From Facebook to Blogger, here are 25 random "facts" about me:
1. As a child, I hated having an androgynous name. When I complained about it, my mother informed me there are a lot of men named Jesse. (There really aren't.) The clincher: I was named after my Aunt Jesse.
2. A lot of people are anxious about growing older. I look forward to it--with, of course, minimal reservations--because I feel younger and more energetic than I ever did when I was young. And hell, I started losing my hair at sixteen anyway.
3. I actually don't know that many words, and that becomes more apparent every time I pick up a new novel for class or the latest edition of The Atlantic. If I encounter a word I don't know, I look it up. That's how you build a vocabulary; it's not innate knowledge.
4. Yes, I have some loose skin, and I'll probably get more. I would only consider surgery if it were fully covered by my insurance. It doesn't bother me that much.
5. I'm honestly surprised when people can't tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi. They're so distinctive.
6. While J. Alfred Prufrock measured out his life in coffee spoons, I've delineated mine in Excel spreadsheets.
7. I think I would have been more at home in a school more like Kenyon or Dennison. Who knows if I would have gotten in, though.
8. I can't imagine living in the suburbs again (barring Evanston or Oak Park).
9. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "The Strength to Love" is one of the most convincing Christian texts I've ever read.
10. I imagine my difficulties with growing up in a fundamentalist church and home will resurface in much of my fiction and other writing.
11. I love that Caroline is very critical and can explain her standards. And can explain why a movie, book, or piece of art in question doesn't live up to them. There's more than that I love about her, of course, but it's definitely up there.
12. I'm ready for the inauguration to be over so the honeymoon will end and the presidency will get into full swing.
13. In the year-plus I've lived in my apartment, I've never had food delivered.
14. I didn't enjoy my childhood. Too fat and too many rules.
15. If I had to do it again, I would publish a picture of two men kissing on the front page of The Chimes. Call me hubristic, but what people labeled as controversial or sensational in 2005, they'll call bold and visionary in 2055.
16. I'm annoyed when people give smart-ass answers to idiomatic questions. (Like "Do you have the time?" "Yes.") Come on, exercise some cultural literacy.
17. I'll probably always be remembered as the guy who lost 200+ lbs. I'd much rather be remembered as a great novelist, short story writer, or something along those lines, but we can't pick what people will choose to remember. And I'm beginning to think it's not that bad of a thing to be remembered for.
18. A few books really have changed my life, or at least the way I think about my life. They include A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, The Four Quartets, and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
19. Dr. Griffith once awarded me the smartass-English-major-of-the-year award. God, I wish I could put that on a resume. (I wrote the best quip to his error on a grammar test. That quip: "It's OK. You went to state school.")
20. I don't know what I'll do with my master's in writing and publishing. Write? Publish? I just know I wanted to learn more and am enjoying it immensely.
21. I didn't like shopping for clothes much when all I could wear was the hodgepodge shit at Casual Male B&T. Now that I can shop at major chains, I do and somewhat enjoy it. But I'm still very distressed when people are judged by their clothing. I also don't care for the assertion that someone who's artsy or intellectual can't shop at Old Navy.
22. I have a helluva lot of respect and admiration for my brother. He's intelligent, charismatic, and hilarious. And he can do something useful with his hands.
23. I really hate all the food associated with Christmas. People just don't need to buy, prepare, and eat that much food. I understand it's a celebration, but isn't there a line between celebration and gluttony?
24. I love this Christopher Hitchens quote in a review about Edmund Wilson: "Anyone who has ever tried to digest The Da Vinci Code, for example, or the Left Behind series, will know that bad writing, aimed at a subliterate audience, is actually much more difficult to read than anything by Borges or Kundera."
25. I tell people I like to write, but I rarely do. I need to change that.