This "25 things about me" tag has been making the rounds over at Facebook. I thought I'd post these 25 trivial things about me over here.
1. I wasn't a particularly good (or bad) student in high school.
Academics, back then, just never tickled my fancy. Now I have a Ph.D.
in economics and am a tenured professor at a state university.
2. I grew up listening to heavy metal and it's still my preferred style of music.
3. I suffered a serious knee injury (torn patellar tendon) playing softball almost 10 years ago. I spent a week in the hospital, 3 months on crutches, and several months of rehab. I missed a trip to San Diego because of the injury and my knee is still stiff, 10 years later.
4. I am a homebrewer and have been since 1993.
5. I do about 90% of the cooking and the vast majority of the grocery shopping in my household.
6. My decision to become a professor stemmed from a presentation I gave in a business class in college. I realized then that I had a talent to explain things in front of groups of people.
7. I have been playing guitar for about 30 years.
8. I played guitar for about a year and a half in a heavy metal cover band after high school. Two of my bandmates became lifelong friends. They were also my inspiration to return to college (see #9 below).
9. I started college straight out of high school, but didn't do so hot. After my freshman year I dropped out for a year and a half to do some things I always wanted to do (see # 8 above). Looking back, I realize that I was waaaayyyy too young and waaaaayyyyyy too immature to handle college that first year. I'm glad I dropped out and I'm *really* glad I went back.
10. I bought my first car when I was in my early 20's.
11. I studied trigonometry, calculus (1, 2, and 3), and linear algebra on my own the year before I went to grad school at Mizzou. I spent the entire summer of 1993 studying math in order to get ready for the Mizzou econ program. In fact, I never had a math class beyond college algebra until after I went to Mizzou (I picked up a linear algebra class as a grad student there as well as a couple of stat classes).
12. I buy all my coffee from Lakota Coffee in Columbia, Mo.
13. I've never bought anything from eBay and I've never used Craigslist.
14. I've had three papers published from my dissertation.
15. I don't know how to swim.
16. I learned how to rollerblade two years ago.
17. My wife and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this year.
18. My cat Sam is named after Sammy Sosa. I once had a dog named after Geddy Lee, the bass player for Rush. Geddy and Sam were best of friends when Ged was still with us.
19. I first went to visit my wife's family around Easter time in the late 1988. We went over to her sister's to color eggs with her family. I was so nervous that I accidentally drank Easter egg dye.
20. I helped castrate pigs on my father-in-law's farm once.
21. I helped dig a grave, using a shovel, for my wife's grandmother.
22. My family once had a beagle named Meno. My dad named him Meno after one of Plato's dialogues, a dialogue about virtue. My dad, in explaining his decision, said that he wanted a virtuous dog.
23. My first job was as a paperboy for the Des Moines Register when I was in, I think, 7th grade.
24. I've seen one tornado (the 2001 Jackson, Ne. tornado).
25. Carl Edwards (the NASCAR driver) was a student of mine at Missouri. I still have a business card he gave me when he was first getting into professional racing. At the top it says "If you're looking for a driver, you're looking for me."
2. I grew up listening to heavy metal and it's still my preferred style of music.
3. I suffered a serious knee injury (torn patellar tendon) playing softball almost 10 years ago. I spent a week in the hospital, 3 months on crutches, and several months of rehab. I missed a trip to San Diego because of the injury and my knee is still stiff, 10 years later.
4. I am a homebrewer and have been since 1993.
5. I do about 90% of the cooking and the vast majority of the grocery shopping in my household.
6. My decision to become a professor stemmed from a presentation I gave in a business class in college. I realized then that I had a talent to explain things in front of groups of people.
7. I have been playing guitar for about 30 years.
8. I played guitar for about a year and a half in a heavy metal cover band after high school. Two of my bandmates became lifelong friends. They were also my inspiration to return to college (see #9 below).
9. I started college straight out of high school, but didn't do so hot. After my freshman year I dropped out for a year and a half to do some things I always wanted to do (see # 8 above). Looking back, I realize that I was waaaayyyy too young and waaaaayyyyyy too immature to handle college that first year. I'm glad I dropped out and I'm *really* glad I went back.
10. I bought my first car when I was in my early 20's.
11. I studied trigonometry, calculus (1, 2, and 3), and linear algebra on my own the year before I went to grad school at Mizzou. I spent the entire summer of 1993 studying math in order to get ready for the Mizzou econ program. In fact, I never had a math class beyond college algebra until after I went to Mizzou (I picked up a linear algebra class as a grad student there as well as a couple of stat classes).
12. I buy all my coffee from Lakota Coffee in Columbia, Mo.
13. I've never bought anything from eBay and I've never used Craigslist.
14. I've had three papers published from my dissertation.
15. I don't know how to swim.
16. I learned how to rollerblade two years ago.
17. My wife and I will celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary this year.
18. My cat Sam is named after Sammy Sosa. I once had a dog named after Geddy Lee, the bass player for Rush. Geddy and Sam were best of friends when Ged was still with us.
19. I first went to visit my wife's family around Easter time in the late 1988. We went over to her sister's to color eggs with her family. I was so nervous that I accidentally drank Easter egg dye.
20. I helped castrate pigs on my father-in-law's farm once.
21. I helped dig a grave, using a shovel, for my wife's grandmother.
22. My family once had a beagle named Meno. My dad named him Meno after one of Plato's dialogues, a dialogue about virtue. My dad, in explaining his decision, said that he wanted a virtuous dog.
23. My first job was as a paperboy for the Des Moines Register when I was in, I think, 7th grade.
24. I've seen one tornado (the 2001 Jackson, Ne. tornado).
25. Carl Edwards (the NASCAR driver) was a student of mine at Missouri. I still have a business card he gave me when he was first getting into professional racing. At the top it says "If you're looking for a driver, you're looking for me."
Not surprisingly, everyone seems to like #19.