8 Things About Me-me - I've Been Tagged!

JewelGirl who runs the Sandwiched Mom . . . Between The Genes blog as well as Searching For Family Branches, has tagged me in the 8 Things Meme. I don't feel very "interesting" today but I know some of you are just dying to find out more about that enigma wrapped in a puzzle wrapped in a mystery called Thomas. So here goes.

Tag Rules

1. Each player starts with eight random fact
/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their
own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. A the end of your blog post, you need to choose
eight people to get tagged and list their name.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling
them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

8 Things About Me-me:

1. Thomas almost never looks back - he is a forward-looking guy. And if I do have any type of "rear view" mirror in my life, it is always tempered with "no regrets." Life is too short for me to live a "coulda shoulda woulda" life. I am a strong believer in karma and that things, good and bad, happen for a reason. Life has many lessons to learn from and I don't think there is much that I would change.

2. Thomas loves discipline. Now before your mind wanders, let me say that I love routine and order. But I try not to let it control me. In the 1980s and 1990s I was what some could call a "hardcore weightlifter." I would get up at 4:00 am to be at the gym when they opened at 5:30 am. I worked out for 90 minutes each morning, five days a week. I was able to leg press close to 700 lbs on the incline leg press.

But I've learned not to get stuck in a routine. Routines need to change over time and I just wish I was able to see that more often.

3. Thomas counts his blessings. When I was younger I didn't pay much attention when I asked someone, "How are you doing?" and they responded by, "Well I feel blessed. I was able to get up out of bed, get dressed, etc." But with severe osteo-arthritis in both hips I now know what it is like to be unable to do even the simplest of tasks.

There are days when I am challenged to do the simple and I no longer see it as mundane.

4. Thomas is a nerd. But you already knew that. Thomas was once called a "fact totem" in school as a child but I didn't take this as an insult. I love trivia, I love facts. I love to quote the bizarre and small stuff and try to see how it fits in the context of today.

5. Thomas loves work. I really do - most of my life has been spent in the Information Technology field working and being on-call on a 24/7 basis (or as someone once called it "31," 24+ 7). It is the nature of the beast having to upgrade technology in the middle of the night while most of your users are home tucked away snuggly in bed. But now with the globalization of the workplace, if I upgrade at night it means my Asian and Indian co-workers must suffer the downtime or slow down.

6. Thomas fears he is becoming a smore. That means "social media whore." I am too hooked on Facebook for words, now I can't remember if I twitted or tweeted and friends think I put too much value in social networking and Web 2.0. But I will continue to insist that it is the wave of the future and if you aren't in it, it is so easy to get left behind.

7. Thomas has met celebrities. Over the years I've met Jimmy Carter at the White House, Ronald Reagan, John Anderson (remember him - ran for President in 1980?), Kathy Griffin, Wanda Sikes, k.d. lang, Al Gore and he is trying to wrack his brain to remember the others.

8. Thomas strongly believes that the universe bends towards justice.


I Tag:

1. Creative Gene
2. AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors
3. What's Past Is Prologue
4. Hill Country of Monroe County, Mississippi
5. CanadaGenealogy or 'Jane's Your Aunt'
6. Genea-Musings
7. Granite In My Blood
8. Smoky Mountain Family History