I've been tagged, so here it goes....

I’ve been tagged by Kristabel to write seven things about myself, presumably things people may not know about me. So here they are in no particular order:

1. I buy most of my shirts at thrift stores. Most of them cost 50 cents to $1. In the event that I get them covered in paint or bicycle grease, I can just toss them out and I don’t have to feel bad about doing so. I also score other items of clothing at thrift stores. I think I look pretty good in my thrift store clothes, even when I don’t.

2. I grew up in San Mateo, a suburb located south of San Francisco International Airport. I attended Aragon High School, where I ran on the cross country team.



Here’s my senior prom photo. That lovely girl is Margaret Abe. After the prom we drove up to Twin Peaks and smooched. I graduated in 1987.



3. In high school I worked at The Ice Capades Chalet, an ice rink located inside a shopping mall. Here’s a photo of me with some of my co-workers. I was a skate guard and a janitor. Part of my job involved dressing up in a Yogi Bear or Jabberjaws suit and skating around the rink for the kids. I also led the Hokey Pokey.

4. Last July I saw six gray whales spouting simultaneously near Trinidad and I had an epiphany which led to major changes in my life.

5. Not only did I enjoy Michael Mann’s 2006 “Miami Vice” movie, but I consider it a masterpiece. It’s pure emotion with dazzling visuals. But people I know – including people I respect – tell me that the movie was a giant pile of crap. I've yet to find a single person who even remotely agrees with me on this movie. This leaves me scratching my head. On a related note, some of my favorite movies include “Casablanca,” “High Noon,” “Goodfellas,” “Apocalypse Now” and the “Godfather” series.



6. Between my junior and senior years in high school I went to Paraguay for a couple months. When I got back, I was into wearing sandals and smoking a corn cob pipe. I also drank gallons of yerba mate. Almost everyone who tried it at the time said it tasted awful. Now, two decades later, it's served in regular coffee shops. I would not have guessed this would happen in a million years.

7. I own six bicycles and one unicycle. This is down from a high of more than 15 bikes last year. Ideally, a person should have about 10 bikes of different kinds.

I now hereby tag everyone who has a link on the left side of this blog. You know who you are. BAM!