25 Random Things About Me
(cross-posting from Facebook)
0) I hate chain letters, but this one is different. I’ve enjoyed reading everyone else’s “25 things” posts and hope you like mine, even if it is way too verbose. Computer scientists, for reasons I care not to get into, often start counting at zero, btw. This one doesn’t count towards my twenty-five.
1) I have many activities and interests that I enjoy and that keep me busy. I like to balance my intellectual and physical pursuits. Cooking, snowboarding, reading, computers, skiing, swimming, biking, tennis, photography, blogging, and traveling are among my hobbies. I watch some TV (Lost, Colbert Report, America’s Test Kitchen, Good Eats) but I try to keep it to a minimum. Our house is filled with books, gadgets, and gear. When I was single and living in a one bedroom apartment, my brother told my parents that I lived in a locker room.
2) I am rarely happier than when standing on my snowboard atop a mountain with friends and a line of untracked powder ahead of me. A bad day on the mountain is better than a good day at the office!
3) If there is a time I’m happier, it’s when I am with Meagan. I’m lucky we found each other. The simple things, such as a Saturday morning sipping coffee, eating pancakes, listening to jazz, and reading a magazine, are sometimes the best moments.
4) I am sometimes shy around people I don’t know but like hanging out with large groups of friends. I am either not good at or do not enjoy small talk, which might be why I can be a little quiet around new people.
5) I can be a perfectionist. I fight this tendency, since it can sometimes be a source of frustration, but I believe in doing most things well. This particularly comes across when cooking. Meagan described me as an “alpha cook”, based on an article in the NYT. I like to make things from scratch with few shortcuts. For example, this weekend, I made croissants completely from scratch – they weren’t perfect but they turned out pretty well for the first time. I also don’t like asking for help.
6) I hate a dirty kitchen. I assume this is due to my liking to cook, but it can be a bit of an obsession sometimes and carries over to other parts of the house. I used to be quite messy in college (my freshman roommates were pissed that I selected “generally more neat than messy” so that I didn’t have to live with slobs!) but now I don’t like messes.
7) Seven is my favorite number, and my favorite food is lasagna. Generally plain, without meat, with tomato sauce and ricotta cheese. My grandmother and my mom make it best, often with homemade pasta. Their manicotti, stuffed shells, ravioli, and meatballs are also top notch (yeah, I like Italian food). Despite liking to cook, I have never made lasagna myself, probably for fear that it won’t be as good. I also rarely order it at restaurants. Cafe Lago, in Montlake, however, makes an ethereal version.
I like to say that I learned how to cook, indirectly, from my mom. I never cooked with my mom growing up, and aside from grilling a burger, didn’t really cook anything until after college. My first week on my own, I would heat up a microwave dinner after work. They sucked. I was spoiled from my mom’s cooking. I bought Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” (my first Amazon.com purchase, incidentally), which was and is a great guide to learning how to cook – I still enjoy reading Bittman’s books and other writings. I filled out the rest of my learning by watching the Food Network and calling my mom for advice (“Is a clove of garlic the whole thing?”). I’ve become pretty competent and always enjoy learning new techniques. One of Meagan’s best gifts was a subscription to Cook’s Illustrated for me. She might regret that purchase, as it reinforces my perfectionist tendencies, and I can’t buy so much as a spatula without reading their reviews to determine the best one. My extended family is also filled with good cooks. Meagan’s grandmother makes wonderful soups, and recently compiled them in her own cookbook. I hope to do this for my family as well, at least to save the lasagna recipe.
9) Someday I’d like to own a restaurant. Meagan would prefer that it be a breakfast spot, since I do make a good breakfast and it would increase the likelihood that I would be at home more when we have a family.
10) Meagan and my first date was at Kingfish Cafe in Seattle, an awesome soul food place. I was an hour late picking Meagan up because I didn’t listen to her directions to her place and I assumed that I knew north Seattle well. She retaliated by (accidentally) flinging crawfish at me. We had a great night and many days since. I hope these good times will continue. Some of our favorite times together are dining at nice restaurants – Tilth in Wallingford is probably our favorite. We used to have a standing Thursday night sushi date, but that has been on hiatus for a bit due to Meagan’s school schedule. My favorite lunch spot is Salumi’s, although it has been a bit overcome by Yelp-reading tourist Foodies (can you tell I’m upset that Salumi is one of the few places that I’ve found before it got “cool”).
11) I love my family. I sometimes feel guilty about living so far away from them and only being able to see them a few times per year.
12) I am frequently torn about work. I really like my job, but sometimes I wonder whether it’s the paycheck I like more. I am particularly concerned about the “routine”, the 50 hour workweek, the few weeks of vacation. I like working hard, but I’d prefer more vacation for less pay. I’ve thought about doing consulting work to have more time to pursue alternate means of supporting myself (starting a restaurant, photography, or something else) while also having more time to pursue recreation (most often, ski days). I expect to re-examine my option once Meagan finishes medical school – we’ll know what city we’ll be in for a few years and Meagan will have an income, so it will be a good time to consider a change. But I can’t really complain too much – compared to most, I have it good, and I do get to ski on many powder days, much to the probable chagrin of my boss.
13) I love living in Seattle. It fits my active intellectual lifestyle perfectly. I moved out in here in August 2000. I was living in Boston, loving the city but not my job. A good friend of mine recruited me to Amazon, and I figured why not! I was young (24) and that I could come out for a few years and move back. Nine years later, I am still here. I love the mountains, the coffeeshops, the people, and the weather (yes, the weather).
14) I’m lucky to have such great friends, and in many places. I worry, as I get older and make more friends, that I don’t spend enough time with the ones I already have. Facebook has been great at helping me connect more often with friends who are far away, but it’s not the same thing as being there.
15) I like traveling. Machu Picchu in Peru, Rio de Janeiro, the Canadian Rockies, Kauai, and Tanzania (our honeymoon) are some recent highlights. I hope to hit every continent and many more countries and cities. I’ve been to Italy several times before but am looking forward to a repeat some day with Meagan. I spent my sophomore spring living in Barcelona (1996) as part of a foreign study program and the winter of 2005/2006 as a snowboard bum in Whistler, BC. I also hope to have more experiences like that.
16) I love Meagan’s passion for helping other people and wish I were more like her sometimes. I know she’ll be a great doctor soon.
17) I am a bad procrastinator. I sometimes have trouble getting started on personal and work projects. In high school, I rarely read the assigned reading, especially for English class, sometime I feel guilty about until this day. I’ve become a fan of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” philosophy and it has been helpful at keeping me organized. I due sometimes fall into the habit of fiddling with “productivity pr0n” (see 43folders.com, a great website btw). OmniFocus has been a really sweet application for the Mac and iPhone that I really like.
18) I have never attended a public school. Preschool: Pottstown YMCA. Elementary (K-7): St. Aloysius. High School (8-12): The Hill School (an all boys (at the time) boarding school – despite what Tim says, it was not called “The Hill School For Boys”!). College: Dartmouth. My parents aren’t particularly wealthy but generously made some sacrifices so I could attend good schools. This background has probably made me more elitist than I’d like to think I am.
19) I used to be a quite politically conservative, but now not so much. My presidential voting history: ’96: Dole, ’00: Bush, ’04: Kerry, ’08: Obama. My political thinking is in a constant state of flux. I hate ideologists. I like reading the Economist and often identify with their viewpoints. I generally favor free market economic policies, but have started seeing situations where free markets, or perhaps our implementation of the free market, doesn’t work so well. Healthcare is one that I am starting to think falls into that category. I am really happy that we’re finally past the Bush era and hopeful that Obama will unite our country and do some great things. I like the leadership that he projects. I am a little bit worried, however, about an excessive expansion of the role of the federal government. I also hope Republicans can get their act together, because I still identify with many of their beliefs and think the two-party system serves our country well.
20) I was raised Catholic but haven’t practiced in a number of years. My beliefs are best described as agnostic. I believe in a higher power, I don’t know what that is. Many atheists strike me as soulless and many religious people strike me as fanatics. Meagan and I were married by a wonderful UCC minister in Vermont and I was inspired by their church’s attitude towards spirituality.
21) I listen to a diverse set of radio stations. KUOW (NPR), KPLU (NPR – Jazz), KEXP (Indie, Eclectic), KING (Classical) are the ones I listen to most. Maybe that’s not that diverse. I also use Pandora quite a lot.
22) I spend too much money. I used to be a “LBYM” type, but I’ve slacked off a bit over the last few years. I don’t really mind it so much – I’m a carpe diem type – but I am trying to be more in control of things. I’ve historically preferred spending money on experiences instead of things, but lately things (e.g. camera gear, ski gear, bike gear, or, more recently, an unholy amount of wine (thanks Garagiste!) have caught up). I recently started a budget – we’ll see how that goes.
23) I think it’s good to have grown up on the east coast and live on the west coast. Doing the opposite is probably OK too. I often complain that native west coasters lack a certain “grit”. When I first moved out here, I thought a lot of people had their heads in the clouds. But now, when I go back to Philadelphia, everyone seems tense. I was discussing this with my friend Chris a few years ago. His response: “I know what you mean. People in Seattle are such…milquetoast pussies…I can’t stand it sometimes!” That’s become one of my favorite phrases.
24) I used to be a big “sports fan”, but over the years, I’ve become less interested in spectator sports and more interested in participating in sports. When I was younger, I followed Philadelphia sports teams, especially the Flyers and Eagles, religiously. Now, I’ve become more of a fairweather or late season fan. I still enjoy a good game though.
25) I am grateful for every second that I have lived and have left on earth.