10(ish) Random Facts about Mark

I've seen other bloggers do lists of this nature and I always find them fun. Sorta lets you know random information about the people you're reading about that might not regularly come up in blog posts or conversation. I'm saying 10 things b/c that sounds like a good goal, but I really have no idea how many I'll end up with, so don't hold me to that. It just depends on how random I really want to get. Enjoy!

1. I was a junior in high school before I ever saw it snowing and a senior before I saw it stuck to the ground. (To be fair, I know I did at least see it on the ground once when I was like two, but I don't remember that at all, so I don't count it).
2. Pretty much every night before bed I turn on the music channels my cable company gives me (yeah...I'm the one guy who uses those). I pretty much always turn it to the "Singers & Standards" channel and listen to the old Sinatra songs, Billie Holiday, Ella, Louie Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Bobby Darrin, Vic Damone and others, as well as people covering their songs later--except when they play Johnny Mathis songs on here...I ALWAYS change it immediately. I can't stand him. Otherwise, the station helps me relax and unwind before bed.
3. I have rather varied music tastes, depending on the mood. In addition to the aforementioned standards, I like everything from early 90's love ballads (actually...I secretly LOVE these) to old school hip hop to the latest rap and even some country (especially from the 80's & 90's). Oh and I love old soul stuff too...like Aretha and Ray Charles, etc. Pretty much the only thing I can never get into is rock music (metal, emo, soft rock, pop rock, whatever...it just doesn't do it for me).
4. I really enjoy eating, but do not like cooking. There's probably only about 4 different dishes I make that don't start out in the freezer...and even those 4 don't require more than a few steps to prepare.
5. I'm not particularly a pet person, but I'll probably end up getting a small to mid-sized dog before too terribly long just to have some company. Especially if I don't get a girlfriend soon! :(
6. I have rather random sleep patterns. Some nights I can sleep like 3 hours and other nights I can be in bed for 14+ hours and I usually wake up feeling the same. Also, when I sleep I go straight into a very deep heavy sleep meaning I almost never remember dreams, I don't move AT ALL when I sleep, and have a very difficult time coming out of a sleep. When I was younger this used to drive my parents crazy...I even slept straight through a tornado that spun off a tropical storm which knocked a huge oak tree down less than 10 feet from my bedroom window. I woke up having no idea it even rained. It's possible that I have a form of narcolepsy which causes this, but it remains undiagnosed as I've not bothered to get a sleep test done.
7. I have a new mattress ordered. Maybe this will help alleviate #6 and let me sleep a little better.
8. I used to be a rather picky eater. Up until about 2 years ago I had a strict rule against eating anything that smelled bad. This included seafood and anything from the continent of Asia. I've expanded my horizons and actually quite enjoy fish now and will eat a bit of well prepared, high quality Chinese food (aka - no Chinese buffets!). Much other Asian cuisine is still off limits. I also don't like very spicy things.
   
9. I'm a car nut. When I was a kid, the only toys I ever wanted to play with were little Hot Wheels & Matchbox cars. I literally had hundreds of them and knew each and every one. Every time I'd get a dollar for something I'd save it until we went to Wal-Mart and I'd pick out a new car. They cost 73 cents plus 4 cents tax. I have no idea what I ever did with the remaining 23 cents. To this day, I am still obsessed with cars and love driving. When it's a bit warmer, I wash my car at least once a week (I've been slacking a bit lately) and the inside is always immaculate. I usually drive a minimum of 20,000 miles a year just around town and on random road trips. My favorite cars are BMW's and my next car will be one. You don't even want to hear my dream pimped out BMW...that's just stupid! :)
10. I was in the Boy Scouts from 1st grade until 12th (although I really didn't do anything with them for most of high school). I became an Eagle Scout when I was 18. I also was in the band for 6 years but quit before my senior year b/c it wasn't very fun to me...and I thought most of the people in it were weird and it was not the best for my social standing. I was student body Vice President my senior year instead.
11. I'm one of those people who, when he finds something he likes at a restaurant, will continue to order the same thing every time without ever wanting to try other dishes. For example...Crusted Chicken Romano at the Cheesecake Factory! MMMMMMMM
12. Although the Cheesecake factory is my favorite restaurant, I've never lived in a city for more than 2 months that actually had one. I've eaten at them in at least 7 or 8 different locations and the current one is more than 85 miles from my house. I've driven up there before just for dinner and then come straight home.
13. When I was a kid my family had a pop-up camper that we would go camping in all the time. On one of these trips when I was about 3 years old I woke my parents up in the middle of the night bawling because my sister kept stealing the sheets and kicking me in her sleep. I never had to share a bed with her on a family vacation since then.
14. On another camping trip when I was around the same age, I was sitting on a sea wall fishing into Tampa Bay. I cast my pole and fell head first into the bay (it was only about a 2 foot high wall and about 1-2 feet of water, don't worry). Before resurfacing to find my sister laughing at me (knowing her, she probably pushed me), I somehow managed to grab two small fish in my hands. That is my first memory (and my first fish!) I was the only one who caught anything on that trip.

Well, I think 14 is enough information for now. This was kinda fun though. Remind me and I'll do it again sometime. Or, someone could just send me one of those random questionnaires and I'll repost it on the blog. But let me catch up on all my current posts first! :)