The Century (2/4)

Part two of my 100 things.

26 through 50.

The end of the first half.

And it seems like I just started.

OK, sorry.  I'm stalling...

26.  I enjoy the effort, sweat and mindlessness of hard physical labour.  It frees the mind to be elsewhere.

27.  I am definitely a boob man.  But rest assured it's not about size.  To paraphrase an old axiom: A "B" in the hand is worth two "D"s in the bush.  (heh, heh... 'bush'.)

(.)(.)

28.  My wife and I, given the choice, thought it would have been cool to have a daughter as a second child.  We're quite happy with two sons.  Especially me, as a father.  Now I only ever have to worry about two penises... rather than ALL of them.

29.  I try fairly hard not to harbour contempt, hatred or other emotions of that ilk for much of anything or anyone.  Except otherwise unencumbered people who refuse to walk up or down escalators.

30.  I love to swing on swings more than almost anything else in the world.  That brief moment of free fall when you pump yourself up high enough is terrifyingly exhilarating every single time.

31.  With few exceptions, I firmly believe that velcro-strap shoes should never be worn by anyone between the ages of 5 and 65.  Same goes for the abhorrent combination of socks with sandals.

32.  When I wear pants, I love the feel of my socks pulled up as high as they go.  If men's calf garters were still in style, I'd totally wear them.

33.  The core difference between Trekkies - who love the Star Trek series as it was and how Gene Roddenberry brought his vision to life - and us truly passionate Star Wars fans, is that we will criticise Star Wars nearly as much as those who despise it - out of love.  We love the idea of Star Wars.  We love what it could have been.  Try to imagine all six movies being of the same calibre as Empire Strikes Back.  Staggering, isn't it?

34.  Regarding stuttering: I had to give a 10 minute speech as part of one of my university courses, and I opened by saying that one of the only benefits of stuttering is that I only had to write a five minute speech.

35.  When I drive in a light rain, I constantly adjust the intermittent level of the windshield wipers to ensure they operate at maximum efficiency.  Too little water build-up between swipes is bad.

36.  The first time I ever got drunk was at my high school after-grad party.  (And boy, did I!)  Coincidentally, that's also the first time I made a serious effort at feeling a girl up.  Second base, man!

37.  I sometimes enjoy adhering to the strictest tenets of propriety, and other times enjoy stomping the shit out of it.

38.  When I see both my boys pounding on the living room window and laughing in anticipation when they see me walk up the driveway after a day at work, I feel incredibly awesome no matter what else might have been on my mind.

39.  In high school, a couple friends sometimes referred to me as "Mr. Switzerland" because of my habit of refusing to commit fully to one side of an issue.  I'm still like that, and I prefer it that way.

40.  I anchored my Chemical Engineering boat race team one year during the annual Engineering Week in January with a turnaround time of 10 seconds.  (The anchor has to chug a full glass of beer and a full bottle of beer, back-to-back.)

41.  I can eat an entire McDonald's cheeseburger in a single bite.  It's unpleasant for both me and witnesses.

42.  I was conceived in Greece as the result of a broken condom.

43.  I dislocated my kneecap during the afternoon of my stag party.  It was the most painful experience of my life.  I re-inserted it myself, which felt incredibly gross and the doctor said I shouldn't have done.  Like I was going to wait the 15 minutes it took to get to the hospital.

44.  If we'd had a girl, her name would have been Tessa.

45.  My eyesight is better than 20/20.

46.  I can respect religious doctrine as long as it doesn't attempt to impede my ability to choose or think for myself.  After that, I have no use for it.

47.  I graduated a year behind most of my university classmates because I couldn't afford my third year and had to work to save money for tuition and books.

48.  One of the things that was most sadly lacking in my formative years was any sort of financial education.

49.  I vividly remember the spring of 1984 when my mother took my brother and me to the downtown parade after the Edmonton Oilers won their first of five Stanley Cups during their seven year dynasty.  Little Brother wore his Calgary Flames hat.

50.  I am amazed at the variety and depth of friendships I have developed and fostered over the internet.

Comments

[Émilie B]

#38 : Xavier also does that, whether we're coming home or just doing stuff outside (or even just through the shower glass). He's so happy to see us through a window it really cheers up any mood of ours. So I second that thought.

Gotta go to work... btw, good idea to split a list like that in 4.

[Dave]

Wow... I could have written many if not all of these... (ok, maybe not the Switzerland one. *chuckle*)

[Moksha Gren]

#26 to 29 - Same here. True, #28 manifests itself more as a "we're hoping to complete the gender set".

#30 - They make me nauseous :( I love th efeeling you describe, but the back and forth motion makes me sick pretty quick. Sad, really.

#32 - I would not have thought of that...but it's true. Why in the world should snug ankles make one happy? And yet they do.

#37 - If ever I write the gospel acording to Moksha Gren...this concept shall be a core tenent.

#38 - Norah isn't yet waiting for me...but she rushes for me once I'm in the house. It makes up for just about any kind of crappy day. They're magic, kids.

#40 - I count this as one of my strengths and call it "empathy." Others call it "wishy-washy."

#41 - Video post!!

#45 - Before lasik...legally blind. After...20/15. Man, I love lasers!

#46 - But, half the fun of dogma is cramming it down other people's thoats. I mean...it I can't constantly show everyone how confident I am in my rightness, then I'm just left with my own internal self-doubts.

#50 - Lucky you. All the folks I've met are jerks ;)

[Mark]

35 - My wife cannot stand it when I insist on letting water build up. Question: Why does it matter to her if she's not driving?

37 - Hear, hear!

38 - I hear that we should savor these moments while we can. Why do they have to end? I'm always glad to see my father, and always have been. It's been quite a while since I pounded a window in anticipation of his arrival.

39 - Just had to say, "Me too."

48 - It seems most schools lack proper emphasis on this. What gives? It's one of the most important things in life.

50 - Nicely put.

No time to refer to the number, but I dig Star Trek AND Star Wars. Both rock, for different reasons (and each has had its stinkers).

[Simon]

I didn't think I'd hit upon such commonality in so many of my points. Then again, there's a bit of me that not really all that surprised. We're all just hairless apes who respond to external stimuli in fairly predictable patterns, general opinions about common things should be much the same, eh?