So KP “tagged” me a while back, and I thought I’d better get around to responding. There’s a picture that lays out the rules of this little meme, but it looked all girly like it had come from Target or Crate and Barrel or something. I can’t have that kind of nonsense frilling up my blog, so I made my own picture.

RAAAAAAAAAAAR
Now, random facts and whatever:
1. The only video game system we had when I was growing up was Interactive Vision, which was this weird console made by ViewMaster. The system plugged into your VCR and played special VHS tapes with 8-bit graphics superimposed over the video. There were only about half a dozen Interactive Vision “games,” but they featured the Muppets, Sesame Street and classic Disney cartoons. When I was in first grade, I was obsessed with getting one of these machines. I did finally get one for Christmas, but the joystick broke after a few months and by that time ViewMaster had stopped making Interactive Vision and couldn’t replace the parts.
2. I don’t drink a lot of alcohol, but if I’m at a bar I usually get a whiskey dry. For a long time I didn’t know there was any way standardized way to order it, and I would ask for “whiskey and ginger ale,” even though asking for ginger ale made me feel like an eight-year old leaning forward in a high bar stool, idly swinging my scrawny legs.
(I just looked this up, and it turns out there are a lot of names for this sort of drink, and I could just as easily ask for an “old fashioned” a “seven and seven” or even just a “high ball.” I am pretty clueless.)
3. I’ve been blogging for The Beat at Publisher’s Weekly for over a month now as an intern. I really enjoy it, but I haven’t told hardly anyone until now.
4. I’ve visited seven different countries this year: the USA, Canada, Malaysia, Australia, Japan and South Korea. That number still seems too low — I want to see more!! I have also spent about 1.5% of the entire year on a train, one way or another.
5. When I was in Korea, I spent three days at a Buddhist temple eating only vegetarian food and meditating about 10 hours a day. I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, but I’m really glad I did it. The head monk spoke perfect English and respected that I was a Christian. When I took a mountain walk with him, he gave me this sura to meditate on:
HEAD MONK: When you are on the right path, the Garden of Eden is all around you.
ME: But how do you when you are on the right path?
HEAD MONK: Change your pants!
If I ever figure out what that means, I’m not allowed to tell anyone.
6. In 2002 I made a movie about zombies. In 2004 zombies became The Next Big Thing. I would take credit for this trend if anyone outside of my family actually saw my film. The final showdown happened in a bowling alley.
7. I have struck up conversations with strangers just because they had a Zwan or Sleater-Kinney shirt on, because those were my two favorite bands of my early 20s, and no one else I knew had more than a passing interest in them. Both bands broke up before I could see them live, and I don’t listen to them any more the way that I used to.
Who hasn’t been tagged yet? I’ll pick Elizabeth, Kyle, Mom, Summer, Megan, Kim and Bethany. Wow, that’s a heap of women-folk. Don’t dudes blog any more?