Boulder to London

For those of you not on Facebook, there is an interesting chain going around where people write 25 random things about themselves, tag their friends, and repeat.  After being tagged a few times, I was sucked into it and posted the following 25 random things.  Enjoy…

1) I believe I’m the luckiest person in the world.
2) I love the beach, but have always lived in the mountains. I’m not sure why I have never lived near the beach.
3) I didn’t get a passport until I was 25. Since then I have traveled extensively for business and pleasure. I’ve had the opportunity to visit China, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Belgium, Italy, England, Scotland, Spain, France, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.
4) I wish I knew a second language. I took two years of German in high school and studied Spanish for two weeks in Costa Rica, but I was pretty bad at both. However, I am able to order a beer in 6 languages.
5) I am not a patient person. I try to be, but consistently fail to deliver when tested.
6) I was in Chicago the night that Barack Obama won the election. He was staying in the hotel next to us prior to the big celebration in the park. Unfortunately I was working all night and did not get to experience history first hand.
7) I’m a travel snob. I’m a big baby when I have to wait in lines or don’t get upgraded.
I hate being cold. I can sit in the direct sun in triple digit heat for hours, but can’t stand to be outside on a cold day for 5 minutes.
9) I went to ‘Surf Camp’ a few years ago in Costa Rica. I didn’t learn to surf very well, but hung my graduation certificate in my office at GE right below my professional engineer’s license.
10) I never drank coffee until I moved to Seattle in 2000. Since then, I’ve enjoyed it every day in quantities that are inversely proportional to the hours of sleep I got the night before.
11) My favorite brewery is New Belgium, favorite food is Mexican, favorite song is Pirate Looks at 40 and my favorite color is red. My two numbers are 7 and 11.
12) I’m a creature of habit. I eat the same thing every day for lunch, go through the same workout routine, run the same routes, etc. I figure I’ll keep my life exciting by changing the big things and use the more mundane things as stabilizing force.
13) I hate being told how to do things. It really pisses me off. I’ve been this way since I was a kid and still find myself getting upset whenever someone tries to micro-manage me.
14) I enjoy reading when I have the time. I read two books when I was in Barcelona over Christmas. I’ve barely had time to read a newspaper since then.
15) I obsessively chew gum.
16) I love sports. I enjoy playing them much more than I like watching.
17) I want to learn to sail. I have a fantasy that someday I’ll own a sailboat and sail around the world. I’m not sure if it will actually ever happen, or if the lifestyle would even suit me since I’m usually ready to go back to work after about two weeks of vacation.
18) The last song I listened to on my iPod was Ben Harper – Steal my Kisses. It was the live version from the KBCO Studio C album.
19) I love Studio C. Google it and listen online if you’re not from Boulder.
20) I fell in a water hazard once when I was golfing. My ball had gone in and I was trying to retrieve it with my putter. I slipped on the bank and was standing waist deep off the 9th green. Luckily, I had just flown into town and had a suitcase full of clothes in the car. I got a new pair of pant and a hot dog at the turn.
21) I am a terrible golfer.
22) I have a strange fascination with spiral staircases. I think they are really cool and whenever I come across one I point it out to whoever I’m with and sit and study if for a few minutes in admiration. If I was an architect I’d use nothing but spiral staircases between levels.
23) Planning is not my strength. I once booked a three day sailing trip in New Zealand from Auckland to the Bay of Islands. On day two I realized it wasn’t a round trip.
24) I generally overestimate my abilities. In my mind there is nothing I can’t do. I’ve been proven wrong on many occasions.
25) I used to live about a block from an Illegal Pete’s burrito shop. I would sometimes eat burritos for breakfast, lunch and dinner of the same day. I’m sure that can’t be good for you.