100 Things You Need to Know About Me (61-70)

If you know me very well, you know I couldn't talk about myself without talking about food! Here goes...

61-70 :: Food

61. I like food...a lot! It is one of my biggest vices.
62. Pizza is the perfect food...bread, fruits & vegetables, meats, dairy...it's got it all!
63. The best biscuits & gravy I've ever had were in Newton at a place called Chub & Sylva's. Chub was the owner and head cook...and his physical description fit his name! Unfortunately, the restaurant shut down when I was younger.
64. I've always wanted to enter an eating contest...pies, hot dogs, whatever. I've never done it, though.
65. I feel really out of place in fancy restaurants. I once ate at Emeril's in Atlanta, and I couldn't wait to get out of there.
66. I've started eating at only local places when I travel. Some of the greatest food is found in non-franchised places. The best pizza I've ever had was in Fayetteville, WV at a place called Pies & Pints. Of course, it could have been because I was with the "boys" getting ready for a whitewater rafting trip the next day!
67. I hate any food that requires work to eat it (i.e. peel-and-eat shrimp). The big guy wants his food easily accessible!
68. I know I shouldn't eat at them, but I love buffets...especially Chinese buffets!
69. Chili's is one of my favorite places to eat - great burgers, fajitas, salads, and all-you-can-eat chips & salsa (with queso!).
70. When I was in college, I didn't have enough money for hamburger, so I would just have Helper with tater-tots.

100 Things You Need to Know About Me (51-60)

Here comes a theme my cousin, Kari, came up with after I included the comment about owning a Dairy Queen. She asked me, "How many people know you owned a Dairy Queen?" Without further ado, here are some things you need to know about my employment history...

51-60 :: Employment History

51. I grew up in Central Illinois farm country, so my first few jobs were focused around agriculture. My first paid job was walking bean fields picking out weeds with a long-handled scythe-like knife. I was 12 years old.
52. My second paid job was baling hay. It was hot, hard work, but water never tasted so good.
53. I've never de-tassled corn, and I don't want to!
54. I worked one summer as a "tire buster" - changing, patching & rotating tires and doing oil changes.
55. I worked in three different factories during college summers - making wiring harnesses for Ford; working a collator in a printing factory; and assisting at a saw in a cabinet factory.
56. I worked at McDonald's in college for 1 week. Then I got a job at a local radio/television channel that I held for three years of college.
57. My wife & I were owner/operators of a Dairy Queen the year after graduating college. It was a great opportunity and a huge financial blessing early in life.
58. I worked for a company called Productivity Point International doing in-office computer training for major companies. I enjoyed the teaching aspect but hated having to wear a suit & tie everyday.
59. I worked for two years in a local high school as a teacher's aide in a self-contained special education classroom for students with behavior, learning, and emotional disorders. I taught the Math & Science portions, but I served mostly as a "bouncer" to keep the kids in line.
60. When I worked at Hardee's in high school, I had a fly get slathered onto a sandwich when I was adding the mayonnaise. It was a lunch rush, so I just picked the fly off and served the sandwich.

100 Things You Need to Know About Me (41-50)

Here's a theme that was inspired from one of the blogs I track...

41-50 :: Things I Don't Do Well

41. Fix or build anything...I just can't do it.
42. Sit still.
43. Drive in crazy, busy traffic...I tend to "talk" to the people around me!
44. Wait patiently for things I want.
45. Golf...but I really enjoy the game!
46. Play first-person shooter games (or any 3-dimensional games). Just give me two-dimensional Super Mario Brothers.
47. Have mercy/compassion for people who don't support the vision of the church.
48. Come up with things I'm not good at...just kidding!
49. Remember the birthdays of my extended family.
50. Draw or create anything artistic. (But I think Ethan is going to be awesome at this!)

100 Things You Need to Know About Me (31-40)

Alright, so I've taken some time off from the 100 Things You Need to Know About Me. I've been traveling...spending time with my family...attending conferences...getting things done at Great Oaks. I've been busy...give me a break!!!

I'm still looking for some input on themes for the remainder of the list. Let me know what you want to know about me.

31-40 :: Trips and Travels

31. One of my favorite vacations ever was a week-long cruise with Karen the year we owned the Dairy Queen. The only downside was when Karen was offered drugs in Jamaica.
32. My other favorite vacation was my honeymoon...enough said.
33. I have a wish-list of places I want to go including the Grand Canyon, Ireland, Machu Picchu (there is a great 3-day backpacking trail that leads to this amazing city), Europe, the Swiss Alps, Glacier National Park, Alaska, and the New England region of the United States (in the Fall).
34. I have to stop often for bathroom breaks when on road-trips. More often than Karen or the kids...
35. I used to make my peace with God before every flight.
36. On a flight with my son, a friend of mine who is an air-traffic controller was able to get the captain to personally say "Hi" to Ethan over the intercom.
37. I have always expected to run into somebody I know in an airport. It has never happened until leaving from O'Hare this past Sunday. Bill & I ran into a member of Great Oaks who was leaving for a trip to Brazil.
38. I don't fit in most airplane seats. As a result, I get really frustrated when someone in front of me leans their seat back. On really long flights, that doesn't make me a happy boy!
39. While in Boy Scouts I took a week-long canoe trip in Boundary Waters. It was one of the greatest wilderness trips I've ever done.
40. During a 2-week solo trip, I ended up in Washington D.C. and was threatened with arrest by a really angry police officer.

100 Things You Need to Know About Me (21-30)

21-30 :: Being a Pastor

21. I never intended on being a pastor.
22. If I weren't a pastor, I would be a high school math teacher.
23. I get annoyed when I meet new people who find out I am a pastor and then change their behavior, language, conversation, etc. I want people to feel like they can be themselves around me.
24. I am sometimes not myself around church people. (Yes...I am aware of the irony/conflict between #23 and #24!)
25. There are a lot of Christians that I wish would never tell people they are Christians.
26. I think people are too dependent upon the church to "feed" them. The church needs to teach people how to feed themselves.
27. I wish we didn't have to refer to the Old Testament as "old"; it makes people think it is irrelevant. How about Part 1 and Part 2 instead?
28. Being a pastor is oftentimes lonely. This is why I highly value my relationships with other pastors.
29. I don't like doing weddings, funerals, and hospital calls. I know they are a part of the job; I simply don't feel like I know what to say or do.
30. I wish more Christians would tell people what God is for rather than what He is against.

100 Things You Need to Know About Me (11-20)

Continuing in a blogging tradition, here's the next grouping of 10 things you need to know...

11-20 :: Movies

11. I cry almost every time I watch the hospital scene in Remember the Titans.
12. One of the greatest lines in a movie is said by Kurt Russell in Tombstone after slapping Billy Bob Thornton - "You gonna do something or just stand there and bleed?"
13. I absolutely hate Hope Floats and Mrs. Doubtfire.
14. I can quote too many lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The ones I most often say are, "T'is but a scratch" and "I got better."
15. I think everybody should watch The Princess Bride at least once...okay, a dozen times!
16. I will watch any movie that stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson or Vin Diesel.
17. Make fun of me if you will...but any time The Princess Diaries is on, I stop to watch.
18. I saw the first showing of Transformers on opening night with a bunch of friends. The energy and enthusiasm of the crowd had everyone shouting and clapping out loud. It was awesome! We almost stayed to watch the next showing.
19. I didn't want any of the Lord of the Rings movies to end. I loved Tolkien as a kid, and I could not wait for each movie to come out.
20. I secretly wish I was Neo.