This is tomorrow's journal entry a day early. There's a bit going around facebook where one makes a list of 25 random, possibly interesting things about them, then puts them into the Notes section and tags 25 friends to find out more about them.

It's a fun little exercise and an interesting way to learn about who you thought you knew.

If you're reading this at www.johnteehan.com or my webjournal site you don't have to tag anyone--but maygbe you'll want to put up a similar post on your own blog page. If you do, let me know.

If you're reading this on facebook, and you're someone I tagged, then make up your own list and tag 25 more people.

Cheers!

25 Things About John...as if you asked...

1. I have no depth perception which makes driving at night tricky, yet I am a crack shot with a rifle. Despite being a crack shot with a rifle, I'm not a big fan of guns.

2. I'm not a good liar which is good. I have less to keep track of.

3. I quit drinking nearly ten years ago for many reasons and they've all paid off. I still miss it, though.

4. I play the Irish tenor banjo, 5-string banjo, mandolin, guitar and bodhran--and am only a passable musician at best, but I have so much fun with it that I'll never give it up.

5. I love to draw but can't draw a straight line to save my life. I tried once seven years ago and nearly killed a guy.

6. I can read enough Japanese to follow a comic book, but I can't read a lick of music.

7. My wife and I met online years before we ever met in real life. When we met in real life it was pretty much inevitable we would be together and married. I didn't know it in the "front" of my head at the time, but she did.

8. I've had a number of interesting jobs over the years. I've been a roadie, a bouncer, an administrative assistant, a personal chef, a camp counselor, graphic designer/layout artist, typesetter, and writing tutor. The last one was one of the best jobs I ever had.

9. I've also had a number of lousy jobs. Fast food cook, dishwasher, copy monkey, and janitor.

10. One of my most prized possessions is a photograph of a blue-yarn actopus named Tammy O'Tulip.

11. At one point in my life I wanted to be a college professor. I am so very glad that didn't work out. I really dodged a bullet. Most folks I know who went on to college academics are miserable.

12. I believe that organized religions have caused more pain and suffering in the world than anything else in history, but I still enjoy gospel music and consider myself somewhat spiritual. When asked, I call myself a 'devout agnostic.'

13. I don't like to drive.

14. After my term at the University of Exeter ended, I spent three weeks busking on street corners. It was my sole source of income for food, shelter, beer, and a bus back to Heathrow. The British people were very generous. The experience was used in my short story "Digger Don't Take No Requests."

15. While I don't really regret having taken LSD in my younger days, I don't really recommend it either. There was a reason why a stopped. An ugly, blood-fueled reason.

16. I was a founding member of the Retro-computing Society of Rhode Island and vice president of the Rhode Island Japan Language and Culture Center.

17. I used to play drums for a garage-punk band originally known as The Widemen, then Lack of Foresight, then finally Gothic Snowtire. I left for academic reasons and replaced by a much better drummer.

18. My friends have had a profound influence on me over the years. Mary kept me independent and self-reliant. Chris got me into comics and movies. Bill got me into music. Jill got me into poetry. Mike convinced me I could write. Judi taught me about survival. Denise convinced me it's okay to be a nice guy. Al taught me how to listen to jazz. Andrew shows me you don't have to be religious to be a good person. Bob encouraged my musical delusions. Ben encouraged my publishing delusions. And there are lots more. It's fun to be me.

19. I'm three degrees of separation from Hitler, but only two degrees from Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

20. As I get older I find it easier to stop caring about useless crap. I also find it easier to not fret about past mistakes. It makes life much easier and pleasant.

21. It's fun to be me. It really is.

22. I love my wife very much. I'm too lucky sometimes, but I ain't complainin'.

23. Once, after a roadie gig, I met Stevie Ray Vaughn and had a drink with him. He was pretty cool.

24. My father, and the memory of him, is my greatest inspiration.

25. I can guarantee you that my wife didn't know at least one of the above items. It's not that we keep secrets--I'm just always full of surprises.