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February 26, 2006
Corey's Long-Ass Meme
My friend Corey is virtually as prone on his blogs to memes as I am. (He's forgiven because he's gut-ing up and running Philadelphia with us on November 19... anyone else who wants to run either the marathon or the 8K with Doc, Tim, Corey, Beav, Erika and I should say so in the comment fields or via e-mail... 2006 is the year we all get back into fighting trim and running shape, kids.) Usually he puts one up and, true to form, I can't resist the damn things and I end up doing them too. But last week Corey posted a special meme: the longest freaking meme in the history of meme-dom. I mean, the thing went on forever; filling it out, you feel like you're applying for a security clearance.
It took me a week to find/make time to fill it out. And I am not foolish enough to think that any of y'all give a rat's tuckus about it. But since I am OCD on these damn things and can no sooner resist a meme than Michael Jackson can resist 12 year old boys, here it is. (And no, it does not end with the 35 things... it keeps going, and going, and going... its mascot is a pink freaking bunny.) And Corey... I will get you back, pal.
35 things about ME:
1) How old do you wish you were? Could I know what I know now? If so, 19. If not, what’s the point of doing it again?
2) Where were you when 9/11 happened? Driving to work on the Sprain Brook Parkway
3) What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Usually cuss and press the return button multiple times -- because it’ll work the 7th time instead of the first six, right?
4) Do you consider yourself kind? Yeah.
5) When you see a homeless person on the side of the road, what do you think? If I knew for sure that you really were homeless, I’d probably give you money.
6) If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? Pec or upper arm/shoulder. Haven’t decided yet. (Mrs. Doc, didn’t we have a deal that we were both going to go get one done? Like as soon as you were done being pregnant with your now-3 year old?)
7) If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? Probably Spanish. I know enough French to get by in Paris or Montreal. But Spanish I'll need for the US by the time I'm 45, not to mention that Spain is my favorite country and I'd like to be able to function more effectively there.
8) Do you know your neighbors? Barely. I keep to myself.
9) What do you consider a vacation? At least four days away from home and with no laptop, cell phone or Blackberry. No, not four days total out of 365; I mean four consecutive days.
10) Do you follow your horoscope? Not really, but I glance on my birthday.
11) Would you move for the person you loved? Have before. Would probably do it again; I never learn.
12) Are you touchy feely? Yes, I’m a hugger.
13) Do you believe that opposites attract? Attract, sure… but stick together? Not often.
14) Dream job? Either doing “Weekend Update” on SNL or being the play-by-play guy for the Boston Red Sox.
15) Dream car? Aston Martin Vanquish S
16) Favorite channel? Probably the History Channel, but I don’t watch a lot of TV
17) Favorite place to go on weekends? Terra Blues! Or any shore/ beach.
18) Showers or Baths? Showers.
19) Do you paint your nails? No
20) What do you like the most about yourself? I can sort of write kinda good.
21) What do you like the least? I make excuses too easily about not staying in shape. That changes this year.
22) Do you trust people easily? No. You're lucky I trust you to even be on this site right now.
23) What are your phobias? Heights, especially bridges. Big ones (like the Verrazano or Golden Gate) leave me curled in a fetal position on the floor or backseat (and no, I can't drive over them).
24) Do you want kids? Yes, I think so.
25) Do you keep a handwritten journal? Nope. This blog is as far as I go.
26) Where would you rather be right now? Turks & Caicos, the Costa Blanca in Spain, or pretty much anywhere else in the Caribbean.
27) Who would you like to be more honest with? I’m pretty much honest with everyone.
28) Who makes you feel guilty? No one, I don’t feel guilty about anything. Even my mistakes are mine to learn from, and I don't feel guilt.
29) Are you a heavy or light sleeper? I am on the Olympic Insomnia team.
30) Are you paranoid? No. Why do you ask? Who wants to know? Why are they asking you?
31) Are you impatient? With people I know, never. With strangers on a line somewhere or at a light that’s turned green, or who drive too slowly on the highway, very.
32) Who can you relate to? Anyone who‘s ever worked their way up from a blue-collar small town.
33) Would you ever have plastic surgery? Doubt it, but never say never.
34) Would you ever break the law? Of course.
35) Do you believe in the afterlife? An electric word, afterlife - that means forever, and that’s a mighty long time -- but I’m here to tell you!…
(more)
LIFE
they call me: Christopher. If you’re gonna go with “Chris,” you’d better be really close to me.
status: single
occupation: blogger/podcaster/communications executive-type dude
best friends: Doc/Mrs. Doc, Tim/Mrs. Tim, Nancy, Jay, Dave, Damian
REWIND
my first breath of air: 1968. No, you don’t get to know the day
most memorable memory: There’ve been so many… maybe the CBGB night with Doc/Tim
worst memory: August/September 1994
LOVE
love is: a fool’s errand, but we all keep buying into it, don’t we?
love or lust: lust
when love hurts you: Why act surprised? That's what love is for.
is there such thing as love at first sight: No, but there’s lust at first sight that can quickly turn into love
OPPOSITE SEX
turn ons: intelligence, confidence, bawdy sense of humor, eyes, derriere
do your parent's opinion on your bf/gf matter to you: Yes, but not enough to impact my choices
what kind of hair style: whatever she is most comfortable/confident in, but I do tend to like longer hair
where do you go to meet new people: wherever
PICKY PICKY
cat or dog: both/all; I am a softie for all animals
short or long hair: Used to be long. If I could still get away with it, it would still be longish.
rain or shine: Rain; I love storms
sun or moon: Moon
one best friend or ten acquaintances: ten acquaintances
summer or winter: Autumn
playstation or nintendo: PlayStation
car or motorcycle: car
house party or club: Club mostly, but it depends on whose house
LATELY
how are you today: fine and dandy
what pants are you wearing right now: Levis 505 jeans
What shirt are you wearing right now: black Ten Year Vamp t-shirt
how is the weather right now: Cold as an ex's... it's like 19 degrees out.
last person you talked to on the phone: Some stupid telemarketing (freak)
last dream you can remember: Last night I dreamed I won $1,000,000 on some game show
who are you talking to right now: No one
MORE ABOUT YOU
what are the last four digits of your phone number: 0827
if u were a crayon, what color would you be: Raw Umber
what's the next cd you are going to buy: I don’t buy CDs anymore, just mp3s
what's the best advice ever given to you: Be yourself
have you ever won any special award: CINE and TELE awards in 2003 for a corporate video i co-wrote/executive produced
how many kids do you want to have: a few… 2 or 3 maybe? I dunno, it kinda depends on circumstances and what the woman in my life thinks, don't you think?
shampoo: American Crew
how many TV's do you have in your house: 1
do you have your own TV: duh
who do you dream about: like I’m giving you all fodder on this one?
who do you tell your dreams to: pretty much no one
who's the loudest friend you have: Either the Goths or Beav (but I got nothin' but love for ya)
who's the quietest friend: Nancy
HAVE YOU EVER
drank: Of course
stayed in your pj's all day: Yup
left your state: At least once a week.
left your country: Yes
drank milk straight from the carton: Yeah, but I am lactose intolerant so I don't drink milk at all now.
tripped up the stairs: Yes
tummy ache: WTF kind of question is this? Tummy ache??
wished upon a star: No
had it come true: No
slapped someone: Yes
danced like a maniac: As a big white man, it does not behoove the world for me to dance. That said, when I do dance, do big white men dance any other way but like maniacs?
chased a butterfly: When I was a little kid
gone on a cruise: Not on like a Princess line or anything, but have done a few boat trips
driven a motor boat: Yep
put salt on a slug and watched it shrivel up: No, I can’t stand cruelty or pain to even the slightest of animals (except for like mosquitoes or things like that)
burned stuff just because: Yeah
been called a pyro: Only in jest
seen a ghost: Haven’t SEEN one but felt one there (not to mention pissing it off; it got me back)
had something published: Yes
written on money: Don’t think so
lost someone you cared about: Yes
ran away: Depends on how you define it. From home as a kid? No. From situations? Yes, it’s how I came to live out east.
punched a wall: Yes. Not to mention breaking my hand punching an 800 lb bale of packed and compacted cardboard boxes in the back room of the grocery store I worked in when I was 19. No, I wasn't very smart. No, she wasn't worth the frustration that led me to punch a cardboard bale and bust my hand up.
punched a person: Yes
talked to a street sign: I occasionally shout at traffic lights to turn already.
shopped at wal-mart for over an hour: I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart for even a minute.
been a hero: I don’t believe in heroes (or Beatles); I just believe in me.
taken a picture of yourself: I’m not a photo kind of guy
had a journal: What do you call a blog?
worn mardi-gras beads: No. Have delivered quite a few to those who've "earned" them though.
been to Mardi-gras: In Austin TX, but not New Orleans.
heard a damaging story about your parents when they were younger/or older: No. Sadly, all the evidence from outsiders seems to support my parents’ contention that they were angels. Which makes one wonder how the hell to explain me.
heard of blind melon: All I can say is that my life is pretty plain.
started a trend: Well, three people who read my blog are running Philadelphia’s 8K with me, does that count?
been to a rally (for a cause, not a pep-rally): Yes, reproductive rights rallies as well as those for a few political candidates
given up on your dreams: Never
had your dreams come true: I'm living the dream baby! Well okay, maybe not.
seen someone as your guardian angel: At work, yeah - I am lucky enough to have several. In life, no. I rely on me.
protested the national anthem by not standing when everyone else does: No
had a pen-pal: When I was a kid
met someone famous: have met two presidents (Carter and Clinton), one elected president who never took office (Gore), a dozen or two Senators and members of Congress, a few baseball players, and hung out drinking all night with George Clooney once.
gone out with one of your best friends: To borrow Corey’s words, “Out as in to a club or something? Like hanging out? Sure.” If you mean the other way, no comment.
put a message in a bottle: No
sent a telegram: No
received flowers: Yes
listened to a sea-shell: Yes
been stung by a jellyfish: Yes
been on tv: Yes - have done interviews for political campaigns, and I was on Jeopardy once (don’t ask!)
played tag when you were over the "acceptable" age: No
notice patterns in the time (11:11, 12:34, etc...): Yes
had your mom show off embarrassing baby pictures of you when your were little to your friends/boy/girlfriend: No. Mom wouldn’t do that to me… WOULD YOU MOM?
been arrested: No.
been put in jail: No.
been put on trial: No
re-named yourself: Shifted from “Chris” to “Christopher” when I moved east.
followed someone just because: No
been stalked: No
stalked someone: No
lived a day like it was your last day: Why would I do that? If it was my last day, I’d probably be like laying in bed with tubes up my nose or something.
had your 15 minutes of fame: It would seem that I may be in the middle of them right now.
been self-conscious: Occasionally
been in a band: Yes, lead singer for three years in college
started a band: No
sat and watched smoke float through the air: No
want to be somewhere with someone so much it made you cry: No
played a practical joke: yes
had a practical joke played on you: yes
PEOPLE THINK
my father thinks I am: Hard to understand and a little bit elitist, probably, although he's proud of me.
my mother thinks I am: Finally hitting my stride and figuring out life
my boyfriend/girlfriend thinks I am: Don’t have one right now. I do know that a couple exes lurk this blog who don’t think I know that they’re here… now that I have called them out, maybe they’ll enlighten you.
you are often complimented for: Being very smooth on my feet, my writing…
you get embarrassed when: I was in the pool! ;-) Seriously, I get mighty embarrassed by news articles that make me the face of the program I lead at work, when its success is due to the efforts of literally thousands of people.
what makes you happy: Beaches, baseball, being on stage, attention, peanut brittle, drawing to an ace flush on the river, and women.
upsets you: Conservatives and the way they think, and hypocrisy, and women.
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Comments
1. You get big big points for quoting one of my favorite Prince songs.
2. Afraid of bridges? BRIDGES? HAVE YOU SEEN MY BLOG?????
3. God, the 8K is tempting...
Posted by: Jill at February 26, 2006 11:49 PM
Hi Jill -
1. I grew up an hour north of Minneapolis... Prince's hometown... during his heyday. The odds are that I know the words to any Prince song from 1979-1988 at least, especially everything off of "Purple Rain."
2. Yes, I know you're from Staten Island. Were I ever to visit you, I would have to take the ferry... or perhaps get over to New Jersey (if I take the bottom level of the GWB, it feels less like a bridge than the upper level) and take one of the smaller bridges over to SI. There's no way in hell that I am ever going over the Verrazano. Don't you know that the second I get to the middle of that bridge, it's going to collapse into the strait and send me plummeting to my death? (Don't laugh, that's honestly what goes through my mind. I wasn't joking when I called it a phobia... a paralyzing yet irrational fear in which illogical and unrealistic thoughts take over.)
3. RUN WITH US! We have six already... Corey's coming up from Florida to do this... and the post-run party will be more fun if you're there. The more the merrier - and it's got the side benefit of getting/keeping in shape.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at February 27, 2006 12:20 AM
I'm going to use "have you ever tummyache" all the time.
Posted by: thebeav at February 27, 2006 01:20 PM
1. Damn, that's cold. But I love His Purple Badness.
2. I'm from Brooklyn. I only live on The Rock for financial reasons. No, I do not have a pronounced accent. (Which is everyone's follow-up question.) I have a phobia as well, so I am well-versed in the irrationality of it. My phobia is not bridges. I guess you really aren't a big fan of Saturday Night Fever then, huh? And probably aren't up for a trip to Sydney to do the Harbor Bridge climb?
3. I'm still pondering.
Posted by: Jill at February 28, 2006 09:09 PM
