Toot Your Own Horn

[livius drusus]

No, this is not an invitation to depravity. It's a reference to a thread LadyShea started years ago on IIDB after one of those weird periods on the board when everyone seemed to be fighting more than they were playing. I think it's high time I ripped off her idea.

So, tell us something that you really, genuinely like and/or take in pride in about yourself. I'll start.

I'm what is known is perfectly bilingual in Italian and English. I learned them both when I was learning to talk so they are completely interchangeable to me. I can switch between them effortlessly (and frequently do, especially during a rant), use a word from one in the middle of a sentence of the other, and just generally mix it up like Salvatore from Name of the Rose.

Once a dialect coach in a theater workshop asked us to make a certain sound. She stopped short in front of me and asked me if I was actually American because I had apparently done something with my mouth/tounge/soft palate which was thoroughly Italian (hesh up, pervs). I just about burst into bright sunshine over that.

Okey dokey. Step right up folks and toot that horn. :1manband:

[Goliath]

Well, I have a PhD in Mathematics. I find the research that I'm in exciting and interesting (despite the fact that I'm stretched out in many, many different directions...along with trying to learn 2 new branches of mathematics to apply to what I already know on top of that).

After giving a presentation on the algebraic structure of the Rubik's cube, the Chair of the Communications department told me that if I needed a job, I could teach sections of Speech 110.

My advisor gave me a draft of his letter of recommendation that he wrote for me for job hunting. I still have a copy of that (ummm...probably somewhere in the huge freaking pile of papers over there), and I read it once in awhile to remind myself that I deserve to be where I am today.

[LadyShea]

I am very practical in most things. That sounds mundane, but when the drama or urgency or emotions are running high, practicality can often solve the problem without escalation.

[seebs]

The things I am most often proud of are, it turns out, entirely beyond my control, so I have sort of given up on them as sources of pride.

One thing I am proud of is that, over the last fifteen years or so, I've become a much nicer person than I used to be. I believe I've had a great deal of help, but I believe this happened in no small part because I've really WANTED it to happen.

[beyelzu]

I have a really cool tat covering my right bicep.

good and evil custom.

best 400 dollars I ever spent.

cant think of anything else right now.

[livius drusus]

What's a good and evil custom? /tattoo ignance

[beyelzu]

What's a good and evil custom? /tattoo ignance

I meant that the tattoo is a custom piece and it is good and evil.

as opposed to flash art, the stuff you see on walls and in books at tattoo shops.

[livius drusus]

Well, but, what do you mean by good and evil? I mean, how is it depicted?

[beyelzu]

Well, but, what do you mean by good and evil? I mean, how is it depicted?

two swords,

the sword of light and the sword of fire,

the swords are part of the series swords of the ancients by Kit Rae

the background is kind of like a cave with a good face looking up and an evil face looking down cut out of the background. the good side is done in blues and greens and the evil side is done in reds and oranges but the tattoo, for all of its color isnt bright and cartoony.

[livius drusus]

Oh wow, that sounds gorgeous! No wonder you're proud of it. :)

[beyelzu]

Oh wow, that sounds gorgeous! No wonder you're proud of it. :)
sometimes I just sit and stare at it.

no shit.


:blush:

[viscousmemories]

I have a half-empty glass that I'm quite proud of.

[beyelzu]

I have a half-empty glass that I'm quite proud of.
sweet, I always wanted a half empty glass myself. :D

[viscousmemories]

sweet, I always wanted a half empty glass myself. :D
Cool, I always wanted a good and evil tattoo. Let's trade! Actually at first I thought you meant good and evil like "I got good and wet from standing out in the rain".

I'm proud of the fact that by most standards I'm fairly articulate for someone who had very little formal education. But as seebs says that's really no fault of my own. I was born with this gigantic brain. :D

Oh and I'm funny as all get out. And I do quite well with the ladies. And while I wouldn't call it huge, necessarily, I really do have a fairly large one. Of course that's a subjective assessment. There really is no standard measurement for egos.

[Petra]

I don't have too much to toot my own horn about, so I'll just put down that I'm fiercely loyal. No one fucks with my friends and gets away with it. Though this is a side of me you have probably never seen. :innocent:

And while I can slide into some pretty heavy depression from time to time, I'm generally upbeat and have been known to crack people's grumpy moods and make them smile.

I try not to take things too personally, and am usually good at giving people the benefit of the doubt. Which, I guess, can make me quite gullible, but I'd rather be generous in this. Try to fool me too often though, and you're history.

That's about it, really.

/me shrugs

[LadyShea]

And you raised a great kid, all by yourself Luna. That's something enormous in my opinion.

[Lauri D]

I guess the one thing I take pride in is that, to paraphrase some band I can't remember the name of (one or two-hit wonder type)...

I GET KNOCKED DOWN! BUT I GET UP AGAIN!
YOU'RE NEVER GONNA KEEP ME DOWN...

At core, I am too fucking stubborn (the strong willed child) to actually lay down and give up even though I have often FELT like it (as many here can attest having witnessed my despondent times). As I've gotten older, I've gotten to the point where I feel more and confident that I can deal with almost any curveball life throws my way, 'cuz I've gotten a lot of practice :D

I guess it would be called "perseverance". Or just being a stubborn-assed beeyatch!!! :yup:

(Oh and the second thing was I've been told twice in as many days that I have really good verbal expression/persuasion skills. Shoulda been a lawyer, dammit!)

[Godless Wonder]

Let's see, I suppose I've taught myself to play the guitar to the point that I don't consider myself to be a crappy guitar player anymore, but I'm still a lot worse at it than I'd like to be. I can fool people into thinking I'm better than I really am sometimes though. I'm gonna post a link now, and you people are probably going to exhaust my bandwidth allotment pretty quick. First come first served, you'll probably have to skulk back in the wee hours of the morning to be able to get it... the one called "metallymetally" is probably the best horn-tootin'* guitar-slingin' one on there. (Edit: the one called permafrost is pretty cool too, I forgot about that one.)

ok, here it is (http://www.geocities.com/smcameron/music.html).

*No actual or simulated horns were recorded in the making of this recording.

I'm a pretty decent computer programmer, and I've got some of my code into the linux kernel. That's kind of cool (in as geeky a way as possible).

I painted a pretty decent copy of a Van Gogh not too long ago.

"If you condense my life into one day, it looks decent" -- George Costanza

[beyelzu]

I guess the one thing I take pride in is that, to paraphrase some band I can't remember the name of (one or two-hit wonder type)...

I GET KNOCKED DOWN! BUT I GET UP AGAIN!
YOU'RE NEVER GONNA KEEP ME DOWN... tubthumping by chumbawamba I think. but that song is about getting drunk.

At core, I am too fucking stubborn (the strong willed child) to actually lay down and give up even though I have often FELT like it (as many here can attest having witnessed my despondent times). As I've gotten older, I've gotten to the point where I feel more and confident that I can deal with almost any curveball life throws my way, 'cuz I've gotten a lot of practice :D

I guess it would be called "perseverance". Or just being a stubborn-assed beeyatch!!! :yup:

(Oh and the second thing was I've been told twice in as many days that I have really good verbal expression/persuasion skills. Shoulda been a lawyer, dammit!)yeah, but after a long day of legal battle you probably wouldnt want to come here and debate with us,

so the fact that you arent a lawyer is a win for the rest of us.

[Zoe]

im good at netball and making friends :P :yup: :wink: :cool: :glare: :D :eek: :popcorn: :doh: :innocent: :bow: :yawn: :( :blush:

[viscousmemories]

Let's see, I suppose I've taught myself to play the guitar to the point that I don't consider myself to be a crappy guitar player anymore, but I'm still a lot worse at it than I'd like to be.
Cool tunes, GW.

I'm a pretty decent computer programmer, and I've got some of my code into the linux kernel. That's kind of cool (in as geeky a way as possible).
Very cool.

I painted a pretty decent copy of a Van Gogh not too long ago.
I think you posted that in progress somewhere, no? Do you have a pic of the finished product somewhere online?

"If you condense my life into one day, it looks decent" -- George Costanza
That's funny, but it doesn't even work for me.

[xorbie]

I got a 1600 on my SATs.. :woohoo: (<-- very good imitation of me when I found out). I also aced a couple of SAT II's, and all of this is what allowed me to get into some pretty top-notch colleges despite being wholly unimpressive in a cram-your-life-into-a-college-application type way.
I've also managed a very high GPA at a competitive university thusfar.

Also, I think I'm pretty emotionally strong, and cool/funny kind of guy to know. I guess I'm actually more proud of this, because I was sort of mean and wierd when I was younger, and have changed a lot recently, whereas I was always smart and lazy (and yes, being lazy is something to be proud of :D)

[Adora]

I'm quite proud of the fact I managed to walk to the bus station today without bursting into flames.

Living in the middle of bushfire season is oh-so-much fun.

[Godless Wonder]

[...]
[quote]I painted a pretty decent copy of a Van Gogh not too long ago.
I think you posted that in progress somewhere, no? Do you have a pic of the finished product somewhere online?
Yeah, I posted it over at HH, (which this site is kind of killing off a bit, which is kind of a shame.) But, since you asked...

24x30 inches (if I remember right... I gave it away) Acrylic on canvas.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v256/cmscdj/art/vangogh-8-small.jpg
More here: http://photobucket.com/albums/v256/cmscdj/art/

[xorbie]

Wow, GW. Very, very nice. :super:

[Roland98]

I am good at time management. Even spending a lot of time on here, I'm sometimes surprised at all the other shit I get done.

I also have a very good work ethic (which also compliments the "getting shit done" part, above). When I have a job to do, it gets done and done well.

[Beth]

I'm not really too sure what I can be proud of except maybe I survived life thus far.

[Godless Dave]

I have a strong sense of personal responsibility.

[livius drusus]

That is a gorgeous painting, GW. Bravo. :museum:

[wei yau]

I make a damned good roast chicken. No set recipe. I always play it by ear. But, it's always damned good. It's way better than my wife's roast chicken, no matter what she says.

I'm a pretty good liar. Can do it very convincingly. So convincingly, that at times, I fool even myself.

By sheer willpower alone, I stopped biting my fingernails after 25 years of that awful habit. Doesn't sound like much, but it was damned difficult.

And when I love someone, it's complete, total and all-consuming. Almost to the point of self-immolation.

[SharonDee]

Um. I quit smoking and I'm still not smoking, almost six years later.

And. Um. I've had this job for over ten years. And. Um. I've kept it in spite of a severe lazy streak? Probably because my boss has been so stunned by my occasional bursts of genious?

And. Um. My daughter has managed to not need me [very much] once she moved out at the tender age of eighteen.

And. Um. This current marriage has lasted eight years, which is twice as long as the last two combined.
:dalmation:

[livius drusus]

I can (and frequently do) recite the entire intro to the Six Million Dollar Man in Italian.

Steve Austin, astronauta, uomo vivo per miracolo. Signori, lo possiamo ricostruire. Abbiamo adeguate conoscienze tecnologiche. Esiste attualmente la possibilita' di creare il primo uomo bionico. Steve Austin sara' un essere nuovo, diverso dagl'altri. Piu' forte. Piu' veloce. <cue music>

I can do the Star Trek TOS intro in Italian too. :beaugest:

[Beth]

I can sing the National Anthem in an operatic low tenor. :yup: Usually has people's mouths gasping in curious horror that such a thang can come out of my sopranic pipes.

I got that skill from imitating the male Anthem singer every morning at school. I thought it was a cool skill way back then, still do.:-)

Oh, and I can do a perfect witch's cackle that terrifies the kids. I learned that from being third witch in MacBeth

[Godless Wonder]

By sheer willpower alone, I stopped biting my fingernails after 25 years of that awful habit. Doesn't sound like much, but it was damned difficult. That is impressive. Your fingers are always right there, and I know I will find myself biting my fingernails without even realizing I'm doing it, or idly picking at my index fingernail with my thumbnail, just on autopilot, like an unthinking robot. My dad quit when he was a chemist and was working with toxic stuff. I think I would have just died.

[Scotty]

Oh, I know, uh, no not that.
Wait, yes, there was, well not exactly proud of that.
Yes yes, there was, no, not that.

I got nothin.

-Scott

[Ronin]

I can (and frequently do) recite the entire intro to the Six Million Dollar Man in Italian.

Steve Austin, astronauta, uomo vivo per miracolo. Signori, lo possiamo ricostruire. Abbiamo adeguate conoscienze tecnologiche. Esiste attualmente la possibilita' di creare il primo uomo bionico. Steve Austin sara' un essere nuovo, diverso dagl'altri. Piu' forte. Piu' veloce. <cue music>

I can do the Star Trek TOS intro in Italian too. :beaugest:

I ask all of you...how hot is that?

:lecher:

[wei yau]

I can (and frequently do) recite the entire intro to the Six Million Dollar Man in Italian.

Is it odd that I find this strangely arousing?

I can do the Star Trek TOS intro in Italian too. :beaugest:

Oh. My. God. :yowza: :pant: :drooleek: :blush3:

[livius drusus]

I hope both you gentlemen are very proud of your depravity.

Per te, eldar...

Spazio: l'ultima frontiera. Eccovi i viaggi dell'astronave Enterprise, la sua missione quinquenniale alla scoperta di mondi nuovi, di nuove forme di vita, fino ad arrivare la', dove nessun'uomo e' mai guinto prima.

:enterp:

[livius drusus]

I can sing the National Anthem in an operatic low tenor. :yup: Usually has people's mouths gasping in curious horror that such a thang can come out of my supranic pipes.

I got that skill from imitating the male Anthem singer every morning at school. I thought it was a cool skill way back then, still do.:-)

That is enormously cool, Beth. I'm amazed when anyone can sing the Star-Spangled Banner anyway, and for a soprano to sing it in a low tenor is really something.

:singing:

[godfry n. glad]

Proud of?

Um...My stubborness and the difficulty with which I am intimidated by those in positions of power and authority.

This, combined with my so-so speaking skills, well-developed writing skills, advanced research abilities and my suspicious, skeptical nature and my willingness to be made a fool of, has helped me take part in stopping misguided private initiatives with negative public effects, create two new parks, save an existing park and bringing to fruition positive local initiatives. I've never been the only one involved in these efforts, but I've often been the sparkplug that makes them happen...

I'm very good at not only convincing others to stand up for themselves, but showing them how they can resist and prevail.

I had a wondrous eighteen plus year marriage that was cut short only due to cancer.

My home is a smallish, but highly comfortable, retreat from the slings and arrows of the real world. My wife and I rebuilt it that way together and it's obviously a work of love.

I'm fairly decent with plants and gardening, as long as it's outdoors.

My cat, who I adopted from the streets, is one of the smartest cats I've ever known...my wife and I used to tell our friends and neighbors he is so smart that next year, he's going to kindergarten.

godfry

[wei yau]

Per te, eldar...

Spazio: l'ultima frontiera. Eccovi i viaggi dell'astronave Enterprise, la sua missione quinquenniale alla scoperta di mondi nuovi, di nuove forme di vita, fino ad arrivare la', dove nessun'uomo e' mai guinto prima.

:enterp:

I'm new here and not entirely familiar with all the smilies. Is there one reaching for a Kleenex?

[D. Scarlatti]

[shameless self promotion]

The O'Shyttes (http://www.oshyttes.com/index.html) are opening for that extremely entertaining, hard touring quintet from Vancouver, The Clumsy Lovers (http://www.clumsylovers.com/gigs/index.html) next Thursday in Racine, WI.

[/shameless self promotion]

I realize none of you live anywhere near Racine or Milwaukee, but The Clumsy Lovers are performing once again *ahem* at Meehan's Ale House in Alpharetta, GA (you know who you are) on Tuesday, Nov. 9. Don't forget to tell 'em The O'Shyttes sent ya.

Oh and btw GW, I couldnae get your .mp3s to play either.

[Ronin]

I'm new here and not entirely familiar with all the smilies. Is there one reaching for a Kleenex?

I've looked everywhere...nothing.

[pescifish]

:blowhorn: I don't even have a horn, so no tootin' to do here.

I do I pretty good job of tootin' other people's horns, though. I'm lucky to be among such a bunch of impressive folks!

[viscousmemories]

I'm new here and not entirely familiar with all the smilies. Is there one reaching for a Kleenex?

I've looked everywhere...nothing.
Not exactly, but: :byecry:

[wei yau]

I'm new here and not entirely familiar with all the smilies. Is there one reaching for a Kleenex?

I've looked everywhere...nothing.
Not exactly, but: :byecry:

Given the context in which I'd want to use a Kleenex-smiley...this one is too bizarre. I mean, I wouldn't need the Kleenex on the top of my head and I certainly wouldn't put it to my face after I was done. :D

[godfry n. glad]

I'm new here and not entirely familiar with all the smilies. Is there one reaching for a Kleenex?

I've looked everywhere...nothing.
Not exactly, but: :byecry:

Given the context in which I'd want to use a Kleenex-smiley...this one is too bizarre. I mean, I wouldn't need the Kleenex on the top of my head and I certainly wouldn't put it to my face after I was done. :D

Oh.... :eek:

That's what she meant about "tooting one's own horn"? :blink:

Um...Can I start over and make believe I understand Italian? :blush:

godfry

It sure makes sense of the term "horny"....

[Goliath]

I can (and frequently do) recite the entire intro to the Six Million Dollar Man in Italian.

Steve Austin, astronauta, uomo vivo per miracolo. Signori, lo possiamo ricostruire. Abbiamo adeguate conoscienze tecnologiche. Esiste attualmente la possibilita' di creare il primo uomo bionico. Steve Austin sara' un essere nuovo, diverso dagl'altri. Piu' forte. Piu' veloce. <cue music>

I can do the Star Trek TOS intro in Italian too. :beaugest:

I ask all of you...how hot is that?

:lecher:

:voyeur:

Ummm...uhh...I'll be back in the thread in a minute...what are you lookin' at?!

[Goliath]

I do I pretty good job of tootin' other people's horns, though.

Oh really? :D

:drooleek:

[Dingfod]

I can do lots of things fairly well.

I can do a few things quite well.

I can do nothing exceptionally well. In fact, doing nothing is my forte.

[beyelzu]

Proud of?

Um...My stubborness and the difficulty with which I am intimidated by those in positions of power and authority.

This, combined with my so-so speaking skills, well-developed writing skills, advanced research abilities and my suspicious, skeptical nature and my willingness to be made a fool of, has helped me take part in stopping misguided private initiatives with negative public effects, create two new parks, save an existing park and bringing to fruition positive local initiatives. I've never been the only one involved in these efforts, but I've often been the sparkplug that makes them happen...

I'm very good at not only convincing others to stand up for themselves, but showing them how they can resist and prevail.

I had a wondrous eighteen plus year marriage that was cut short only due to cancer.

My home is a smallish, but highly comfortable, retreat from the slings and arrows of the real world. My wife and I rebuilt it that way together and it's obviously a work of love.

I'm fairly decent with plants and gardening, as long as it's outdoors.

My cat, who I adopted from the streets, is one of the smartest cats I've ever known...my wife and I used to tell our friends and neighbors he is so smart that next year, he's going to kindergarten.

godfry


I hope that one day I will be able to have be able to make a statement like this.

I dont think I have ever had anywhere near the impact on the world that you have had.

[godfry n. glad]

Proud of?

Um...My stubborness and the difficulty with which I am intimidated by those in positions of power and authority.

This, combined with my so-so speaking skills, well-developed writing skills, advanced research abilities and my suspicious, skeptical nature and my willingness to be made a fool of, has helped me take part in stopping misguided private initiatives with negative public effects, create two new parks, save an existing park and bringing to fruition positive local initiatives. I've never been the only one involved in these efforts, but I've often been the sparkplug that makes them happen...

I'm very good at not only convincing others to stand up for themselves, but showing them how they can resist and prevail.

I had a wondrous eighteen plus year marriage that was cut short only due to cancer.

My home is a smallish, but highly comfortable, retreat from the slings and arrows of the real world. My wife and I rebuilt it that way together and it's obviously a work of love.

I'm fairly decent with plants and gardening, as long as it's outdoors.

My cat, who I adopted from the streets, is one of the smartest cats I've ever known...my wife and I used to tell our friends and neighbors he is so smart that next year, he's going to kindergarten.

godfry


I hope that one day I will be able to have be able to make a statement like this.

I dont think I have ever had anywhere near the impact on the world that you have had.

Why thank you. That's right nice.

If it makes you feel any better, I'm past the half-century mark and I've been at it since about age 14. And, it has it's cost. I'm woefully underemployed because of my mouth and my attitude....and...because I enjoy the extra time to do "community stuff". I do like my job, though, so that's a consolation.

I grew up with the admonition to "always strive to leave your campsite better than you found it." It animates me to this day. That and the understanding that if you want a say, then you have to participate - just bitchin' don't get anything done.

When I was younger, I dreamt of "fame". I never had a taste for riches, but I wanted "comfort". I got a taste of "fame" running for public office and despised it. I prefer to work "behind the scenes". I found that the old saw of thinking global and acting local was good advice for me.

The combination of happy marriage and steady work in a decent environment delivered unto me me life's dream...contentment. I was about 48 at the time and had given up my goal of being a classroom teacher (y'know...for pay and all). I remember clearly standing in my garden one late spring afternoon, thinking to myself that I could die now, as I'd accomplished my life goals. Instead, I lost my darling wife to cancer.

Now I get to start all over.

Life is a crap shoot. Make the best of it. Now.

I don't know your age, but it's never to late to start.

godfry n. glad

Oh, oh... I thought of something else...back to the thread.

[godfry n. glad]

I got arrested.

Yes, I'm proud of it. I'm amused by it. It's a funny little tale.

My crime: malicious mishief. A misdemeanor. Class three, I think.

I was arrested with three others in an automobile at the entrance to one of the city's largest slyvan parks. The officer asked the driver (I was in the backseat), whose whitewashed hands gripped a dripping steering wheel and spattered her lap and the floor below, "What's with the white paint?"

"What white paint?" came the response from the driver.

He ordered everybody out of the car. We were all spattered with white. We had been painting "shadows" on the public sidewalks all over town. It was a nighttime activity on the eve of the August 6 anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. It was an anti-nuclear weapons statement. well organized and attended. We had figure-templates we'd made and buckets of chalk whitewash with rollers and big brushes.

I was cited for whitewashing figures on the sidewalk.

But we were released at the sight of the crime, after dumping our whitewash in the storm drain, and after all being cited and ordered to appear in court.

The organizers provided an attorney and they argued that if our citations held up, they'd have to cite every child in the city for scribbling on the public sidewalk, because what we used was chalk-based whitewash, not paint, and it would wash off in the city's regular seasonal rains. The city withheld prosecution until after it rained...to see if the figures faded or not.

Heh...

It didn't rain that year until mid-November; they faded into the next year. There were 27 (I think) of us arrested, out of nearly 3000 volunteers who put down over some 20,000 figures on sidewalks and public ways all over the metropolitan area. I think it was coordinated with an national effort that year.

That were fun.

godfry

...and my only arrest. Ever. Honest.

[godfry n. glad]

I was a garbage and recycling hauler for a worker owned and operated recycling and refuse collection company. It was the first of its kind in the region. We we the first to offer free curbside recycling of a list of recycleable items. We went into the garbage and refuse collection business to support the curbside recycling program during downtimes in the volatile recycling commodities markets. Seven to twelve of us ran two garbage trucks, three recycling trucks, a railtruck, a cardboard compactor and a dropoff site for several separate types of recycleables, including scrap paper. At the end of my five years of willing servitude and volunteer poverty, my company and two others were models for enabling legislation to assure curbside recycling pickup in cities throughout the state. It exists in an improved and dedicated form to this day, twenty years later.

I take great pride in that. I consider it "community service" in lieu of the military service I never did for my nation. My co-workers there are my "fellow veterans".

godfry

[Ensign Steve]

Spazio: l'ultima frontiera. Eccovi i viaggi dell'astronave Enterprise, la sua missione quinquenniale alla scoperta di mondi nuovi, di nuove forme di vita, fino ad arrivare la', dove nessun'uomo e' mai guinto prima.


That's beautiful.

I have incredible hair. I am really smart. That's all I got.

[beyelzu]

I was a garbage and recycling hauler for a worker owned and operated recycling and refuse collection company. It was the first of its kind in the region. We we the first to offer free curbside recycling of a list of recycleable items. We went into the garbage and refuse collection business to support the curbside recycling program during downtimes in the volatile recycling commodities markets. Seven to twelve of us ran two garbage trucks, three recycling trucks, a railtruck, a cardboard compactor and a dropoff site for several separate types of recycleables, including scrap paper. At the end of my five years of willing servitude and volunteer poverty, my company and two others were models for enabling legislation to assure curbside recycling pickup in cities throughout the state. It exists in an improved and dedicated form to this day, twenty years later.

I take great pride in that. I consider it "community service" in lieu of the military service I never did for my nation. My co-workers there are my "fellow veterans".

godfry


goddamn, you have actual fucking accomplishments, kemosabe.

I am going to have to get me some.

seriously, I am impressed again.

[godfry n. glad]

goddamn, you have actual fucking accomplishments, kemosabe.

I am going to have to get me some.

seriously, I am impressed again.

You bet. Get yourself some. And thanks.

You must remember, there was no "online" then. Or cellphones. It allowed one to do other things.

I've had some extraordinary opportunities offered, which I took not having any idea they were, or would become, such.

I met the love of my life, my darling wife, now gone....picking up her trash. She was one of my customers. 'Course, we'd met six years earlier when I was the newbie actor and she was a newbie harper doing outdoor Shakespeare in public parks, so that gave me an opening other than her trash to talk about. We always told folks that the bard and the trash brought us together.

godfry

[AspenMama]

I can't do this afterall. Sorry-- I know its bad to edit something after it's been read...

[John the Non-Baptist]

Self-taught piano player.

I've written four novels, five if you count the one I wouldn't show my mom. Naturally, that's the only one that's ever been accepted (even if it's only in e-book form). And no, wild horses will never drag my pen name from me--at least until I know some of you a little better. :ziplip:

[godfry n. glad]

Self-taught piano player.

I've written four novels, five if you count the one I wouldn't show my mom. Naturally, that's the only one that's ever been accepted (even if it's only in e-book form). And no, wild horses will never drag my pen name from me--at least until I know some of you a little better. :ziplip:

So... Do you identify with Kilgore Trout?

godfry

[John the Non-Baptist]

Self-taught piano player.

I've written four novels, five if you count the one I wouldn't show my mom. Naturally, that's the only one that's ever been accepted (even if it's only in e-book form). And no, wild horses will never drag my pen name from me--at least until I know some of you a little better. :ziplip:

So... Do you identify with Kilgore Trout?

godfry

Hmmm. Let me get this weird plastic-like substance off my feet and I'll think about that one. :D

[godfry n. glad]

Self-taught piano player.

I've written four novels, five if you count the one I wouldn't show my mom. Naturally, that's the only one that's ever been accepted (even if it's only in e-book form). And no, wild horses will never drag my pen name from me--at least until I know some of you a little better. :ziplip:

So... Do you identify with Kilgore Trout?

godfry

Hmmm. Let me get this weird plastic-like substance off my feet and I'll think about that one. :D

Okay...I did want to ask that since you taught yourself piano, do you play by ear, or do you use your fingers like most other piano players?

godfry

[John the Non-Baptist]

Good one, Godfry!

But just to throw in a serious answer, I can read music AND play by ear. And fingers.

[Dingfod]

Good one, Godfry!

But just to throw in a serious answer, I can read music AND play by ear. And fingers.One of the first things I learned on the piano was how to play five C notes at the same time. Wanna know how? Play middle-C with your nose. :D

See, I do have a talent. :D

Not entirely true. I am very good with my hands, very good. I think playing the piano might have had something to do with that. I'm more of an artisan than an artist though, I read music, I play it, but I, for the life of me, cannot play by ear. I play Ragtime for my own amusement, nothing more.

But, speaking of horn tooting. I play trombone. I don't practice at all, so I'm not very good at it any more. I was first chair trombone in high school band through my junior and senior years. I have an antique silver Conn slide trombone that my grandmother gave me.

Also, a long time passed point of pride, beating the math major school teacher and family friend at chess... in six moves... two times... in a row. And I'm not even that good at chess when it gets down to long range strategy, it might have been some sort of Jedi mind trick or something, clouding her mind.

[Godless Dave]

I have incredible hair. I am really smart. That's all I got.
You have a little more than that.

You're tough. You survived boot camp. That's nothing to sneeze at.

You seem to have confidence in your own judgement.

And I wasn't going to bring up physical attributes, but since you mentioned your incredible hair, you also have a beautiful smile, a pretty face, and a luscious body.

[JoeP]

One of the first things I learned on the piano was how to play five C notes at the same time. Wanna know how? Play middle-C with your nose. :D

See, I do have a talent. :D
Ooh ... I can think of a way of playing six C notes at the same time.

[Dingfod]

One of the first things I learned on the piano was how to play five C notes at the same time. Wanna know how? Play middle-C with your nose. :D

See, I do have a talent. :D
Ooh ... I can think of a way of playing six C notes at the same time.If it doesn't involve one or more toes, I don't want to hear about it.

[LadyShea]

I can't do this afterall. Sorry-- I know its bad to edit something after it's been read...

Aspen now this is just silly. Raising decent human beings is something to be damn proud of....toot your horn or I'll kick your ass ;)

[Farren]

I've performed my poetry on stage to stand up ovations between Hugh Masakele and Dorothy Masauka sets.

I set up, edited, wrote and acquired copy for what as far as I know was South Africa's first webzine ("Frenzy") in collaboration with journalist Hein Kaizer. Got interviewed on national radio about it too (for Joe: by Michelle Constant, who is an absolute honey)

I took care of a close friend for 6 months because he wanted to move out of electronics into programming and couldn't find a job. I gave him a place to stay, fed him good food, gave him a chunk of my salary for spending money and found him his first contract.

I smoked at least ten fields of weed, consumed vast amounts of Ecstacy and a fair amount of LSD during several debauched periods of my life, hardly ever drove under the influence and emerged largely responsible and drug free barring ocassional spurts of excessive drinking (its really not as much as it seems, honest :) ).

[Farren]

I am really smart. .

I second that.


That's all I got


Liar. You're also very spontaneous, very charming and very, very sweet.

[JoeP]

I have been called a genius today for producing a graph in excel - with a logarithmic axis - for a colleague under pressure with a sales presentation, and earlier in the week for a reason I've even forgotten.

People have been asking me how I learned to present so well.

[wade-w]

I can't do this afterall. Sorry-- I know its bad to edit something after it's been read...

I understand, AM. It's one reason why I haven't posted in this thread.

[bobeh]

Good therapy this is...

We can beat ourselves up endlessly...because when it comes to praising ourselves somehow we believe it to be evil. Ergo...beating ourselves is good.

Anyway. I have a rep with those that know me well as someone who knows a lot of stuff about a lot of stuff. Sort of like serious trivia perhaps. Just the way my brain chooses what to save I guess. In combination with a once voracious appetite for reading (book per day - also made possible by high reading speed).

Perhaps of more importance...I'm known as a really good person. Not in the sense of being a good boy morally or anything like that...but in the sense of treating people fairly and equally without regard to their status or position, and for being kind and I suppose gentle in most ways.

So I'll stop before I qualify the statements above. Because that might/would get into the beating myself part (I also have this annoying habit of being unable to "NOT" qualify anything judgemental I say). :D
bobeh

[livius drusus]

What a lovely way to introduce yourself, bobeh. :) If we ever have a trivia night on chat I'm totally sidling up to you.

:welcome2:

[LadyXoc]

My talent is to annoy. I can sit motionless in a chair with a smirk on my face and Mr. The Pope himself would eventually scream and come at me with a butcher knife.

I also have a fairly impressive duck and roll reflex, with goes well with talent #1.

And I make good brownies.

[Ensign Steve]

:blush3: thanks dave & farren

[livius drusus]

And I make good brownies.

Oh yeah! I make good pot brownies. The secret is 151 Rum.

[Ronin]

I've never tried to make brownies in a pot.

They must come out real thick.

Rum, you say?

:cloud9:

[livius drusus]

Yeeaaahh... Real thick, Mr. Detective man. And sticky. :shifty:

[godfry n. glad]

Okay... If were doing culinary boasting, I make bodacious apple pies.

I am the pie-master.

One of my students put his sister and mother to shame after he brought a pie he'd made, under my tutelage, to a family dinner. He says his sister browbeat him until he gave her the crust recipe.

There is one apple that makes the best apple pie. All others pale in comparison. And, never, never, never, never use Delicious apples (red or yellow) to make an apple pie. It will be bland beyond expectation.

I love brownies, too, but mine are ho-hum most of the time.

godfry

[Ronin]

Yeeaaahh... Real thick, Mr. Detective man. And sticky. :shifty:

Sounds delicious.

:chomp:

You'll have to share the recipe with me one day, liv.

The weekly conferences down here could do with some tasty treats.

:vibes:

[AspenMama]

I can't do this afterall. Sorry-- I know its bad to edit something after it's been read...

Aspen now this is just silly. Raising decent human beings is something to be damn proud of....toot your horn or I'll kick your ass ;)

You can try, Wench! But we both know how that will end. :madrazz:


What is a Wench? (http://www.wench.org/about/what.php)

[Dingfod]

Wow, macho posturing by chicks, good looking ones to boot. :popcorn:

[JoeP]

Wow, macho posturing by chicks, good looking ones to boot. :popcorn:
Damn right.
:popcorn:
:flex: :flex:
:popcorn:

[Megatron]

Hmm, I got one... I made it through this thread without getting depressed/disappointed/general bad vibes over the fact that I'm really not good at anything. :nyahnyah:

[Noodlenader]

I've done 30 of my own piercings

I was the youngest person in my firm to be Securities Licensed

I OWN at the Zelda64 games

My fingernails will bring any man to his knees :) (in the best way possible)

[Nil Desperandum]

I bought a townhome when I was 21.

I can troubleshoot a fighter jet... no wait, TWO of them. ;)

3.1415926535897932384626433832

I'll save more for later.

(And, yes, those nails DO work.)

[Noodlenader]

I'm dating ^^^ that SOB ;)

[Nil Desperandum]

Hey, yer supposed to toot your own horn.

Are you saying I'm lucky? :) hehe

[Noodlenader]

We're BOTH lucky :serenade:

[livius drusus]

I think you're looking for the shameful confessions thread, Noodlenader. :D

P.S. - Welcome to delurkage.

[ImGod]

I'm can fix things using odds & ends. I once fixed the vacuum system on a car engine with spare air hose from my aquarium. It's the original reason I became an engineer.

[livius drusus]

That's pretty damn cool. Oh, and :hisign:

[Dingfod]

I bought a townhome when I was 21.Well, since we're autofellating here... I bought my first home, a brand new 3 bedroom, 2 bath brick home when I was 21 too. I got into it for $1 down and $177 a month, a 33 year $24,500 Farm Home Administration loan. Sometimes I think I should've stayed there. Then again, I looked on realtor.com last summer and found my old house was for sale for $28,900, not much appreciation in 27 years, especially considering I sold it after 2-1/2 years for $31,500 to people that had to get a 12% mortgage, the going rate at the time. When I was making $750 a month gross, $177 seemed like a lot of money, but now I probably spend more than that on beer and soda pop. Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end...