I don't know what you heard about me, but...

It was recently suggested that those interested blog about eight random facts about themselves. Since I am of weak mind and have no original ideas of my own, I'm happy to oblige. Although, given that it took me two tries to get to 50 and factoring in my general reluctance to talk about all things personal, eight more might be a bit of a stretch. But here goes.

1. I am the most inwardly competitive person I know. I don't yell at teammates or instigate trash-talking, but I have an incredible -- probably unhealthy -- desire to win. I also have an unhealthy tendency to take losses of any of my teams personally.

2. I haven't cried since June of 2004. There have been some close calls since, but it's just not something I do. There's a joke with one of the girls in my office that I'm just going to keep bottling up my negative emotions until one day I spill a soda and just totally lose it. Seems plausible.

3. For whatever reason, whenever I pick up my guitar, the first chord I play is usually a G. I think it has something to do with the fact that the first 'real' song I taught myself was 'Walkaways' by Coun+ing Crows, so it became habit.

4. Few things raise my blood pressure more than seeing Americans wave Palestinian flags. I was recently watching a documentary where a group of American college students were waving Palestinian flags at a protest. The sheer idiocy of that defies description. I nearly had to leave the room. Exactly which part of a society that straps explosives to children to kill civilians; oppresses women and minorities; and threatens the annihilation of an entire nation is worth a show of solidarity?

5. I spend what I believe to be an inordinate amount of time thinking of how my life would be different if I'd made different choices at various times in my life. Kinda like that Ash+on Ku+cher movie. I don't really know why I do it...I don't know that I would change anything. It's just something I do when I get bored. I feel like I made a lot of small decisions that turned out to be majorly life-changing, so it's just interesting to think about what would have happened if some of them had gone the other way.

6. Most every song I know reminds me in one way or another of someone that I know.

7. This one time, at band camp...ok, seriously. My junior year in high school, my room mate at band camp and I decided we were going to stay up all night the first night. It is easily the worst idea I've ever had. Or at least in the top 5. Marching around for 10 hours in f-ing Milledgeville, Georgia, in August, on no sleep, is probably in breach of the Geneva Conventions. It was one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had.

8. This past weekend I was asked out by a woman seven years my senior. I honestly don't expect anything to come of it, but the entertainment factor is priceless. In her defense, she asked before she knew the extent of my vibrant youth. Still provided a much-needed ego boost and a few giggles at the office.