And so, after more than a month of not posting anything, without further ado, I shall attempt to list 12 "Random" Things which span 3 Open Calls, all within 1 Post:

12.  Depending on the specific Myers-Briggs based testing mechanism used, I score as INTP, INFP, or INTJ . . . it could also depend on when I'm taking the test.  This seems to be pretty typical for all of my standardized test-taking as an adult . . . I also scored almost directly down the middle of the "gender scale" on the MMPI, which was a complete curiousity to the person who had administered the test, but not so much to me.  As far as I can tell, one of my "life challenges" is to be semi-classifiable as anything specific.

11.  Quite possibly related to the above, picking favorites is almost impossible for me.  I love music - playing it, listening to it, analyzing it - but I don't have a favorite genre, group, or song.  Same goes with food, movies, literature, entertainment.  I can tell you what I don't like more easily than what I love.  My favorite people are my wife Raven, and our kid the Giant . . . and even that is occasionally in question.

10.  That being said, here are some sensory memories that I hope never to forget the wonder of:

  Sight - Vistas in the Smokey Mountains, anything over water. 

  Sound - The Giant's operetta, spontaneously composed and performed at age 3, called "Super Tia" in which the hero's hideout was inside a toilet.   

  Scent - My Mom's whole wheat bread, baking; she wasn't a great cook, but her bread was magnificent. 

  Taste - Paella, cooked on an open wood fire in a cast iron pan, using chicken and sausage instead of seafood, just the right amount of saffron.  My Andalusian host family absolutely blew me away with this dish during the week I spent with them as part of a Spanish Club trip.

  Touch - The first time I kissed/touched a woman.  Everything suddenly made more sense in my world.  Everything changed.

  All Senses - Sitting on a tall dune overlooking Lake Michigan as a summer storm rolls in and engulfs the shore, beginning with heavy stillness and culminating in 15-foot waves crashing the beach, illuminated by lightening and pounded by thunder, washed over by a torrential downpour.  (OC #1 Complete). 

9.  The first story I remember writing was about frogs which took over the world.  It was in third grade.  It was a little like the frogs which rained down as a plague in Egypt, except it took place everywhere in the populated world at the same time, overwhelming and extinguishing humanity.  The frogs didn't miss us.  My teacher expressed concern over my chosen subject matter, so lightened up a little in my creative writing, after that.

8.  I am ridiculously hung up on formatting, especially on any document which appears in public.  This is generally a good thing in my job, except that it sometimes delays actual production of content.  It may explain my "form-phobia," in that I cannot count on my handwriting to be legible, or correct, and therefore have a terrible time even filling out a simple application.  Thank heaven for scanners and Adobe Acrobat Professional edition . . .

7.  I used to be terribly, persistently competitive.  I have always been sportsmanlike, win or lose, in a fairly played game.  But God help Dr. F, who cheated at Trivial Pursuit when I was allowed to play with the adults at an after-church gathering.  I was 12.  Mom was not amused at my very loud, angry accusations.

6.  I was forced to learn to sew, but became good enough at it to make a pair of jeans, complete with zipper and rivets.  Unfortunately, by the time I finished them, I'd outgrown them.  One of these days, I intend to pick it up again, because it's incredibly cool what you can do with scraps of cloth and thread.

5.  If I were a biological male, I would probably be Kevin James.  My wife agrees.  Think Kevin James in "Hitch," minus the asthma inhaler, or "Paul Blart, Mall Cop" minus the Segue.  And much shorter, with darker hair.  Yeah.  As much as I'd like to be someone super sexy, I'm Kevin James.  However, he does get the awesome babe in "Hitch," as have I, in real life. (That's OC #2).

4.  In 4th grade, I biked 63 miles in a bike-a-thon.  In 7th grade, I walked 19 miles in a walk-a-thon.  In both cases, I was sponsored by a number of people, most notably by Mrs. L. down the block.  I didn't realize it at the time, but part of the reason she was such a generous sponsor was that by 4pm, she was 2.5 sheets to the wind.  She also bought 10 tins of popcorn, which made me top sales person toward our 8th grade trip to Chicago.

3.  I've had the privilege of traveling in 12 countries:  Spain, Portugal, Gibralter, Andorra, Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and a long layover in El Salvador.  Most of it was missionary work of one sort or another.  All of it changed my world view.  As a result, I am a terrible tourist, if that's all I'm doing - I always end up wondering what's happening on the other side of the tracks.

2.  As a kid, I was intent on being prepared.  In addition to survival plans for missing the rapture, I practiced being blind and deaf, just in case.  I also taught myself to write reasonably well with my left hand, which was helpful when I smashed my right thumb trying to bare-hand a foul tip as a catcher.  I tried to teach myself to write with my toes, but it was kind of a lost cause.

1.  I have attempted minor home surgery on myself, with mixed results.  Splinter extractions were not a problem.  Cutting out a wart on my left hand using a swiss army knife and tweezers was bloody, but ultimately successful.  Trying to remove an odd scar on my right shin proved to be beyond my skill set - apparently I should have used a butterfly bandage, rather than packing the incision; although it healed nicely, the doctor was not pleased with my handiwork, and I have given up anything beyond splinters.  Probably.

Open Call #3 Complete!

.