75 Newish Facts 2004-01-13

Well, I noticed that very nearly one year ago exactly, I typed up my 75 Facts entry. A lot has happened since then, and a few things have happened which make some of those facts no longer relevant. For instance, I no longer have a girlfriend. Seeing how I�ve posted this as part of my profile, I�ve been thinking it needs to be a little more current.

1) I�m a published poet.

2) I�ve been one of The International Library of Poetry�s Poets of the Year the past two years running. I�m not quite sure how, or why.

3) I�ve been to seven foreign countries in my life (so far). Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Germany, Canada, Mexico, and Texas.

4) When I was three, I lived in Arizona for a brief amount of time. Like a year. This is the only time I�ve ever lived outside of California.

5) When I lived in Arizona, I had an imaginary friend named Feety. Yup, Feety. When we left Arizona, Feety didn�t come with us, something my mom always wondered about. I never bothered to explain.

6) My middle name is Drace. But, occasionally (especially if there are a lot of Mikes around), I�ll introduce myself as Drace to save people from confusion.

7) There are a few people who still call me Drace. But they all know that it�s really my middle name.

8) The name Drace has been handed down on my father�s side of the family for quite a few generations. I�m not sure why, but I expect that if I ever have kids, I�ll be passing the name along as well.

9) To date, the drugs I have tried are Marijuana, Ecstacy, and alcohol. And caffeine, if you want to split hairs.

10) I still take alcohol. Orally, of course. (Ditto for caffeine)

11) This is my favorite number.

12) I think that everyone should try marijuana at least once. Wait until you're in college, and then watch Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. If you are no longer in college and you haven't tried pot, don't bother. It will be a waste of time.

13) Ecstacy is such a good time that I don't think anyone should ever do it under any circumstances. Seriously.

14) I really am an ordained minister, however, I don't go to church, don't read the Bible unless it's for recreational purposes, and generally think organized religion is a bad idea on the whole.

15) If I had to pick a religion to identify with, however, I�d pick deism.

16) Because of how I feel about religion and such, my mom has this fear that I�m going to hell. She never talks about it, though.

17) I tend to change my appearance about once a month. Currently, I have golden-red hair and a close-trimmed goatee.

18) Having red hair, even with my blue eyes, does not make me look Irish.

19) This is because I'm not very Irish. I am however a bit Scottish. This too, has no bearing as to who I am as a person.

20) My favorite author is Orson Scott Card (I'm telling you: Go fucking read Ender's Game)

21) I don't think Orson Scott Card would have appreciated the use of profanity in conjunction with his book.

22) I don't believe in censoring how I talk. Censoring profanity is merely another attempt by an outdated generation to control the minds of the people who are going to take their jobs.

23) I love movies. I can find something enjoyable to take from nearly every film I've seen, with the exception of Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever. That was a total piece of shit.

24) Currently, my favorite film is The Lord of the Rings.

25) I have an older brother, Aaron, who I have mentioned several times in various entries. I have a younger sister, Aundrea, who I haven't.

26) Yes, I am the middle child. And yes, I do believe the middle child has the hardest time of it.

27) For quite some time, a lot of people at my school thought that there were only two Fountain kids. They were quite surprised and confused when they found out I existed.

28) So was I.

29) I am what you might call a �smoker�. I love cigarettes, and have not yet found a reason to quit.

30) My favorite brand is Kamel Reds. They taste the best.

31) Some of my favorite arguments have been with people who ask me if I know that smoking is bad for me.

32)I don't remember the last time I've been to the dentist. I do know that it's been nearly 10 years.

33) This is because I really fucking hate the dentist.

34) That being said, I don't have any cavities, and my teeth are pretty straight.

35) Despite smoking, and coffee, which I drinks lots of.

36) I have two tattoos, both of which I designed myself.

37) To date, I believe I have designed more than six tattoos for people.

38) My favorite alcoholic beverage is a white russian. I've thought so even before I saw The Big Lebowski.

39) I used to be highly terrified of the dark.

40) That might be one of the reasons why I work in the theatre. To prove I've beaten my fear.

41) Now, I�ve spent so much time in the dark that sunlight is physically painful to my eyes.

42) The answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything.

43) Despite my aversion to sunlight, and a pretty sharp pair of incisor teeth, I am not a vampire.

44) If you want to know about vampires, talk to Austin.

45) I have a tendency to be horribly, bluntly, brutally honest to my friends.

46) But not to people I don't know.

47) This is because "A true friend will stab you in the front." --Oscar Wilde.

48) Not counting Shakespeare (since it's a given), Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw are my two most favorite dead playwrites.

49) "You see things as they are and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not." --GB Shaw

50) My two favorite living playwrites are David Mamet and David Ives.

51) I've never been in a fight.

52) I've never broken a bone in my body.

53) I went to speech therapy when I was a kid because I used to have a lisp.

54) Even so, I still talk out of the side of my mouth sometimes, and I have a tendency to mumble.

55) I believe in God.

56) I don't believe that God is what everyone makes him out to be, however. Still, I do think he created the world. And I do think I cares about his creation.

57) I believe in the free will of human beings. I also believe in destiny.

58) This isn't as contradictory as it sounds.

59) I love debating philosophical topics.

60) I am a Virgo, and descriptively, match up quite a bit with the "typical" Virgo personality. I don't believe in any of it, though.

61) I love coming up with puns. Most people I know don't like this about me.

62) Besides coming up with puns, I also love finding random facts that somehow tie into the conversation at hand. These, too, are generally not appreciated.

63) I never (well, almost never) get angry. This is because there's usually no point in it.

64) My favorite thing to tell other people who are angry is, "Calm down." Invariably, they never do.

65) I also like using confusing words, like "invariably."

66) I got picked on a lot in school. Now, suddenly, a lot of people set some value in my opinion. I call this irony.

67)I don't have any idols. But if I did, they would be someone who died either from drugs or an explosion.

68)I like playing sports, but hate watching them. And generally, I'm not very good at them either.

69) Except soccer.

70) I'm 6'2"

71) I weigh approximately 220 pounds. This fluctuates up and down quite a bit.

72) My birthday is also Mexican Independence Day.

73) My favorite food is the quesadilla, though I'm pretty sure being born on Mexican Independence Day has nothing to do with it.

74) I mark "Other" when ever I'm asked for my race. I'm not Caucasian. I'm Celtic.

75) I love the rain, which doesn't happen nearly enough in Southern California. We don't get much in the way of weather here at all.

Well, some of those facts may look familiar, but that�s only because I re-used them. But that�s not because I�m trying to hide anything. I�m a pretty open guy. If you have a question about me, you could always email it to me.