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Monday, September 19, 2011

Ten Random Things About...Me

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. Last week we had a bit of fun with a flash fiction piece. This week we have yet another challenge. I was“tagged” by one of my newest buddies along the world wide web, Diana Murdock. She asked me to list 10 random things about myself. Hopefully you will find them amusing you. They are in no particular order.

1) I have massive Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Okay, massive is probably too strong of a word. I’m most definitely not Mr. Monk here, although that was a great show. My partner at work might disagree. She loves moving my papers around and a doing a host of other irritating things, all in the name of attempting to get me to “get over it”.

2) I’m a frustrated guitar player. I fell in love with rock and roll back in the heavy metal days of the very early eighties, just as the Hair Bands were beginning to take off. Unfortunately, I was already too old. By then, I was working after school and just never had the time to make the instrument part of me. I walk around with a couple of guitar picks in my wallet, just in case. I believe I’m missing a few strings from when my oldest son used to play it and I have yet to restring it. The following photo is quite similar.

3) Having just told you that I was a hard rock guy, I really shouldn’t confess some of the music that sits on the virtual shelf of my iPod. My first show was Kiss in ’85. I saw Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, Scorpions, AC/DC, Poison, Ratt, Van Halen, Sammy Hagar to name a few; however, I also listen to Air Supply, Bee Gees and Neil Diamond. *hangs head in shame* Okay, I love them – don’t judge! ;)
Here's a photo taken of me with Van Halen back during the Balance Tour. I'm in the dark shirt at the bottom middle.


4) The trend of me being weaker than previously thought continues as I confess that although I grew up with Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, John Carpenter movies and profess to write horror that I’m most comfortable watching romantic comedies. My wife doesn’t even have to be in the room for me to do so. I can watch them over and over again, and frequently do.


5) My politics lean toward the right, yet one of my favorite television shows was the left-leaning, The West Wing. I remember watching the first episode since Martin Sheen and Rob Lowe were starring in it. When it was over I had to resist the urge to awaken my wife and inform her that the new show had some of the best writing ever. Of course, it didn’t hurt that it was an Aaron Sorkin creation. That guy is brilliant!


6) As many of us did back in the day, I once sported very long hair. I either looked like the late Ronnie James Dio (Black Sabbath, Rainbow and solo artist) or that I was wearing Darth Vader’s helmet.


7) I can sing, although I never had much training. If I weren’t so busy I would probably join our church choir. I did sing in my old church, but that was well before I realized I could string a few words together and people might like to pay their hard-earned money for them. ;) I can do some low range, but I am more comfortable in the higher ranges. Think: Journey alum, Steve Perry.

8) I like Crown and Cokes during the winter months, but I can drink Long Island Ice Tea’s year-round.

9) Many of you know already, but I am an Administrative Supervisor for Sun-Maid Raisin Growers of California. The lady on the red box– that’s us. The job has me up at 3 am, in the office by 4 am and keeps me there for 11 hours a day during the week.


10) Many of you know this already, but for those who are new to these pages, it took me twenty years to write my first novel. I love telling people this because it makes their eyes light up. No, I started writing when I was in school, but later set it aside as my wife and I started our family, etc.


We'll talk soon.

14 comments:

  1. OMG, Jimmy, those are amazing facts! Whoda thunk? You are deep and wide, my friend. A surprise in every sense of the word! Thanks for sharing all of that!

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  2. Great stuff! Ok, going to list a few...I saw Ozzy, Def Leppard, Tesla, White Snake, Styx, Rush, and yes *whispers* Air Supply. He he, we are sooo the same era, buddy!

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  3. Okay, now you have me visualizing Steve Perry, and he's got a great voice. And I grew up a Beatles fan, but listen to classical nearly always.

    Good stuff Jimmy, very interesting.

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  4. I loved the West Wing too! And it's a good thing your second novel hasn't taken twenty years to write. I want to know what's going to happen!

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  5. You're OCD? I never would've guessed it.

    How can you be a frustrated rocker and OCD at the same time? Or does one feed the other? :)

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  6. *laughs* Thanks for the comments, my friends. Revealing these to you and reading your reactions has been pretty fun...

    Diana - This post is thanks to you. Thanks for giving me something to post about.

    Michele - You saw some good ones! These days it has been more Matchbox Twenty, John Mayer, Maroon 5 and Train, although my son and I did see AC/DC a couple of years ago. Great show!

    Lorelei - I love classical music if it is powerful stuff, and definitely need it for writing.

    Marissa - I was a little worried when I went to write the 2nd book. Thankfully, the first two drafts only took 8 months.

    Maria - Hmm? Good question. I'll get back to you on that...

    -Jimmy

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  7. JIMMY, I enjoyed learning a bit mo' 'bout you.

    Let's see... my first Rock concert was the mostly unknown STYX (my favorite band then) opening for Journey at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in 1975. Next concert was 1976, same venue, with Styx now the headliner and the mostly unknown Mink DeVille opening for them.

    Who-da thunk it? But now I absolutely can't stand Styx (or the majority of the Rock music I grew up listening to). I saw Journey play live probably 4 times, but I was ALWAYS going to see THE OTHER band on the bill.

    (Favorite album cover ever: "Nils Lofgren" by Nils Lofgren. Which I happen to be listening to as I type this.)

    I have a bit of OCD myself. One way in which I've been trying to fight against it is that when I later find typos in my blog posts, I sometimes resist the urge to go back and correct them. I am a notorious perfectionist - which is a result of my OCD - and so it's sometimes very difficult for me to refrain from editing out my typos and small errors.

    Anyway, good reading, Bro!

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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  8. I love Sun-Maid Raisins!!! I was probably one of the few (or only, haha) kids who didn't mind getting them on Halloween. Of course I preferred chocolate candy bars, and the raisins didn't get eaten until they were the only things left, but still I love 'em! Especially with peanut butter on celery. Such a yummy snack!

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  9. You an my hubs could share an ipod. ;-) Love the guitar in the photo - my 9-y-o son recently started guitar lessons. He wants to be a rock star, lol.

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  10. There's no shame in Air Supply. Don't fight the feeling any longer!

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  11. I love these posts where we learn a little bit more about the guy behind the book. :) Rock on, James!

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  12. No, not Air Supply! You need to turn in those guitar picks.
    Really though, you should pick up your guitar and start playing again. I'm not very good, but thirty minutes of playing every night does wonders for me.

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  13. Thought I was already following this blog, but maybe it was Facebook. Or Twitter. Or some other random form of media. Glad I figured it out and am now following.

    So many things to say. Sounds like we are similar in many ways. My first show was Duran Duran, but as a kid, friends and I would pull out the KISS makeup kit even when it wasn't Halloween. And I've seen Neil Diamond twice.

    Love posts like this to get to know better some of the people we normally just scratch the surface of around the other bits of social media.

    Paul D. Dail
    www.pauldail.com- A horror writer's not necessarily horrific blog

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Thanks for stopping by. I really appreciate you taking the time. I'll get back to you here or on one of the other social networks. It's not like we're not on all of them, right? ;) Also, if you're here to give me an award - bless you. However, your friendship and visits are more than enough. Thanks and blessings.