Jason Falls sure knows how to force me to make time to blog; he’s tagged me once again for an interesting meme. I’m not one that spends much time on introspection, so this should be more of a challenge than I initially expect.
1. I was a director of the the TV studio back in high school.
I was pretty busy with working at PJI before/after school every weekday, but I found one extracurricular activity that I thought would be quite interesting. WSTX is St. X‘s closed-circuit TV studio/station on which school news, sports and related drivel were communicated every Friday. Along with my good friends, Joe, Dallas, and Keith, we spiced up the programming to include segments such as the Disco Brothers and Nick’s Mo Betta Weather that aimed to entertain rather than inform. The Disco Brothers – Travois and Angelo – visited various locales with video gear and 70′s duds in tow to ‘pick up chicks’ and just plain boogie, so we had fun getting booted from the mall and other venues once or twice. In my Mo Betta Weather segment, I endeavored to talk about anything weather-related as long as it wasn’t about the actual weather. My forecasts typically read, “For this evening, I’m calling for a significant increase in darkness and a decrease in light.” Other times I explained how “tornado” was Spanish for “tornado” and when we took “a look at the national radar” I cut to a still image of a satellite dish. WSTX was never the same and purportedly maintains our refreshing comedic flava to this day.
2. I got mugged by the cops in Mexico.
Mugged. By uniformed cops. In a cop car. While visiting Oaxaca, Mexico. They stole the equivalent of $80 (like 2-3 months salary for them) and left me prostrate on the sidewalk. Thankfully some German tourists helped me back to the hotel. It was one of many reminders during my extended stay in Mexico to never take for granted the liberties and rights we have in the U.S.
3. I don’t love the 80′s.
Aside from E.T., U2, hypercolor, the California Raisins, and Michael Jordan, there’s not much about the 80′s I particularly enjoyed. Those Molly Ringwald movies? Never seen em. All those old songs my friends still sing along to? Never heard em. Apologies to nineteeneightiesophiles, but I spent most of the decade lost in books or the fascinating worlds and experiences I created while outdoors with my best friends and neighbors.
4. I maintain a repertoire of several ‘voices’ and ‘characters‘
Utterz has yet to experience the joy of my ‘alternative personalities’ including: Bill Dexter, the warshin machine repair man; Simon the socially-awkward and overly articulate geek; or Earl Greenburg, retired typewriter salesman from western Tennessee. Among a handful of other colorful people, these characters and their unique personalities were conjured up impromptu-style from the depths of my schizophrenic mind and may or may not have been provoked by the consumption of fermented beverages. In another life, I would have been Hank Azaria. I’ll record the personalities and post them when I find time; no worries. 
5. I’m a terrible student
Well, not terrible, per se, since I’ve typically earned good grades; terrible in the sense that I rarely studied or ‘followed the directions.’ The vast majority of my academic career was spent with both of my thumbs and index fingers firmly plastered to my forehead in a big W shape. I recently read this fascinating perspective on high achievers, gifted learners, and creative thinkers and I laughed out loud as I understood how my brain really functions. I wish that sort of insight from my educators was available when I was younger; something tells me I would have changed schools for sure rather than just thinking about it. With my daughter’s genetic makeup, I’m sure she’ll skew further into ‘creativity’ so that was good info to know when she is accused of being “special” [in the derogatory sense] like I was.
6. I frickin love Rally’s burgers and fries.
If given the choice of Rally’s drive-thru vs. a Morton’s steak feast, I’d choose Rally’s 7 out of 10 times. Morton’s is the ish – don’t get me wrong – but Rally’s is an occasional guilty pleasure despite my knowledge of how nassty it is.
7. I’ve tried to leave Louisville several times
Every time I’ve tried to leave for greener pastures, be it NYC, DC, China, Europe or elsewhere, some force majeur catapults me back to Louisville before it’s too late. I can’t explain it and it has driven me absofrickinlutely nuts a few times, especially as disconcerted as I sometimes find myself with this city and its challenges. I guess someone is reminding me that I have some unfinished business in Louisville.
8. I loathe the fact that I am connected to a computer for 12-14+ hours a day.
In 1995 I was barreling toward a career as an architect, engineer, or some other tech-related field, but after spending a summer learning what those jobs were like, I decided that I absolutely could not sit at a computer for the rest of my life. So, I switched gears entirely and chose to pursue a liberal arts education with the explicit intent to avoid the use of PCs in my job. I hated the very idea of “liberal arts” at the time, but I at least knew it would expose me to topics other than math and science and IT. The challenge of focusing on all the right-brain crap I ‘hated’ would certainly keep me more interested and entertained than spending time on the left-brain stuff that I knew I could already handle. I’m just a big wad of useless knowledge across both ends of the spectrum at this point.
Despite my aversion to pooters, I can’t seem to get away from them. Honestly, I look forward to a new and totally different career someday – one in which the use of technology is minimal. There are plenty of other ways to create and contribute, eh?
Hopefully this self-absorbed tripe has been of some value to someone. Thanks for the exercise in self-reflection, Falls!
