Random Shiznit About Me
Actually, I wasn’t tagged, but I stole this from Becky’s blog. And since it’s another boring morning at work, I figured I’d do it for the hell of it…
…so here’s seven interesting things about me, for those of you who never asked.
1) I can’t read music. I’m self-taught as a musician, and despite playing guitar for 16 years now, and professionally for 13, I can’t read a note of music. I know the difference between a bass and treble clef, but that’s about it. I primarily play by ear (and I’m blessed with excellent relative pitch), or by reading tablature, which is a numeric correspondence transcription for guitars and basses.
2) I’m adopted. Mom and Dad, for whatever reason (as I recall, Dad’s vasectomy reversal didn’t), couldn’t have children naturally, and applied for adoption in 1974. I was born in February of ’75, and arrived at their home on April 15 of that year—as they put it, I was their “little tax deduction.” I’ve actually known I was adopted ever since I was old enough to understand the concept, and when the question of whether or not I knew (or want to know) my birth parents invariably comes up, I always respond with a polite “No”. I’ve got no reason to know them or want to know them, and I’ve never even considered trying to find them. What little we do know of them was that they were Mexican or Mexican-American, in their late teens when they had me, and one worked in a factory while the other only had a 7th grade education. Honestly, my biggest pet peeve about someone asking me about my adoption is when someone asks if I knew my “real parents”. Pisses me off—Mom and Dad are my real parents, and nothing will ever change that.
3) Wallyball—this is a sport, invented in the late 1970’s, that I got hooked on in 1993, and have been playing ever since, primarily with a group of close friends through BGSU. Wallyball, for those not familiar with it, is a surprisingly intense, fast-paced game that’s essentially volleyball played on a racquetball court. Bumps, sets, spikes, and other basics of volleyball are intact, with the exception that players can drive the ball off of one side wall. I won’t get into all of the rules, but the use of that wall means that balls can travel with a lot of precision and velocity, and it takes a while to get the precision down to handle both driving and fielding them. Modesty aside, I’m pretty damned good at the game, despite some injuries which have slowed me down. Matt, Andy, and I mostly play with BGSU undergrads during the year, some of whom are new, and some aren’t. We enjoy having good, fun, competitive games both there and in the tournaments we do from time to time, and it’s great exercise. Becky, after seeing how sweaty I was the first time I came home from playing, has a standing rule that I have to shower before going to bed on those nights…
4) Work—currently, I work as an editor for a mystery shopping/market research company called Corporate Research International. I sit and edit mystery shopping reports all day, and that’s about it. It’s not mentally challenging or rewarding, pays next to nothing with no benefits, a little over 35 miles from home, and offers no future to speak of. I took it as a stopgap measure back in December, until I could find something better. Almost seven months later, unfortunately, I’m still looking, with no concrete leads in sight, and fighting a daily feeling that a part of me is being whittled away, somehow.
5) I was an uncle at the age of nine. Because my dad was married and had kids before he met my mother, I’m the youngest of four kids, all of whom are significantly older than I am (Mathew is 50, Kim is 47, Maria is 46, and I’m 32). I’d always wondered about the age discrepancy between us, to the point when I asked Dad—when I was about eight or so—why Mom had Mathew when she was only 12 (Mom’s 63). Dad and I were driving to Napoleon, and he laughed so hard that we almost went into a ditch. Kim and her first husband, about a year later, had my niece Nicole; I remember going to school the next Monday, and when the teacher asked each of us in turn what we did over the weekend, no one quite believed me when I said that I became an uncle. Nicole’s since had a child, my great-nephew Killian, which REALLY makes me feel a little old, but in a good way…
6) Scuba diving—I’m an avid scuba diver, and have had my certification for about 12 years now. Honestly, it was something that never interested me until I was about 16 or 17, and even then, I think it was because I thought it looked cool in the James Bond flick Never Say Never Again. I was working in the marine biology lab at BGSU; one day, a woman named Kim Marshall walked in and asked if I knew anyone who wanted to learn scuba, and I damn near fell over. We got certified late that fall, and I’ve loved it ever since. I’ve mostly gone diving around the NW Ohio quarries, but I’ve also gone diving off of the Florida Keys, something that I’d love to do again. And, of course, scuba was the second date that Becky and I had, and when she fell in love with it too, I was thrilled. It’s a good physical workout, but relaxing at the same time, and hellaciously addictive.
7) I love cheese. Seriously—it’s beyond an addiction at this point. Anything from a good sharp cheddar, to Blue Stilton, to Provolone, to Battenburg, to Muenster, to Colby, to Brie, to Leiceister, to Wensleydale, is fair game. With the exception of a blueberry-infused goat cheese I tried once, I haven’t come across a cheese, or form of cheese, that I haven’t enjoyed. I’m not really sure where I get it from, either…Dad’s a blue cheese fan, but not ragingly so, and Mom’s indifferent towards cheese, and that’s about it. Becky’s helped me get at least a little better about not overdoing how much I take in at one time…but man, cheese ALWAYS tastes good. I know I’m not feeling well when it doesn’t entice me.
…so here’s seven interesting things about me, for those of you who never asked.
1) I can’t read music. I’m self-taught as a musician, and despite playing guitar for 16 years now, and professionally for 13, I can’t read a note of music. I know the difference between a bass and treble clef, but that’s about it. I primarily play by ear (and I’m blessed with excellent relative pitch), or by reading tablature, which is a numeric correspondence transcription for guitars and basses.
2) I’m adopted. Mom and Dad, for whatever reason (as I recall, Dad’s vasectomy reversal didn’t), couldn’t have children naturally, and applied for adoption in 1974. I was born in February of ’75, and arrived at their home on April 15 of that year—as they put it, I was their “little tax deduction.” I’ve actually known I was adopted ever since I was old enough to understand the concept, and when the question of whether or not I knew (or want to know) my birth parents invariably comes up, I always respond with a polite “No”. I’ve got no reason to know them or want to know them, and I’ve never even considered trying to find them. What little we do know of them was that they were Mexican or Mexican-American, in their late teens when they had me, and one worked in a factory while the other only had a 7th grade education. Honestly, my biggest pet peeve about someone asking me about my adoption is when someone asks if I knew my “real parents”. Pisses me off—Mom and Dad are my real parents, and nothing will ever change that.
3) Wallyball—this is a sport, invented in the late 1970’s, that I got hooked on in 1993, and have been playing ever since, primarily with a group of close friends through BGSU. Wallyball, for those not familiar with it, is a surprisingly intense, fast-paced game that’s essentially volleyball played on a racquetball court. Bumps, sets, spikes, and other basics of volleyball are intact, with the exception that players can drive the ball off of one side wall. I won’t get into all of the rules, but the use of that wall means that balls can travel with a lot of precision and velocity, and it takes a while to get the precision down to handle both driving and fielding them. Modesty aside, I’m pretty damned good at the game, despite some injuries which have slowed me down. Matt, Andy, and I mostly play with BGSU undergrads during the year, some of whom are new, and some aren’t. We enjoy having good, fun, competitive games both there and in the tournaments we do from time to time, and it’s great exercise. Becky, after seeing how sweaty I was the first time I came home from playing, has a standing rule that I have to shower before going to bed on those nights…
4) Work—currently, I work as an editor for a mystery shopping/market research company called Corporate Research International. I sit and edit mystery shopping reports all day, and that’s about it. It’s not mentally challenging or rewarding, pays next to nothing with no benefits, a little over 35 miles from home, and offers no future to speak of. I took it as a stopgap measure back in December, until I could find something better. Almost seven months later, unfortunately, I’m still looking, with no concrete leads in sight, and fighting a daily feeling that a part of me is being whittled away, somehow.
5) I was an uncle at the age of nine. Because my dad was married and had kids before he met my mother, I’m the youngest of four kids, all of whom are significantly older than I am (Mathew is 50, Kim is 47, Maria is 46, and I’m 32). I’d always wondered about the age discrepancy between us, to the point when I asked Dad—when I was about eight or so—why Mom had Mathew when she was only 12 (Mom’s 63). Dad and I were driving to Napoleon, and he laughed so hard that we almost went into a ditch. Kim and her first husband, about a year later, had my niece Nicole; I remember going to school the next Monday, and when the teacher asked each of us in turn what we did over the weekend, no one quite believed me when I said that I became an uncle. Nicole’s since had a child, my great-nephew Killian, which REALLY makes me feel a little old, but in a good way…
6) Scuba diving—I’m an avid scuba diver, and have had my certification for about 12 years now. Honestly, it was something that never interested me until I was about 16 or 17, and even then, I think it was because I thought it looked cool in the James Bond flick Never Say Never Again. I was working in the marine biology lab at BGSU; one day, a woman named Kim Marshall walked in and asked if I knew anyone who wanted to learn scuba, and I damn near fell over. We got certified late that fall, and I’ve loved it ever since. I’ve mostly gone diving around the NW Ohio quarries, but I’ve also gone diving off of the Florida Keys, something that I’d love to do again. And, of course, scuba was the second date that Becky and I had, and when she fell in love with it too, I was thrilled. It’s a good physical workout, but relaxing at the same time, and hellaciously addictive.
7) I love cheese. Seriously—it’s beyond an addiction at this point. Anything from a good sharp cheddar, to Blue Stilton, to Provolone, to Battenburg, to Muenster, to Colby, to Brie, to Leiceister, to Wensleydale, is fair game. With the exception of a blueberry-infused goat cheese I tried once, I haven’t come across a cheese, or form of cheese, that I haven’t enjoyed. I’m not really sure where I get it from, either…Dad’s a blue cheese fan, but not ragingly so, and Mom’s indifferent towards cheese, and that’s about it. Becky’s helped me get at least a little better about not overdoing how much I take in at one time…but man, cheese ALWAYS tastes good. I know I’m not feeling well when it doesn’t entice me.
posted by Reggae Joe at
7:49 PM
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