25 Things About Me

Okay, this whole 25 random things about me has been dominating Facebook for some time.  Jessie tagged me about a week ago, and I think it is about time that I posted my own list.

25 Things About Me:

1. As a kid I was a rabid baseball fan, and my favorite team was the Atlanta Braves. I had a near-encyclopedic knowledge of baseball statistics, acquired primarily by reading and memorizing the stats listed on the backs of my many baseball cards. My family would quiz me on the different stats of random players, and I would rock their socks off. Now, I can’t even stand watching an entire baseball game on TV.

2. I became obsessed with Russian literature my first semester at BYU. I read War and Peace in two weeks for fun, and then I read Anna Karenina in one week. The next semester I took an awesome Russian literature course and read a bunch of other great books. My love of Russian lit made me want to serve a mission in Russia so I could learn Russian and read those novels in the original language, but instead I was sent to Brazil. It was all good.

3. I won my school’s Geography Bee when I was in the fifth grade. I got to go compete in the Utah State Geography Bee where I didn’t win anything.

4. Growing up I was frequently the subject of various psychological tests. I should mention that my father is a school psychologist and would use me as a test subject to familiarize himself with the different tests he would use. I always scored very well on those tests.

5. If I could be anything in the world, I would be a musician (i.e. guitarist). I would love to tour the country in a van, play small clubs for little more than gas money, and sleep on people’s floors. Unfortunately, Rock Band will probably be the closest I get to that dream. Though I did play two shows in front of people with my unsuccessful band in high school.

6. I went to the Malt Shoppe in Provo once a week for an entire year, taking advantage of their 2-for-1 shake offer. Then they started ripping their customers off, and we had a falling away.

7. I cannot walk into a bookstore and not buy a book. I justify each purchase by telling myself that I am going to have an awesome library when I have my own house sometime in the future.

8, One of my all-time favorite things in the world is to go to live rock concerts. I love to rock out and lose myself in the music. I’ve gone to a couple 3-day festivals in different parts of the country, road tripped to the Pacific Northwest a couple times for concerts, and plan on doing more traveling to see concerts in the future.

9. I nearly died twice in one day on my mission in Brazil. The first time a drunk driver came within inches of where I was standing on the side of the road, and the second time a large chunk of the ceiling crashed down on top of the desk where I normally sat at night and ate a bowl of cereal, but I happened to be elsewhere that night.

10. My best friends and I in high school would take fast food trays and slide down steep dirt hills on them; we called it ghetto boarding, and it was awesome.

11. I love to drive for driving’s sake. I love to drive down unfamiliar roads, not knowing where I will end up. If gas continues to be reasonably priced, I plan on doing a lot of aimless driving around in the mountains this spring and summer.

12. I absolutely hate to inconvenience or bother anyone. If someone is inconveniencing or bothering me, I will tend toward longsuffering rather than confronting the person about whatever is bothering me.

13. I am tentatively planning on attending the 2014 World Cup to be held in Brazil.

14. I do not mind going to the movies alone. I have done it many times and will continue to as long as I have to.

15. I feel like I need to pursue a future as a writer, but I am not sure if I have the skills or luck to succeed. All I know is I feel I need to try.

16. War and Peace is my favorite novel. I have only read it once, but it was a life-altering experience.

17. I love sports, and I think I tend to surprise people with how athletic I really am. I guess I don’t look too sporty or something. One of the greatest compliments I have received came from various Brazilians when we’d play soccer together, and they would compliment me on my play. Not many Americans knew how to play, let alone keep up with the Brazilian people, so when an American could, the Brazilians were genuinely surprised and pleased.

18. I double majored in film and English and have a job that utilizes very little of that education, but it doesn’t bother me too much right now.

19. I want to make enough money as a writer to be able to live in a bungalow on some beautiful Brazilian beach part of the year, just basking in the sun, doing some writing, swimming frequently in the warm ocean water, and living a quiet, peaceful life.

20. I am an idealist beneath my outer core of sarcasm. I believe that people are inherently decent and ought to be treated as such. Every day I am trying to better reconcile my actions with my beliefs.

21. I have never been what you would call popular, but I keep a small circle of close friends towards whom I am staunchly loyal.

22. Listening to music, reading books, watching movies, and talking about each of those things constitutes the majority of what I most like to do.

23. I have a very random and spontaneous side, what some might call spastic, and I need to find more opportunities for that part of me to come out. I miss the Slurpee-fueled adventures of the summer and cannot wait for the return of warmer weather.

24. I love classic films, especially the silent comedies of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and defend their worth whenever someone incapable of sustained attention disparages them.

25. I tend to write too much and ought to seek for greater precision with words, this list being proof enough of that.