Challenge #15

Something you miss…

Over the weekend Rick Santorum called President Obama a snob for wanting people to have the opportunity to go to college. He feels the President wants people in college so they will be indoctrinated by them damned liberal professors.

In my educational career had the good fortune to attend both a conservative religious university and a more liberal one. There are many positive things I gathered from the university experience. In addition to knowledge and friends, I feel I gained critical thinking skills. These skills are honed through passionate discussions with my peers in the dorms, around the table at mealtime, in the halls and in the classroom. I truly enjoyed sitting around the dorm arguing the merits of a particular line of thought on a topic until the wee hours of the morning. In my undergrad I feel my critical thinking skills were in their infant stage. I held onto the conservative views of my upbringing, so I was more likely to fall into line with popular opinion based solely on the authority of the speaker. I remember listening to Rush Limbaugh and believing… if Rush said it, it was RIGHT. Some of my friends from that era chuckle now to remember those days as I now espouse a more progressive worldview. As I moved through the years between undergrad and graduate school I saw my abilities to think critically about the beliefs I held grow stronger. I went from being a supporter of George W. Bush in 2000 to questioning his leadership abilities and ultimately switching party affiliations and supporting Barack Obama in 2008. In 2004 I asked several Kerry supporters to tell me why they were supporting him. I wanted to have a well reasoned, critical argument with them not to change their view, but to see if mine were valid. I’ve learned in the years between my educational experiences and since completion of grad school; most people don’t seem to have time to ponder the philosophical implications of a particular event or how a book impacted their lives; work and family takes up most of the spare brainpower we may have laying around.

I miss those intellectual discussions in the halls of the university with my peers. I miss sounding out my views and listening to the views of others to see if mine could stand up. I miss exploring a differing view and finding that it has merit over one I hold. It was easier to have those conversations in the university setting because that is what everyone is there to do, or at least it should be. I’m not saying that subscribing to the liberal political philosophy is right for everyone, but it’s right for me. Sen. Santorum and other conservative parents should be fearful of letting their fully indoctrinated children go to university because if they didn’t teach their child to hold onto their conservative or religious worldview using critical thinking; those poor children may have their minds opened to new ideas and perspectives and, perhaps worse… they may learn to reason for themselves and stop voting for ignorant, fear-mongering Republicans.

Sunday Stealing: The Scottish Meme

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. Where are you from and where do you live now?

From here…

 

Live here…

I’m slowly sneaking up on Portland… I hope to get there before I die.

2. Favorite childhood story/book/film?

3. If you could change gender for a day what would you do?

Why would I want to do that?

4. Do you feel you family is complete or would you like more/some children?

 

My family has achieved perfection… for now. I’m actually looking forward to grandkids, but I am in NO hurry for that to happen.

5. What do you do/Where do you work and do you enjoy it?

I’m a Social Worker and I do enjoy what I do. As one would expect, there are days where the challenges outweigh the victories. My eldest daughter has asked me to do a presentation at her high school for Career Day this Wednesday. I’m honored that she invited me, but I’m nervous about it too. I want to make her proud.

6. Which three words do you think sum you up?

I’M NOT DONE!

7. If you were a fairy what magical powers would you possess?

The power to make everything and everyone FABULOUS. If you think about it, is there anything or anyone in your life that couldn’t use a healthy dose of FABULOUS?

8. If you were invisible, where would you go and what would you do? Why?

I’m guessing there some pretty wicked shit in Rick Santorum’s closet.

9. What song can’t you listen to without crying?

 People have asked who I’m singing this song to… I don’t know yet.

10. Which book changed your life – or at least made you think a lot?

This is a travelogue written by Oregon author Donald Miller examining the religion he was taught growing up and how it works in the real world. I didn’t get to the same point as Mr. Miller, but I don’t think my journey is over yet.

11. Why do you blog?

**I just noticed I have 20 more of these things, so I’m going to skip the picture on a few.

In theory… I blog to process thoughts and to engage in debate. In practice… I don’t do it often enough to do well at either.

12. What is your top ‘me-time’ tip?

Close the curtains, lock the doors, put on some comfy clothes and just veg.

13. What can’t you live without?

 

… and the internet.

14. Which of all your blog posts are you most proud of and why?

I cannot link you to my best blog post because it no longer exists. I wrote a post in January 2009 describing the process I went through to conceal my sexuality for 20+ years and the coming out process. It no longer exists because it caused such an uproar from my (at the time) estranged wife, I deleted it in a fit of pique. I received such positive affirmations from most friends from that post. I wish it still existed so I can go back and look at it.

15. Have you ever met a famous person? Who and where?

During 2003-06 I hosted a daily community affairs talk show. In that capacity I was able to meet some pretty interesting people. Since it was community affairs, most of my “famous” guests were politicians such as Sen. Gordon Smith or Rep. Greg Walden. In my time as a radio DJ I met many famous artists such as Mary Chapin Carpenter, k.d. lang and Brooks & Dunn. But the famous person whom I am most honored to have met is legendary NBA player Bill Walton. Our local Indian Casino has an annual celebrity golf tournament. Mr. Walton came and I had the opportunity to have him on my interview show. I still have a recording of that show… it was an incredible experience for this lifelong Blazers fan.

16. When did you last have a full nights sleep?

I have no idea…

17. What would you think is harder: Going to work or staying at home with children?

I firmly feel that staying home, allowing the ankle biters to suck the hopes and dreams from your soul is a much harder task.

18. What are you doing for Easter?

The same thing I do every Sunday… make myself a nice Bloody Mary, watch the Sunday morning talkshows, do laundry and complete the weekly Sunday Stealing.

19. What is your favorite drink?

A well crafted Gin & Tonic

20. Do you play any sports?

 

I expect to take gold in London this summer.

21. What is your most embarrassing moment?

There have been so many they all tend to blur together.

22. How clever are you?

Wile E. Coyote got all his ideas from me… however there was a failure in execution.

23. Name a new favorite TV show?

I am loving Two Broke Girls, that show has several laugh-out-loud moments in every episode.

24. Any guilty pleasures?

25. If you could have chosen your own name, what would it be?

Indigo Montoya

26. Who do you most admire in life, and why?

Jane Addams was a pioneering individual in the field we know now as Social Work. She set out to examine the horrendous conditions in the mental institutions of Massachusetts. She did this in the early-20th century when people didn’t want to know what was going on in the “insane asylums” and they certainly didn’t want to hear about it from a sill woman.

27. What is your most treasured possession?

I have a number of things that belonged to my grandparents… a cast iron lion bank, a 1906 school book and a miniature gramophone. But my most treasured possession (if you can call it that) are the friends that have gone with me through the the changes my life has taken over the last three years.

28. Tell your favorite funny joke…

This guy goes into a bar and orders three shots of Jagermeister. The bartender is impressed and asks what the occasion. Our guy says, “I just had my first blow job”. The bartender is impressed and says, “If you can take three shots of Jager, the fourth is on me!” Our guy says… If three shots doesn’t get the taste out of my mouth, I doubt a fourth will.

29. What is your biggest fear in life?

Dying alone.

30. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? What does it remind you of?

Ben & Jerry’s… Phish Food. It reminds me that sometimes you have to just enjoy life and say to hell with the calories

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Sunday Stealing: Never Ending Meme… Ends

Cheers to all of us thieves!

36. Have you watched American Horror Story?

I had to look that one up… No, I live alone and I like sleep.

37. Baseball hat or toque?

Hat… Currently a Seahawks hat celebrating their “championship” (cough) from last year.

38. Do you shampoo or soap up first in the shower?

Shampoo… let the moisturizers & conditioners do their jobs.

39. Wet the toothbrush or brush dry with the toothpaste?

Wet

40. Pen or pencil?

Pen… Generally a BLUE gel ink pen. My current favorite is pictured.

41. Have you ever gambled at a casino?

I live in an Indian Casino Paradise, with WILDHORSE just down the freeway and SPIRIT MOUNTAIN in the area where I usually have to travel for work. I’ve won some, but lost more. Basically, I’m doing my best to fulfill the mission of the Indian Casino… to get back what was stolen from them (grin).

42. Have you thrown up on a plane?

No, but I’m going to Mexico in a couple weeks… I’ll let you know.

43. Have you thrown up in a car?

Nope

44. Have you thrown up at work?

Generally, like Jerry Seinfeld… I avoid vomiting if at all possible. It is the thing that has kept me from bulimia.

45. Do you scream on roller coasters?

I have been on ONE rollercoaster… I didn’t scream. I would have had to unclench in order to scream.

46. How many shoes do you have?

Not nearly as many as I want… a quick count says SIX pair, including slippers.

47. Who was your first roommate?

My first roommate was a friend I met in college and his girlfriend. The arrangement only lasted about three months, but it was a lot of fun.

48. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk for the first time?

I think it was a combination of Coors Light and Matilda Bay wine coolers. Just thinking of those two beverages makes me gag a little.

49. What was your first job?

DIshwasher at a buffet restaurant… it was NASTY. I never ate there again.

50. What was your first car?

A 1964 AMC Rambler Classic.

51. When did you go to your first funeral?

I went to my first viewing  when I was seven, but my first funeral was my Grandpa’s when I was 10.

52. How old were you when you first moved away from your hometown?

20 – when I left to attend Oregon State University –GO BEAVS--

53. Who was your first grade teacher?

Mrs. House. She was pregnant and left when the baby arrived, we’re not sure what happened to her after that.

54. Where did you go on your first airplane ride?

Flew from Seattle to Boise for my ex-wife’s grandmother’s funeral.

55. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with?

My childhood best friend, Kevin and I did this all the time. We had some fun times (at least that’s how I remember it).

56. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them?

Kevin was my first best friend, he lived across the field from my house. We had many good times together. He left after graduation and dropped out of all our lives. I guess he really did leave the hometown in his rearview mirror. 

57. Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parents’ house?

My friend Nick, his girlfriend and I moved into an apartment across town from where my parent’s lived.

58. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?

There are several people I can call… it depends on the type of bad day.

59. Whose wedding were you in the first time you were a bridesmaid or a groomsmen?

I served a Best Man (back row, on the left) in my best friends wedding 21 years ago. **I haven’t been asked to be a bridesmaid yet.

60. What is the first thing you do in the morning?

Tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen, pour myself a cup of ambition. Yawn and stretch and try to come to life.

61. What was the first concert you attended?

I remember seeing Buck Owens & Roy Clark at some fair when I was a kid.

62. First tattoo or piercing?

No piercings… but I have a 412 tattooed to my right forearm. When I was successfully losing weight from 2006-08, I was so certain I wasn’t going to go back to being a fat tub o’goo that I had the largest number I ever saw on the scale tattooed to my arm. Now that I’ve gained all the weight back and resumed my goo-ness, it’s an embarrassment every time someone asks about it.

63. First celebrity crush?

In a word… Ponch!

Saturday 9: Home

1. Do you live close to where you grew up? Why?

For years I couldn’t wait to see my hometown, Ontario, OR in my rearview mirror. Like many people I’ve encountered, we seem to feel that the old hometown is what kept our dreams from gaining wings. Then I went and married a woman from there and the reasons became a little more complicated; my former in-laws live there, and there is a boatload of them! One of my kids summed it up, “Dad, they don’t like you very much”.

2. Have you ever been so angry that you almost lost control?

Yes… I put a hammer through a computer monitor once.

3. Are you a fan of a musical act that slightly embarrasses you?

Yes…

4. Is there a movie that always makes you cry?

Yes… The Family Stone

5. Who is the most famous person that you've met?

2004-06 I had a daily local affairs talk show on a local radio station. I had the opportunity to meet/interview a number of people who are famous in the State of Oregon, Sen. Gordon Smith, Rep. Greg Walden and Gov. Ted Kulongoski. But the person that may be more widely famous is NBA Hall of Famer, Bill Walton. He’s a big deal here in Oregon, mainly due to the part he played on the 1977 NBA Championship Portland Trailblazers! But he went on to play for the Celtics and to be a sports analyst on ABC & ESPN.

6. Before you leave your home, what must you have?

Keys

7. What do you miss the most about being a kid?

I miss the friend I had back then. Hanging out, making fun out of just about anything.

8. Tell us about a passion of yours that your readers would not expect.

I have a passion for finding a way to keep young people from going down the road I followed into adulthood. I was so scared of my sexuality, I thought the only way was to live a lie. In the end I damaged myself, the woman I married and my children.

9. At what age do you think you'd be to think, “I've had a great run”?

At the rate I’m going… 125.

Sunday Stealing: The Never Ending Meme (pt.2)

 21. Did you go to your high school prom?

Yes

22. Perfect time to wake up?

8 am

23. Perfect time to go to bed?

1 am

24. Do you use your queen right away in chess?

No

25. Ever been in a car accident?

Yes… the story is HERE. Sorry the pictures don’t show up anymore.

26. Closer to mom or dad…or neither?

Mom died in 1990… dad, no.

27. What age is this exciting life over for you?

I’ll let you know when I get there.

28. What decade during the 20th century would you have chosen to be a teenager?

I think I would have loved to be a hippy in the 60’s and 70’s.

29. Favorite shoes you have EVER owned?

I would love to have another pair of Ropers. The last pair I owned lost structural integrity after five years.

30. Do you have an article of clothing you have had since you were in high school?

I still have my Letterman’s Jacket.

31. Were you in track and field?

I was a chubby, nerdy kid in High School and I did what most chubby, nerdy kids do… I was the Track team “manager” and the AV geek for the football team. That is how I earned my Letter.

32. Were you ever in a school talent show?

No

33. Have you ever written in a library book?

Probably

34. Allergic to?

Seasonal Allergies

35. Favorite fruit?

DJ… or a nice tree ripened peach… both are sweet and fuzzy.

Saturday 9: Losing You

1. Have you ever still been in a relationship that you knew was ending, but you hung in with it anyway? If yes, why?
This was true of both my marriage and my last gay relationship. Both of them had moments when any rational person would have known it was over… but not me. Why not? Because I don’t like change because change brings instability. I have learned many lessons from these two failed relationships and what to do to avoid going down that road again. Lessons which I’m having to consciously remind myself of as I am in the early stages of a new relationship. What are those lessons? Go HERE.
2. Tell why people around the world should be completely enthralled by you.
I’m told (by the someone mentioned in #1)… I’m cute, sweet, my hair looks good no matter what he tries to do with it, a good kisser, I smell good and I’m cuddly. There is more, but I’m not writing everything he said.
3. Other than where you live, what's your favorite city and why?
Portland – Culture, people, shops, bars, FUN!
4. What is something you are really passionate about?
I’m passionate about helping people, it is the common theme though my life. It is the reason I’m a Social Worker. Perhaps, it is the reason my relationships go on past their expiration date; I want to fix them.
5. What has been your most exciting prize that you've won?
I rarely win anything of substance.
We have a local department store here in the NW called BiMart. It’s a “membership” store ($5 for life) that you have to show your membership card for admission... its VERY exclusive. They have a thing called “Lucky Number Tuesday”. They post membership numbers, if yours match, you can win nice things like a digital camera or a piece of furniture. They also have the consolation prize if you number ends in FIVE or something you can get a bag of potato chips or a can of peanuts. It is that consolation prize I have won. WOW… I can feel your envy dripping on your keyboard.
6. Do you think there was there a second gunman behind the grassy knoll?
Who knows… but it’s entirely plausible. I’m sure my government does secret things that would be embarrassing.
7. What was the silliest, most fun, crazy or impractical gift that you received?
One year, for my birthday; I got a laptop dock so the laptop would have a normal keyboard. It was awkward and the process for linking up the laptop with the wireless keyboard was annoying. I’m not sure what happened to it. Maybe it made it to Goodwill?
8. What was the most practical gift that you received?
When the kids are here, it’s tradition to have pancakes or French Toast for breakfast on Sundays. My griddle burned out a few months back, so my kids got me a NICE one for Christmas. Here Dad, make us pancakes!
9. What blogger has been in your blogroll the longest? How did you discover them?
My buddy Rick has had a blog in its various incarnations since 2005 (ish), he’s is my blogfather; meaning, he is the one who got me into blogging. He has two blogs currently… his Professional blog and his Photography blog. 

Challenge #14

 

Favorite Place to Eat

Fighting the battle of the bulge has been an ongoing battle in my  life. I was winning for a few years 2006-08, when I lost 140 lbs. But two things make it very hard to maintain success for very long.

1. I’m what they call a “stress eater”. I turn to food when I’m seeking comfort for sadness or stress.
2. I like to eat. I like to eat with friends. I like to cook for friends and family. I’m told, I’m pretty good at it too. If I lived the life of my dreams, I would be a foodie.

If you’ve been following this Challenge (see tab above), you will know that I cannot just give you one answer; I categorize these sort of things. I’ve been to some good restaurants in my travels. When I lived in Seattle I would use a guidebook (pre-internets) called The Best Places to Eat in Seattle. when we were set to go out, we would riffle through the book, randomly pointing a finger and then deciding if that was a place that suited our collective tastes and budget. Several places jump to my mind when I think of the best places we went; a Greek place on Fremont, a Chinese place in the International District, a pizza place in Wallingford. I could go on and on. In Spokane, a place called “The Onion”. In San Francisco an Italian place where we sat with the other patrons family-style. In Portland, The Roxy, the Byway Café, The Spaghetti Factory. In Boise, Flying Pie Pizza, Five Guys, Johnny Rockets. Hell, even in the old hometown… Burger West.

When thinking of all those places, you can probably guess the common denominator… FRIENDS. Just about any place is the “best place”… even McDonald’s or our own back yard… when you’re sharing a meal with friends.