About Tim

Introduction

Intro

When I first began my previous blog, having a “100 Things About Me” list was standard practice for blogs. So, I went to work on one. This was actually very hard for me to do, took several days to complete, and has been revised and updated several times. [My life has changed a lot over the years!] Since I don’t really think about this kind of thing on a conscious level, perhaps forcing myself to write this list was a good thing.

As I start my new blog, iDigress.XYZ, I have removed the “heavier” items from the list, leaving mostly just the things that sort of float about at their leisure. So, the “100 Things About Me” list is now only “50 Things About Me – Lite.” People are busy. Life is short.

Things

50 Things About Me – Lite

1. My name is Tim, and I am a chocolate addict. I am not in recovery.
2. Perhaps I’m best described as a conservative liberal. 🙂 ¹
3. I’m an Apple fanatic. Long term therapy would be far less expensive.
4. In my youth I actually enjoyed honestly and open-mindedly considering dissenting opinions. I have a profound appreciation for critical thought and the deeper understanding that can be born of clashing ideas. But now, with the nation in quite the mood, I rather find the sheer number of weird ideas being punched in people’s faces a bit tiring. Turn down the volume already!
5. I can entertain very weird ideas: bacteria and viruses are really alien life forms attempting to dominate the genetic pool of the human race. [Now, I’m not a Q-Anon person. I don’t really believe this, but I don’t hesitate to allow my mind the freedom to think, “What if…”.]
6. Creativity has always been an essential part of my being.
7. Helping others create beauty and introducing people to the beauty that is around them brings me great joy.
8. My favorite quotation, and I have no idea who said it, is: “You don’t know what you like; you only like what you know.”
9. I have often been told that I am a great listener. I try to listen through the eyes of others.
10. I named my first car, a 1966 Ford Falcon with over 100,000 miles on it when I got it, “Or” because the “F” and the “D” had fallen off.
11. I went to college a lot, as in four degrees, and I loved it! I miss academia.
12. I love using those little dental sticks to clean my teeth. I hate flossing!
13. I find unbelievable the fact that over my lifetime I have lived in twenty-seven places. You can see the list at this link.
14. I was married for 7 years, then was single for 17 years, and then remarried for happily ever after.
15. In no particular order, these are my favorite smells on planet Earth:
    • Starbucks!
    • Honeysuckle Vine Flowers
    • Magnolia Tree Flowers
    • Mimosa Tree Flowers
    • Sitka Spruce Trees
16. I hate cigarette smoke.
17. I will not be around a person who is under the influence of alcohol.
18. When I was single, I literally did not keep food in my “figitator” at home as I ate out every meal and could count on one hand the number of times anyone ever cooked at home.
19. UPDATE: OK, now there’s “stuff” in the “figitator.” However, we still ate out for just about all of our meals until the 2021 pandemic. And today this situation is even worse: We have 4 refrigerators and/or freezers! How have I come to this?!
20. The huge, enormously significant difference between ideas and beliefs is seldom explored. Too many people confuse the two without much, if any, thought.
21. I call my sister the sistoid unit. She likes that. It was my own invention.
22. My father said from time to time that he could easily be a hermit. Genetics fascinate me. I value solitude—but not to the extent my father did. Silence speaks, and I often like what it says.
23. Fall is my favorite season: the angle of the sunlight, the gorgeous leaves as they change colors and gently drift, float, and crunch underfoot, and the crisp smells wrapped in invigorating coolness.
24. I actually saw a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow in the early 1980’s – for real! It happened in Durham, NC. The rainbow came down at its end on a bank building in downtown, washing the entire exterior of the building in rainbow colors. I almost ran off the road gawking incredulously!
25. The Gulf of Mexico at Florida’s panhandle gives me a profound sense of strength and peace, bringing the world back into focus and balance every time I visit it. Additionally, the Pacific Ocean does the same for me.
26. Listening to J. S. Bach, especially his fugues, also has the same effect on me as taking in the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean.
27. The San Francisco Symphony rocks my world!! Season tickets, baby, season tickets!
28. I am published but not nearly enough. Perhaps one day I will set aside the time to remedy this. Mmm, nah.
29. My piano playing is now only for my own personal enjoyment and self-expression. The baby grand on which I practiced as a child is now sitting here in our home!
30. One of my favorite things my family did in my childhood was go camping during all 4 seasons. I loved it!
31. I am told I laugh easily and frequently. I don’t notice it really. Laughing is like oxygen. We all need it to live.
32. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day – the smells alone are nutrition.
33. I love vegetables, even the ones most people often hate: spinach, turnips, cabbage, broccoli, to name a few.
34. I am really rather shy and quiet by nature (Remember my dad always said he could be a hermit. I got at least 2 of those genes.) which is sometimes confused with snobbish or conceited by people who do not take the time to really get to know me.
35. Admittedly, I am very difficult to get to know. One of my friends would probably say that I vibrate at a different level. I love her expression. When she uses it to describe someone, she gestures with her hand vibrating up over her head, as she ducks out of the way of the vibration. She will use two hands if the intensity of the vibrating so warrants. She is very cool. (I wonder if she would use one or two hands when describing me.)
36. One of my favorite secretaries frequently reminded my that I need a keeper. Goodness gracious, she was, is, and always will be right!
37. Among my favorite restaurants are those little mom and pop shops that have been in the family for years. Sadly, almost all of my favorite ones closed their doors even before the pandemic.
38. I love pets but didn’t have any for many years. Then we adopted Conrad the Kat, our very favorite beast ever! He lived to be 17 years old. We still miss him all of these years later.
39. My brain takes me where I go, but my heart will decide how long I stay.
40. I live with a sense of deep abundance and, though rarely expressed aloud, pervasive gratitude. I will probably never tell anyone why.
41. Once upon a time, I drove waaaay too fast and was always in a hurry. When I moved to California, I started driving much slower—rarely exceeding the speed limit. I attribute this to the fresh air and the open, expansive energy of the ocean!
42. Pez is cool. I know a real person who goes by “Pez.” She’s cool too.
43. My favorite men’s fragrance is Boucheron, which is made in France. I bought a bottle once when I was in Paris. It was stolen by airport security in Madrid even though it fully complied with TSA regulations.
44. The biggest reason I like electric vehicles is how responsive they are compared to gasoline powered engines. They have not even the least hesitation between the driver using the accelerator and their moving. It’s all about that on-demand, instant torque!
45. When I was a teacher, my students would bring me little plastic creatures like the Raisin People, The Noid, the type of toys you would get in a happy meal. When I quit teaching, every flat surface in my classroom was covered with them. I stopped counting at 600 as it appeared I wasn’t even halfway.
46. I love keeping a daily journal. I wish I had begun this practice as a child.
47. I do not like for people to give me gifts, celebrate my birthdays, or in any way bring attention to me. I actually hate this!
48. I love traveling the world. I hate getting there, but love being there – wherever “there” is. The world is a big, beautiful place, and I’ve just had a tiny glimpse!
49. I bought a special watch for Y2K. It would tell time even if all of the electrical devices and computers went haywire at the turn of the century. It is a sun dial on a watch band. I love it and still wear it periodically! Which reminds me: it’s been a while!
50. My mantra: Just be nice!

Places

Places I’ve Lived

Currently in the Pacific Northwest on the coast, where I hope to stay, I have lived in the following 27 places (27! It’s unbelievable!):

States

US States I’ve Visited

The states listed in (parenthesis) and italicized are states I have not yet visited.

Countries

Countries I’ve Visited

These are some of the countries, islands, and territories to which I’ve traveled for vacation and/or work:

1. The pervading opinion seems to be that I’m a liberal liberal. Am I missing something?! 😉 Okay, okay – I’m admitting it to myself now, some 10 years later: I grow more liberal with every breath I take! It’s my visceral reaction to the pervading radicalized conservatism, the greed, and the predatory capitalism that has, in my opinion, completely gutted the soul of our nation. ↩