100 Things

I debated whether or not to do this exercise, but I read a particular set and was inspired, so I figured, "Eh, why not!" Mark and I have not collaborated on our lists (which is remarkable given some of the similarities in our responses!).

Anyway, we've had a LOT of fun with this exercise and have been joking around quite a bit and so kindly adding to each other's list as we walk around the house picking on each other, pretending to type, and saying obnoxious things like "Number 102! I take pictures to document every aspect of our life including our sick children." Good times.

Boquinha's List

101 things you might not know about me

I’ve seen this on several blogs and I hope my friends don’t mind me borrowing one or two that apply to me, too, so here are 101 things you might not know about me though that’ll be tricky because . . .

1. I’m a nervous talker
2. but I’m working on that.
3. I don’t like to shop
4. especially for clothing.
5. I get a rush out of saving money and paying down debt (and appreciate VERY much all the help we’ve been given to get our business going)
6. and I get very stressed by the thought of spending money on just about anything (though I promise we DO have balance, we have been especially cash strapped for most of our marriage, especially the past couple of years—see, we’ve been in the “education/student loan investment” stage for so long that we’re getting to the “it paying off” stage, which ironically enough, comes along with paying much of it back! :P).
7. I don’t like being stressed about finances and I really hate debt
8. and yet there is a part of me that thinks the challenge is kind of fun—(which is a good thing, since we’ve got YEARS of it)
9. yet I think that in some ways I might fear being rich.
10. I’m weird, I know (don’t get me wrong—I wouldn’t turn down a lotto win, but I’d probably be freaked out by it).
11. I’m a visual learner
12. but I can’t physically and emotionally handle seeing violence.
13. I cry when I see/hear a child being hit or yelled at in stores.
14. I dislike confrontation, though I’m not afraid to stand up for myself.
15. I would tell my younger self to go to Europe as newlyweds despite the cost (reference #5-10).
16. I’m miserable when I’m sick—pathetic really
17. probably because I love to be babied.
18. I like things resolved—I don’t really like loose ends.
19. (stolen right from Chandelle, but it fits—thank you!) There is only one person in my life that I have been unable to get along with no matter what I do. Ultimately, the only way to be civil and happy was to be okay with essentially cutting this person out of my life as much as possible (well, to be fair, this person cut me out, but it's probably for the best that we do this). It was toxic. Sucks, but nothing else has worked.
20. That being said, I am a remarkably good friend. That is something of which I’m very confident.
21. I am extremely grateful for family and good friends.
22. I enjoy people who are open minded, can think for themselves, and aren’t afraid to debate intelligently.
23. I’d be an awesome lawyer as far as debate and logic goes.
24. I couldn’t do it in good conscience though—I don’t think I’d really like it as I’m much more suited to what I’m doing.
25. I believe in respecting others’ beliefs and choices whether or not they align with my own.
26. I get bugged by not having that same respect given to us.
27. I don’t like being told what to do.
28. I’m a bit of a non-conformist. Or, as my in-laws say, an activist.
29. I believe in soulmates.
30. I firmly believe that I am married to my soulmate—there is no question in my mind.
31. I enjoy talking openly about politics and religion.
32. I don’t believe in any of those “better than sex” desserts. Enough said.
33. I hate to admit it but I love Hollywood gossip. No idea why.
34. I do not take advantage of others nor do I like to see others being taken advantage of.
35. I enjoy cooking, but I don’t particularly like to bake.
36. Only as an adult in the past few years have I begun to like homemade cookies over store-bought Chips Ahoy (crazy, I know).
37. I haven’t ever trusted anything called “FD &C # (anything)” and I really dislike all things artificial or manufactured in foods.
38. Not to say that I wouldn’t ever eat them, but we do tend to avoid them
39. I am generally a fairly balanced health nut when it comes to eating
40. but once a month I crave deep fried carbs like no other.
41. My least favorite food of all time is macaroni and cheese. The smell alone triggers my gag reflex.
42. I like foreign films a lot—subtitles excite me.
43. I desperately want our family to be fluent in more languages—we’re working on it, even considering living in Puerto Rico for a month.
44. I love being a stay-at-home wife and mom and am grateful to be able to do so
45. and I love that we homeschool.
46. I usually read the book choice for book club.
47. I’m an emeritus Google Answers Researcher.
48. I like to sprinkle raw oatmeal on my cereal.
49. I like jigsaw puzzles that are pictures of collections of things (teddy bears, chocolates, buttons, whatever).
50. When I was in 8^th grade, my obsessive need to be precise and correct had me look up the correct word during a test. I had memorized an entire chapter of the Bible (Isaiah 53, if I recall correctly) and I looked up ONE word (to make sure it was “your” instead of “yours” or something like that—those always tripped me up since as a Mormon you use the King James Version (thee, thine, thou) and in Born Again Christian school, they used the New International Version—you, yours, etc.). Whether or not I’d gotten that word right wouldn’t have changed the fact that I’d earned an “A” on the test. Being a “good girl” and having an insanely guilty conscience, I told my (favorite) teacher through tears what I had done. He thanked me for my honesty and told me he’d have to give me a “D.” I cried and said I understood. When he handed it back to me later, the “A” was crossed out in red ink and it said “B-, confessed cheating” (even though it wasn't technically "cheating" so much as double checking--I hadn't changed anything) and I was so happy.
51. I love the ocean.
52. I love gothic novels. They are my favorite genre of books.
53. I absolutely love breastfeeding.
54. Also in Christian School, this time in 6^th Grade, I got my first “C” ever on a report card (yes, I was a straight-A student). I cried and threw a FIT over it, searching again and again through my assignments, doing the math of my grade average again and again. The teacher was a Christian Scientist and totally had it in for me, the Mormon kid. We used to butt heads all the time in Bible class. I would answer my own beliefs on Bible quizzes and she’d mark me wrong. So, I started answering with the format, “The answer YOU want is yadda yadda yadda, but I believe yadda yadda yadda.” (The yadda yaddas are just for you, Emily! It’s my Seinfeld peace offering). To get out my frustrations, I’d play “Pin the wart on Miss Goddard” (she had a huge mole on her chin). Mean, I know. But she made me so mad! (And I was 12, give me a break). And as long as I’m griping about grade school, let me add that I hated P.E., too.
55. I love the Zen approach
56. though it doesn’t always come naturally to me.
57. I am totally mystified by the expression “Who gives a rat’s @$$?” Who, exactly, cares about a rat’s @$$ to begin with? Who came up with this? What . . . what possessed someone to . . . this phrase . . . I don’t understand . . .
58. I don’t like bacon.
59. I have this absurdly compulsive need to respond to every email I receive. I can tell when I’m emailing someone with this same compulsion. It generally turns into a game of email chicken.
60. I quote Friends way too much.
61. I love grammar and am a total grammar nerd.
62. I find clothing totally cumbersome.
63. I especially hate bras.
64. I had some crazy fun friends as a teen and they used to keep me sane and make me laugh and laugh and laugh.
65. I have very little awareness of time—it’s horrible.
66. I’ve seen Chicago and Harry Connick, Jr. in concert. Not at the same time.
67. I find the “stresses” of owning one’s own business FAR less stressful (and a fun challenge really) than any stresses related to “working for the man.” By. A. Mile.
68. I’m a slow reader (which really frustrates me at times as I love to read). I took a free mini speed-reading course in college. It didn’t help. I think it’s because I’m obsessive with reading and picturing every little thing.
69. It is far easier for me to be verbose than succinct. Whittling down research papers is a major ordeal for me.
70. I’m insanely good at editing papers.
71. I usually check the weather online rather than simply opening the door and feeling it for myself the good old-fashioned way.
72. I am an excellent library patron and we also volunteer there.
73. I get really stressed when our car is at the mechanic’s wondering what they’re going to find and when they’re going to call and tell us how much it’s going to cost. I don’t like not knowing the cost of something beforehand. “Market Price” on a menu is sure to have me not order it.
74. I am completely undecided as to whether or not to have more kids. I’ve always wanted 4. I’m quite happy with 2. And my biological clock is ticking while my indecisive mind goes back and forth, back and forth.
75. I love the words “ubiquitous” and “innocuous.”
76. I don’t like people who are holier-than-thou. They’re annoying and reek of insecurity.
77. I’m apparently not always the best judge of character. People tell me it’s because I like to see the best in everyone. Whatever it is, sometimes it’s bitten me in the butt. Live and learn.
78. I can’t STAND finding a piece of gristle in my mouth while chewing food. Blech. That alone could drive me vegetarian. Pesco-vegetarian anyway. I love seafood.
79. I cannot stand flies in the house. I have to rid the house of them as soon as I see one especially before enjoying any meal.
80. We eat all three meals at a set table pretty much every day. And we love it.
81. I go NUTS looking for lost items a la bythelbs. However I’m equally as thrilled when we find said items.
82. Ah, our lovely children have helped with this one—“Mommy! That’s one for your list! You don’t like to touch things when you’re sick!” Yes, I’m a germaphobe. Though that one is probably more known than not.
83. I love to drop everything to sit and talk with a friend or family.
84. I don’t one bit see it as a waste of time. Not ONE bit.
85. I love cute note cards for “just because” notes in the mail.
86. I’ve resisted getting cell phones for so long and now that we have them (mainly for our business), I admit they’re handy but I’m a horrible cell phone person in the sense that I don’t always carry it, check it, or look at it for days.
87. There was a time in my life when I was practically paralyzed with fear and anxiety so much so that travel was completely out of the question. Looking back, I think I probably seemed like a really selfish person, but the truth was I was a terribly hurting person.
88. Over the years working through those issues, even though I’m not perfect (who is?), I’ve felt an enormous burden lifted and feel freer to be ME.
89. When people ask me what’s helped me pull out of debilitating depression and crippling anxiety, I immediately answer with 2 main things—my husband’s amazing love for me (he put his career during residency on hold for 1 month, then 2!) and vitamin B-100s. My husband and family are so amazing and truly, truly, truly encourage and support and love me being me. And that’s pretty freaking awesome.
90. I love our kids so much that it overwhelms me at times.
91. I tend to think and ponder and consider and analyze and philosophize A LOT.
92. Mindfulness is a very powerful tool to help with that—it doesn’t come naturally but I love it and when I practice it, I feel calm, present, and more serene.
93. I love the show “Freaks and Geeks” and am still miffed that it only lasted ONE season. I highly recommend this to anyone reading our blog. It has a huge cult following and is absolutely HILARIOUS—it’s high school for the rest of us.
94. I’m one of those kids who didn’t belong to a particular clique in high school. I mean I was definitely in the nerdy honors group, but I didn’t delineate friendship by group association—I had friends in band, sports, drama, didn’t matter.
95. I love simple pleasures like ladybugs, catching fireflies, playing in the sprinkler, flying kites, daisies, going for a walk, eating ice cream in the backyard, etc. I’m easy to please that way.
96. I used to want to be President of the U.S. and influence millions.
97. I recognize the value in the immense power of influencing everyone with whom you come into contact—quality, not quantity.
98. I’m writing a novel (it’d be done by now if I’d spent as much time with it as I have with my blog) . . .
99. I sincerely marvel (I mean MARVEL) at how on the same page Mark and I are and how much we complement one another—it’s truly remarkable to me. I know it’s thought of as cheesy and cliché, but it’s true—we are one. I recognize how blessed we are as a family and we’re extremely grateful. Many of the things I hear in my one day a week of work reinforces this for me all the more.
100. I’m addicted to blogging . . .
101. . . . so much so that I’m slightly disturbed that at one point during the writing of this list, I ran downstairs dripping wet from showering, one hand clutching my towel and the other enumerating while I mumbled, “bacon, email, rat’s @$$, bacon, email, rat’s @$$ . . . “

But just try and tell me that you haven’t done the very same thing! You can tell me in your list of 101 things. I tag Terah, Kara, Emily, Mark, Jessica, April, Jillyn, Stacy, Kim, Jenny, Lindsay, oh this is getting ridiculous . . . anyone who wants to do it!

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Doctormark's List

100 Things You May Not Know About Me

1. I am quiet only until I get to know someone a bit better.

2. There is a big part of me that wants to not be so quiet.

3. I can be quite talkative when I get going.

4. I’m the timekeeper in the family, but I do so delicately.

5. I have 5 brothers and all of us are within 8 years of each other . . .

6. . . . and so I can (usually) tolerate a lot of chaos before breaking my concentration.

7. I have a fascination with Eastern cultures and religion (Asia, not New York City).

8. A big part of me could be quite happy pruning bonsai trees and tending to a Zen rock garden.

9. When I lived in Japan occasionally people would overhear me talking and assume I was Japanese, until they saw a 6-foot, 200+ lb American walking toward them.

10. San Francisco Giant baseball excites me (most years).

11. Yahoo! was the first site I learned to use so I still read my sports news there . . .

12. . . . even though I use “the Google” for nearly everything.

13. I hate the telephone and avoid using it at all costs.

14. I love my wife so much I will make phone calls for her when she is in a time crunch.

15. As I get older I fail to see the usefulness of war and conflict, even though I was a fairly hawkish teen growing up.

16. I registered as a Democrat this year to participate in the primary elections and wonder what took me so long.

17. Although, the vast majority of us should just form the Moderate Party and see how much simpler our lives become.

18. People who refuse to take personal responsibility for their health drive me absolutely crazy—as a physician and as a human being.

19. Item #18, ironically, has been difficult for me to adopt on a personal level at times.

20. I have always been quite athletic so it may surprise people to know that I struggle at times to keep my weight under control.

21. One very strange thing about me is that even though #15 is true I really enjoy a good movie or book about espionage or secret agents. I don’t really have too many people around who enjoy them like I do, but I love James Bond and the Bourne movies.

22. When ranking the actors who have played 007, my personal preferences are as follows: Daniel Craig (I know, it’s only been one movie so far, but I’m anxiously awaiting the next one this year); Roger Moore; Sean Connery; Pierce Brosnan; Timothy Dalton (he was a waste in this role in my opinion); and George Lazenby, although to be honest I can’t truly rank him since I don’t actually remember seeing “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”

23. I once even considered pursuing a career in the Foreign Service. That was an extremely fleeting thought.

24. Even though I think Kevin Costner is a lousy actor, my favorite movie is “Field of Dreams.”

25. I also usually read the book club selection.

26. I have four books I am currently working on and really want to finish: a homeschool physics curriculum, complete with experiments; a book of children’s poetry (finished but not polished or published); a candid look at my feelings about the medical profession and health care system; and a story about children growing up in the Azores.

27. My emotions run pretty close to the surface and when I get frustrated it often comes out as tears.

28. I also cry at a lot of movies. Honestly, it’s hard to find a movie during which I have not shed a tear.

29. I am comfortable with silence except where my wife is concerned. That is probably because she is a talker unless she is upset.

30. When I played basketball in high school I would grab the shorts of the guy I was guarding when he tried for a rebound so he couldn’t jump as well. Guys usually didn’t like it.

31. When running side-by-side, a cornerback in football will sometimes use his palm on a receiver’s thigh to “break his stride” and then gain the advantage. In a high school soccer game I once did this to a forward who was trying to go past me with the ball. I also locked arms with him, pushed a little, then pulled him back and made it look like he ran into me. He got a yellow card.

32. I tried this in the last game of the season and got my own yellow card.

33. I have a history of being very competitive in sports.

34. I’ve mellowed quite a bit.

35. In all honesty I once responded to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” by saying, “President of the United States.” My high school government teacher thought I was just being a wise mouth, but I was serious.

36. Now that sounds like the worst job on the planet, bar none!

37. Sometimes I surprise myself by what comes out of my mouth when being pushed by telemarketers . . .

38. . . . and bosses . . .

39. . . . and online telephone directory advertising sales people.

40. My high school drivers’ ed teacher accused me of working for the KGB since I wouldn’t sing along to “I’m Proud to be an American.” “I don’t know the lyrics” wasn’t a valid excuse, and it didn’t help my cause any.

41. I was once arrested by university police at BYU for “shoplifting.” It was acknowledged later that it was a misunderstanding, but I still heard my Miranda rights, waived my right to an attorney, had my portrait taken from two angles, and left my fingerprints in the police station.

42. I like to cook a lot and have been called “The Best Portuguese Cook in the Family.” I’m Irish.

43. Mindfulness is something I’d like to do better. I find I have to think about it a lot to make it work (imagine that).

44. The more I study and contemplate Christ’s teachings, the more I realize he was kind of Zen. We could all learn to “be” a little more so all of our “doing” doesn’t ruin us.

45. Trying to meet other people’s expectations of me can be tiresome. I have enough trouble meeting my own expectations of myself.

46. I once ate a live cricket.

47. My parents once worried I would get into Satan worship or become otherwise deceived.

48. It was because I really got into Dungeons and Dragons when I was younger. I also got into a variety of other role-playing games.

49. I once explored the sewers of Vancouver, British Columbia. Not nearly exciting as the sewers of Paris are purported to be.

50. Flawed logic really bothers me, and sometimes I’ll try to identify the logical fallacies or other issues in someone’s argument (argumentum ad hominem, non sequitor, slippery slope arguments, etc.).

51. I can be very nerdy. I like it.

52. Slippery slope arguments really hit a nerve with me.

53. I find the number of channels now available on Cable and Satellite overwhelming, so much so that I’ve truly grown to love our lower than basic cable. More channels just means more disappointment over how many hours of television are being broadcast on an aggregate daily basis versus how little interesting programming is available.

54. I like shopping for my wife more than I like shopping for myself. I think I do a pretty good job at it, too.

55. I would consider myself, more and more, a feminist husband, and I am glad we are raising feminist children.

56. I love it when our daughter says things like, “I can run the restaurant and my husband can stay home with the kids.” Whatever you want is worth going for, Chiquita.

57. Koans intrigue me, even if I don’t get them yet. “Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?”

58. Given the choice between sushi and sashimi, sashimi wins every time. My favorite? The classic: maguro (tuna).

59. The strangest thing I have ever eaten in my life (and remember I ate a live cricket) is pig ovary sautéed in Korean hot pepper sauce. My mission companion correctly identified the fallopian tube.

60. In the eighth grade I played four different brass instruments in our Spring Concert (trombone, baritone, French horn, and tuba).

61. If I could only listen to one CD over and over again forever and ever I would choose The Eminent J.J. Johnson, Volume 2. Oh, but please let me take both discs.

62. One of my unspoken goals in life is to be a Renaissance man. I would like to think I’m on my way.

63. My favorite era in American history is the years surrounding the American Revolution.

64. I once got high at a Dave Matthews concert . . . in Utah. Once you regain consciousness and get up off the floor I can tell you the whole story. My friend Peter and I went to the Hoard festival (outdoors) in Park City, Utah and saw Lenny Kravitz, The Dave Matthews Band, Blues Traveler, and some local band perform. We inhaled enough pot smoke from everyone around us that I was floating a little on the way home.

65. I love the feeling of the cool side of the pillow. As a kid I would even flip my pillow to keep it cool until I fell asleep.

66. I have a tough time making lists like this because I feel like a lot of it is bragging even though I know it’s just sharing tidbits about me that others may want to know.

67. I don’t like attention being drawn to myself unless I’ve sought it. Applause after performing a solo with a jazz band—fine. Asking me to stand up unexpectedly to be acknowledged for some such thing—not so much.

68. I am a creature of habit. It takes a lot to get me to change my routine.

69. I can be quite particular about things, but I couldn’t tell you the things about which I am particular. I guess I don’t obsess.

70. Once I was on Canadian television. Our marching band was in the Victoria Days parade in British Columbia and I was the drum major. Apparently the parade is a big deal so it is on TV each year.

71. My mother had a formula she learned that says if you double your height at 2 ½ years old, that is a good estimate of your adult height. I was supposed to be 6’ 5.” I used to be upset that I never got that tall, but since my wife is 5’ 2” my current height works out just fine.

72. I spent 6 months in a half-body cast when I was 14. I learned to appreciate a lot of things during that time, like the ability to use the toilet normally.

73. I am better at video games than I like to admit, although this did help me run the colonoscope on my surgical rotation.

74. Books are a weakness of mine. I can control myself, but the urge to own every book known to man is strong.

75. I have a large pile of books on top of my night stand. It continues into my night stand drawer. These are books I am currently reading, wanting to read, taking a break from reading, etc. At any given time there are probably at least 5 books between the two locations. I think I have 8 or 9 there now.

76. Commercials where they make babies talk with grown-up voices, or show them dancing or acting in any other adult manner give me the willies. I just can’t watch them without wanting to vomit.

77. I have a very hard time choosing a favorite anything. I have a lot of things that I like a lot, but in my quest for well-roundedness I’ve lost the ability, with a few exceptions, to choose many favorites.

78. I think there are people who are meant to be together—soulmates if you will.

79. I met and married mine.

80. Sarcasm comes naturally to me, sometimes to my own detriment.

81. Looking over the history of humankind as I understand it I marvel at all the harm that has been done in the name of religion. As far as I can tell every religion has historical aspects they’d wish the world would forget. I wish people wouldn’t run from these or, alternatively, use them to vilify specific religions. People aren’t perfect. We can all stand to be a bit more tolerant of those whose beliefs differ from ours.

82. Sometimes I enjoy giving long rants and diatribes. It can be pleasantly rewarding.

83. Ink on my body really annoys me. I don’t know why, but it does. I won’t write a phone number or a note to myself on my hand, ever.

84. Birthdays don’t excite me much. It probably stems from the fact that my brother is born on the same day and my parents’ wedding anniversary also happens to be the same day. No, my mother did not give birth to me at the altar just before birthing my brother. I came two years after the altar. My brother came two years after I did.

85. True confession—I really enjoy how much my wife and children love making my birthday special.

86. I don’t much care for having a boss or working for someone else. It’s not because I have a difficult time getting along with people or working in a group. I actually do fine with that. I just have too many things I want to do my way, and I don’t have patience for the usual hurdles to intelligent and efficient work that exist in many workplaces.

87. Don’t tell me we do things just because “it’s always been done that way.” Drives. Me. Nuts.

88. I find working with my hands highly satisfying. I don’t know that I always recognized that side of me when I was younger so I didn’t spend as much time cultivating that.

89. Being creative in the literal and imaginative senses is like breathing air. I have got to have it in my life or I start to feel lost.

90. When I applied to colleges, I had a letter written to my congressman requesting an appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis. I wisely never sent the letter.

91. I enjoy doing different impressions and accents. I always have.

92. Early in our marriage I thought I wanted a kid like Calvin. We have two.

93. I simultaneously appreciate opportunities and blessings of living in the United States while wanting to try living overseas.

94. Diplomacy comes naturally to me.

95. Foreign languages are very interesting to me and I wish I spoke more of them.

96. Discussions of ethics can entertain me for long periods of time, especially when they involve topics in bioethics.

97. When considering superheroes, I prefer Batman because he is a regular guy rather than a mutant or someone who derives special powers from the yellow sun of Earth.

98. By now you can tell I have lots of interests that for at least passing moments nearly became career choices. I still wonder how I may have enjoyed writing music for films.

99. My son believes I can draw anything. Anything. I get frequent requests to draw everything.

100. I am unbelievably happy to be done writing this many things about me. Halfway through I even started learning things about me I didn’t know before!

Let’s hear from some people that probably would love to keep 100 secrets from all of us, my brothers: Doug, David, Greg, Michael, and Scott, you’ve been tagged! It’s almost like being punk’d, but less embarrassing.