Getting To Know You: 2008

Jimbo sent me this in e-mail form & I thought I'd port it over into the blog. Join in at your own blog and/or Facebook page and link back to me.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:15 am (Shari let me sleep in)
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds (but I look better in understated silver... he)
3. The last film you saw at the cinema? Wall*E (which deserves a Best Picture nod)
4. What is your favorite TV show? Wow... there are (as those of you who've read this blog for a while know) so many - I'll narrow it to four: Lost, Heroes, 24 & Survivor
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? a Coke Zero & a Prilosec OTC
6. What is your middle name? Allen
7. What food do you dislike? lima beans are high on this list, along with boiled okra & sushi
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I just dug out Magdallan's "Big Bang" and What If's self-titled debut album (on cassette, no less) and am having an 80's party in my office
9. What kind of car do you drive? a Honda Odyessey (and I do so without whining that driving a minivan has someone sapped the vitality of my manhood)
10. Favorite sandwich? thinly sliced black forest ham with "high-end" swiss cheese; add fresh lettuce & tomato with some dijon mustard and put it on a ciabatta roll
11. What characteristic do you despise? playing fast & loose with the truth (aka liar)
12. Favorite item of clothing? it's a toss-up between my IncrediSlacks (which are made of some wonderful fabric blend that doesn't wrinkle & is amazingly comfortable) and what Shari calls my Uniform Shirt (which is a red & blue striped golf shirt that also does not wrinkle and is the utility fielder in my wardrobe when I have to look nice on short notice)
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go right now? if I get to take my wife & leave the boys with family, Hawaii (or something South Sea-ish)... OTOH, if we're going as a family, give us an RV, $ for gas, and a National Park pass & let us loose in the Western U.S.! (If this was October, I'd say Essen, Germany... soo-prise, soo-prise)
14. Favorite brand of clothing? Old Navy - it fits well, I look good in it, and the price is decent if you watch the sales
15. Where would you retire to? Over the years, a number of us have joked about creating an assisted living facility for gamers... that doesn't sound like such a bad idea to me. Let's put it close to pretty stuff - say, Denver.
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? 30... that's the year that Chris, Buster & their evil monkey henchmen moved the entire contents of my office into the foyer of the church and set it up there. It's also the year that my body fell apart, but that's a story for another day.
17. Farthest place you are sending this? My blog is read around the world... which still weirds me out. I'm guessing South Korea or Finland is the farthest point from Fresno. (Hi, Tom & Mikko!)
18. Person you expect to send it back first? Nashbabe - who has fun with stuff like this... or maybe Zion Red.
19. When is your birthday? June 27, 1964
20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Ha... obviously, if you're asking this question, you've not tried to have a conversation with me just after I woke up. In other words, night.
21. What is your shoe size? My feet are getting bigger in the last few years - maybe my weight is causing them to spread out. (Now, that's a depressing thought.) I was an 8 1/2 but now I'm a 9.
22. Number of Pets? None - we are not "pet people."
23. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? We had 16 people at Fresno Gamers last night... the more the merrier!
24. What did you want to be when you were little kid? At first, it was a construction worker... then a lawyer... then an actor.
25. How are you today? Tired but doing well... I'm a little nervous about the camping trip this weekend - we're novice campers - but I'm excited about finding a way for our family to enjoy vacation time without killing our budget.
26. What is your favorite candy? Just one?! Ah, well... 100 Grand.
27. What is your favorite flower? Pretty ones... I'm useless when it comes to horticulture.
28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? We are still nailing it down - but Shari & I are getting to go to FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember in November.
29. What is your full name? Mark Allen Jackson
30. What are you listening to right now? still Magdallan's "Big Bang" - the title track, which along with the song "Dome of the Rock" just define 80's hair metal pop (Yay, Ken Tamplin!)
31. What was the last thing you ate? Shari made some very yummy cinammon toast this morning
32. Do you wish on stars? Only at Disneyland
33. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Orange
34. How is the weather right now? It's Fresno, dude - it's hot & dry. (Ask me again in a month - the answer will be the same.)
35. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Jack Bauer... well, that's what he said his name was. (I'm serious.)
36. Favorite soft drink? Coke Zero
37. Favorite restaurant? Walk up: Hog Heaven here in Easton (used to be Dave's)... gimme a ranchburger; BBQ: Doghouse Grill in Fresno (best tri-trip sandwhich ever); classy: Max's Bistro here in Fresno; out of town: Cafe Tu Tu Tango
38. Hair color? brown with a touch of red in my beard and grey moving in wherever it can find a foothold
39. What was your favorite toy as a child? Legos, of course - it still is! (I got Indiana Jones Legos for my birthday... yes, I'm the poster child for arrested development)
40. Summer or winter? Winter - particuarly if it's an actual winter with snow & cold.
41. Hugs or kisses? At the same time, please.
42. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla... preferably with something mixed into it (chocolate chips, cookie dough, etc.) Ben & Jerry are geniuses, I tell you -but I still haven't forgiven them for retiring Holy Cannoli to the Flavor Graveyard.
43. Coffee or tea? If it's hot out, sweet tea.
44. Do you want your friends to email you back? No, I prefer a hermit-like existence where I rant & rave on the Internet without receiving any responses. I particularly enjoy the sound of my voice. (That, btw, was sarcasm.)
45. When was the last time you cried? Trying to tell Shari about the weightlifter from Germany who won the gold medal & held up a picture of his wife who was killed in a car accident last year
46. What is under your bed? Nothing - we have our box springs sitting on the floor... anything underneath it is squished
47. What did you do last night? played board games at our regular Fresno Gamers meeting - Galaxy Trucker, Dungeonquest, Agricola and a number of other kid games
48. What are you afraid of? being irrelevant
49. Salty or sweet? Sweet
50. How many keys on your key ring? I have two key rings - the "family" key ring has 2 and the "church" key ring has 11.
51. How many years at your current job? A little over 5 years
52. Favorite day of the week? Whichever day I get to hang with Shari & the boys
53. How many towns have you lived in? 15 cities, 9 states... in order: Seattle, WA; San Francisco, CA; Beaverton, OR; Placentia, CA; Waco, TX; Rogersville, AL; Castle Rock, CO; Ft. Worth, TX; Silsbee, TX; Arlington, TX; New Albany, MS; North Richland Hills, TX; Fordyce, AR; Nashville, TN; Easton, CA.
54. Do you make friends easily? I'm friendly, but I don't make close friends easily.
55. How many people will you send this to? The current blog readership is about 1,500 people per month.
56. How many will respond? At least two or three will do it on their own blogs - who knows how many of you will write something cute and/or snarky in the comments section?
57. Who sent this email to you? Jim "Jimbo" Christiensen, who still needs to give me back my LOTR DVD set & my copy of History of the World, as well as bring me that carpet sample

If you read this far, I'm impressed by your interest in me and/or your complete boredom with the rest of your surroundings. Have a great day!