Dec 26 2008
Seven Things
I have been tagged by Richard Byrne - http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2008/12/seven-things.html – for a meme that’s been going around. I am tasked with listing seven things about myself that people may not be likely to know that, at the same time, would help my PLN to know me better. Here you are:
1. I tried four times to write novels. I was able to get up to 173 pages of the first draft on one of them.
2. I started college as a biology major.
3. I was a widower when Jan and were married.
4. I am the oldest of nine children: six boys and three girls. I am 18 years older than my youngest sib and 17 years younger than my mom.
5. I have been in one labor union or another for thirty years.
6. My favorite color is green. (I am relieved not to start one of these with ‘I’.)
7. I was a semi-pro first baseman for a while.
I’m tagging:
@amycordova
@jjohnson
@kmulford
@kcaise
@kobus
@skytrystsjoy
@beil
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Seven things about me that people may not be likely to know that, at the same time, would help my PLN to know me better:
1. I’ve lived in 4 states: Minnesota (24+ years), Missouri (5), Florida (3), Wisconsin (22+). Despite not having lived in MN since 1978, I remain a Twins, Gophers and Vikings fan at heart. Living in the heart of Badger/Packer/Brewer land, this is challenging at times. We go to 10-20 ballgames each year.
2. My oldest son and I share a passion for all things baseball – he’s so knowledgeable about baseball and the players that I truly think he’d be a good General Manager for a MLB team. He’s even authored some articles in national baseball publication. We both compete in a Strat-O-Matic baseball league with 18 other baseball fans (SOM is a statistically-accurate simulation game that has been around since the 1960s).
3. When I was 18, my best friend from HS and I hitchhiked from MN to CA during Xmas break (with less than $100 between us), only to find that the guy we’d come 2000+ miles to visit has flown home to MN. We made the best of it and made it home safely. It took us 2 weeks to make the round trip and we ran out of $$ long before getting home. The kindness of strangers got us through it. I kept a record of all of our rides along the way and still have those 37 year old scraps of paper stashed away, somewhere… It was a classic case of the journey being the memorable part, not the destination. I’ve been a traveler ever since.
4. I had no idea what I wanted to do for a “career” until I had a conversation with a new friend at a softball game (in which our wives were playing) where I listened to him tell me about how and why he got into teaching. I was 29. The idea of being a teacher was new and so appealing to me that I got my certification, did my student teaching a year later and have been involved in education now for 26 years.
5. I got my first dog as a Christmas present (with my brother) when I was 11 and have had one or more dogs as family members almost continuously since then. We have two dogs now – that seems to be the ideal number for us.
6. The first live rock show I saw was The Doors, in 1968. Other concert highlights include The Who, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Band, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Bob Marley, Bob Seger and many more. The best concert I’ve attended recently was Rilo Kiley – Jenny Lewis is an amazing talent.
7. I’ve been to NYC just once – I can’t wait to go back – and managed to get in the front row for a Letterman show at the Ed Sullivan Theater. We thought that was special until we learned that people in the aisle seats are the ones that get all the attention. We just weren’t cute enough! (LOL)
[...] By cafechat Skip Zalneratis tagged me for a meme that’s going [...]
Hi Skip,
At my blog, I’ve replied to your tag request for seven things: http://cafechat.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/seven-things…
Simon
[...] Things about Me” Meme Posted on December 28, 2008 by kcaise Recently, Skip Z tagged me on his blog and plurk to participate in the “Seven Things about Me” meme [...]
[...] Skip Z tagged me on his blog and plurk to participate in the “Seven Things about Me” meme sweeping the [...]
I enjoyed learning more about you Skip. We have novel writing in common. I’ve written a novel but find my own editing too tough. One day I will look at it again…
We have starting our college careers as Biology majors in common Skip! Thanks for sharing.
Skip, like Jeff, I love baseball, have been to NYC only once, this past spring with my wife, and can’t wait to return, fell into teaching by accident, and hitchhiked a lot as a kid. I have been able to write a novel, and it is due to be published sometime in the next few months. I am posting the first chapter on my blog, http://www.tomsboomertimes.blogspot.com.
Take care.
Tom