Tagged!

So I was "tagged" by Jen the other day. As far as I can tell, being tagged means that I have to tell you 8 random things about myself that you might not know. Should be interesting. I'm not sure what there might be that people might not know, but I'll give it a try. Of course, these will be old news to you, Cindy, but then I guess that's to be expected. So here goes, 8 random things about me, in no particular order.

1. Hot tubs! I love hot tubs. Whenever we travel anywhere, I will only stay at a motel that has a hot tub. Something about all the hot water and bubbles and jets after a long day in the car. Very relaxing. A few years ago we purchased a small hot tub and set it up in our garage. This was in North Dakota so it had to be somewhere out of the winter wind. Anyway, I used that hot tub every single day that we had it set up. Even when it was 30 below outside. Couldn't get enough of it. Sadly, we haven't been able to get it set up since we moved to Louisisana. We have to have a patio put in first, and we just haven't gotten around to having anyone put the patio in.


2. Movies. This one is a bit odd, but hey, I'll bet people don't really know this about me (and I'll never hear the end of this once the guys at work get hold of this), but one of my favorite movies of all times is "My Fair Lady". Not sure why that is, but it's a show that really appeals to me. Probably for all the wrong reasons. Professor Higgins just cracks me up. He is always so superior to everyone and in many cases dismisses many people as if they were inanimate objects. I like that about him. Makes me laugh.


3. Louisiana. I've never been a person to enjoy being anywhere that has a combination of heat and humidity, but I love living in Louisiana for some reason. I had been dreading the move simply because of the heat and humidity issues down there. Then one day, before we moved, I just decided that I was going to be living down there, and it was going to be hot and humid so I had just better accept it. I did, and believe it or not, I think that attitude helped make the climate more bearable because last summer it didn't bother me at all. Yes, it was hot and humid, but it didn't get to me. It didn't stop me from going out and doing things. But I love Louisiana. I love the food! The wonderful spicy Cajun food. Some good gumbo or Jambalya with a bit of alligator sausage thrown in. Man, that is some good stuff. I like the culture of Louisisana, a combination of the old south, with it's plantations and such, mixed with the French influence, the creole input. It's all good. Our first Mardi Gras was a blast. So, you may not have known that before but I truly enjoy living in Louisiana.


4. Music. I love music. Most kinds of music. I still feel that "country music" is one of the great oxymorons of all time, but that's just my opinion. I thought everyone knew this about me, but was surprised to hear Mom say once, not long ago, "I thought you'd outgrown that." Nope, sorry to say, but I haven't. Cindy uses the term obsessed. She says I'm obsessed with music. I do enjoy it. Mostly what is termed as classic rock. Led Zeppelin, Rush, Queen, Aerosmith, The Who, Steely Dan. All the great bands from the sixties and seventies, before MTV ruined the music business for us all. I also love Jazz. Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington. Even some of the newer fusion jazz stuff is great. The Brecker Brothers, Spyro Gyra, The Yellowjackets. Classical has it's appeal also. Mozart, first and foremost, Bach, Beethoven. Jumping back to Louisiana for a second, I've even begun to enjoy the Zydeco they play down here. Lots of fun to listen to. To give you an idea, currently here in Iraq I have over 6,500 music tracks with me. Both on my laptop and on my MP3 player.


5. Like Jen mentioned in her blog, I am a deep sleeper. I never realized how deep until I got here to Iraq. There have been several times that while driving in to work in the morning, Stoli will ask what I thought of the big explosion that happened in the middle of the night. Nope! Don't know a thing about it. Must have slept through the whole thing!


6. Also like Jen, I love to be organized. I know Cindy's laughing at this already, but she knows what I'm talking about. I love the idea of being organized. Now, that being said, I do have a difficult time making the transition between liking to be organized, and actually being organized. Don't think that's ever going to happen. Although, if you look at my bedside table compared to Cindy's bedside table, well it's like the difference between an orderly, well maintained yard, and a jungle. Sorry Hon, but you know it's true.


7. Roadtrip! I love being on the road. Even better if it's with Cindy. I don't know what it is, but when the two of us get in the car for a long trip, it just makes me happy. Knowing we're going to be in the car together for a few days, staying in motels, eating on the road. It's just fun. We have a good time together.


8. This last one is something of a corollary to number 7. I don't drive far enough for Cindy. Cindy's idea of a good day on the road is to start driving early in the morning and stop driving late at night. Bah! I like to enjoy myself. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and on top of that it's not even a race. Get on the road by 8 am and stop in time to relax a bit in the motel before dinner. Hang out in the hot tub (remember those) and maybe watch a movie on TV before going to sleep. I like the trip, but I don't want the whole time to be spent on the road. That's just me though.

Well, that's 8 things. Don't know if that revealed anything to anyone that they didn't already know. Jen already Tagged Melissa and Cindy doesn't have a blog or I'd tag her. Maybe I can convince her to start one. Probably not though, I've been trying.

Everythings good here. All is well. Counting down the days until I leave. I'm down to 76 days remaining, but who's counting?