Friday, February 6, 2009

25 Random Things About Me

This is copied from my facebook account:

1. I hate chain letters, pyramid schemes and such
2. but I like memes
3. Which is why I'm breaking the rule on this meme and not tagging anyone (you're supposed to tag 25 people).
4. I play guitar
5. I speak German fluently
6. I speak Esperanto good enough to communicate.
7. I'm actively learning Chinese on my own (ni hao!) using a book I bought in Shanghai.
8. I'm semi-actively learning Farsi (Persian) - I have a teacher
9. I've learned a bit (minimum: alphabet, numbers) about a lot of languages, including Ukrainian, Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, ...
10. I started learning these languages before seeing an article, where scientists say that learning a new language when you are older adds about 2 years to your life. :-)
11. I have a tendency to stay up way too late - this tends to reduce life expectancy.
12. I write programs I want in my non-existent spare time
13. Though I read a lot, I am not a fast reader.
14. I currently have no TV, and haven't had one for most of my life. It's a choice.
15. I call family (in the U.S.) pretty much every Sunday, sometimes talking for hours.
16. I am taking Jiu Jitsu (yellow/white belt) - except my health keeps getting in the way (currently nursing a probable broken toe)
17. I found out it can be fun to read and give constructive criticism to beginning authors, like my sister.
18. My office is pretty much the messiest place I know right now (I can see several defunct computers, monitors and printers right now)
19. I once wrote an astrology program and a numerology program, though I do not believe in either (I got paid for it).
20. I don't really believe in Tarot either, but I do readings, and they tend to be frighteningly accurate. :-(
21. I used to drink way too much beer in college - until I stopped drinking altogether.
22. I almost always carry a pen in my shirt collar (you can see the clip under my beard in my profile photo)
23. I carry my watch on my right hand, even though I'm right handed.
24. I wear my wedding ring on my right hand - a German tradition that most Germans don't follow any more: most wear it left like they see in American movies now.
25. I have two copies of a water color painting of the river and city where I live, one hanging in my office, one at home, painted by a good friend I haven't seen in a over a decade.

2 comments:

Perpetual Beginner said...

Not too much surprising to me in here, which is not surprising in and of itself. I hadn't noticed that your wedding ring and watch were on your right hand, though. I swap which hand I wear my watch on every few years, but it generally spends at least twice as much time on my left wrist as on my right.

Why do you put the ring on your right hand, when the Germans themselves don't do it much any more?

wh44 said...

Why do you put the ring on your right hand, when the Germans themselves don't do it much any more?

Originally it was because that was the way it was supposed to be done - "when in Rome..." and all that.

Now, I'm not sure - it just feels right. Kind of a mix of obstinancy not to go with trends, keeping old traditions alive, and just no particular reason to change.