There's a viral fad going around Facebook asking people to post 25 things about themselves, then invite 25 more people to do the same. There are several different versions of it, some inject the word "random" or "silly". My list is clearly not random; I doubt anyone's is. Though there may be ways to do something partially random, I structured mine instead. [Ok this fad has died off by now, but I wrote this article back then without posting.]
Seeking balance and organization, I broke it down into 5 buckets.
1-5 The Odd or Sensational
6-10 The Basics
11-15 The Personality
16-20 The Stories
21-25 The Activities
This has been a fun exercise. I learn a lot about my ego, by comparing my list to the typical formula.
1-5 The Odd or Sensational
Here's the part where I show how cool and unique I am, then introduce a minor flaw in a clever way.
1. I have touched my own skull. Following a high school weight lifting accident resulting from a plate sliding off the bar while close-grip curling then cracking me between the eyes. My sister rushed to the rescue with a frozen chimichanga. I had a gash large enough that the plastic surgeon allowed me to touch my own skull before sewing me up with 2 tiers of stitches.
2. I love the smell of burnt plexiglass - sweet and smoky.
3. I once bowled 6 perfect rolls in a row. The rest of the game was crap. Count how many gutters (8)! <link to image, see the top row>
4. I once completely wiped out my opponent in Go. link to image On a whole, though, I am extremely novice.
5. My superpower is profuse sweating. I still have not learned to harness this for the good of humanity. But I have harnessed it for the good of my own detoxification in Bikram yoga.
6-10 The Basic
This is the part where I talk about my loved ones and some other interesting traits in order to come off as endearing.
6. I have a slight allergy to coconut. I still eat Thai curries, but prefer them when the ratio of chili to coconut is something like 3:1. Yum.
7. I live with a classy cat. He always wears his tuxedo and lounges around cooler-than-thou on the furniture.
8. I was born on July 20, The Day of Ups and Downs.
9. Family - I was going to call this section "The Mundane" instead of The Basic, until I realized that writing about my family fits into this one, and there's nothing mundane about my family. They are spectacularly interesting people, each of them. I love my parents and younger sister Laura. We are a very close bunch.
10. I am carnivicarious. (blog post) Most of my childhood, I grew up as a meatatarian, a total carnivore. I ate pretty much only meat and bread, and I was completely opposed to vegetables. On May 1, 2008, I stopped eating meat after being inspired at a dinner party. My brain still wants meat sometimes, so I’ve coined the term “carnivicarious” to cover that. It’s the pleasure that I get through someone else’s enjoyment of meat. But the joy that I get from not eating meat is really wonderful.
11-15 The Personality
This section describes how uniquely skilled and special I am. (just like everyone else)
11. ENTJ-->ENFP - On the Myers-Briggs test, I max out Extroversion, always have. And definitely score higher on Intuiting than Sensing. Most of my life I have been ENTJ, but over the past couple years I have transitioned to ENFP.
12. Strengths - Input, Ideation, Woo, Maximizer, Strategic - according to Strengths Finder.
13. Groundhog Day is my favorite movie (blog post) . The movie is an analogy of a path to awakening, where Phil goes through many possible attempts at happiness before he finally gets it. In many ways, this is what Buddhism tells us. We will keep reincarnating and living our lives over and over again, failing to find the true purpose in many ways, until we find the true path to happiness and awakening. Phil Connors was given a very tangible opportunity to do just that.
14. My serenity
Lies in snow, cherry blossoms,
Birdsong, and haiku.
15. "I know a fine fellow named Ed,
Who lived his life trapped in his head,
Until he awoke,
Turned his ego to smoke,
And learned he has nothing to dread." - a friend left this in a comment on my blog
16-20 The Stories
16. I got thrown to the floor (twice) in a demonstration by Chen Taijiquan Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang. I asked for it.
17. The first party that I ever DJ'ed was the day that I learned. The DJ bailed at the last minute, so I downloaded some software, and DJ'ed off of my laptop and extensive collection of MP3s. The party kicked ass! I blew out the pre-amp, when a "fan" broke into the booth and cranked the volume all the way up.
18. I went to a Japanese pop concert. My friend and I were the only foreigners there in Saitama, outside Tokyo in Sept 2008. We saw one of my favorite artists, Amuro Namie, singer of "Can You Celebrate " and many, many other hits. The crowd was feverish. I've never seen just am intense encore chant: "Na-Mi-E! Woooooooo! Na-Mi-E! Woooooooo!" This is an enormous change after the affected apathy of Seattle music crowds.
19. producers ...
I saw The Producers on Broadway for Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick's last show. It was an amazing show just on their talents and the energy alone, but something made it very special. During the courtroom scene, an accidental fart sound effect was played, and the cast couldn't hold it together, though they tried nobly. Finally, Nathan Lane broke character to collect himself. He even cracked a Martha Stewart joke, being that it was the day after her conviction.
Seeking balance and organization, I broke it down into 5 buckets.
1-5 The Odd or Sensational
6-10 The Basics
11-15 The Personality
16-20 The Stories
21-25 The Activities
This has been a fun exercise. I learn a lot about my ego, by comparing my list to the typical formula.
1-5 The Odd or Sensational
Here's the part where I show how cool and unique I am, then introduce a minor flaw in a clever way.
1. I have touched my own skull. Following a high school weight lifting accident resulting from a plate sliding off the bar while close-grip curling then cracking me between the eyes. My sister rushed to the rescue with a frozen chimichanga. I had a gash large enough that the plastic surgeon allowed me to touch my own skull before sewing me up with 2 tiers of stitches.
2. I love the smell of burnt plexiglass - sweet and smoky.
3. I once bowled 6 perfect rolls in a row. The rest of the game was crap. Count how many gutters (8)! <link to image, see the top row>
4. I once completely wiped out my opponent in Go. link to image On a whole, though, I am extremely novice.
5. My superpower is profuse sweating. I still have not learned to harness this for the good of humanity. But I have harnessed it for the good of my own detoxification in Bikram yoga.
6-10 The Basic
This is the part where I talk about my loved ones and some other interesting traits in order to come off as endearing.
6. I have a slight allergy to coconut. I still eat Thai curries, but prefer them when the ratio of chili to coconut is something like 3:1. Yum.
7. I live with a classy cat. He always wears his tuxedo and lounges around cooler-than-thou on the furniture.
8. I was born on July 20, The Day of Ups and Downs.
9. Family - I was going to call this section "The Mundane" instead of The Basic, until I realized that writing about my family fits into this one, and there's nothing mundane about my family. They are spectacularly interesting people, each of them. I love my parents and younger sister Laura. We are a very close bunch.
10. I am carnivicarious. (blog post) Most of my childhood, I grew up as a meatatarian, a total carnivore. I ate pretty much only meat and bread, and I was completely opposed to vegetables. On May 1, 2008, I stopped eating meat after being inspired at a dinner party. My brain still wants meat sometimes, so I’ve coined the term “carnivicarious” to cover that. It’s the pleasure that I get through someone else’s enjoyment of meat. But the joy that I get from not eating meat is really wonderful.
11-15 The Personality
This section describes how uniquely skilled and special I am. (just like everyone else)
11. ENTJ-->ENFP - On the Myers-Briggs test, I max out Extroversion, always have. And definitely score higher on Intuiting than Sensing. Most of my life I have been ENTJ, but over the past couple years I have transitioned to ENFP.
12. Strengths - Input, Ideation, Woo, Maximizer, Strategic - according to Strengths Finder.
13. Groundhog Day is my favorite movie (blog post) . The movie is an analogy of a path to awakening, where Phil goes through many possible attempts at happiness before he finally gets it. In many ways, this is what Buddhism tells us. We will keep reincarnating and living our lives over and over again, failing to find the true purpose in many ways, until we find the true path to happiness and awakening. Phil Connors was given a very tangible opportunity to do just that.
14. My serenity
Lies in snow, cherry blossoms,
Birdsong, and haiku.
15. "I know a fine fellow named Ed,
Who lived his life trapped in his head,
Until he awoke,
Turned his ego to smoke,
And learned he has nothing to dread." - a friend left this in a comment on my blog
16-20 The Stories
16. I got thrown to the floor (twice) in a demonstration by Chen Taijiquan Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang. I asked for it.
17. The first party that I ever DJ'ed was the day that I learned. The DJ bailed at the last minute, so I downloaded some software, and DJ'ed off of my laptop and extensive collection of MP3s. The party kicked ass! I blew out the pre-amp, when a "fan" broke into the booth and cranked the volume all the way up.
18. I went to a Japanese pop concert. My friend and I were the only foreigners there in Saitama, outside Tokyo in Sept 2008. We saw one of my favorite artists, Amuro Namie, singer of "Can You Celebrate " and many, many other hits. The crowd was feverish. I've never seen just am intense encore chant: "Na-Mi-E! Woooooooo! Na-Mi-E! Woooooooo!" This is an enormous change after the affected apathy of Seattle music crowds.
19. producers ...
I saw The Producers on Broadway for Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick's last show. It was an amazing show just on their talents and the energy alone, but something made it very special. During the courtroom scene, an accidental fart sound effect was played, and the cast couldn't hold it together, though they tried nobly. Finally, Nathan Lane broke character to collect himself. He even cracked a Martha Stewart joke, being that it was the day after her conviction.
20. Sixth grade. Peed myself. Won state math contest. Weird combination of pride and embarrassment.
21-25 The Activities
I live getting into all kinds of things, here are the 5 that sprung to mind soonest.
21. I am on day 13 (Feb. 3) of a new practice: 100 days of writing (blog post). "I bring to my practice not just repeating something over and over but the act of self-reflection: I practice and I observe. I practice again. I tweak and adjust and tear apart and build up again. I create an opportunity to know myself better. Gradually this habit seeps into the rest of my activities. The result of Practice is that over time, I have a more engaged relationship with my whole life." - Kim Ivy
22. Artist - My favorite media are black sharpies on graph paper. I create a lot of mandalas.
23. I love to dance. Swing, argentine tango, merengue, salsa. If you throw on some deep house or breakbeats, you will see another side.
24. I jam with my friend Nick. We call ourselves the Cat's Cradle Robbers.
25. I love food: eating it, cooking it, and photographing it. (only some of them are linked here)
21. I am on day 13 (Feb. 3) of a new practice: 100 days of writing (blog post). "I bring to my practice not just repeating something over and over but the act of self-reflection: I practice and I observe. I practice again. I tweak and adjust and tear apart and build up again. I create an opportunity to know myself better. Gradually this habit seeps into the rest of my activities. The result of Practice is that over time, I have a more engaged relationship with my whole life." - Kim Ivy
22. Artist - My favorite media are black sharpies on graph paper. I create a lot of mandalas.
23. I love to dance. Swing, argentine tango, merengue, salsa. If you throw on some deep house or breakbeats, you will see another side.
24. I jam with my friend Nick. We call ourselves the Cat's Cradle Robbers.
25. I love food: eating it, cooking it, and photographing it. (only some of them are linked here)
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