101 Things

1. I am an only child.
2. I am a 7th generation Arizona native.
3. I drive a Ford truck.
4. After being engrossed with Indiana Jones movies and The Voyage of the Mimi, I was dead set on becoming an archaeologist.
5. I got a bachelor’s degree in Journalism instead.
6. I was born with a full head of hair.
7. Now I’m fighting to keep it.
8. I speak fluent Italian.
9. Mo Udall, Stewart Udall, Rex E. Lee, and I all come from the same town. If you don’t know who they are, shame on you – look them up.
10. I was admitted to Brigham Young University three times and never went.
11. I am an alumnus of Arizona State University, and will finish my Master of Public Administration in May.
12. I won a scholarship to study commedia dell’arte in Venice, Italy right around the time I was to go on my mission.
13. I passed the opportunity up, and received my mission call...to Italy.
14. I want to go to South Africa someday.
15. I started my journalism career at age 13.
16. I have an impacted tooth.
17. I lived in Tirana, Albania for a summer. Even went to school at the university there.
18. I haven’t had a pet in eight years.
19. I got married in March to the most amazing girl in the world – it’s true, I used an amazing gauge and she broke it.
20. I worked on a Presidential Debate Steering Committee.
21. I lost my student body election in a high school of about 400, but won it at a university of well over 40,000.
22. The loans I’ve had to take out for my first year of graduate study already exceed the total cost of all my years of undergrad study.
23. I am very sensitive.
24. I am very passionate about many things – God, family, education, public service and virtue in leadership are a few.
25. I have a photographic memory.
26. I sing baritone/bass.
27. I love being spontaneous.
28. But I must plan certain things.
29. I love road trips with interesting people...I think your interactions – or even tolerance – with people on the road will predict the future of your relationship.
30. My parents are divorced...so are theirs. Won’t happen with me.
31. I carved my initials on the very top level of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
32. I like being nice to people who are nice to me.
33. I can name all of the streets I’ve ever lived on: Calderon, 59th Place, Cornelia, 15th North, Adelphi, Palomino, Toltec, May, and Thomas.
34. I am a Mormon.
35. I am a Democrat.
36. Believe me, its not that uncommon.
37. My last night in Spain was spent eating rice with squid while watching a Flamenco dance performance while my luggage and souvenirs were being stolen.
38. The week before in Barcelona, I went to a dance club... on the top level of a shopping mall.
39. I hate Valentine’s Day.
40. I went to a Milli Vanilli concert when I was a kid.
41. I was kicked out of my 6th grade teacher’s class at least 25 times... and yet, he was still one of my favorite teachers.
42. I accidentally hit my father in the head with a baseball when I was a kid.
43. I caught an interception when I played high school football as a freshman. This was after one of the assistant coaches (who apparently played college ball at NAU) threw me over a bench at halftime.
44. I’m mischievous and I like it.
45. I like to give big tips.
46.I was once detained at the airport in Budapest, Hungary because agents thought I was Italian with a fabricated American Passport.
47. I don’t speak Hungarian.
48. My fiancée and I want to be humanitarians.
49. And we’re both fans of Pee-wee Herman.
50. I once asked a local politician if he knew people hated him. (He was eventually removed from office…not altogether too uncommon in Arizona).
51. I have an iPod.
52. I love Arizona like Texans love Texas and Canadians love Canada.
53. My favorite group of all time is U2…and has been since I was a little kid.
54. I am an Eagle Scout.
55. My favorite U.S. Presidents are George Washington, Woodrow Wilson, and Bill Clinton, all for very different reasons.
56. Someday I’ll write a book.
57. And then I’ll turn it into a movie.
58. A gypsy tried to stab me in Florence, Italy.
59. My favorite color is black.
60. I hate the study of philosophy, but in a certain sense consider myself to be a philosopher.
61. At some point in my life I want to be some kind of teacher.
62. I am an internet junkie.
63. I like British people.
64. I boycotted the ASU Women’s Basketball Team. (Ask me, they deserved it.)
65. I am a member of REI Co-op.
66. My high school mascot was a Redskin.
67. I’m a hugger.
68. I hate driving in Phoenix.
69. I don’t like any of the legislators in my district.
70. I love tamales.
71. One of my favorite dishes to make is Sardinian tuna meatballs. Don’t knock ‘em until you try ‘em.
72. My favorite cities outside Arizona are New York City, San Diego, and Austin.
73. I have met two of my three favorite authors: Ron Carlson and Brady Udall. (In fact, it was Brady Udall who suggested I take a class from Ron Carlson.)
74. I think my wife’s family is one of the coolest ever.
75. The two years I lived in Italy, I never got sick. Not even once.
76. I love Hawaiian shirts.
77. I love tuna – tuna anything…sandwiches, and as you can see in #71, Sardinian tuna meatballs.
78. I have never broken a bone (knock on wood).
79. My wife and I had our wedding reception/open house in a Scottsdale art gallery.
80. An Italian girl said if I came back to Italy after my mission she’d marry me. Thank goodness she married someone else…now I can finally go back to Italy.
81. I am a night owl.
82. I’m a secret Lacrosse fan.
83. I have high blood-pressure.
84. I like to camp.
85. It took me 24 ½ years to get to the Grand Canyon – and I’m an AZ native.
86. I’ll never buy a Motorola cell phone again.
87. I can fit three Clementine oranges in my mouth.
88. I love the movie “Steel Magnolias.”
89. I miss fried chicken.
90. My favorite university (other than ASU) is The George Washington University.
91. I was unemployed most of 2005.
92. But I just resigned at one job to take another.
93. Almost all of my family lives in Maricopa or Pinal County.
94. I love the desert.
95. I have a new found love for couscous.
96. I dig Egg Nog and Wassail during the holidays.
97. I wish I could paint.
98. I wish I could play an instrument well.
99. I want to get a Boston Terrier.
100. I’m trying out for Jeopardy in January (and living my wife’s dream).
101. I love my wife so much.