This was originally written on 1/24/09 via Facebook:

Rules: Once you’ve been tagged, you are suppose to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged …

1. This will be the second time that I wrote this tonight because my computer crashed and I lost the previous version of this. That really pisses me off because the 1st draft of this was pretty good!

2. I have wanted to be the President of the United States since I was 6 years old. I remember that I made that decision while watching the CBS Nightly News with Walter Cronkite with my Grandpa. There was a story about the Carter/Reagan election and the next day I made nametags for Grandpa, Grandma, and me. Grandpa was going to be my Vice President and I was going to make Grandma the Secretary of something.

3. I tend to be fiscally conservative. I think this is because of the summer of ’90. That summer, I wanted to buy a stereo for my room and got a job that would pay a certain amount of money each week that I could save until I had enough to buy the stereo. When I got the first paycheck and discovered that some guy named “FICA” took a good chunk of my money … I got mad and it’s stuck with me ever since.

4. Despite being conservative in nature, I tend to be moderate in my approach to public policy development. I believe that it makes more sense to get some of what you want rather than to die on the sword for dying on the swords sake.

5. I think that Battlestar Galactica – The reimagined series is one of the best TV shows out there. Stargate: Atlantis is a close second.

6. I’m a Trekkie and believe both that “The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few, or the one” and that “The needs of the one, outweigh the needs of the few, or the many.” And just to be clear, I’m not talking about Neo from the Matrix in either one of those statements.

7. I’m a big Star Wars fan and even enjoyed the existence of Jar Jar Binks despite what popular opinion says.

8. Despite clearly being a Sci-fi fan, I think the following Sci-Fi shows/reimaginations shouldn’t have been made: Bionic Woman, Knight Rider (the new one), Star Trek: Enterprise, and the new Transformers movie.

9. I really enjoyed the following TV shows that are no longer with us or are on their way out: LA Law, ER, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The West Wing, Airwolf,McGyver, Doogie Howser, and The Wonder Years.

10. I have learned a life lesson or really connected with the following TV Characters: Josiah Bartlet, Josh Lyman, Sam Seaborn, CJ Cregg, Leo McKenzie, Michael Cuszak, Victor Suflentes, Alex Keaton, Uncle Junior, Dr. Mark Greene, Meadow Soprano, Vanessa Huxtable, Denise Huxtable, Doogie Howser, Commander Wil Riker, Jack Bauer, and Admiral Bill Adama.

11. Ok, ’nuff TV. My grandparents instilled in my a strong appreciation to learn, speak properly, and be professional. I think this has led to many successes in my professional life, but has led to some tension personally. While it’s kind of funny at first to be mistaken for “some white dude” when on the phone, it does hurt sometimes when “my people” think of me as an “Uncle Tom” because of it. I don’t think that being true to oneself is being an “Uncle Tom”.

12. I have had my heart broken five times for purposes of “love” in my life and I remember each of those people vividly. I don’t hold that against them, however because my mindset trends towards the idea that “Any hurt or pain that I feel is because of my own weakness rather than someone elses actions/strengths.” It’s all on me.

13. I think a great thing about Facebook is that it allows me to catch up with old acquaintances from college/high school/junior high/elementary school. Who knew that I know so many people. It also helps me realize that there’s been so much time that has been lost (mainly because of me) in which I’ve not been connected to these folks.

14. I think a bad thing about Facebook is that it reminds me that despite knowing a lot of a people, I don’t really have a lot of “friends”. I just know a lot of people. But at least I know a lot of people.

15. I really enjoy and am good at officiating sports. I started refereeing basketball last year and am entering my third year of Little League Umpiring. I find it ironic that I’m better at officiating than I was playing sports.

16. I work for the Michigan Municipal League (association of all Michigan cities/villages), but live in Kalamazoo TOWNSHIP … go figure! I think that has something to do with point #3.

17. I took piano lessons for 8 years. I taught myself how to play the acoustic guitar a few years ago, and on occasion will pick up a recorder/flute. I really enjoy music, which could explain why I have close to 20 gig in music (and still haven’t ripped all of my CD’s yet).

18. I am formerly of the singing group “Sing Out Kalamazoo”. No autographs please! 😉

19 . When not dreaming of the White House, I’d like to be a part of a band someday … but don’t think I’m going to wear leather pants when in that band.

20. My son Alex turns 14 this year and I’m very proud of him. Hopefully I have done right by him (although I know that has not always been the case).

21. I listen to most anything musically. I really enjoy smooth jazz (in particular the music of Bob James). I blame my mother for this as she forced me to listen to “Angela (Theme from Taxi)” when I was 8 … and it stuck.

22. I have met Bob James in person and even asked him for his autograph when I was 10 (in Greektown in Detroit).

23. There are days that I really miss my Grandpa, my Grandma, my Great Aunt Harriet, and my Uncle Bobo. I hope that I’ll see them when I cross to the otherside.

24. I reluctantly accepted an appointment as the Michigan Jaycee Chaplain for this year. I think I’m starting to like the role because I get to write a lot of inspirational commentary/invocations/spe

eches.

25. There was a time in high school when I thought a lot about becoming a priest. Perhaps that’s why I’m getting into this Chaplain thing.

26. I have fond memories of a summer vacation that my Great Aunt Harriet took me on. It was the Summer of ’87 and I spent it with her at her home in Pasadena. She also took me and my cousins on a Caribbean cruise that year and we spent a month at the “Campus by the Sea” on Catalina Island. I’d like to go back sometime.

27. I’ll end this with one of my favorite quotes, from the movie “The American President”:
America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You’ve gotta want it bad, cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say ‘You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, and who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.’ You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.

And I really believe this and hope that other folks do so as well. During this last election, a lot of people were screaming at a lot of other people and I hope at the end of the day we remember that is what makes our country great. We can have deep passions for a subject and other folks can have deep passions for the opposite. If we’re truly Americans … then we must accept that and know that is what makes this country the greatest place on earth.

28. Oh … and I’ll leave you with another favorite quote (you West Wing fans will appreciate it): “What’s Next?