say "Ya know, he was right!" You can't ever realize or appreciate the mental and physical changes you'll go through till you BTDT. And got the drool-spotted tee shirt to show for it. 19. Writing. I like to write but . . . my penmanship is beyond awful and my typing consists of typos & retypos. One of my regrets is that I didn't take typing in high school, though with the total lack of hand/eye coordination that renders me illegible when I hold a pen or pencil such a class might have been wasted. 20. Oh yeah - "Klutz" is one of the more apt adjectives for describing me. I am perfectly capable of poking myself in the eye when all I am trying to do is pick my nose. My coordination index is lower than the balance in my penny jar. 21. Recreation? I like going for drives up in the boonies. I sometimes enjoy hiking. I enjoy photography. I like hunting. I LOVE combining all of these in a single trip with a good friend! I like reading: I thought I'd better mention that although it is kind of a given. I like tinkering, too, making things and fixing things. I suppose that is the Grandfather Heritage showing up again. I like playing online games. I usually play under the name "ReTypo". See #19, above, for an explanation. 22. Food? I tend more towards salt than sweet, more towards meat than veggies, & I always assume a high cholesterol score is a GOOD thing! Exceptions? Anything chocolate, anything wild, and anything Rick's wife cooks. 23. My beliefs? Yeah, I got 'em. I don't discuss them because I don't live up to them IMHO. This is FYI & subject is closed. 24. Sorry -- the phone rang. 25. This whole "25 Things" has been an exercise in assoc ... sorry -- the phone is ringing again. TBC (Me) (Blacktail Books)