Though I've done
this sort of thing once before, that was a whole year ago, and much has changed since then. So, since Jill tagged me, and since I'm saving money by not going out tonight, here we go:
1. I rarely wear sunglasses. In fact, I abhor them. You know how some cultures believe that photographs will steal your soul? I think if I were an aboriginal tribesman I would believe the same thing about sunglasses. However, they are a necessary evil in places without hills and trees like Texas (which I also abhor for the most part, except Austin and Deep Ellum), or when driving East in the morning or West in the evening.
2. I've seen more raccoons in Central Park than in Arkansas. This is only true because yesterday I was reading a book on a park bench when four young raccoons and their mother materialzed from the undergrowth near The Pond and ascended a tree. I felt like Wil Wheaton in
Stand by Me when he saw the deer.
3. I've eaten more beef jerky in Los Angeles than Arkansas. This is only because, to my knowledge, I've only eaten beef jerky once in my life. Despite its ubiquitous presence in convenience stores across the South, I've always sort of looked at it and thought, "here's something I don't think I'm going to enjoy." Turns out I wasn't wrong. It's not terrible; just something for which I wouldn't pay money. Incidentally I ate it at Chuck Berry's old house. That feels like it should mean something.
4. I've never read
Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I KNOW, it's a serious gap in my minimum basic nerd requirements, but I've just kind of gotten the gist over the years. I started reading it recently, though, but with the new Kevin Brockmeier completed, I also have the new Jeanette Winterson to tear into, and some bargain Coupland books to consume. I'll get it done. Maybe I should save it for old age?
5. I made it halfway through
Confederacy of Dunces before giving up. Everyone loves it, but I just got tired of the character. He's a fop and I can laugh at his curious exploits, I get it. Do I have ADD or something that I get bored by it after a while? I don't think so, because
I've started reading this. It's been called one of the most boring books ever written. We'll see how far I make it.
6. I have 21 fucking guitars. Somebody shoot me already, like Jon Gries in
Monster Squad.
7. I have a comprehensive knowledge of late 80's hip-hop. Not enough people know that about me. Kool Moe Dee, Eric B. and Rakim, Slick Rick, 3rd Bass...I have dozens of VHS tapes of
Yo! MTV Raps. Go ahead, step to me.
8. I don't actively dislike any musician, band or musical genre. There is only what I enjoy and what I have no use for.
9. My new motto is: expect nothing and everything becomes a gift. Expectations are often the cause of the most insidious self-inflicted wounds.
10. Whenever I get a soda from a fast-food restaurant, I always pop in the little dome in the lid marked "other." It's a compulsion I've had since childhood.