100 Truths

I’m swiping this from Heather M. elsewhere on the net, just because you can never have too many facts about me.

100 Truths about me…

RULES: Once you’ve been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 100 Truths about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. Tagged means “I’m interested in knowing what are your 100 truths”.

1. Last beverage: glass of scotch. I’m still drinking it.

2. Last phone call: my team lead, Michael. At one in the morning. (Sadly, it was me calling him. I’m on call this week, and something odd was going on that I needed his input on.

3. Last text message: my wife, wondering why I wasn’t home yet. I was getting a haircut.

4. Last song you listened to: “Don’t Mess With Doctor Dream” by The Thompson Twins

5. Last time you cried: Probably when we re-watched Toy Story 3 the other day. I’m unashamedly sentimental.

HAVE YOU EVER:

6. Dated someone twice: I’m presuming by this, it means “Have you ever broken up with someone and then gotten back together with them?” Yes, I have. In retrospect, it wasn’t really a good idea, but that’s the benefit of hindsight, isn’t it?

7. Been cheated on: Yes, but given the circumstances at the time, I can’t really say I blamed her.

8. Kissed someone and regretted it: Nope. Never. That’s not to say I don’t have any regrets about past relationships, but I have never once regretted kissing someone. Because kisses are awesome.

9. Lost someone special: Yes.

10. Been depressed: Depression is something that I’ve struggled with most of my adult life, though I didn’t actually start getting treatment for it until about 3 years ago.

11. Been drunk and threw up: Only once. I normally moderate my drinking so that I don’t overdo it.

LIST THREE FAVOURITE COLOURS:

12: Purple

13: Blue

14: Black

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU:

(Note: I’m going to take this as “Within the last year”, rather than “This calendar year”, because it’s the first week of February, which isn’t a lot of year to do things in.)

15. Made a new friend: Absolutely. I make new friends all the time.

16. Fallen out of love: I’m not sure I’ve ever fallen out of love in my entire life. Once someone is dear to me, that’s not something I can just undo, though there are certainly times it would have been easier for me if I could have. I did have my heart broken last year, but I’m still just as in love with her today as I was then, and I don’t imagine I ever won’t be.

17. Laughed until you cried: Oh yes. Most recently while trying to read these blog entries out loud to kitanzi.

18. Met someone who changed you: Everyone I meet changes me. Some people change me a little bit, and some people change me a lot. But the very act of meeting someone makes a slight shift in your world.

19. Found out who your true friends were: I’ve never really doubted who my true friends are. I don’t to the best of my knowledge have any false friends.

20. Found out someone was talking about you: Why, what have you heard?

21. Kissed anyone on your friend’s list: I have kissed several people on my friends list. Pretty sure I’d run out of fingers before I ran out of people on my friends list that I’ve kissed.

22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: I’ve probably met between 2/3 and 3/4 of my friends list in “real space”, though some of those people I only know in the most casual of contexts. But I don’t actually consider friends I only know online any less a real friend than people I’ve met in person. In fact, I have some people on my friends list who are closer friends to me *than* some people on my list I’ve met in person.

23. How many kids do you want: One for now.

24. Do you have any pets: Yes. We have a cat named Dayna who is fat and weird. We had a second cat, Jenna, who passed away in October.

25. Do you want to change your name: I often considered changing it to my mother’s maiden name. Certainly that part of my family had a lot more bearing on my upbringing than the one which gave me my name. But I never got around to it, and inertia is a powerful thing.

26. What did you do for your last birthday: I went to Conterpoint. Because a filkcon for your birthday is awesome.

27. What time did you wake up today: Between 6am and 6:15

28. What were you doing at midnight last night: Fixing a broken server. I had *just* fallen asleep when my phone rang. *sigh*

29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: You know, sometimes it’s fun to do these quizzes just so you can try to figure out who wrote them. I’m reasonably sure this one was written by someone very young, because if I’ve learned anything over the last 40 years, there’s really nothing in the world you CANNOT wait for. There are things I don’t WANT to wait for, because I am impatient and impulsive, but, really, there’s nothing that I’ll perish for the lack of.

30. Last time you saw your Mother: Oh, it’s been far too long. I really should go and visit her. (I’ve tried to get her to come visit, but she doesn’t like the drive. I don’t either, but I think it’s probably my turn.)

31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I’d like to be financed in such a way that I don’t have to work, so I could pursue my artistic desires without having to worry about making a living.

32. What are you listening to right now: “Reuben Brown” by Tanya Savory

33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: I’ve talked to a great many people named Tom over the years. It’s a fairly common name. Have you ever talked to a man named Persimmon?

34. Who’s getting on your nerves right now: Right this minute? No one. Even Dayna isn’t being annoying for the moment.

35. Most visited web page: Probably Livejournal.

36. What’s your real name: My sensible everyday name, my peculiar and dignified name, or the name that I myself know and will never confess?

37. Nicknames: Doc, Autographedcat, Pryderi, Sammen. All four of them have been either screen names, names of characters in online games such that people actually know me BY that name, or both.

38. Relationship status: Excellent!

39. Zodiac sign: Cancer

40. Male or female: Certainly.

41. Primary School: I went to primary school in my hometown.

42. Secondary School: I went to elementary school in my hometown.

43. High school/college: I went to high school in my hometown. (sense a trend?) I attended East Carolina University.

44. Write whatever you want here: “If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world, and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” –E.B. White

45. How much do you weigh? More than I’d like. I’m working on that.

46. Height: 6’5

47. Do you have a crush on someone: Yes. Yes, I do.

48. What do you like about yourself? I am loyal, creative, and funny.

49. Piercings: Nope. Never really felt the desire.

50. Tattoos: Nope. Never have thought of anything I’d want permenantly drawn on my body.

51. Righty or lefty: Righty.

FIRSTS:

52. First surgery: I had sinus surgery when I was 32.

53. First piercing: I don’t have any piercings.

54. First best friend: My first best friend that I can really remember was Jaimie, who lived next door to me when I was 7 or 8 years old. My *best* best friend is Jeff, who I became fast friends with in Jr. High School and is still one of my best friends.

55. First sport you joined: I played baseball and basketball when I was a kid. Neither terribly well.

56. First vacation: Gosh, I have no idea. My mother was a teacher, and so we always had the summers off together, and were forever going off to the beach, or to King’s Dominion and Busch Gardens and Colonial Williamsburg, and all manner of other things.

57. First question I had to write myself: This is apparently an artefact of when H. took this quiz, because question number 57 was missing. I have not, to this point in writing, needed to write any questions myself. Again, though, it really makes you wonder who writes these things, and why.

58. First pair of trainers: See, this is what I’m talking about. How old do you have to be that you can remember your first sneakers, for goodness sake. Seriously? It’s not 40, I can tell you that.

RIGHT NOW:

59. Eating: Nothing. I’m done for the day.

60. Drinking: Still drinking that glass of scotch.

61. I’m about to: Take a sip from that glass of scotch.

62. Listening to: “Tears” by Missing Persons. (Broader answer: I’m listening to my entire iTunes library on shuffle. There’s no telling what will be playing at any given moment. As I am typing this, it’s moved on to “Please Please Please” by Fiona Apple.)

63. Waiting for: Guffman.

YOUR FUTURE:

64. Want kids: That would be nice under the right circumstances.

65. Get married: I did that already. I only plan to do it once, so I don’t think this is in my future.

66. Career: I have one. I’ve sometimes pondered a different one, but I haven’t got that figured out yet.

WHICH IS BETTER:

67. Lips or eyes: Both are vital components of a face, but pressed to choose, I’d say I notice eyes more than lips. However, if you drink to me only with thine eyes, you’re going to make a mess, so I recommend drinking to me with your lips, and using your eyes for something less fluid-oriented, like looking at me.

68. Hugs or kisses: I’m not happy living without either, so I’m gonna call this one a draw.

69. Shorter or taller: Than what?

70. Older or Younger: My oldest girlfriend, relative to my own age, was 15 years older than me. The youngest is 15 years younger than me. I think it’s safe to say that I don’t give it a lot of thought.

71. Romantic or spontaneous: These are not opposing concepts. In fact, they’re quite often complementary.

72. Nice stomach or nice arms: I’m not even sure what this means. An ideal person would have both, though I’m not going to insist on it. Honestly, who writes these things, and just how shallow are they?

73. Sensitive or loud: In a person? Sensitive? In a song? Depends on my mood.

74. Hook-up or relationship: Here, I’m going to have to beg ignorance, because I’ve never actually had a hook-up. I’d be willing to give it try under the right circumstances, but it’s honestly never really come up.

HAVE YOU EVER:

76. Kissed a stranger: Once or twice. I’m not usually that forward, but I’m not really shy about it, either.

77. Drank hard liquor: Still drinking that glass of scotch. (Honestly, the answer to this question is much less impressive when you’re not, oh, fourteen.)

78. Glasses/contacts: I’ve been wearing glasses since seventh grade. I probably should have been wearing them earlier, but I always managed to score a seat near the front of the classroom, so I don’t think anyone realised until I got a teacher who insisted on her own seating chart and I ended up in the back of the room and couldn’t read the blackboard.

79. Sex on first date: I have done this. Of course, we’d already been in a relationship for a year when we had our first date. Of course, since I tend to date people I’m already friend with, this isn’t necessarily unusual.

80. Broke someone’s heart: Never on purpose.

81. Written a question in this test: Nope. I’ve made fun of several of them, though.

82. Been arrested: Yeah. I failed to pay a bounced cheque once. Paid it right away, and was pretty embarrassed about it. They were very nice about it, all things considered.

83. Turned someone down: For what? (I’m guessing our fourteen year old quiz writer here is asking about turning someone down for sex or a relationship. In which case, yes, I have.)

84. Cried when someone died: Yes.

85. Fallen for a friend: Pretty much everyone I’ve ever fallen for has been a friend. At least everyone I’ve ever *seriously* fallen for. Some of those people I even dated after I fell for them.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

86. Yourself: Honestly? Not really. I’ve never quite gotten the knack.

87. Miracles: It really depends on what you mean by “miracles”, but I think I believe that sometimes things happen that are so improbably that they’re near enough to count.

88. Love at first sight: I’m certain that it happens all the time.

89. Heaven: is a place on earth.

90. Santa Claus: When I was six, I told a school friend that I was certain Santa Claus existed, because my mother couldn’t afford all the crap I got for Christmas. I’ve not yet been convinced I was wrong.

91. Kiss on the first date: Oh sure. Sometimes even before.

92. Angels: I think there exist among us people who are better than we have any right to expect. Yes, I do believe in angels, though not necessarily as the questioner meant.

93: Same sex marriage: Good lord, yes. Why are we even still talking about this? I have yet to hear a compelling argument against same sex marriage that didn’t fundamentally come down to “Thinking about gay people makes me feel icky.” Well, get over yourself, bucko. Love ain’t nothing but love ain’t nothing but love, and yours isn’t better than theirs.

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:

94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time: I have more than one girlfriend now.

95. Did you sing today: Yes. I practised a bit of guitar over my lunch break, and played three our four songs. Since the only reason I really play guitar is to accompany myself, I sang while I did it.

96. Ever cheated on somebody: Yes, I’m afraid I have. It’s a long story from another lifetime.

97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go: Depends. Can I only make one trip? There’s all manner of times I’d like to visit.

98. The moment you would choose to re-live: October 25, 2001. Sitting on the couch in the hotel lobby at OVFF, realising that my feelings for kitanzi were mutual.

99. Are you afraid of falling in love: Gracious no. I fall in love with alarming frequency, compared to many.

100. Are you afraid of posting this as 100 truths: Nope. Everything I’ve said is true. Not everything I’ve said is complete. But those are the risks you take.

I’m not tagging anyone. If you got this far, congratulations. Do with the questions as you will. 🙂