10 things you might not have known

Okay, if Bojo is doing it then it *MUST* be cool!

1. I could read at a 2nd grade level prior to entering kindergarten and my parents didn't know it. I watched the same episode of Sesame Street three times a day which eventually went through all the phonograms and taught me to sound out words. Three year old logic: "If a big yellow bird that's taller than you are says it's a good idea to sound out words along with a giant brown mammal, you listen." I got sent to the principal's office the first day of school when my teacher found out, then later that week I was whisked away to the Ohio State University Psych. dept. to be analyzed and tested by various child psychologists and psychometrists - they wanted to see if I belonged in some special school. I don't know what my IQ tested at but it wouldn't have mattered if I somehow managed a score of 413. My parents were pretty not well to do and public school was very much my fate. For the most part that worked out for the best.

2. I have trouble asking for help. It's not out of pride - frankly, if I cared all that much about what others thought I wouldn't have survived high school. I was, am, and ever will be a dork. It's more that I know others have troubles of their own and I value self-sufficiency professionally, so to ask others to help shoulder my burden means I'm just adding to theirs which seems decidedly unfair. Strangely...

3. I'll typically put down whatever I'm doing and help you when I'm needed, particularly at work. If my peers are behind on something I'll become a freakin' Ironman triathlete He-Man and go at whatever needs done until it's finished. Of course my work tends to get left behind, but whatever. This probably comes from the homefront - having and living with a disabled father, my work gets set aside to take care of him when the need arises (an almost daily basis at the moment, but this will change in some months).

4. One of the best gifts anyone could give ever me is their presence. Time spent together. I firmly believe that we make time to do the things we really want done or be with who we really want to be with. That's not to say that we all prefer work more than family (although some do), but that there are two places you can look at a person's life and find out what's actually most important to them - their check register, and their life outside of work. Where a person's money and time go, so goes their heart, and unlike money, we have a finite, non-renewable supply of heartbeats and minutes on this earth which makes it far more valuable. The fact that someone would choose to spend some of those minutes and moments with me is a wonderful gift indeed.

5. I'm an author of sorts. Many of you know I write various non-fiction articles, but only a few of you know I also write short stories and poetry, concept novels, and have collaborated with other amateur writers. I've written about the wonders of a little boy, Stephen, and his family as they watch him play and discover; Alexander, a vampire from the Crusades; dancing ballerinas; a guy that grew up on the wrong side of the tracks; and other, less tame subjects. Typically the stories are written for specific individuals and as such aren't fit for publishing so no, you can't see them. They were gifts for someone else.

6. I dont' know what I want to do for a living. Beyond that, I don't know that it even matters what I do. I'm not nearly as concerned about what I do for a living, or in life in general, as much as who I do it with. I've been in awful occupational conditions as well as conditions superb, but both were enjoyable because of the people there with me. Hell, the place I work now can be a grinder, but I go in every day because there are folks there that I very much love and care about. They help make the rough days survivable. So does beer.

7. I love water that is there naturally...rain, streams, rivers, oceans....that kind of thing. Leaving California is sooooo hard because of the ocean, and that's part of the reason ComicCon is such a difficult show for me since the water is RIGHT THERE but I'm stuck inside. For my lunches (assuming I get one) I typically just get a pretzel and go outside and sit by the water for an hour. I'm just more relaxed, more open, like I feel more at home. One day...yup, one day that little place by the water will be mine. One day.

8. I've never taken Biology in my life. Ever. I took Chem and Physics in high school and Chem and Astronomy in college. My aunt is a retired biology and chemistry teacher; one day in 6th grade I was reading a book that talked about mitochondria and asked her what they were. I proceeded to get a two hour lesson on microbiology, cellular structure, DNA and RNA, amino acids, protein chains, and the like. I still have the notes in an old memorabelia box and remember just about everything she taught me. That one lesson combined with knowing how to procreate is all I need to know about biology.

9. I'm dyslexic. I didn't know it until a few years ago, though. A psychologist friend of mine noticed some curious spelling and reading errors and on a whim asked if I was dyslexic. "Nope." A couple tests later... "Yup." It's not major and hasn't really handicapped me in life. I'm sure none of my teachers remotely thought to test me because I always did well in school, but it does make sense out of a lot of deviations - I always had a heck of a time in spelling compared to other subjects, my reading speed was significantly slower than most of my peers, my reading comprehension standardized test scores always came back much lower than the other scores, I much prefer columns, articles, and plays to most novels because it takes me so long to read...stuff like that. And yet I'm an English major and taught high school English. Thanks, Mr. Soderman. Thanks for making your curse of a prognostication come true.

10. I sing. I was a scholarshiped singer in college and have won multiple small/local karaoke contests. Keep in mind my college was very small and most competitors at the karaoke contests were enjoying some level of drunkenness at the time so one shouldn't infer the quality of my singing from my experience, but I can definitely carry a tune. Some of my favorite music is acapella versions of pop songs...Goo Goo Dolls, Sarah MacLaughlin...stuff like that.