If you remember from a recent post, every day in November, I’ll post a picture of my growing moustache, and I’ll also do this 30-day meme (included in the original post) that I’m stealing from Sarah. So without further ado:
Day 01- A recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
Movember day 1 shot
This picture was taken this morning. It marks the start of Movember, so it’s me completely clean-shaven – a look I didn’t sport since Halloween 2008.
I already have a list of 100 interesting facts about myself. But they’re a little dated now, so I’ll try to come up with 15 new / different facts. Do they all have to be real? Nothing says they all have to be real…
- I have a unibrow. When I was much younger, this one really weird girl believed that made me a werewolf. I played along. Now I pluck the hell out of it because really, I don’t need a unibrow to get laid anymore.
- I’m a clean freak. If I go to your place and it’s dirty, I’ll probably end up cleaning something with or without your consent. I might even clean the bathroom while I’m in there. I tend to make excuses to not go to your house if it’s dirty.
- I am not a pack rat. This one is somewhat related to number 2, but it goes a little further. I have a very minimal amount of things that matter to me. LovelyWife once asked me what I would take with me in case the house was on fire and I could only take 3 things with me. It took me a while to come up with three things – not because I had too many to choose from, but because I couldn’t find a third thing. The three things I ended up picking were: My wedding ring, my longsword, and my poster of the original 1978 Lord of the Rings release. The third thing was the wedding ring – I hadn’t included it at first because it’s always on my finger.
- I overcame my fear of pooping in public after my first trip to Africa. There’s nothing like a fierce african tourista, combined with a five hour flight to Paris, and a seven hour wait at the airport, plus a 9 hour flight back home to make you realize that public restrooms are not that big of a deal. They’re way better than pooping your pants or holding it in for 17 hours straight.
- I like the finer things in life, but I don’t like to flaunt my stuff in your face. In fact, the best way to embarrass me is to say things like: “I know it’s not coffee from you 1,500$ machine”, or “Sorry my car is not brand new like yours” or “This boxed wine must be quite a change from the 75$ bottles you normally drink during the week”. If you’re the kind of person who likes to remind me I have more stuff than you do, we won’t stay friends very long.
- I hate not being able to help you. The hardest thing for me is saying no to any type of request. But I learnt that if I started saying yes to one thing, then I couldn’t say no to another one, so I try to keep a really rigid line of saying no all the time – and I fail miserably at this. The only exception is that if you ask me for money on the street I’ll easily say no every single time.
- I absolutely despise tardiness. I think that getting somewhere on time is a mark of respect, and I try to respect appointments as much as I can. In fact, I think I can count on one hand the number of times I was late for something in my life. And yes, it means that I still remember all the very few times I was late to something because it mortifies me. Just the thought of being late makes me anxious.
- I hate wearing a watch. That’s a little strange considering my hatred for tardiness, but in this day and age of Outlook calendars, smart phones and such, not wearing a watch and still be on time is not that hard. Plus, my internal clock is pretty good – as a result of not relying on a watch to tell the time.
- I am a closet fashionista. I know that doesn’t make sense, since most of you always see me wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt. But I secretly wish I could dress in the latest fashion, with really cool shoes and awesome shirts and ties… But alas nobody makes cool-looking clothes for guys of my size. If I was 150 pounds, I’m willing to be I’d have more clothes than all of you combined. Seriously.
- I would quit my job in a heartbeat to be a stay at home dad. There is nothing that I enjoy more in life than to clean the house, cook, shop for groceries, do laundry, paint, fix stuff and I’m even learning to love working outside the house. However, doing all of this on top of a 40-hour work week is completely insane. That’s why I’m really organized about doing all the chores as quickly as possible on Saturday morning. In fact, most weeks everything is done by noon on Saturday, so we cant then have a relaxing time as a family.
- I can only sleep in one position. I sleep in what is generally called the “Freefall position”, looking to the left – except that I also bend my left leg – so I end up looking more like a fencer in Quarte. I can’t sleep in any other position; I can’t fall asleep on my back, can’t fall asleep if my arms are by my side instead of under the pillow, anything else … During the night. That’s right. During the day if i lay down for a nap? I’ll fall asleep in any position.
- I can’t wait to have gray or white hair, or to go bald. I think that my dad was balding in his late 20s, and that my mom had more white hair than black in her early 30s. I was blond as a kid, and my hair is getting progressively darker. In any case, I always hate people (men really) who try to cover the gray or have that really well done comb over (Hint: the italic part was sarcasm). So I can’t wait to have noticeable white hair (I have 2-3 now), and as soon as I start showing signs of balding, I’ll shave my head completely. How awesome is that, really. In the mean time, I’m stuck with my Lego hair.
- I have an excellent memory, except when it comes to first names. When I’m in a meeting with new people, the first thing I do is write everyone’s first name in the same configuration that we are sitting. That way, I can address everyone by their first name if needed. For an unexplainable reason, I have no trouble remembering your email, your Twitter name, your blog name, your license plate, your phone number, your birthday, your kid’s birthdays, your wedding anniversary and even your last name – which is why I’ll call you “Mister [YourLastName]” when I meet you. Your [FirstName] will not stick with me before quite a while.
- I still wonder what I’ll do when I grow up. Don’t get me wrong: In spite of all the complaining I do about my job, I love it. But as the same time, I feel like I could do so many other things – and better than the people doing those things right now – that I often wonder if something else will come along and eventually I’ll look back at these years as “the good old days” or if this is it, and eventually I’ll look at this as the beginning of something great – or just okay. I still have 25 years before I hit 65, so really who knows what will happen during that time?
- I often wonder what will my last post, Tweet or email will be. I’m not obsessed with dying per se, but I will sometimes lay awake at night (most of the time on my back – figures!) trying to think about what life will be when I’m not around anymore. How will my wife do? Will she remarry? How about my kids? Will leveryone be okay? What great invention will I miss by days (I’m betting flying cars), what new movie won’t I see?
Tomorrow: Day 02- The meaning behind your blog name
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