Six Absolutely Unspectacular Things About Me

LisaS over at clearview tagged me on the following meme.  Meme's are kind of a mixed bag.  I actually like doing them...and reading them as it often gives some insights into a blogger's personality or life.  The tough part is the resulting tagging of OTHER bloggers. I never know if they are keen on memes, or if they are even reading my blog on a regular basis.

I certainly hope I haven't missed memes I've been tagged on. I'm in the midst of setting up blogs I regularly read in google reader, and probably more than half I'm interested in aren't there, yet, and are currently getting overlooked. 

So, to all the bloggers out there, if I haven't commented in a few weeks, send me an email or comment so I make sure you are on my blogroll!

In any case, LisaS is interested in learning "Six absolutely unspectacular things about me" and I'm going to oblige.

1. Cars.  As a child, I always wished my parents would buy one of those wood side paneled station wagons.  I always loved that wood side paneling, and I'm surprised that the latest round of vintage inspired cars don't have the wood panel option.  The other memorable car we had was purple, I think, but I can't remember what kind it was.  For a while, my dad had a truck from his work, and it was memorable because it was a column shift truck.  That stood out to me.  Interestingly, between my wife and I, we have only owned a single automatic transmission car, and I'd prefer never to own another!  I'm looking forward to the Camaro release next year, which is modeled off a '69 Camaro with a Corvette engine, though I'm afraid I'll never be able to afford it.  It's going to be a muscle car in the truest sense.  I also tried to get my wife to buy a Mustang (stick, of course) because it is her dream car, but it looks like she has decided against it on practical reasons for now. 
2. I went to the University of Missouri - Rolla for Electrical Engineering.  I also graduated with that degree, but was never really an Electrical Engineer.  For the past 15+ years, I've been an embedded programmer and I'm now the "boss" (boo, hiss!) of nearly 40 people in some shape or form.  So if you work in the engineering department, chances are good that "I am the boss of you!" However, prior to entering the university, I had serious misgivings about this route and was tempted to go to Hollywood(!) to a well respected guitar school to become a professional guitar player!  My favorite music is Progressive Rock music, and I'd probably be most happy if I could make a living playing it - either on guitar or keyboards.  Never figured out how to get enough practice time in, and still make a living, though.  Complex music makes my brain very VERY happy.  I'm listening to "Yes - Tormato" as I write.  I haven't locked myself into 70's music, though. New album release Tuesday is always a highlight of my week.  There are a LOT of great bands around these days, even for a snobbish Progressive Rocker like me: Dream Theater, Rush (though no longer progressive rock they are the best live band...period), Yes (still), Porcupine Tree, Neal Morse,The Mars Volta, The Flower Kings, Saga (still), and a growing number of great metal bands.  Seemingly paradoxically, I also enjoy performing in musicals (I'm playing keyboards in "The Music Man" this fall)  and classical music...particularly Bach.  Bach also makes my brain happy.
3. I have always wanted daughters as opposed to sons. This is a desire based on stereotypes, as I myself am far more interested in the arts than I am in sports. I was always afraid that if I had a son, he would be interested in sports and similar things and I wouldn't be able to support him easily!  Fortunately for me, both of my daughters are seriously into performing and the arts, which I totally love...in any form.  Of course, if I had a son, I DO love guns, too!  Also trains, building models, and driving (though paradoxically, again, not cars so much) Still, I suspect I'm a better father to daughters. I even enjoy going clothes shopping with them.
4. I spent a lot of time as a teen building model rockets and flying them right out of our yard. I once built a three-stage rocket that we calculated COULD fly up to a mile high.  It vanished shortly after the second stage ignited. It was MOVING!  We never even saw the third stage ignite, though obviously it did, otherwise the rocket would have fallen to earth near the launchpad.  I need to find some of my old pictures of our launches.
5. I am completely in love with St. Louis CITY though I have never lived there.  We are a half of a mile from the city border, now, and EVERYTHING we do other than my kids' school and our church is in the city. This is odd to most of our friends who NEVER go into the city. Our current dream is to live in the Lafayette Square area.  I could easily live on Washington Avenue downtown, but I'd miss having a yard and garden too much.  We have a nice garden, with many birds and a dog.  I would not like to have a dog downtown. Our house is 60+ years old, and we consider it a "new" house.  My wife and I are both far more comfortable in old neighborhoods and buildings and would have a hard time living in a new house and neighborhood.  I love our neighborhood.
6. My wife is absolutely perfect for me.  We share almost ALL of the same interests...except for her fascination with "Ghost Hunters" and my fascination with "Cops" and "Clean House." Of course, with all the time this blog takes, I almost NEVER watch TV except for "Battlestar Galactica" and "Stargate:Atlantis" and the new "Dr. Who" shows. Yeah, our science backgrounds make us geeks and geeks love these shows. Sue me.  Fortunately, these shows are hardly ever ALL on due to production schedules. Back to my wife.  She sings, I play music, she acts, I play music and do technical stuff, we both love cities, old houses, traditions, etc. etc. etc.  I think ALL of our interests we either share or have a complementary interest.  How cool is that?  Plus, she is just the cutest thing, EVER.  You've seen pictures, so you know what I'm talking about.  Even with our church, she is a worship leader and I lead the band.  Nine times out of ten, I totally understand where she is going with a song. The rest of the times, most people don't catch when I don't follow her.  Suckers.  In any case, we mesh in a way I couldn't imagine with anyone else. Sappy, huh?  There's more: I'm more crazy about her than the day we were married, quite honestly.  Deal with it.

OK, now comes the tough part. I'm supposed to tag six other people. I have no idea who to tag (that I don't already bug the living daylights out of) but I have a few names here: abunslife who I haven't tagged (or even seen) in a while, Roseyland who I just found out reads the blog, Deb, Mel, Amanda, and Sarah (all four longtime IRL friends, though they have never done a meme before!).  Also, if any of my other readers would be interested in responding, please just take the meme and leave a comment here!  Thanks so much, if you participate. As always, no pressure! If you aren't interested, it won't bother me.  Also, don't panic if you don't know 6 other bloggers to tag.  This whole thing is supposed to be fun! 

Here are the rules:

Meme terms & conditions

1. link the person who tagged you
2. mention the rules on your blog
3. list 6 unspectacular things about you
4. tag 6 other bloggers by linking them

Comments

[Gregg's Dad]

The car was a Plum color '67 Tempest with a black/gray interior. It is my favorite of the cars I have owned.

[Rightmyer Rants]

"My wife is absolutely perfect for me" - aww, how sweet!

[LisaS]

three on the tree ... one my boyfriends had one of those. old Ford F150, I think. the places we drove that thing ...

and yeah, I'm married to a fellow geek too, a much better match than the F150 guy. makes life easier.

[Sarochka]

If you like complex music, then you should check out American Football. They are ridiculously talented musically.

[MP]

I have only lived in the city..and until I married my husband I never did anything in the county.. now I've actually ventured to U City, Clayton, Chesterfield and Kirkwood etc.

In HS I had TONS of friends in South County..so I know South County/Crestwood...Drive In's.. Hill Jumping on Musack.. can I get a hell yah..

[abunslife]

Aw man! I'll save it for when I am really stumped on what to write....! :) I do like how much thought you put into the memes though...

[Nathan]

Okay I did it, it took me awhile, but I finally got around to it. It's on my blog. Of course it is, where else would I put it?