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Five things you may not know about me ...

d'Kong76 Nov 15 2013 12:14 PM

There's a fb thing going around with ten things, I try to avoid that stuff. It might be fun to have some lighthearted submissions here, and five is easier than ten ... 1) I am a notary public 2) I never saw Roots, Rich Man Poor Man, or an episode of Dallas 3) I was an altar boy into 10th grade because there was a shortage of young people in my small church growing up 4) The first baseball player I shook hands with was Roy Campanella 5) My first concert was Aerosmith w/ Styx at the New Haven Colosseum

metsmarathon Nov 15 2013 12:44 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

five is way easier than ten. but still not terribly easy... 1. i'm crosseyed and wore bifocals from before my 2nd birthday until my senior year of high school. frustrated that the bifocals weren't seeming to help anything, i changed eye doctors and didn't tell him my eye turns in. i've been in regular glasses and contact lenses since. if i'm really fatigued, or focusing in on something inches from my face, my right eye will start to turn in, but 99% of the time, you'd never know it. 2. i am quite terrified of speaking in front of crowds, be it extemporaneously, or with prepared notes. 3. in high school, i was a lector (the guy who reads from the bible during mass) at my church. i was good at it, with a loud voice, enunciation, and steady pacing, and i rather enjoyed it. reading in front of crowds is very different from speaking in front of crowds. 4. i didn't drink until well after my 21st birthday, mostly on principle. i've only ever been drunk once, on the occasion of my bachelor party, which ended a wee bit too early on account of an overly olived martini. i still can't go near olives. 5. i have a twin sister. we look more alike than do either of us look like my older sister, but growing up, they were always mistaken for twins.

themetfairy Nov 15 2013 12:51 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1) I lived in Maryland for two years when I was a kid; 2) When asked to initial something, I use four initials; 3) Including high school, college and grad school, I attended four different institutions. Three of them use red and white as their colors; 4) Back in the pre-Internet days, I would watch the Oscar nominations announced live and write down as many of them as I could, so that I'd know which movies to see before the awards ceremony; and 5) I had my daughter's name chosen years before we started our family.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 15 2013 01:12 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1. I've never received a haircut from anyone who wasn't a blood relative of mine. 2. I never channel-surf. Whenever I turn on the TV it's because there's something specific that I intend to watch. 3. I used to be a finicky eater, but now I'll try just about anything. Part of the fun of traveling to foreign countries is the chance to try new foods. 4. Ways that I'm out of step with most of society: I don't drink coffee. I don't drink beer. I can't tell a "cool" car from an "uncool" car. Music is nice as background noise, but I have little interest in it beyond that. 5. My face has aged, but my hands haven't.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 15 2013 01:27 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ... Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Nov 15 2013 06:40 PM

1) My last name is my currently-deceased father's, to whom my mother was never married, and whom I've never seen in my life. 2) Not counting growing to adulthood, I've gained and lost 80 pounds twice in my life. 3) I worked for three months as an ambulance volunteer in Jerusalem for Magen David Adom (Red Star of David), and picked up something like 1K words of Hebrew from about a month before to the end of my trip (with help from Pimsleur lessons on my iPod). At this point, I remember roughly 5 percent of that total. 4) I once won a $100 tattoo-parlor gift certificate in an amateur strip contest. It was the second time I'd been nude in public, in public view, and only the second-largest group in front of which I'd been starkers. The certificate went unused. 5) My karaoke power move is a "I can't take this emotion"-type power-slide-cum-fetal-position thing. It's moderately effective.

Mets – Willets Point Nov 15 2013 01:35 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

If you don't know me by now...

Ceetar Nov 15 2013 01:49 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1. I (used to?) play the violin. A clerical error between junior and senior high caused my instrument to go unrecorded, so I kept it when I graduated. 2. I'm scared of heights, but only manmade ones. Grand Canyon is fine, top of the ESB, not so much. 3. I worked for a winter in a cemetery. Picking up the flowers, digging holes (the long narrow ones for urns I guess, not the full casket ones) , carrying caskets. 4. I worked occasionally after college as a substitute teacher (technically still in the system) ...in my own high school. I even substituted for the Italian teacher I had in 7th/8th grade. That was a little surreal. 5. I've only been to Mexico once and upon return my cousin's boyfriend was detained in immigration since he wasn't a citizen and answered "umm...I don't know" to the "Are you a citizen?" question.

Frayed Knot Nov 15 2013 02:38 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1) I was born a poor black child OK, that one isn't entirely accurate 1) I've never seen any 'Star Wars' movie 2) By direct male lineage I'm at least a 9th generation American dating back to pre-Revolution days somewhere in present-day Maine 3) For the better part of a decade, an adult-age sporting hobby of mine was as a hockey goaltender 4) I can juggle five balls 5) Despite the drawing in my icon, done by an artist related to me from a then-current photo of me, I don't now and never have worn a goatee

A Boy Named Seo Nov 15 2013 06:14 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

I've said, "huh?" or "no shit?" about 11 times already reading this great thread. I have lots of follow-up Q's for the spin-off thread. You guys are neat.

MFS62 Nov 15 2013 08:43 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1) I never had my Bar Mitzvah. I studied for it, but shortly before it was going to happen, my mother died (may she rest in Peace). Due to the one year period of mourning it was cancelled and never rescheduled. Later I continued religious school and did have a Confirmation. 2) I was a child Prodigy cellist. My instructor was Martin Ormandy, he was the lead cellist in the NY Philharmonic Orchestra and the brother of Eugene Ormandy, the conductor of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 14, I was invited to join the Westchester Symphony Orchestra. My family moved to Queens, so I never was able to play with them. 3) I played football in High School, and once played against Calvin Hill, who went on to play running back for Yale, and later the Dallas Cowboys. 4) In the Army, I worked on three special projects under the direct orders from the Pentagon, and actually spent some time in the Pentagon. I can't tell you any more details about the projects or where I did them, or I'd have to kill you. 5) I was an hour and a half late for my own wedding. (Long Island Expressway beach traffic jam on a sunny afternoon.) Yes, my bride was still there when I got there. Later

Vic Sage Nov 15 2013 10:26 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1) I was chased home from 6th grade by a pack of wild feral dogs; the pack leader bit me on the ass. Many shots followed; 2) Sondheim knows my name; 3) In 9th grade, I played Bass Clarinet at Carnegie Hall with the NY City-wide Orchestra. I had a 4-note solo; 4) While in college, I joined a march on Washington against US presence in El Salvador, but i don't remember much because i was on Peyote most of the time; 5) I didn't drive till i was 30 and my girlfriend/wife-to-be made me get a license.

Lefty Specialist Nov 16 2013 05:30 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1) I was on Jeopardy! in 2000. Sadly, I lost. 2) I have a working n-scale train set in my office. It features a 1/160th scale baseball field where the Mets are beating the Yankees 13-0, bases are loaded and Mike Piazza is up with a 3-0 count. 3) I have a collection of over 4500 beer cans, and have an entire room dedicated to them. I also have a very understanding wife. 4) I can do a perfect impression of Alvin and the Chipmunks. 5) I met my wife in April 1986. She had a tan and I asked her where she got it. She said, "Well, I just came back from watching the Mets in Spring Training for a week," Ka-ching.

RealityChuck Nov 16 2013 08:22 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1. My grandfather's name appears to be Turkish, though he was born in Minsk in Russia. 2. I was the youngest person to legally tend bar in New York State; I bartended at a party on my 18th birthday. 3. When I was 20, I was fictionalized in a novel. 4. I've been treasurer of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America 5. I'm on the committee for World Fantasy Con 2015, to be held in Saratoga Springs, NY.

sharpie Nov 16 2013 03:47 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1. I worked on cruise ships around South America for two summers during college 2. I was the singer in a band in the '80's which got a little bit of review attention and got played on some college radio stations 3. I've never been in a Wal-Mart or a Best Buy or seen most of the popular TV shows of the last 30 years 4. I was a theatre major and my work was praised by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin 5. I've driven across the country three times -- the first time I arrived at my destination as Richard Nixon was resigning the Presidency.

Edgy MD Nov 16 2013 06:25 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

sharpie wrote: 2. I was the singer in a band in the '80's which got a little bit of review attention and got played on some college radio stations. My money's on Action Pact.

Ashie62 Nov 17 2013 01:39 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ... Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Nov 17 2013 08:05 PM

1) I worked as Abscam Senator Harrison Williams driver.. 2) I mooned a DC Cop and walked away. 3) My 4th grade teacher told my parents I had an unnatural interest in sports 4) Myself and Ashie1 had lost touch for 31 years.. 5) I have appeared on CNBC Squawkbox...

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 17 2013 04:43 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Edgy MD wrote: sharpie wrote: 2. I was the singer in a band in the '80's which got a little bit of review attention and got played on some college radio stations. My money's on Action Pact. They were awesome until they got too big and sold out.

cooby Nov 17 2013 06:59 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1. I was named after a girl whose brother I later dated. 2. When I was little I had to stand in a sunlamp booth nekkid because I had excema (it didn't work) 3. My first concert was Herman's Hermits at the Steel Pier 4. I went to exactly --none-- of my school dances 5. My mom, dad, brother and sister have brown eyes, and I am the only blue eyed one in my family

Fman99 Nov 17 2013 07:28 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1. Before entering the information technology field I taught high school social studies for three and a half years. 2. Since I started running competitively in 2010 I have run 96 races of distances ranging from one to 26.2 miles as well as a total of over 3000 miles of running. 3. I had a late night all request radio show for two years as a college student. 4. I was an honor society student in high school and as a result I was chosen to escort the homecoming queen at the homecoming football game in my senior year of high school. That moment was captured in my high school yearbook. 5. The night I met my wife I wrote her a note on a bar napkin saying "Do you like me? Check this box." With a box drawn next to the question. She did not check the box. I did get a laugh from the note.

metsguyinmichigan Nov 17 2013 08:05 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1) I met my wife on Sept. 12, 1985 because a Columbia Missourian teaching assistant was too lazy to do his own brown-nosing. He assigned us to fill the managing editor’s office with balloons for his birthday. We got to talking, and went for some pizza and hit it off. 2) I collect too many things, among them miniature Statues of Liberty and presidential campaign pins. And floaty pens. And old post cards. And all kinds of baseball cards and things. 3) I accidentally threw a baby sock at Michigan’s then-governor back in 2008 – in front of all my students. 4) I love pine cones. 5) I love all things pertaining to U.S. presidents. I’ve shaken hands with Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and I’ve seen Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama up close. And I've met candidates Al Gore, Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin.

Frayed Knot Nov 17 2013 09:21 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

metsguyinmichigan wrote: 4) I love pine cones. Raw or cooked? And what kind of sauce goes best?

metsguyinmichigan Nov 17 2013 09:34 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Raw.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 17 2013 10:01 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1. I'm not really a boxing fan but I've shaken hands with heavyweight champions George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Michael Spinks & Floyd Patterson. Also Gerry Cooney. Maybe Larry Holmes too but I'm not sure. 2. I have never met anyone who could scale a baseball card farther than I could. I credit this skill for developing a powerful backhand that made me a dangerous opponent in frisbee. 3. I'm shocked and kind of ashamed when I think back at just how much mindless property destruction and shoplifting I engaged in (and got away with) as a teen. I mean, we smashed everything and stole anything. For no reason at all. 4. I met Wifey Bucket on the elevator in the building we both worked in. I worked on the 10th floor and she was on the 11th. 5. I have vacuumed the swimming pools of Howard Stern and Bjorn Borg.

MFS62 Nov 18 2013 07:02 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Not surprised about much in this thread, except ... Pine cones? Later

metsguyinmichigan Nov 18 2013 08:28 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

MFS62 wrote: Not surprised about much in this thread, except ... Pine cones? Later I think they're really cool. I love evergreen trees. There's some neat symbolism there. I have some really big pine cones that I got in Florida that I keep on my desk. I didn't realize it was all that odd.

HahnSolo Nov 18 2013 09:44 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: 5. I have vacuumed the swimming pools of Howard Stern and Bjorn Borg. Who'd you look to for guidance, Matthau or Patrick Dempsey?

Mets – Willets Point Nov 18 2013 09:49 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Frayed Knot wrote: 5) Despite the drawing in my icon, done by an artist related to me from a then-current photo of me, I don't now and never have worn a goatee This is actually a big surprise. I always assumed that was an accurate representation of FKnot.

Mets – Willets Point Nov 18 2013 09:50 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Fman99 wrote: 1. Before entering the information technology field I taught high school social studies for three and a half years. Fman at a High School in a position of responsibility. There's a movie plot in there.

Frayed Knot Nov 18 2013 10:07 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Mets – Willets Point wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: 5) Despite the drawing in my icon, done by an artist related to me from a then-current photo of me, I don't now and never have worn a goatee This is actually a big surprise. I always assumed that was an accurate representation of FKnot. Well except for the facial hair thing, and then the minor fact that I've aged about a decade since the original picture/drawing, it pretty much is. I've had mustaches, full beards, and been (and am currently) clean-shaven, just never the goatee-only look.

Ceetar Nov 18 2013 10:14 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Frayed Knot wrote: Frayed Knot wrote: 5) Despite the drawing in my icon, done by an artist related to me from a then-current photo of me, I don't now and never have worn a goatee This is actually a big surprise. I always assumed that was an accurate representation of FKnot. Well except for the facial hair thing, and then the minor fact that I've aged about a decade since the original picture/drawing, it pretty much is. I've had mustaches, full beards, and been (and am currently) clean-shaven, just never the goatee-only look. might be worth a spin-off thread. I've occasionally been tempted to grow facial hair, but i'm always deterred by people (like my wife) suggesting it's actually more work to maintain than the lazily shaving 2-3 times a week I do now.

metsmarathon Nov 18 2013 10:17 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

i'm not allowed to grow a beard or a moustache. i don't really have enough facial hair on my cheeks to support a respectable beard, and i'm afraid all i could ever muster in a moustache is a dirtbag / sketchy spanish guy moustache. i can grow hair on my chin, and have spent much of the past 15 years with a light chin scruff. but currently not.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 18 2013 11:20 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

I've got free rein, tonsorially-speaking. I haven't always used said freedom responsibly-- creepy mustache things, intentionally-creepy mustache things, Fu Manchus, weird wispy Van Dycks, goatees. Can't grow a full, proper beard, though, which has been a perennial source of consternation in the winters (but is ultimately, probably for the best). JohnCougarnileDelinquent wrote: 3. I'm shocked and kind of ashamed when I think back at just how much mindless property destruction and shoplifting I engaged in (and got away with) as a teen. I mean, we smashed everything and stole anything. For no reason at all. Biggest-ticket item? Biggest item?

soupcan Nov 18 2013 11:25 AM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

I'm 49 years old and can't grow sideburns.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 18 2013 12:08 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I've got free rein, tonsorially-speaking. I haven't always used said freedom responsibly-- creepy mustache things, intentionally-creepy mustache things, Fu Manchus, weird wispy Van Dycks, goatees. Can't grow a full, proper beard, though, which has been a perennial source of consternation in the winters (but is ultimately, probably for the best). JohnCougarnileDelinquent wrote: 3. I'm shocked and kind of ashamed when I think back at just how much mindless property destruction and shoplifting I engaged in (and got away with) as a teen. I mean, we smashed everything and stole anything. For no reason at all. Biggest-ticket item? Biggest item? Hmmm, not sure. It was mostly small stuff, mischief really, but done in great volume. One I remembered recently was a guy who had a wooden sign in front of his house illuminated with a spotlight, advertising that he was a lawyer or whatever. For some reason we found this highly offensive, and so we smashed the light out with a big rock. The next night the light was replaced, so we smashed it again. The third night he was waiting for us but we still smashed it (heard him yelling from the house but there was no way he could get out of the house, down the long driveway etc before we were long gone). We did lots of things like that. There were big white plastic letters on a wooden sign welcoming seniors to PAUMANACK, which we'd snap off and rearrange to spell PAC MAN so often they finally gave up and just painted the sign. The shoplifting was 100% about getting away with stuff and 0% about taking anything we actually needed. We'd emerge from McCrory's at the mall with pockets jammed with stolen junk we'd throw right away.

Lefty Specialist Nov 18 2013 12:15 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

metsguyinmichigan wrote: And floaty pens. My wife has over 1000 of them. Whenever I travel on business it's the one thing I look for, but they're getting harder and harder to find. And they used to always be made in Denmark, of all places. Now they make cheaper ones in China, but the real deal floaty pens are from Denmark.

metsguyinmichigan Nov 18 2013 12:53 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Lefty Specialist wrote: metsguyinmichigan wrote: And floaty pens. My wife has over 1000 of them. Whenever I travel on business it's the one thing I look for, but they're getting harder and harder to find. And they used to always be made in Denmark, of all places. Now they make cheaper ones in China, but the real deal floaty pens are from Denmark. I didn't know about the Denmark connection! And they are getting harder and harder to find -- and more expensive! I used to see them for about $2, and now it seems like they are in the $4 range. I don't have anywhere near 1,000. Probably about 40. Just something I look for in gift shops and airports.

cooby Nov 18 2013 07:02 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

soupcan wrote: I'm 49 years old and can't grow sideburns. That's only one!

Rockin' Doc Nov 18 2013 10:02 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

1. My father spent 23 years in the Air Force. As a result our family moved a great deal. Due to our frequent moving, I attended 9 different schools (in 3 states and 1 foreign country) during my 12 years. 2. I had an uncle who lost his sight when he was 12 years old. Prior to losing his sight, he collected baseball cards during his childhood in the 1950's. He gave his entire collection to me when I was 7 or 8 years old, which led to me collecting baseball cards for many years. 3. When I was a teenager, I would visit with the previously mentioned uncle and we would listen to baseball games on the radio together. During commercial breaks and after games he taught me to read and write Braille. 4. I was the "back up" pole vaulter on my Jr. High track team. 5. I am terrified of any and all snakes.

Edgy MD Nov 18 2013 10:10 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

Great stuff. Pretty cool that you became EDBS (eye doctorin' big shot).

Rockin' Doc Nov 18 2013 10:23 PM Re: Five things you may not know about me ...

The time I spent with my uncle had a profound effect on me and greatly influenced me when choosing a career.