10 Random Notes

Note: When I'm not writing reports about my performances in SL, or my music escapades in other realities, I often still enjoy writing about various things. But even when I don't have any specific topic in mind to write about, I still tend to write. Here are some random topics and fun facts.

1. Kat and I really do share the same birthday and Second Life rezday. Respectively, they are June 6 and October 12. We found out about the birthday thing before we were dating (we started as friends, as many good relationships do). The SL date is easier to understand, since we enrolled in SL at the same time, together on the phone (back then, in 2006, she was living in Seattle).

2. I wake up every weekday at 6AM, which I don't like at all, and drive my son to his middle school. It's not very far away and he can walk if necessary, but I enjoy being able to see him off. I also pick him up on most afternoons.

Good morning? If I didn't have coffee when I got up on weekdays, I'd probably just... not.

3. I usually eat a banana every morning. Bananas are really good for you nutritionally, and on mornings when I get up early, I don't like diving into some huge breakfast right away.

4. I'm a fan of the Oakland Raiders NFL team, and have been since the '80s. I'm not, like, some completely insane football fan. It doesn't take over my life, as I've seen in some people. But I do look forward to football season each year, and stand by my Raiders even when they suck (which they have for most of the last nine years). I participate in football pools just for fun, and I also write a weekly football column for an online forum of musicians who also like the NFL.

5. I work for myself and my business is based in my home, so my daily apparel here in the casual beach city where I live consists of shorts and a t-shirt and sandals, or, when it starts to get cooler, jeans and a t-shirt and sneakers. I work hard and am relatively successful, but I allow myself the luxury of never dressing up unless absolutely necessary.

6. I'm a good cook. When I was growing up, both of my parents worked, and I usually had to fend for myself for dinner and such. So, I learned from an early age how to be comfortable in the kitchen, and can actually handle some relatively gourmet-level dishes. I usually reserve my good cooking for the weekends, when I can take more time preparing food than I have during the week.

I cook a lot of things, but some of my more delectable delights are (left to right) steak au poivre, dill shrimp salad, and eggs benedict.

7. Only a few of my fans know that I'm a semi-capable piano player in addition to being a guitarist and singer and harmonica guy. I actually started my musical life on piano, but shifted to guitar before my 7th birthday. Still, I enjoy tickling the ivories from time to time.

8. Like many musicians, I used to have long hair, halfway down my back. I just got tired of the look eventually, and also tired of having to do anything to maintain my hair. I keep it pretty short these days.

9. I exercise every morning. I didn't until the start of 2011, but as I get older, I find it's really a problem if I don't keep physically active on a daily basis. While some of my more macho friends laugh at my use of the Wii Fit Plus, I can tell you that like most exercise programs, as long as you stick with it and take it seriously, it produces results.

Despite my evangelism of the Wii Fit Plus, I still supplement my exercise with some free weights. While I have no goals of being some big buff guy, having nice muscle tone in your arms is generally a good thing.

10. I think shaving is overrated. Sliding a sharpened piece of metal over my face every morning has never been my idea of fun. That's why I'm one of those guys that tends to walk around looking as if he just awoke under a bus stop bench.

I do shave, of course, usually every few days. Today is not going to be one of those days.