8
Looks like I’ve been caught by the great Oracle tagfest (thanks Chen). So now for 8 horrible secrets of space.
- My mother is Korean (well, South Korean, but when she was born it was just one). She played electric bass in an all-girl rock band (I’m trying to find pictures that I have somewhere), which is how she met my father. She was playing in Guam, which is where he was stationed with the U.S. Army. My mom happily recounts how she got married on her lunch hour in cut-off jeans and bare feet. Good times. Anyway she was then sent to live with my grandparents in my hometown of Manitowoc, Wisconsin while my dad finished the remaining 2-3 years in the Army. My mom spoke virtually no English and my grandfather is one of those quasi-xenophobic types who served in the Pacific just after WWII so I’m sure it was a joyous place to be. I jokingly call my dad the white, male Yoko for breaking up their band (although my conception might have played the more immediate role). My brothers and I speak virtually no Korean and the only Korean food we like is deep-fried egg rolls, bulgogi and fried rice. Now that we’ve all left the nest, my mom has jars of kimchee stored in every refridgerated space in the house, so my father dines out a lot.
- In 1985 my mother took my brothers and I to South Korea for the summer. Two days before we were supposed to return, I had my two front teeth knocked out when I had my legs swept out from under me when I thought I would walk up a water slide in Seoul. So now I’m the lame uncle who yells at the kids for trying to climb up slides. Braces slowly pulled my remaining teeth to the center, so my two front teeth are smaller than front teeth normally are and next to them are my cuspids (or canines), so it looks like I have fangs.
- I’m a Leo and a Dragon. That’s like being Tom Kyte AND Jonathan Lewis … in an astrological sense, anyway.
- I’m addicted to personal finance advice. I drool about paying off student loans and car loans. Next to my children, my HSBC Direct high-yield (4.25%) online savings account is my pride and joy. I daydream about someday opening a Roth IRA and putting in the max contribution. I fantasize about Vanguard index funds like they’re vintage issues of nudie mags. Now I just need the play money! I tell everyone I know to read Get Rich Slowly, The Simple Dollar and Ben Stein’s Yahoo! Finance column. Now I’ve told you, too. NOTE: Despite all this knowledge, I still buy a $1 lottery ticket every week.
- I love the Marx Brothers. A Marx Brothers comedy is just a joy for me. I just wish Blockbuster Online carried more titles (they don’t even have Duck Soup or Horse Feathers). Here’s a great documentary on Groucho:
- I can bend my thumbs back 90 degrees. Like this, although that isn’t me.
- I’m going to lose 32 pounds by my 32nd birthday in July. I’ve dubbed it my “32 by 32″ campaign. Follow the hilarity here. Good eating and elliptical running are my co-pilots.
- I’m a huge Ultimate Frisbee fan. Not so hot as a player anymore (or ever, some might tell you), unfortunately (maybe after I lose those 32 pounds). In 2006 I rounded up some friends to form the non-profit Manitowoc Ultimate Frisbee Concern (so yes, I’m a corporate executive) and last year I served as tournament director for the first annual Manitowoc Ultimate Hat Tournament, which was a huge success. Hopefully we can get more kids to play at the middle school and high school levels and really see things take off in the area.
So that meets my quota of things about me that my fans wanted to know. It is now my sworn duty to tag someone else. I can only think of one guy who hasn’t been tagged yet, and that is my IRC mate Hampus Linden, the Swedish werewolf in London.
Correction: I had originally typed that “my brothers and I speak virtually no English”. I meant to say Korean. This has been corrected. Thanks to CJ.
