Two memes in a row...

I feel like doing another one, so here it is (I got it from Chili):

Have you ever had an argument with a teacher?
Nothing that one could call a serious argument, no. I have engaged in lively and spirited debate with teachers, but when I did so, it was always with a smile on my face.

Can you count in Roman numerals?
…at least up to the last Super Bowl!

Are you bilingual?
In order of fluency, I speak English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian and German (although I have to say my German saugt entsetzlich!)

Do you know how your car’s engine works?
I can change the oil, plugs, and any of the various hoses, filters, fuses and external parts on it. That said, I hand the oil changes and tune up work to Rich. When you equate time to money, it’s a great savings to have someone qualified and trustworthy to work on your car.

Can you program the time on a VCR?
I can make our VCR do things most people only dream of!

How many email addresses do you have?
My base account is my personal account through Wayfarer House. I also have an account through my school and an account through my university that are both funnelled to the base account. There’s a Google account out there that is part of the forum for starting the Landmark Community School, but it’s not active at present.

Do you own a slinky?
I don’t, but my children have several. There’s one in my classroom, also, that my students sometimes play with.

Do you talk to yourself?
I do it all the time, but particularly when I’m concentrating, wrestling with a project or problem. I also do it when I really push myself to the limit when I exercise.

Do you have a tough time remembering people’s names?
I don’t when I choose to focus on it. I don’t always choose to focus on it because it distracts from other things I’m carrying in my brain at the time. If I’m really going to remember things that come at me in random fashion, I have to prepare for it by clearing my brain beforehand.

Did you go stag to your Senior Prom?
I came that way and went that way. I wouldn’t have been any worse off for staying home, but I was on the planning committee, so I was obligated. It wasn’t a bad evening, but the memories I carry from it are not among my most treasured.

Is any leftover food currently residing in your refrigerator?
All kinds. We just had community dinner, so there’s beef stew in addition to the cod and fusilli from Saturday. Leftovers are good. They make for good lunches at school!

Are you high maintenance?
All people are high maintenance on some things. I have my things, but they are neither abundant nor prominent.

How do you want to be proposed to?
Well, I did the proposing to Wifeness, but I’m sorry to say it wasn’t terribly romantic. Not one of my best moments, really.

Do you work out regularly?
I have done a good job of this since Christmas, and I’m excited to be making good progress toward my two of my goals for this year: A bike trip to Pennsylvania and a triathlon.

Do you care about your appearance?
I do, but I'm not fastidious about certain things so much of late. I let my beard go for a week at a time, I don’t get my hair cut quite as often as I used to and my clothes go longer before they get replaced. It’s not so much a lack of caring as it is a choice to focus on other things for the time being. It will matter more soon, and when it does, I’ll give it the attention it demands.

Do you like to be tan?
I do, but I can’t tolerate the sun as well as I used to. I suppose that’s because I don’t spend as much time outside as I used to. I’d love for that to change.

If you had your choice of anyone in the world to spend a night with, who would it be?
I prefer to spend my nights with my lovely wife. It doesn’t really matter what we do. I just enjoy spending time in her space.

How many keys are on your key ring?
There are seven. Two car keys, two house keys (Wayfarer House and Wifeness’ folks house) and three school keys. There is also a bottle opener, a baby pin and the clip that attaches everything to my belt.

How much money is in your wallet/purse right at this moment?
10,000 Brazilian cruzados. Value in American dollars? 0.00¢ (the cruzado was changed to the real several years ago). I keep it in there in case my wallet is stolen. When this happened several years ago, the perp brought the bill to the bank to see what it was worth, and this led to his arrest.

What is your favorite spice or seasoning?
Black pepper undoubtedly sits at the top. Fresh onion and garlic are close in second place.

What does your name mean?
I have always understood my first name to mean “noble” or “strong”. It’s a celtic name, I think.

Do you give your pets holiday presents?
She gets an extra scoop of food at Christmas. Wifeness gets her toys.

When doing up your jeans, do you button then zip? Or zip then button?
I do the button first. They zip easier that way.

How far would you go on the first date?
I never went beyond first base on an official date. To do otherwise always seemed ungentlemanly.

Do you sleep on your side? Stomach? Back?
If I want to sleep for a short or specific amount of time (18 minutes, say), I must do so on my back. If I want to sleep for at least a couple of hours, I am most comfortable on my stomach.

Have you attended a high school reunion yet? How was it?
I have no desire to revisit high school by going to a reunion. I’ll go with Wifeness to her 20th next year, though. That should be entertaining!

Are you ticklish? Where?
I am not ticklish anywhere any longer. I’ve worked to not be. When I was a kid, my mother could reduce me to jello by tickling my temples. She still tries whenever she comes to visit.

Would you rather change your past or know your future?
Knowing the future seems the more valuable gift. I don’t have any regrets about how I’ve lived my life to this point, so there’s no need for me to rewrite history.

Do you believe in saving yourself for marriage?
I did not do so for religious reasons, but I waited until I was nearly 20 to have sex. It was great when I decided to go there, but I was glad not to be burdened or distracted by it when I was in school.

Would you pick up a hitchhiker?
My wife will hit me when she reads this, but the answer is yes, as long as I didn’t have my kids with me. I relied on hitchhiking when I was younger to get back and forth to school, and I appreciate that some people need a ride.

Would you consider yourself a worrier?
No. I think I do a very good job of keeping centered in uncertain times. My view of it is this: If you can’t do anything about it, worrying about it isn’t going to change anything. Save your energy for things and people you can reasonably influence.

Do you notice when your crush/significant other changes something about themselves?
For the most part, yes. I may not always comment on it, but I usually notice.

Do your first impressions of people usually stick?
I’ve worked really hard to let my impressions of people form over time, though I am a keen enough judge of character and personality patterns for those impressions to be accurate.

What movie can you watch over and over?
I watch the old Star Wars trilogy a lot while I cycle up in my office, and I love to watch Running Scared with Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines ("YEEEEES!!"). When I need professional insight or inspiration, I turn to Stand and Deliver. All in all, though, the movies I enjoy the most every time I watch them are the three Matrix films—especially the second. Great action, great story, great music… and 1,001 great quotes!

Do you like to cook?
I do! I haven’t been able to do much cooking during the last couple of years, but I very much enjoy the creativity and energy that comes from working on a meal. I don’t know as much as I would like to about preparing fine cuisine, but it’s on my list of things to learn more about before I die.

Do plants die in your care?
Sometimes. My plants at school suffer during breaks because I don’t water them before I leave, but I’ve had Theo, my ficus, for 17 years and he’s doing just fine.

What’s one thing you feel you must do in your life before it ends?
Start the Landmark Community School. It’s been a goal of mine since I decided I wanted to become a teacher and, though the specifics of the dream have changed over time, the essence of it has remained strong in me for most of my life. I’m excited at how close this dream is to becoming real!