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August 20, 2003
100 Things
after all these years i've succumbed to peer pressure... and put together my 100 Things About Me list. so here you are - WAY more things then you ever wanted to know about me:
1. i've lived in the san francisco bay area since i was an infant
2. i was born in the midwest but don't remember any of it. i consider myself a native californian.
3. even though i grew up in california, my favorite sport is hockey
4. i have my dad to thank for that - he and my moms first date was to a Detroit Red Wings game
5. i spent many nights with my family in the cheap seats of Calif Golden Seals games.
6. i'm a Sharks fan now, although i still have a soft spot for the Blackhawks (mainly because it riles my dad up if i root for them)
7. i've never really liked football.
8. but baseball's a completely different story - go A's / go Giant's!
9. as you can see, sports are kinda important to me...
10. as much as i love sports, i can't remember stats to save my life.
11. when someone asks me a players stats i always defer to my wife - erin has an uncanny knowledge for stuff like that.
12. i tell people i married her for this knowledge.
13. she tells people she married me for the short, easy to spell last name.
14. that and because i like to cook.
15. i met erin on her 22nd birthday. that night she and her girlfriend, who was a friend of mine, had decided to drink and swear off men forever. we hit it off right away and she quickly changed her mind about the whole 'swearing off guys thing'. that was over 20 years ago.
16. we'll celebrate our 17th wedding anniversary this october 4th.
17. she's still my best friend, my soul mate. even though we both drive each other crazy from time to time.
18. no kids - neither of us have had any real desire to be parents. besides, if we had kids our cats would get jealous.
19. i have a degree from CSU Chico in Broadcast Communications. i have an FCC license.
20. i've been a radio DJ. for a while i was the production director of an NPR station.
21. up until my last semester in college i planned on working in radio. i changed my mind when i realized how lousy the pay and hours were.
22. after college, i fell into a job with a big insurance company. while i've since changed companies, i still work in the industry.
23. my first company trained me to be an insurance underwriter. i did that for years but recently completely changed careers.
24. i now build and maintain web sites for another insurance company. i love it!
25. i play piano, trombone, baritone, guitar and bass -- at least i did at one point.
26. the first band i was in my buddy Bill and i formed while in sixth grade. being the geek that i am, i built our amps and guitar pickups out of radio parts from my granddad.
27. my granddad had his own tv and radio repair business in Oakland, CA. he died in 1977. he was the nicest, coolest guy you could ever ask for, i still miss him.
28. i was in a band in college that eventually got signed, toured, fought and broke up -- typical band stuff. the retrospect CD was released this year. go buy it.
29. i can't sing worth a crap. erin says neither can she or any of her family, so i fit right in.
30. i have two pierces.
31. no tattoos though. i've accompanied friends while they've had ink done, but have still never found anything i've wanted on me.
32. i'm a packrat. one look at my garage will tell you that.
33. the first album i bought was Johnny Cash Live At San Quentin. i still have it (see #32)
34. the first concert i saw was the Guess Who. i was 13 years old and thought we were going to see The Who.
35. i once took a train to L.A. to see Pink Floyd perform The Wall. i inhaled all weekend.
36. i still do, when given the chance.
37. i quit cigarettes shortly after college, started up again briefly in '99, then quit again altogether.
38. there is nothing in this world more tempting to me than a Marlboro (Red or Light) after i've had a few Jack & Coke's. yes, even more tempting than that. i know what you're thinking...
39. i've been to Graceland.
40. i've softly sung Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis's grave.
41. erin and i renewed our vows in vegas with an Elvis impersonator.
42. believe it or not, i don't really like his music. it's more a cultural icon kind of thing.
43. i've been to new orleans. i've partied on bourbon street. i won't drink Red Bull with ANY alcohol anymore because of it.
44. same thing with Michelob beer. funny how some things become imbedded in your subconscious.
45. after years of heavy coffee abuse, my stomach rebelled. i can no longer drink it.
46. i drink Red Bull by itself though.
47. when i was a kid, i was allergic to wheat and anything with wheat in it. i was the geeky kid with the homemade bread and cookies, made from rice and corn flour.
48. i outgrew the allergy in my teens but lately have wondered if it's creeping back.
49. my body has trouble handling unfiltered draft beer now. beer has wheat in it... hmm...
50. i had thick, curly hair past my shoulders when in high school. (yeah, it was the 70's...)
51. a lot of it fell out in the late 80's. i like to think it was the shock of joining the work force that did it.
52. i still have more hair than my dad did at the same age.
53. i'm the proud poppa to six beautiful kitties. if you've read my blog regularly you probably already know that.
54. i love to read. i just can never seem to find the time to do it.
55. but when i find a story that catches my attention i'll put everything aside and devour it in one or two sittings.
56. my first car was a 1965 Chevy Impala wagon. that was a baaad ass car -- even for a wagon.
57. that car started a love affair with motor vehicles. currently, erin and i have two cars, a truck, a van and two scooters.
58. in the spring of last year i dumped my scooter, to avoid being hit by a car. took a while but i recovered.
59. two months later i stopped riding all together after Rick was killed in a single vehicle accident during a sunday morning ride. i still miss him.
60. i have two scooters for sale right now, if anyone's interested. (150cc Honda Elite & 50cc Yamaha Vino)
61. i've never eaten a bug on a dare. i wouldn't survive a minute on Fear Factor.
62. i did once let a friends six-foot long boa constrictor wrap himself around my head. what the hell was i thinking? :)
63. i am an Eagle Scout.
64. i don't talk about it much because when i got older i became disillusioned with where the Boy Scouts stand on a lot of issues.
65. my nephew just earned his Eagle this summer ('03). i'm really proud of him because i know what he had to endure to make it! but i'm not sure i can bring myself to wear the uniform to his court of honor.
66. i've watched This Is Spinal Tap more times than i can count. (see #40, if you didn't catch the reference)
67. i'll watch Shrek when i need to be cheered up.
68. i prefer comedy's to scary movies. could you tell?
69. other than sports and news, i don't watch that much television. well there's also Amazing Race...
70. i believed long after my friends did that Big Time Wrestling was real.
71. i wanted to be Chief Peter Mavia because he knew how to do the sleeper hold.
72. Leno over Letterman
73. roll over the top
74. paper, not plastic
75. i was once asked for ID by a mexican border customs officer. i gave him a fake FBI ID card. the card was a joke card with my fifth-grade picture on it. and yes, i had been drinking -- a lot.
76. i've never since given a fake FBI ID card to anyone when asked for ID.
77. i also learned that border guards don't find stuff like that funny.
78. the only other country i've been to is canada. their border guards were a lot nicer than mexico's.
79. i still don't have a passport. updated 9/30/03
80. i love to go and see new places. i have no idea why i don't travel more.
81. if i lost my job tomorrow i would seriously consider cooking in a restaurant again. or bartending.
82. during high school and college i was a dinner cook, a short-order cook and a sunday brunch cook. i loved it.
83. when friends spend the night, in the morning i still get requests for my omelets.
84. i'm also told i make a mean Cosmopolitan.
85. our house has a six-foot long bar, complete with sink and mirrored back walls. when we were house shopping, it was one of the major selling points for me.
86. i'd like to install a tap and keg fridge in it.
87. i collect 50's & 60's vintage register mount advertising bar lights. i have more than 20 now, that are all packed on the upper shelves behind this bar. i should post pictures... maybe later after i've finished this list...
88. i carry a camera with me all the time. i'm exclusively digital now, but that's mainly because of the size and convenience.
89. if i could find a light-weight, inexpensive, medium format camera that could take both film and digital, i'd do it. (yes, i know Hasselblad does this, but i did say inexpensive...)
90. i think, feel and quite often act like i'm still 22. well, lately my back doesn't, but the rest of me does.
91. as i've gotten older, David Byrne's words to Once In A Lifetime have begun to take on more and more meaning. same as it ever was, same as it ever was...
92. right out of college, erin and i were in a big hurry to be grown-ups. if i could re-live any part of my life it would be those five to ten years out of college, i'd work less and be in less of a hurry. who was it that said youth is wasted on the young?
93. i try to cultivate new friends whenever i can. you can never have too many but you can have too few.
94. the number 94 has always had special meaning to me. this time it means i'm 6 away from finishing this list!
95. i feel like i'm pretty lucky. not lotto winning lucky, but in the way my life has unfolded lucky.
96. i'm an optimist.
97. i'm generally a pretty happy person.
98. Jules once called me content. i think that sums me up pretty well.
99. i've been told that i snore and that i'm stubborn - i refuse to believe either.
100. i'm also damn sexy. hey - it's my list...! :)
it was a lot harder to think of 100 things about myself than i thought it would be!
Posted by P at August 20, 2003 01:10 AM
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Comments
Great list, PeteBeck! Nice to get to know you better.
Posted by: Buzz at August 20, 2003 05:38 AM
dude i tried to read it i got to about 40 and had to stop sorry. before i fell asleep at work hahahahahahahahaha.
Posted by: s at August 20, 2003 05:35 PM
Awesome list Pete! It's a priveledge to know you and be your friend.
Posted by: Gerry at August 22, 2003 01:50 PM
Great list! Very nice to meet another person who has "furry" kids. I live not too far from where you went to college. Small world, hm?
Posted by: etherian at August 22, 2003 10:17 PM
~thnx for the education and the information...I have a greater understanding now about the person behind the verbiage/images~
Posted by: btezra at August 23, 2003 01:56 PM
Incredible list! Reinforces my thought that it would be cool to meet you over the social equivalent to coffee next time I'm in the Bay Area.
Posted by: Jenn at August 24, 2003 06:32 AM
Hey Pete, I was surprised how many of these things I actually knew about you (especially #100!) and learned a few more!
Posted by: Michelle S. at August 24, 2003 12:05 PM
how do you get the "post comments" section onto this. I would REALLY appreciate if you could help me with this!
Posted by: cedar at February 13, 2004 11:45 AM