More really useless fascinating things about me

For my fans and cyber-stalkers alike, here are 38 more things you need to know about me!

• I don't read in the bathroom. My philosophy: get out as quickly as possible.
• My first-ever concert was Culture Club, with Corey Hart (Sunglasses at Night) as the opening act.
• I am often assumed to be aloof and standoff-ish, but am in reality just shy.
• When my best friend first met me, he assumed I was arrogant and full of attitude (see above), immediately dismissing me as "big and dumb."
• I've come to realize that I have a strong need for affiliation.
• I've acted in 5 or 6 theatrical productions (including lead roles, roles with accents, and even one musical role) during the years I lived in Whistler. I just never really enjoyed being on stage so didn't continue, but sometimes wonder if I should give it another chance and see if I feel differently now.
• I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist and usually don't like doing something unless I'm good at it, but I've tried to push my boundaries in the past couple of years by tackling things that I know I'll suck at.
• I've gotten more creative in my old age.
• I sometimes think I'm a frustrated school teacher, and I bet I would have made a great one.
• I used to be much more of a Type-A personality than I am now.
• When I'm in my normal state of mind, I'm positive and happy-go-lucky. So it always pisses me off when I have an off day (as happens with everyone now and again) and someone says, "What's wrong with you?" Yet the person who's always grumpy and nasty is virtually forgiven or dismissed as "Oh well, he's always like that." I hate the double standard!
• I talk to myself a lot (good thing I live alone!). And when I'm pissed off with myself, agitated to the point of frustration, or in need of self-motivation or a kick in the pants, I often give myself a little pep talk to get me goin'.
• The CD that I consider the most influential for me is Touch by Sarah Mclachlan. Quite simply, it changed the way I listened to music, because I'd never heard anything quite like it before. It took me until that point to expand my musical horizons, and it's mind-boggling to think that Sarah wrote Touch when she was, like, 20 or something.
• My first-ever job was working as a dishwasher and pizza delivery boy at Emilio's Ristorante in Nepean, Ontario. It was in the Summer between grades 12 and 13 (Summer 1984) and I made a whopping $3 an hour (no tax deductions).
• My Uncle George used to call me "Swede" when I was a little boy. No idea why, but the only thing I know how to say in Swedish is "Will you marry me?"
• I have all the hair on my head, and it doesn't look like I'm gonna go bald anytime soon (knock on wood). If I ever do, I'll try and arrange a transplant from my hairy legs.
• I like mixing martinis with my own personal shaker set. In fact, I'm well-known for my lethal chocolate martinis that have been known to induce black-outs.
• I usually form an initial opinion of someone in a fairly short time, and it's fairly unusual that my opinion changes over time. I don't do it on purpose, it's not all judgmental and stuff, and I'm open to reinterpretation, but that's just what tends to happen with me. There have been plenty of times when I have changed my initial opinion of someone, but for the most part my initial impressions are pretty accurate and don't tend to change.
• It took me a long time to get comfortable with how I look. Even now I could list a whole bunch of things that I would consider changing about my face (including this honkin' big nose of mine), but I've accepted the fact that this is how I am and I'm much more comfortable in my own skin than I used to be. Maybe it's an age acceptance kind of thing, but I can now comfortably look at myself in the mirror and think, "Not bad for an old guy."
• Nothing stresses me out more than being late, simply because I rarely ever am. On those verrrry rare occasions when I'm running behind schedule, I become a sweat-dripping, stressed out, swear-word-reciting wreck.
• I have a strong need for closure.
• My happy place is walking along the Seawall in Vancouver (particularly at sunset), from my old apartment at Jervis and Pacific (across from Sunset Beach) to English Bay. I'd like to share my happy place with someone I love, cuz it's pretty hard to beat.
• I've never caused an accident since learning to drive in 1983. I was hit by a ridiculously demented tow truck driver once, but that's the only experience I've ever had being in any kind of accident.
• I used to have a drinks trolley (currently being furniture-sat by Suzie) that used to form the centrepiece of my apartment's decor, simply because it was the logical gathering place at which visitors could mill around and decide what they wanted to drink. I love that drinks trolley (IKEA, only $99!) and know that one day it will again anchor a different apartment's decor.
• I once got a concussion from falling down drunk in my apartment. I woke up with blood on the floor and my pillow soaking in the red stuff, and I still have 2 prominent scars at the back of my skull that you can see when my hair is cut short (which is always).
• I was a total geek in high school and was pretty miserable, actually.
• I tried a long-distance relationship once. Probably not the wisest thing in the world when you're half a world apart. Ironically, 8 months after ending the relationship because of the distance, I moved half a world away to the same city that he lives in.
• For some strange reason, when I get something for free, I often end up coveting and valuing it more than something I paid money for ("But I couldn't possibly throw out that t-shirt. I got it free when I attended a timeshare presentation in Espanola, Ontario.") What's that all about? It goes to show just how much of a cheapskate bargain hunter I am.
• I'm the youngest of 4 kids, but the only one adopted.
• I own a Jeep that is possibly the most impractical car in the world, but sure is fun to drive.
• I have an "insie."
• When I was a little boy, my Mom promised me $10 if I stopped chewing my nails. I did, she paid up, and we went to the bank and opened up my very first bank account together.
• I used to be both a morning person and a night owl, but I've become less of a morning person when I took a year-plus sabatical from full-time work.
• I really enjoy seeing a fit man in a speedo.
• Wearing ballcaps makes my head itch.
• I like dressing up, but only if I want to, not if I have to.
• My eyes look really really blue when I'm standing in sunlight, if I'm really tired, or if I'm wearing a blue shirt (of which I have many).
• I have big pores.

Hope you enjoyed that alarming insightful look into my psyche. Your feedback is always welcome.