Seven things you probably don’t know about me
March 2nd, 2009
Awhile back, I was tagged by Lans for this “Seven things” meme. My response is overdue. Here it is:
1.) I had my tonsils and adenoids removed when I was seven years old. I had chronic earaches/infections from the age of five. After a few years of treatment, and many trips to many different doctors, an E.N.T. specialist decided that tonsil/adenoid removal was the next logical step. Overall, I think the surgery helped. Plus, I got to stay home from school for a couple weeks while I recovered, and I got to eat a lot of ice cream.
2.) I locked myself out of a live radio station while I was the only one in the building. It was a Sunday morning board-operator shift. A friend of mine, who had worked the night shift before me, locked the hallway door on his way out. No one ever locked that hallway door. I left the studio to go to the washroom, and felt that panic as the door latched behind me. Sure enough, it was locked. To make a long story short (and there definitely is a story), I eventually got back into the studio. Even though the station was completely off-air for awhile, no real harm was done. The station changed formats 1.5 weeks later (something that was already in the process of happening) and everyone was let go.
3.) I traveled cross-country to meet someone I only knew through a chatroom/e-mail. And this was back in 1996. Long before the days of [insert name of your favorite social network site here]. I don’t think this story is all that remarkable 13 years later. But it seemed like kind of a big deal at the time. I had fun. I rode Amtrak between Chicago and Richmond, Virginia. It was a nice distraction from life at a time when I was really miserable.
4.) I have won many prizes through television/radio contests. It all started when I was an eight-year old kid. I won a bunch of passes to places in the Wisconsin Dells through a TV station contest. Since then, I’ve managed to win concert tickets, cash prizes (last one was for $1,000), free meals, airline tickets, DVD’s… I don’t even know what else. Sad to say the streak ended after I moved to California. Guess I don’t listen to radio as much as I used to.
5.) I ran a worldwide Robotech fanzine when I was a teenager. I actually started it when I was twelve years old. Like most things in life, I had no idea what I was doing. I sent an announcement about the fanzine to Starlog magazine, and they published it. I wanted to distribute the fanzine for free, and the response I received was overwhelming. It got close to 100 people from all over the world (this was before the Internet, remember) and I managed to get several issues out before I got burned out by the work. It was also expensive, and I didn’t really want to charge for the fanzine. The local newspaper even wrote a story about it. Again, it seemed like kind of a big deal at the time.
6.) I told no one before Jen and I got married. Well, except for a pizza guy and a couple Internet friends. But, that’s how we wanted to do it.
7.) I once took my dad’s Aerostar minivan out for a ride. This is only memorable because I don’t have, nor have I ever had, a driver’s license. In fact, I’m legally blind, and can’t actually get a driver’s license. But my mom insisted that my dad take me out as a teenager and give me some basic driving lessons. He did. A few weeks later, I was home alone, and really needed to get to town. I nervously pulled the minivan out of the driveway, and drove it safely for about two blocks before I returned home. I was too scared to make it all the way to where I needed to go. Fortunately, I did a good enough job of parking the Aerostar that no one seemed to notice it had been moved. I called a friend of mine who lived nearby, and got him to give me a ride instead. That is the one and only time I’ve ever truly driven a vehicle. It’ll probably be the last.
Props to Beth Harte for kicking this thing off. Per the rules of this meme, I now have to tag seven other people. I will not be offended if any of you who are tagged don’t follow through with a response. Here’s my list: Wesley, Jacob, Farris, Mike, Andy, Kim and Richard.