Ten on Tuesday: 10 awesome things about me

[link]

10 awesome things about me
When I saw this theme, I thought, "That'll be fun." But really, it's not.

1. I'm humble. I would really rather not try to tell people I'm awesome in any way. Judging from the non-humble people I've met (particularly those who have no cause to brag), being humble would seem to be an awesome trait.
2. I am in pretty good shape, especially for my age. I can still outrun a lot of guys younger than I am on the soccer field, and I don't look bad (for my age) when I go shirtless (like sometimes I do when I'm out weeding or mowing the lawn and it's over a hundred degrees).
3. I've had three short stories published and have written (but not yet published) three novels. Don't look for me in the NY Public Library, though. The journals my stories showed up in (Thereby Hangs A Tale, THEMA, and The First Line) don't appear to be indexed by author in their catalog.
4. I have an electrical engineering degree from the #1 public university in the country.
5. At my job, the web site I built and maintain helped employees give over $20 million to charities this year. I, of course, donate a small part (a very small part) of that $20 million. But I think that's an awesome thing.
6. I'm a crossing guard at my kids' elementary school. I've done it four years now (two days a week), and it's actually a lot of fun. I've been nearly run over four times--once I really thought I was going to get hit, possibly killed--and I've saved a kid's life three times. You would think that most people drive slowly through a residential school zone, particularly when there's a crosswalk and it's the time when school is getting out. But, not so. Moms are distracted by whiny kids who forgot their backpacks, or they're on their way to the middle school to pick up their other kids, or they're on their cell phones arranging play dates. So please, when you're picking up or dropping off your kids, obey the traffic laws (don't make up your own rules like so many people fee entitled to do) and watch, watch, watch for kids... they have a tendency to run out at the most inopportune moments.
   
7. I've been to ten countries besides the one I live in. I plan on visiting more when the kids are a little older.
8. My wife and I completed the Avon 3-Day breast cancer walk in 2000 in San Francisco. What a tremendous experience. Sixty miles of walking in three days is not that easy, even if there's someone giving you snacks and drinks every few miles, and cooking your food each night. Still, I enjoy the looks people give me when I tell them I once walked from San Jose to San Francisco.
   
9. I don't totally suck at music. As a kid, I played snare in a fife & drum corps (the Nayaug Ancients, which appears to have folded years ago, but who made an album at one time... if you know someone who has it, I'd love to get a scan of the cover art and a copy of the recordings). Then I taught myself guitar; now I can play anything that is labeled by "made easy for guitar" pretty much. And I'm not an atrocious singer. I'm not dumb enough to put myself onto American Idol, but I think I could hold my own at karaoke.
10. I was once given "the finger" by 10,000 people at once. Dismayed by the awful job the fans were doing at a Cal football game, I ran down and took the mike and tried to lead a cheer. Of course, I had to turn my back to the game to face the other students. While I did, the refs made an awful call and the fans all booed. I thought they were booing my attempt to lead a cheer and said something I regret. I'm lucky I didn't get rolled up.

OK, do you think I'm awesome now? Nah, me neither.