Eight things you can tell just by looking at him

Hi everyone. I’ve been tagged by Pacheco at Bohemian Cinema with the 8 Things Meme. Basically, I write eight random facts/habits about myself, in the hope that they’ll be new to most of my readers, and then tag eight more folks. Here we go.

1. In 14 years of driving, I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket nor have I been in a wreck. I came close to the former while blazing through Monroe, Louisiana, going 82 mph in a 60 mph zone. The state trooper—after scanning my license and registration—merely shrugged and told me, “Slow it down, hoss.” I did.

2. On 4 November 2000, I drew a 24-hour comic. Despite the fact that I have virtually no drawing experience, and I know even less about cars, I spent a full day creating a comic about a muffler man who comes to life. The concept of the 24-hour comic, founded by Scott McCloud, is simple. You have 24 hours—and only 24 hours—to write, design, draw, ink, and letter a comic from scratch. You cannot plan out or lay out the comic until the self-imposed clock starts ticking. And you have to stop when your 24 hours is up. I started at midnight on 4 November, went to bed around 4 a.m., woke up at 7:30 a.m., and work—soaked in coffee, inhaling Chinese takeout—until the following midnight. The comic’s called “Muñeco” (essentially, “muffler man” in Spanish), and, hell, I still think it’s pretty good. It’s time to do something with the original art. I may post it online as a PDF, once I buy a scanner this weekend. If you’re interested in having a copy, let me know, and we’ll work something out.

3. On practically every day in the fall and spring, I make myself a single vodka martini (okay, occasionally two) when I get home from work, and sit on my balcony with a book. I read until the martini is finished, which normally takes about an hour. It’s my unwinding ritual.

4. I watch less than five hours of television a week. I haven’t had a regular show in over a year. Admittedly, I watch 2-3 movies on DVD a week.

5. I keep a journal of every book and every movie I see. Usually, my notes are brief—the date I watched/read, perhaps a letter grade. When inspired or provoked, I write a paragraph or two. I read three books a week, more or less.

6. On most workdays, my lunch consists of the following: tuna fish sandwich on toasted wheat bread, with lettuce and sliced tomato; a Granny Smith apple; potato chips; and water or grapefruit juice. Despite my reputation as a foodie, the lunch menu is pretty bland—but cheap and relatively healthy—at la casa de QuietBubble.

7. For six months in 1997-1998, I played bass guitar. I took lessons from a genial hippie-in-disguise—we bonded over a mutual love of Phish, but he looked like a doughy computer tech guy; then again, so did the members of Phish. I used my then-girlfriend’s bass and amp. When we broke up, so did my dreams of becoming the next Bootsy Collins.

8. I never work on my birthday. Which is 15 October.

I tag the following: Tingle Alley, Noel Vera, M.S. Smith, Outer Life, The Shamus, Dennis Cozzalio, Our Girl in Chicago, and Girish.