The latest craze around the social-networking website Facebook is to reveal 25 random facts about yourself to the rest of the internet.  The instructions are similar to that of a chain letter in that you get “tagged” by someone disclosing their most personal secrets and in return, you write a bunch of stuff about yourself and “tag” more friends.  Just like every other bad idea in America’s history, this one caught fire and everyone is doing it.

My wife asked me if I was ever going to join the madness and reveal the inner-most sanctum of my brain to the world.  My response was that my blog (http://shallowthinker.com) serves that purpose.  It’s completely random, gives a small amount of insight into how twisted my brain is, and is available to the entire world.  Not to mention, I only have to come up with one random thing per day, not 25.  (Well, close to once a day.  Maybe once every 1.63 days is more accurate.)

Apparently, that isn’t good enough.  People keep “tagging” me to find out my random things.  So, in an effort to kill two birds with just one cyber-stone, I’ll blog it.  (For those reading on facebook, my “notes” are just an RSS feed of my blog.  I don’t have time for silly things like writing detailed notes on facebook.  I do, however, have time for silly things like writing detailed notes on my blog.)

So, here are Random Facts about Me:  (No, I won’t count them.)

  • I sometimes wonder what my dogs think of me.  Do they do what I say out of fear or do they see me as their “pack leader”?  Should I work to foster one or the other?
  • Most times I don’t care just as long as they do what I say.
  • I want to have bigger muscles. Not old-school Arnold muscles, but relatively defined like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
  • If I haven’t gotten them in the past 30 years, I’m thinking that maybe my genetics might play a big part in the fact that they’re not here.
  • I’m not willing to do what it takes to overcome genetics.
  • I really enjoy running and working out.  It’s a great stress relief.
  • My knees won’t put up with me running much more.  I’ve started doing the elliptical, but it’s just not the same.
  • I have slight OCD tendencies.  I’m usually able to ignore the compulsion to straighten things up so that I can function and get more done in my day.
  • The exception to this is our kitchen counter.  I can’t stand to see food, trash, or crumbs sitting on the counter.  It bites at my nerves.  I have to finish eating so that I can put the left-overs in the fridge and remove the trash as soon as possible.  I feel bad about this because I need to sit and spend more time at the table with my girls.
  • Speaking of my family, my wife is pretty cool.  She puts up with a lot of my nonsense and even encourages it on occasion.  She constantly proves to be a great balance for me.
  • No matter how much people tell me I’m not supposed to, I completely spoil my girls.  I feel like the best gift that I can give them is my time, so I try to give them as much as possible.
  • When they become teenagers, I fully expect that they will disagree with the previous statement and will think that the best gift I can give them is money.
  • I’m not very good at living in the past.
  • The good side is that I make a decision and roll on with life.  I think that life is full of consequences from decisions that we make.  Once you make it, deal with what you got.
  • The bad side is that I don’t keep in touch with others very well.  If you’re upset that I haven’t talked to you in a while, maybe you can take consolation in the fact that it’s not you…it’s me.
  • I like to present things.  One of my few gifts (I think…maybe not.  Would you tell me if I was wrong?) is the ability to explain complex concepts to people who would not otherwise understand them.  I really enjoy when my non-technical customers understand the technical work that my team has done.
  • When I speak publicly, I try to be very concise.  I’ve learned that approximations and hyperbole are great for humor, but not good for giving details.
  • When I write, I use approximations and hyperbole.  This is odd because you can’t convey tone very well when writing.  You’d think that I’d do it when speaking and not writing……but I don’t learn well.
  • My wife is an amazing writer.  She’s able to utilize words to not just describe a scene, but to help you feel the same emotions that she feels.  Her choice of phrases constantly astound me in how perfect they fit.
  • I look up to several people around me, however, I don’t interact with them much because I have this fear that I’ll wear out my welcome.  I’d like to get to know them more, but I don’t want to appear like a stalker.  So, I do my stalking observing from a distance where they can’t see me.
  • I wonder if anyone will read all of these items.  I also want to know why people feel compelled to write stuff like this, or to do blogs.  I think a small part of it is to keep in touch.  I think a big part of it is in hopes that someone will comment on it with positive reinforcement of some sort.  I am no different
  • One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from the movie “Big Fish.”  The main character reveals that there are two things that should never be discussed “Politics and religion…because someone always gets offended.”
  • I do not feel compelled to detail my beliefs to everyone I meet.  If I live my life with devotion to the ideals that I hold, those ideals should be apparent.  If I do not live my life accordingly, then I don’t want to claim one thing while my actions become a disservice to those who actually uphold those values.
  • I can not stand jokes, movies, tv shows, or anything of the sort that deals with a child’s loss of innocence.
  • I have been told that my decision making process is “unspiritual”, “emotionless”, and even “cold.”  I don’t expect to change my process in the near future.
  • I’m waiting to be discovered.