Last Monday I enjoyed Sara’s post ‘Monday Mindless Facts’, which she noted was inspired by a Survey Sunday post by Presley. I thought it would be a cool thing to do to share some random facts about myself. Then during the week I had the privilege of being nominated for a Liebster Award by Tonya at Healthy Fit & Frugal. So I figured I would just pile it all together into a massive brain dump of trivia about me!
So let’s start with the ‘Mindless Monday’ questions:
1. Were you named after anyone?
Not that I was ever told. My brother was a Jr, and my name was one that my parent’s liked. You might know a Michael Anderson, as Michael is the 4th most popular first name and Anderson is the 11th most popular surname.
2. When was the last time you cried?
I really can’t think of when … crying isn’t something that happens much for me, and when it does, Lisa likes to joke that I am good for one tear and then done. It doesn’t mean I don’t get really upset, just don’t cry. The sad likelihood is that it might have been from a movie or a commercial with Sarah McLachlin …
3. Do you like your handwriting?
My handwriting is an abysmal letter-cursive hybrid that is an affront to all of my penmanship lessons in elementary school. Fortunately I was a technology early adopter in the late 70s! 🙂
4. What is your favorite lunch meat?
Turkey … preferably something that looks like it came from a living thing at some point.
5. Do you have kids?
I have two, but it is hard to call them ‘kids’ anymore- Danny is 17 and Chris will be 16 in just over a week.
6. If you were another person, would you be friends with you?
Absolutely – what is not to like?!?
7. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Did you read the last answer?
8. Do you still have your tonsils?
Yes! I even have my wisdom teeth!
9. Would you bungee jump?
Definitely … in a heartbeat! I love roller-coasters, have no fear of heights and so on.
10. What is your favorite cereal?
Not big into cereal, if I have to choose boxed it is Oatmeal Squares.
11. Do you unite your shoes when you take them off?
My work shoes are slip-ons, my running shoes have lock-laces. Other than that generally yes.
12. Do you think you are strong?
In some ways I am very strong … but in other ways I am incredibly weak.
13. What is your favorite ice cream?
My fave is chocolate peanut butter cup, which I first had at Kimball Farms in Westford, MA (best ice cream I have ever had). Turkey Hill version is decent. But since Lisa is allergic to peanuts now, I do cookie dough as my fave.
14. What is the first thing you notice about other people?
Eyes and smile – I find that people communicate an incredible amount through their eyes, and I am immediately either comfortable or not because of that.
15. Red or pink?
Tough one – I love Red, but pink roses (actually white with pink tips) were the roses from our wedding and ones I still seek out for Lisa.
16. What is your least favorite thing about yourself?
The extra skin from my obese years. It is a big reason I will always think I am fat.
17. Any tattoos?
Absolutely not, nor will I ever. Not a judgment on anyone else, but anyone who knows me knows I will never get a tattoo or piercing.
18. Do you have any hobbies?
Music – making and listening. This weekend I grabbed the Digital Performer demo to start transferring old files into Garageband. Long story short, my version of DP is old and doesn’t work on new computers, and I don’t want to spend what they charge for an update! Bottom line … it was a blast starting to revisit old favorite music!
19. What color shoes are you wearing?
Brown Lems zero-drop minimal boots.
20. What was the last thing you ate?
Mixed frozen berries with flax-chia blend sprinkled on top.
21. What are you listening to right now?
Mary Halvorson Trio – Ghost Loop … you’ll hear more about this on Wednesday.
22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Blue. My favorite color.
23. Favorite smells?
Good food, Christmas smells, Lisa’s hair.
24. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
Who really talks on the phone? I very rarely do … but in this case it was Lisa.
25. Mountain hideaway or beach house?
Beach house! The place we rented on Cape Cod for vacation in 2012 would be a dream to own – not huge or fancy, just a wonderful relaxing spot on the water.
26. Favorite sport to watch.
I am going to go with the Olympics … not a huge fan of random sports watching, and this is the only thing that will have me watching for hours.
27. Hair color?
Brown … with more than a touch of gray 🙂
28. Eye color?
Blue.
29. Do you wear contacts?
No – I have decent sight, was perfect but with age I can tell I’ll need reading glasses in a few years.
30. Scary movies or happy endings?
Happy endings – I don’t mind scary movies, but sometimes a feel-good movie is just right.
31. Last movie you watched?
Blue Jasmine. OK, it has been more than a week. Don’t watch movies all that often. But it was an excellent movie that brought me back to Woody Allen’s ‘golden era’.
32. What color shirt are you wearing?
White dress shirt.
33. Summer or winter?
Summer … love being outdoors, and the ability to toss on shorts and go for a run … priceless.
34. Hugs or kisses?
Hugs. Kisses are for Lisa, but hugs with Lisa, the boys, the dogs and friends … priceless.
35. Computer or television?
Considering if Lisa works late the TV won’t be turned on … I would say computer. 🙂
36. What books are you reading right now?
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent … making slow progress, excellent book.
37. What’s on your mouse pad?
Mouse pad? For real? Is this 1997 or something? 🙂 (1) I don’t have a mousepad and (2) I use my iPad most of the time (like now)
38. What color is your house?
Gray colonial.
39. What color is your car?
A sort of Charcoal & Blue mix. It is a Ford Escape Hybrid.
OK, so now on to the Liebster Award. This isn’t really an ‘award’, but is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. “Liebster” is German for “favorite”. This award is the “favorite blog award” then. As I mentioned, Tonya at Healthy Fit and Frugal nominated me, so here goes!
1. If you could play any professional sport, what would it be and why?
Basketball – fun fact, when I was first losing weight back in 1989, after my run I would hit the basketball court in the park near our house and shoot baskets and run the court a bit.
2. What is your favorite form of exercise?
Definitely running.
3. If you could win an Oscar, who would you thank?
My family … because if that happened they would have had to tolerate all sorts of nonsense.
4. What is your favorite sport in the Olympics (summer or winter)?
I watch curling ironically, but seriously I love the artistry of figure skating and athleticism of decathalon.
5. If you could have dinner with one athlete, who would it be and why?
Larry Bird. In an era where college and even high school kids were becoming overpaid celebrities, Bird was one of the last who represented a work ethic and focus on skill and sportsmanship over flashy ego trips. He is one of those guys you can picture having a $1 bill taped to his wall to remember where he came from.
6. What was your favorite vacation/place you’ve traveled?
Our honeymoon in Antigua was super-special and we’d love to return, but Cape Cod has been the location for many favorite trips.
7. If you could only eat one food the rest of your life, what would it be?
Fruit. Yes that is copping out a bit, but fruits – apples, oranges, pears, grapes, peaches, and on and on – are my favorite foods. Even more than steak or ice cream.
8. Name the top five values you try to live by?
Honesty, forgiveness, appreciation, belief in others, loyalty
9. Were you ever bullied as a kid? What was that experience like for you?
I was directly and indirectly bullied for being fat … and even after 25 years of mostly NOT being overweight, I am really just dealing with the core issues now.
10. What would you do with your life if you knew you could not fail?
Become a jazz guitarist or bassist professionally. Of course that depends on ‘not failing’ meaning ‘being able to keep up our current standard of living’. 🙂
11. What legacy do you want to leave behind after you die? (Hope that wasn’t too morbid of a question.)
If when my kids are older they look at their life with Lisa and I lovingly, then I will be happy. Professionally I am happy – through two companies I now have an impact on any electronic gadget you pick up from CPU to memory to interconnect to glass … so my biggest legacy now is my boys.
There you go! I am supposed to nominate others … but nearly every one of the blogs I was choosing had been nominated! So here are a few of my faves that I couldn’t find as nominated …
Harold at Runnah.com
Sam @ Soul Sandwiches
Carly at Musings by Carly
There you go! Happy Monday everyone!
Running Around the Bend 
Great survey! I learned a lot-and not so surprisingly, we have a lot in common! Love Summer, don’t watch movies that often…but my dry cereal addiction is what separates us here. 🙂
Dry cereal is something I really gave up in 2012. As I was piling on the miles I found cereal wasn’t enough fuel for me … I think it has been more than a year since I’ve had a bowl! I remember freshman year in college discovering they had Cap’n Crunch with Crunchberries in a bulk dispenser … aahh! 🙂
Thanks for filling out the questions! I love learning new things about my favorite bloggers! I’m glad you liked Blue Jasmine – I have been trying to convince my husband to watch it for quite some time now but he just hasn’t been into it!
Thanks Sara! Does Wes like Woody Allen in general? It is a dark and intense journey of a film – the comedy is dark, but you will laugh out loud … and cry as well. Definitely not like ‘Sleeper’ 🙂
I really like your answer about being bullied because of weight – directly and indirectly. Too often, that is the case, and I think that happens even as adults, whether it’s snide comments or not getting that job because of appearance. It’s a double-edged sword – which would I prefer? Knowing why someone behaved like they do, or never understanding the stakes?
It’s funny – I made it initially as an off-hand comment, but very quickly realized that it was anything but. I have written about it here or there in posts in the past, but it is amazing how some of those moments stay with you forever. Some of the stuff from kids you remember but can laugh about … but stuff from adults – especially teachers, relatives, and parents – leaves a scar that is very real but visible to only those who know you the best.
I’m very jealous that your eyesight is so good! I’m 25 and blind as a bat in my right eye! Ok, I guess not that bad, but I wouldn’t make it without my contacts! I also like what you said about knowing instantly whether or not you’ll be comfortable with someone – I’m like that too, although every once in a while, I get it wrong, and someone I thought I wouldn’t be friends with ends up being a really important part of my life!
Thanks Amy – I wish one of my kids had gotten my sight rather than my wife’s! (both kids have glasses, older wears his infrequently, younger son wears his all the time now that he has his ‘hipster frames’ seen in the last picture).
In terms of being comfortable, I tend to go the other direction – very trusting, sometimes too much so! 🙂
I love your responses and I lit up when I read you love Kimballs, that is one of my favorite ice cream places! We try and get there as often as possible during the summer! Blue Jasmin is the next movie on our Netflix queue, I am really looking forward to watching it!
Thanks for the comment, Sara!
Definitely do miss that area – I grew up in Stoughton and Crescent Ridge Dairy for ice cream, then when Lisa and I lived in Acton we were told to try Kimball’s (back before golf and all the other extras) … so glad we did! We lived out in Townsend for 15 years before heading this way. The Corning area has great schools for the kids and gorgeous stuff to do … but I’ll always be a Boston boy!
Thanks for the nomination- I’m not going to do it simply because 4 of the questions are about sport and I literally could not answer, given that I have never watched or played any sort of sport…
Great post! I hardly ever watch films too, they just take so long, and I just think, I could watch two or three episodes of my favourite programs in that time. I make an exception for a special few though.
And chocolate peaunut butter ice cream sounds possibly like the most delicious thing ever made. Yum!
On the one I was nonminated, one of the questions was about makeup, so I would have had to skip that had she used it! My thought – choose whatever you want and just go with it … supposed to just be fun and informative 🙂
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“My fave is chocolate peanut butter cup” Chocolate and peanut butter just has to be the best combination of foods in all of history. 🙂 I recently watched Blue Jasmine too. I loved Cate’s performance but I’m hit or miss (usually miss) with Woody Allen films. It’s hard to watch a film where EVERY character is deplorable! 🙂
I agree – and have a decadent ‘recovery food’ recipe that uses that to share soon. Have to make it again because I didn’t get enough pictures before!
We liked ‘Midnight in Paris’, but other than that it has really been years since I have connected with his stuff.
I agree with you, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup is the best combo off all time!!
I wasn’t reading your blog back when I did my Liebster response post, but as I’m a new follower, if you’re ever looking for a new set of questions at least one reader would be interested in seeing you respond to, my questions are here (feel free to answer the ones I answered as well, I thought they were good too): http://carinaruns.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-liebster-award.html
Thanks Carina! The thing I love about these types of posts, having just read yours just after the “What I Need in my Closet” post, is how quickly they communicate an awful lot about a person in terms of what is important to them. It makes me wish I had done a bunch of random facts … hmmm, might just have to …
Hey, thanks for the mention! I like your answer to number 11, in regards to your family. That is something I try to think about every day.
Thanks, Carly – it is funny, when we are younger there is a desire to change the world. Now I want to help my kids change the world and to be theer for them.
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