the smedley log - suburban scrawl

A random number of things about me

Apparently a certain meme has saturated the web in recent days and weeks. Not being one to conform too willingly, I’ve amended the terms of the existing “8 things” meme to my own liking. (For an example of what this meme might look like when practiced properly, check out Eric’s, Marisa’s, Scott’s or Tony’s.)

For my part, I’ve decided to pare down the rules to telling you whatever number of random things occur to me to share as I type. Could be eight, or three, or maybe even a lucky 13. Most people won’t already know these things, but a few might, either by my admission or just because I’m that transparent. So here goes:

1. I have a strong dislike for EZ Pass. While I travel the PA Turnpike on a daily basis, I have yet to give in to the alleged ease of flying through the EZ Pass lanes. Hopefully, I will not ever be forced to succumb to the dark side on this one. My reasons for this dislike are many. Here are a small handful of those reasons:

   I’m a union man, and I like to give the Turnpike Commission as much reason as possible to keep my human toll taker friends on the job for as long as possible. Additionally, I just like the idea of interacting with someone as I exit the toll road every day, even if it’s only a smile and a hello. I feel strongly that there are far too many currents in life already driving us further from personal interaction, be they the EZ Pass, virtual communities on the internet or any of the countless other anti-social influences in our lives. And last, but not least, I’ve seen too many Law & Order reruns where the bad guy gets caught because of EZ Pass records – I just want to keep one more avenue open in case I need to get away with murder some day

2. I’d rather pick a loser for the right reasons than a winner for the wrong ones. I take little satisfaction in winning for winning’s sake, which I guess means that, for me, there are only moral victories in life – and whatever else that entails.
3. Every girl I’ve ever dated has complimented one particular skill of mine. At points I’ve actually wondered if this is a stock compliment all women give to their boyfriends, though I want to believe the praise is genuine.
4. I can’t stand Dilbert, but I love Scott Adams’ Dilbert Blog. How can such a compelling writer create such a boring comic strip? Don’t answer that, and don’t hate me for my lack of, um, office humor appreciation? – I know there are legions of Dilbert fans out there. There must be.

Yeah, four’s all I could come up with. And I’ll abstain from tagging anyone else on philosophical grounds. That’s all for now.

Man, that #3’s gotta be something good. Leaving it a mystery is even better!

That just makes me want to tell everyone, Frank