94 things about me, because i couldn't think of a hundred that were interesting

1.  I was born in Galveston, Texas.
2.  We moved to Valparaiso, Indiana when I was two.
3.  I grew up in various towns, both small and large, in and around Chicago.
4.  I was in band in high school, including a couple of years as drum major for the marching band.
5.  I got to wear the big hat and carry the big pole.
6.  That’s “shako” and “mace” to those in the know.
7.  I got a BA from Kalamazoo College.
8.  My degree was in economics.
9.  I never went into that field.
10.  One week after graduating, I moved to New York. 
11.  I got started in the food business working at Dean & Deluca.
12.  I have never eaten so well, so consistently, as I did during that job.
13.  It was five years before the city—and the AIDS crisis—wore me down.
14.  I stopped counting after I lost my 25th friend to that hideous disease. 
15.  It was a relief to be back in the Midwest.
16.  I worked in a bunch of really great kitchens in Chicago, under some amazing chefs.
17.  There were also a few clunkers in there, sad to say.
18.  I left Chicagoland in August of 2003.
19.  I now live in Shaker Heights, Ohio. 
20.  As far as I can tell, there are no more Shakers left here.
21.  I love the change of seasons the Midwest affords.
22.  I would hate to wear the same clothing year-round.
23.  My work is very important to me.
24.  I love the job I have right now.
25.  Everyone at my work thinks I am 10 years younger than I really am.
26.  I like a vodka martini…positively arid.  Basically, what I’m looking for is ice-cold Hangar One or Belvedere, with a twist, in one of those cool shaped glasses.  As for the vermouth, the bartender should have it nearby without actually putting any into the shaker. 
27.  And yes:  shaken, not stirred.
28.  I do my best to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables everyday.
29.  I also do my best to eat at least one serving of chocolate everyday.
30.   I am an excellent cook and baker (and obviously not afraid to brag about it).
31.  Julia Child is one of my heroes.
32.  She taught me how to cook, as well as several important things about cooking.
33.  “Always remember, you’re alone in the kitchen.  No one can see what you’re doing out there.”
34.  “Never apologize for what you’re serving.  Bring it to the table with a proud smile and pretend that your failure is exactly the way you intended it to be.”
35.  My favorite things to make are comfort foods like meatloaf, roast chicken, brownies, biscuits, etc.
36.  I make my own puff pastry.
37.  My favorite dessert is chocolate cake.
38.  There as many different recipes for chocolate cake as there are restaurants and bakers.
39.  After 25 years of collecting kitchen equipment, I’ve stopped going to cookware stores. 
40.  That means one of two things:  I have everything, or I need a bigger kitchen.
41.  I LOVE coffee.
42.  My first cup in the morning is always instant…preferably Nescafe.
43.  That way, I’m drinking coffee 90 seconds after I get out of bed.
44.  I drive a forest green Saturn station wagon. 
45.  It’s about as far from a sportscar as one can get.
46.  I am fluent in German.
47.  All of my father’s family still lives in Germany and Switzerland.
48.  I speak un peu French and un poco  Spanish.
49.  My favorite vacations usually center around cities (New York, San Francisco, Amsterdam), but I had a spectacular time on the island of Kaua’i this spring.
50.  Vitals:  5’11”,  140, brown hair, hazel eyes, goatee, glasses.
51.  When I was in my youth, I was painfully thin.
52.  When I hit 39, everything changed.
53.  At that time, I acquired a belly which I have nicknamed “the alien baby.”
54.  I came to need bifocals.
55.  I can no longer function on 4 hours sleep, as I could at 25.
56.  I prefer my fashion as simple as possible.
57.  I am on my third identical pair of Timberland oxfords in as many decades.
58.  Briefs…never boxers.
59.  I like bold colors in my living space.
60.  My apartment currently sports the hues of the dutch railway.
61.  My last apartment was smurf blue, red clay, eggplant and clinique green.
62.  I watch too much television.
63.  I am a star trek fan, although I would not call myself a trekkie.
64.  I rarely watch the news on tv, though. 
65.  I get my information from the web or NPR, thereby avoiding the endlessly annoying video that goes along with CNNMSNBCABCNBCCBSFOXnews.
66.  I am not a religious person at all, but I would consider myself somewhat spiritual.
67.  I find it hard to believe that all this incredible beauty and order we are aware of around us just happened by accident.
68.  I came out to my parents when I was 19 and we’ve never looked back.  They’ve been remarkably accepting and loving.  I’m a very lucky man.
69.  My father was the first president of the Chicago chapter of PFLAG.
70.  My mother wrote a book on children coming out to their parents.
71.  One of our proudest family moments was marching together in the gay pride parade in Chicago.
72.  I’ve been in love a coupla times before.
73.  My first boyfriend from college is now married with children.
74.  My second boyfriend partnered with my then best friend.
75.  The results were a disaster for me.
76.  After a few years, we all became friends again.
77.  I now have the most wonderful boyfriend/partner/husband in the world.
78.  He and I are now engaged to be _________ed. 
79.  We aren’t quite sure what the verb will be, yet. 
80.  We bought each other rings and are wearing them now.
81.  I know that he is THE ONE.  Period.
82.  Favorite authors:  Don Delillo, Raymond Carver, Steve Erickson, Paul Auster.
83.  Favorite books from these authors: Underworld;  Where I’m Calling From;  Days Between Stations;  The New York Trilogy.
84.  Favorite magazines:  Fine Cooking; Cook’s Illustrated
85.  Favorite music:  Melissa Etheridge, Anita Baker, Sade, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson (pre-1995), Boston, Led Zeppelin, Disco in general.
86.   Favorite movies:  2001 A Space Odyssey (and most of the rest of Kubrick); Lawrence of Arabia;   The Women.
87.  Favorite artists:  Warhol, Rothko, Mondrian, Mapplethorpe, Holzer
88.  Favorite restaurant dishes, presented as a single menu:  
              grilled seafood sausage at Chanterelle (NYC);
              gazpacho with warm langoustines at Christophe (Amsterdam); 
              sea scallops and oxtails at Les Nomades (Chicago);
              roasted pork with potato gratin at Chez Panisse (Berkeley, CA); 
              salade verte at Lutece (NYC); 
               sticky toffee pudding at The Ivy (London); 
               mignardises at Charlie Trotter’s (Chicago).
89.  In addition to cooking and baking, I once learned how to knit and made a half-dozen sweaters. 
90.  I also know how to do home canning, including jams and pickles and relishes.
91.  On the other hand, I hate doing laundry and housecleaning.
92.  When I win the lottery, I want to take singing lessons.
93.  I strongly dislike both olives and blue cheese.

94. Let's not elect him this time, either.
 

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