Seven Unremarkable & Random Facts...

Welp, folks, I've been tagged by Katie on this one, so I'm gonna stand and deliver! :-)

Here are the rules for the game:
*Link to the person that tagged you
*Post the rules on your blog.
*Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
*Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
*Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

OK, so I read some really insightful words by a dude in Seattle recently, and one his thoughts was this:

"It is impossible to truly know someone via the internet. ... The internet is a place where everyone puts the things out there that they want to be known, for obvious reasons."

I'm sure I'm guilty of that in all sorts of ways, so I going to try to throw out a few random facts that I'm not particularly proud of... just to keep things real around here:) [this could be brutal...]

1. I really do not like any sort of contact with my belly-button.
I couldn't really tell you why this is, but it just doesn't feel right to me... maybe because it's somewhat like an "amputated region", if you will... ha, gross! In my mind, it's similar to touching wooden popsicle sticks and/or wooden spoons to my teeth...eek (not the "amputated" aspect, just the "not right" part). Suffice it to say, I can't stand to even touch it myself... so don't even think about it (TARA!).

2. For the better part of my childhood, I had poofy hair... and i was short... and scrawny.
That's pretty much it people. Poofy hair + short + scrawny² = LADIES MAN. And by "ladies man," I really mean "ladies mascot." I had no game, as they say. The ethos that I just described above carried me well into high school where all the girls thought I was cute... cute like a 1991 troll doll. Fortunately, I grew smart enough in junior high to cut off the brillo pad, God donated to me a few more inches, and I toned-up just in time to catch Tara's eye at Wheaton. Whew.

3. In third grade, one of my prized drawings was my detailed rendering of M.C. Hammer.
Too Legit, baby. I spent a lot of time drawing as a child. It was the thing that my best friend, Clint, and I would do day after day as we aspired to be cartoonists for either Disney Studios or Warner Bros. (this was back in the Animaniacs & Tiny Toons days). So, given my acute perception for the fine arts, what else would I spend days upon days working on than a tedious drawing of Hammer himself? Envision it, friends: bulky gold chain on the wrist, masterfully trimmed mustache, and, of course, the signature shaved lines on the side of his head. My mom helped me frame it, and it hung on my wall for years.

4. I tend towards being quite orthogonal.
I came across this word for the first time a few months ago in this cool article, and when Tara heard the definition she said, "Whoa... that's you." And I agree, to a point. For as long as I can remember, I've been a borderline case of OCD... but really it's just a tendency of mine, not an actual condition. Truthfully, I think my attention to detail in certain situations is simply reflective of my bent to be orthogonal. Aesthetically I'm, more often than not, drawn to clean, profound lines where the simplicity begets a deeper reality/symbolism... a harmony and balance. One thing that rubs me wrong, though, is when people interpret this tendency of mine as "linear." I just don't perceive myself that way...

5. I believe that social enterprise is changing the world.
Organizations such as the Skoll Foundation and Ashoka are really on to something here. This stuff really gets my mind pumping.

6. I am white.
Most of you are probably saying to yourself, "Uh, yeah Adam... I know (idiot)." No, unless you REALLY know me, you don't understand that I'M REALLY WHITE. Embarrassingly so... but only in an America-gotta-be-tan-for-my-photo-shoot sort of way. I've often thought we should move to Norway... or Sweden... where most people look JUST LIKE ME! [kidding].

7. I don't know what happened to my toes!...
...but they seem to work just fine. Alright, this is pretty embarrassing (in any country), but for whatever reason my toes are pretty dang ugly. Tara and I were just laughing about this one, and she had the grand idea that we TAKE A PICTURE OF THEM! Oh man, THEY LOOK BROKEN DON'T THEY?! Ha, I don't know why I went along with her on this one, but here goes nothin' [apologies in advance... I did my best to "pretty it up" with a little sepia-tone and vignette]:


Good, great, grand. Thanks for making it this far! And, in line with the rules, I now tag the following victims to carry-on this tomfoolery: Jacob, Justin, Jeremiah, Jamie, Whitney, & Moses!