I'm Man Enough!!!

Steph has been sick for the past couple of days and therefore has not posted anything on the family blog. The other night we were talking and she told me to take over for her in posting a few things until she started to feel better. I laughed, and told her it really wasn't my thing. That's when she challenged my ability to do it. I never, ever turn down a challenge. So here I am. Watch out blog world, I have arrived! I am going to be all over this blog posting business like sharks on a slow, fat, scuba diver! Somewhat startled by my acceptance, Steph quickly rose the stakes (she always has a way of doing that). She said she would "tag" me in reference to her last post, and expected my first official post to list 7 weird/interesting things about myself. I told her you can't triple stamp a double stamp, but to no avail. Alas, I yet again succumbed to her pressure. So here I go, jumping in with both feet, even if my nose is plugged and my eyes are shut tight.

1. At one point in my life, I spent 1 hour doing my hair everyday. I had curly hair, and I had to make sure every curl was perfect (see picture above). It was like a piece of art that I enjoyed creating everyday. I quickly got tired of waking up at 4:00 in the morning to make it to seminary on time, so I started doing it at night. I would place a piece of toilet paper on my forehead so the curls wouldn't leak gel onto my skin, put a fan beside my bed, and trained my body to sleep on my side in such a way that it wouldn't mess up my masterpiece. Then one sad day I realized my hair was thinning out on top (thanks for the genes dad!) and I was devastated! I shaved my head right then and there and have had no hair since (see picture above). I suppose that is my ironic punishment for being so vain.

2. I am obsessed with tennis shoes. It could very well be possible for me to own hundreds of pairs. I love the way new tennis shoes look, smell, and feel. I have been known to sleep with my new shoes on the first day of ownership (at a much younger, less mature age of course), and have to keep my shoes meticulously clean (I did a better job when I had more free time). Thankfully, unlike my hair, I have yet to give in to this passion. Perhaps I subconsciously fear if I do I will lose both my feet in some freak lawn mowing accident, and never be able to wear shoes again.

3. I have a big mouth. Literally. Once during a family bonfire complete with smores, I won the "who can fit the most marshmallows in their mouth" competition. I fit over 20 large marshmallows inside, for which there is documented proof on film. Maybe if I get really crazy with this whole blog thing I'll post the video. I of course couldn't fit that wad of marshmallowy goodness down my esophagus, so it came back out my mouth. You should see it sorta pop out. It's pretty amazing!

4. I despise hair on my legs. On a whim, I decided to shave my legs once when I was 17. I love it so much, I have done it ever since. I can't stand the way hair on my legs looks or feels. It's so nice to get into bed with freshly shaven legs against the sheets.

5. I love to memorize things. I have something just short of a photographic memory. I was so nervous to give a "get up and talk in front of the class for 15 minutes with no notes except one note card" presentation for my senior thesis in English, that I decided to write out a five page paper on Robert Louis Stevenson and memorize the whole thing word for word. The memorizing part worked out great, but I was still super nervous and rattled the thing off so fast my teacher had to stop me in the middle of it and tell me to take a deep breath. I began again right where I left off, just a tad bit slower.

6. I have to find the most effective and efficient way to do things. When my brothers and I were young, we would all three shower together-not quite sure why, but don't worry, we were all pre-pubescent so it was alright. After the first few times of pure chaos with soap and water and fleshy bodies all over the place, I devised the perfect system: All three of us would stand in line: the person under the water would rinse off, and when he was finished he would call out "rotato potato", and move to the furthest end of the shower. The person in the middle would move under the water, and the person at the end would move to the middle. After the next rotation, the middle man (the first rinser) would then lather up in preparation to rinse off at the next turn, and I'm sure you get the picture.

7. I must have a clean feeling mouth. If I can't brush my teeth right after I eat, I have to chew some gum. I think I single handedly keep orbit in business.