25 Random Things About Me

[jeffholton]

[Crossposted from Facebook]

Rules:

Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to "notes" under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I have been biting my nails since I was four. My mom tried to deter me from it by painting my nails with this bad-tasting chemical. I learned not to complain about stuff that tasted bad and kept on gnawing away. I stopped for a few weeks in 1996 because my girlfriend at the time said she wouldn't kiss me if my mouth had crap from under my nails. Then she met a stealth fighter pilot a couple weeks later, so I started right back up again. (Actually, I never saw the guy. Yes, that's a joke.) Some people assume I do this because I'm nervous or stressed about something, but I'm far too apathetic to stress about much of anything, really. I think I just do it because I like chewing on my nails.
   
   
2. I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.
   
   
3. A colleague and I once knocked on the front door of John M. Perkins, a famous author and urban missionary, just to see if he'd come meet us. He did. His young grandson answered the door and we asked, "Hi. Is John Perkins here?" The kid stared at us blankly and then turned around and screamed, "Graaaaampa! There's people here to see you!" He came to the door, brought us in, showed us around. It was a very pleasant time.
   
   
4. I did musical theatre for a couple years. Some of my friends on here are strictly from those couple years and I haven't seen them since.
   
   
5. I was referenced in Newsweek once, not by name but by the title of a song I'd written. It was not a flattering reference. I'm still not sure if I should be upset or appreciative of the random publicity. The religion editor referred to me and others as "pious adolescents." I was 26 at the time.
   
   
6. I think of myself as a Republican, mostly because of moral issues, but I vote Democrat most of the time, mostly because of social issues. I am quietly embarrassed by this fact, so I just peg myself as "extremist moderate" whenever anyone pushes me on it. Actually, sometimes I describe myself as a "California conservative," meaning "everyone outside of California thinks I'm a pinko liberal merely because I'm from California; everyone inside California thinks I'm a facist pig because I lean slightly to the right." Both analysts are probably not too far from the truth.
   
   
7. I never doubt the existence of God. Except when I'm thinking of cosmology and trying to ponder infinity. I shake it off and conclude that human beings weren't designed to make definitive statements on concepts beyond their ability to comprehend.
   
   
8. I'm not at all intimidated even in the slightest by interacting with "famous" people. They're just people. I rather make it a habit to seek them out and glean from their experiences. I'm fairly convinced that they stumbled on fame, as opposed to seeking it out.
   
   
9. My first concert was Peter, Paul, and Mary. I got tickets for my 8th birthday. PP&M never take backstage visitors. After the concert, we wound up backstage anyway, which is a story for another post. Mary Travers kissed my upper left cheek (or my left upper cheek?). I am always self-conscious about washing that spot.
   
   
10. I rarely ate breakfast before class in college. On one occasion when I did, I walked into the dining hall and recognized Bruce Laingen, one of the senior American officials of the 1979-80 Tehran hostage situation, sitting alone at a table. I asked him if I could join him. He obliged, and we had a fascinating conversation (mostly consisting of me listening) about politics and diplomacy and history and religion and college dining halls.
    
    
11. In elementary school, I once sang in a thousand-member, district-wide choir conducted by Jester Hairston. I clearly remember him cutting us off at one point and shouting, "Y'all clap like WHITE people! It's TWO and FO', not ONE and THREE!!" I cannot stand in Protestant contemporary worship services without having to resist the urge to shout those same words to the old folks in the congregation who are trying way too hard to be hip. You know who you are.
    
    
12. In 6th grade, the US Air Force gave me an award for my submission to the Fresno County Science Fair. They had never given an award to a 6th grader before and created the award because they were impressed with my project.
    
    
13. I learned to play acoustic guitar because I was in quiet awe of my friend Scott Rennie (hi, Scott). He looked so comfortable behind his and I could tell how much fun he was having. Mike Clark loaned me my first guitar. (He and his daughters aren't on my facebook here, but a bunch of their friends are, so lots of you know who I'm talking about.) I still keep the nametag that he had on his case on my own case today. Some people assume that I'm Mike Clark. I've been called worse. ;)
    
    
14. I love numbers. Love 'em. Can't get enough of them. One of my most annoying habits is that I frequently quickly determine if a multi-digit number is a multiple of three or not. Bugs my wife, especially, every time we get in the car, because it's the first thing I do with what I read on the odometer. No, I do not have an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Did I mention that I don't have an obsessive-compulsive disorder?
    
    
15. I spent years belittling my brother-in-law for his insistence on using Apple computers for professional scientific and engineering projects. Then he got a job at Apple, eventually becoming the lead of the design team for the latest entry to the MacBook line, which happens to be rather cool. Today, we own seven Macs (in various states of use), and, officially, no PCs (though I'm quietly in the process of unloading or returning the five that are in the house).
    
    
16. I love walking around downtown in cities. I find the noises and the lights and the people to be comfort and joy. I suspect that in the city, neighbors actually know each other, instead of merely being casually aware of each other's existence.
    
    
17. I hate driving. I'm not scared of it. I merely find it to be a nuisance. I especially hate everyone else's driving, say, for example, yours. Mine is perfect. Stay away from me, please. I'm uncomfortable with your unpredictability. I prefer driving up against a wall, even close to it. A wall isn't going to suddenly leave its lane and hit me.
    
    
18. I have to skydive. I don't WANT to skydive. I merely HAVE to. I WILL. It's non-negotiable. Freefall is the most frighteningly exhilarating feeling I've discovered. And the calm of parasailing is the greatest peace I've experienced, no sound a thousand feet up but the wind whipping the canopy above you, nothing to do but enjoy the view below. To have both of those feelings in the same few minutes? Perfection. Pure perfection.
    
    
19. I ran the San Francisco Marathon in 2007 and promptly treated myself to an extra pound for each mile I'd ran. I can't run right now. Hurts too much.
    
    
20. I've confirmed over the past 14 months that being out of work sucks ass. Unfortunately, so does working.
    
    
21. I am uncomfortable with possessions and affluence. I don't judge anyone for theirs (and in fact typically vote to protect your capital assets), but I'm not too keen on mine. If you want something of mine, please feel free to ask. It's possible that I may be a closet communist, although I'm not convinced that my feelings on the issue are particularly political. This has nothing to do with my unemployment status; I have always felt this way.
    
    
22. I hate messy foods, and eating with my fingers. My mother is the only person who makes spare ribs the way I like them, light on the sauce, and ideal for knife and fork consumption. The first time I went out to a rib place for dinner, I sat next to Vishal Mangalwadi. I thought it was kinda wild that I was sitting next to a premier Indian philosopher and all I could think about was how much I hated the food.
    
    
23. A couple of the best days of my life were at Star Trek conventions. Most of the rest were in marching band.
    
    
24. I've been baptized twice. The second time was in the Jordan river, which means it was probably kinda gimmicky and touristy. I'm convinced that it was wrong to do the second time. I was even convinced at the time. I also hate hypocrisy.
    
    
25. I regret how hard I ever worked to convince people of things with which I disagree today, especially where I was successful.
    
    "My opinions may have changed, but not the fact that I am right."
    --Ashleigh Brilliant