25 Random Things about Me

I posted this on Facebook after getting tagged. I hardly ever do these things, but I figured since I took the time to do it and post it on Facebook, I'll go ahead and post it here too, so if you don't know me through Facebook, but read the blog...

1. I was born in Columbia (South Carolina that is)
2. I have the best wife in the world. I know, I know, you probably think you have the best spouse in the world, but that's your opinion. Mine's fact :-)
3. I have 4 children, two daughters and two sons. They keep us busy, make us laugh, and sometimes cry too. I wouldn't have it any different. They teach me as much or more as I teach them.
4. I love my DVR! I hate it when I travel or watch TV somewhere where I have to endure commercials, or can't pause it when I get occupied.
5. Current items on my DVR to do list: The Office, My Name is Earl, 24, The Unit, Dirty Jobs, American Idol, Heroes, Jeopardy, Ace of Cakes.
6. I also enjoy a really good book. I read mostly fiction lately and I've taken to reading a ton in the last few years, probably averaging about a book every week or two. My favorite current authors: Robert Parker, Chris Stewart and James Patterson (but nothing he 'co-writes').
7. We have a TON of trees in our yard, which is beautiful, except for the abundance of leaves to take care of in the fall/winter. I still have a huge pile of leaves in the back year that I blew behind the trampoline one Saturday (there's no grass there) and it's rained pretty much everyday I planned on doing yard work for the last 2 months.
8. I don't know if I'm happy or sad about #7 above, but if we're on water restrictions this summer after the amount of moisture we've had this winter, somebody in the local government is going to hear from me.
9. I drink way too much Dr. Pepper. I need to cut back.
10. I could eat pizza every day of the week. Luckily I don't, or I'd be 200 pounds, which for me would be too much.
11. I love doing puzzles. I don't do them very often, but I love to put them together, especially when I get in a groove on a 1000 piece puzzle and can just look at a piece, pick it up and put it where it goes.
12. Likewise, I like solving puzzles in general. I like that kind of challenge, and maybe that's why I love software engineering. I love solving the challenges that I face in programming, it's very frustrating and satisfying at the same time.
13. When I was a kid, I hated taking showers, and it was all my parents could do to get me to take one once a week. Then at about 13 or so, I'd take one or two a day, or even three depending on what I'd done. That hasn't changed. I don't feel right until I've taken a shower, and if I work up a good sweat, I'll take another one.
14. I love just about all sports. I love playing golf, basketball, volleyball, tennis, racquetball, baseball and soccer. I've player other sports I enjoy as well, but these are the primary ones that I've played most of my life.
15. I'm not particularly great at any sport, although I might achieve the higher end of mediocrity at a few.
16. I'm clumsy. Just in the last four years, I've severely cut my left thumb, jammed countless fingers playing basketball, sprained my wrist very badly, tweaked a knee and recently rolled my ankle and I'm pretty sure I tore some ligaments in that, took me 2 months of no sports and 2 more months before I'm finally starting to feel right on it again. If was I a professional athlete, I'd be Penny Hardaway or Grant Hill (but not Mike Hampton, there's something SERIOUSLY wrong about him).
17. I hate the smell of cigarette smoke. Really, really hate it. Thank goodness for the laws in most or all states now to not have it in public buildings.
18. I served a two-year LDS mission in Guatemala and fluently speak Spanish.
19. I regret not being as patriotic as I could have been in my past, but am trying to be more so now. I'm trying to be more informed on political issues and voicing my opinion, which sometimes is difficult for me.
20. I'm republican and am conservative on moral issues, but actually cross parties on some other issues and quite admire the reserved, educated and well-spoken manner of our new president.
21. I hate the no child left behind law. It is killing the education of our next generation of Americans. It's bad for the advanced students AND the students who are behind, and it makes our schools gear everything they do towards passing standardized tests, rather than actually being able to educate and causing us to loose great teachers.
22. I love to do handy work around the house. I'm not the best, but competent. I've tiled, replaced subfloor in a bathroom, completely gutted and refinished a bathroom, replaced kitchen counters, replaced sinks and faucets, hung fans and even done a little bit of plumbing. Most of these things are not hard if you just do a little reading and take your time.
23. I'm terrible mechanically. I have an uncle that could fix anything mechanical, but not me. I can check the oil and change a tire, but that's about it. I have changed a fuse in a car and a spark plug in small engines, but otherwise I'm pretty intimidated by engines.
24. I play the piano and sing (but not at the same time ;-). I sang bass in the BYU Men's Chorus my freshman year there and got the opportunity to sing in their first recorded CD and sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir during their Music and the Spoken Word broadcast. Mack Wilberg was the director of the BYU Men's Chorus then, and is now the director of the MoTab. He's EXTREMELY talented.
25. I almost never respond to these things. Not usually my favorite thing, but have enjoyed trying to think about some of these things about myself. I've probably tagged a few people who have already done this, so sorry!