25 Things About Me In 2009

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.

1. I’d like to think of myself as James Bond…but the reality is that I am closer to Maxwell Smart or Inspector Clouseau.

2. I am the oldest son in a family of seven boys and no sisters. So you can imagine the shock to my system that our third child is my first and only daughter. I need to find a how-to book on girls…

3. My #1 pet peeve is people who have one set of rules for themselves and a different set of rules for the rest of us.

4. The fastest mile I ever ran was 6 minutes 15 seconds during my high-school basketball years. Now my wife thinks I am “fast” if I run a 10-and-a-half-minute mile. My, oh my, the bar has fallen pretty far from the glory days.

5. I was born and raised in northern Indiana until my family moved to Texas in 1989. I don’t have a twang but I have successfully made the transition from “you guys” to “y’all”. It was less painful than you might think.

6. While I love Texas, I miss seeing snow in the winter. Oh the weather outside’s not too frightful when it’s 75 degrees on Christmas morning.

7. In another life, I would probably be a writer. I am in awe of the written word and the potential that it has to invoke emotion(s) in others.

8. If you sincerely need a friend, you won’t find anyone more devoted.

9. If you take advantage of our relationship, you won’t find anyone more distant.

10. I come from what the world would term a “broken” family, but that doesn't mean I am broken.

11. I sang in a barbershop quartet during my high school years. We could have been stars but Boys II Men stole our thunder.

12. 2009 will be my fourth year to cycle 180 miles over two days from Houston to Austin to raise funds for the Texas Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I ride for my wife who has MS and for the many others with MS who can’t. It’s a humbling feeling to ride through small Texas towns and see thank you signs from those afflicted by MS…and it’s an honor to be on the bike every mile of the ride.

13. People who think the world revolves around them annoy me. See #3.

14. My career is based on working with computers so I guess I am a paid geek. However, if you catch me away from the office, my hope is that you would have no idea what I do. There’s a lot more to life than mice and keyboards.

15. To each his own…but I can’t bring myself to wear my cell phone(s) on my waist. I am not Batman so I don’t feel the need to put on a utility belt.

16. I’m all in favor of individual rights as long as individual responsibility is part of the deal. It’s that second part that many folks tend to gloss over.

17. I will joke and/or be sarcastic with you only if I am sure you know it’s a joke. NOTHING pains me more than to find out you thought I was being serious.

18. I could make a seven figure salary but I will never forget where I came from. It excites me to no end to find many of my old friends dating all the way back to elementary school on Facebook. I am still working towards the seven-figure salary…

19. My wife is a native Texan of 30+ years. So you can imagine my chuckle when she asks me if it ever gets into the 50s in Chicago or up north. Single-digit temperatures are a thing of science-fiction to her. Ha!

20. I fell off a chair and broke my arm the day before my first day of kindergarten. I was standing on the chair while pretending to be a music star. I broke my left arm and I am left-handed. Wonderful.

21. I don’t have an iPod but I appreciate nearly all types of music — be it rap, country, pop, techno, bluegrass or any other flavor. Sometimes when I am in the mood, I love nothing more than listening to the oldies in the car at night.

22. I am fascinated by what makes people tick. If I wasn't an IT professional or a writer I would probably be a psychologist. I’m intrigued by what’s REALLY going on inside your head and not that exterior mask you put on for most people.

23. I have two titanium screws in my right hand (and the scar to prove it) as the result of a softball injury. Does that make me bionic?

24. You can try to look for love, but love will find you. I am not being sappy or cliche, I believe it’s the truth. When we first met as acquaintances, my wife told me I was the “whitest guy she had ever met” and yet March 2009 will be our six-year anniversary. Who’d of thunk it??? (P.S. — We still laugh about this and I am still white.)

25. Whenever I am feeling down and need a pick-me-up, I consider this special fact: take the first letter from the last six months of the year (July, August, September, October, November, December) and what’s that spell? JASON D