Crazy eights

Just three short months ago, my sister-in-law tagged me for a blog topic, where I would list 8 facts/habits about myself, then tag another 8 people to do the same. I was gonna wait 8 months and 8 days to post it, but figured I'd be an overachiever and do it now.

No taggie, though -- if any of you readers want to tag yourself, feel free to do so and let me know in the comments section. Then I'll read your own version of crazy eights and heckle you accordingly.

The items below may not be revelations to you. I'm already a pretty open book in this blog, but it'll be fun to find new ways to embarrass myself.

Facts

1. I haven't watched a TV show (sitcom, drama, documentary, etc...) in several months, maybe even a year. We don't get cable (that's right, no ESPN, HBO or Cooking channel) and we're not really available during prime time shows due to kids' activities, bathtimes, bedtimes... you get the idea. The time I would use watching TV, I instead use to read, write, browse the internet, talk with Jamie and watch movies. It's not for everybody but it works great for me.

2. Being a father is far more heartwrenching than I ever thought it would be, and not always in a warm and fuzzy way. It has revealed levels of selfishness and impatience I never knew existed in me. Left unchecked, these traits started to show up in my kids because they were watching me. That'll wake you up faster than liquid nitrogen in your boxers.

3. I enjoy nearly all aspects of my job, but I'm not really passionate about the work or the industry. What has kept me in it is the people I work with and the impact we have on each other. If someone held a gun to my head and forced me to tell them what my dream job is, I wouldn't have an answer. For an introspection nutjob, this is extremely disturbing. I fear that while I'm good at my work, I'll never be great unless I work in an area I truly love, but I don't know what that is. I also suspect most men feel this way but never share it. To sum up, I guess I'm saying that I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up.

4. When I think about baseball, the first things that pop into my mind are 1) Watching it and 2) Coaching it. Not playing it. Bizarre. Especially since I've never coached.

Habits

1. I still chew my fingernails and cuticles.

2. I only shave every other day, because it's easier on my skin and I'm lazy. But I like to think it's to save money on razors.

3. I wear shorts to work almost every day during the summer (part of the job I love as mentioned above).

4. When I change the volume on our sound system, I have to put the volume on an even number. Never odd.