The Java Jive

10 Things you may not know about me

Posted on 15. Oct, 2008 by Brandon in General, Rantings and Ramblings, Recommended Sites

I very rarely agree to this type of post, which is exactly why I accepted the invitation from Chibi Alfa. They’re a bit long winded compared to most.

1. I almost never existed. Let me clarify – my family is full of pilots and a love for aviation. My grandparents were both in the Navy; flight instructor. The day after their wedding, they were flying to their honeymoon, when the fuel tank malfunctioned. They almost died that day, and I never would have been here typing this.
2. I am obsessive about my passions. When I get involved in something I enjoy, it’s absurd. I forget to eat, will ignore other responsibilities, and will spend as much time as I can learning / experiencing the subject. Past obsessions? Photography, design, reading, technology, web design, cars, planes, mountain biking, travel, music, fitness, Mac, books, etc. Photography has been the longest standing passion of this caliber.
3. I can bench press over 360lbs. (163kgs) – Not bragging, but it’s something I work hard at, and since I’m not as toned as I used to be (the middle age effect is creeping up!), at least I can take pride in my strength. It’s not in vain, it’s not for athletics – it’s for me, and me alone.
4. There’s a tremendous amount of my life that is never shared on this blog. Despite having written this blog for 6 years straight, I made a very careful decision long ago to keep much of my personal life off the eyes and memory of the public and Google – much of this stems from the fact that I use my full name on this site. Those of you who have known me for a while, feel free to ask for more info.
5. I’m very close with my family, and yet none of us live near each other. My parents are in the States, my brother in Tokyo, and my sister is wandering around Australia / SE Asia. A few years ago, my mother lived in Cape Town, South Africa so we were even more separated. Makes holidays a bummer.
6. I saw my father crash his airplane when I was 5 years old. The memory is still very strong. He lived.
7. I was a frat boy. Not always proud of that fact, and those that know me well, know that it doesn’t necessarily reflect my personality. But yes, there was a time in my life when Animal House wasn’t far off.
8. I lived with a drug dealer. It was a mistake – a friend pulled me into renting the place with his ‘friend’ who turned out to be a very busy dealer. Police raids, strung out girls having threesomes in my living room (not with me!), gangs of a dozen dudes crashing in my living room baked out of their minds for days on end. Luckily, I never got into that scene, and if anything it turned me off. Seeing an 18 year old girl whig out on shrooms and acid isn’t appealing. When I went to class, my clothes reeked of the stuff – surely earning me a reputation that wasn’t deserved.
9. I’ve always loved ‘ethnic’ girls. Maybe it’s because I grew up with all blondes, who knows. Since I was young (had a French girlfriend who was 17, when I was only 10), I always chose brunettes over blondes. I was ‘that guy’ trying to date the Brazillian exchange students who barely spoke English. Obviously that attraction never changed, as I’ve been with Novita since 2002.
10. My home burned down on Christmas Eve 1998. I lost everything, including all childhood videos of our family. In a strange way, it altered the course of my entire future, and had that never happened I’d probably be working as an engineer in the States, having never been offered the chance to come to Indonesia. It’s hard to be thankful for such a traumatic event, and yet I am. Every day.

The purpose of this was post was to continue a viral blog posting idea. Like I said, I usually don’t entertain these ideas, but since I did, I think a few others should keep the ball rolling. If you’re not on my list below, but decide to do it, please let me view your link. Can’t be out in the cold all by myself.

A few candidates:

Ian – my good friend that spent many years in this crazy city. 10 bucks says he won’t do it.

Treespotter – just to give him something new to rant about.

Brett – he’s not busy enough lately.

Lao Ocean Girl – we gotta get this tagging thing out of Indonesia! (plus I think she digs this type of thing)

Nadia – she doesn’t update her blog enough – let’s get her posting.

Adrianna – just cause she’s one cool girl.

*Update* – Here is Lao Ocean’s || Nadia’s || Brett’s || Treespotter’s