101 Things About Me

• I have three wonderful and beautiful children (two boys and a girl).
• I am constantly getting my children's names mixed up.
• My father often calls me Tom (his brother's name).
• I'm in love.
• I love being a dad.
• I'm addicted to notebooks and bags (we have quite the collection).
• Warm laundry straight from the dryer makes me feel good.
• If I could fully embrace a new sport I'd choose surfing. I've always loved water, being outside, the sun, and sports that require balance.
• I love peaches. Especially if I picked them.
• If I had to pick a place to be it would be elsewhere, most of the time.
• I love competition.
• If there is something technically new on the web I can usually reverse engineer it.
• My uncle John nick-named me "bambino peio". It is an Italian word for "spoiled brat".
• I have huge problems finding a definition to describe myself.
• We built and own a log home in Salcha, Alaska on the Tanana River. It is our little corner of the world and we love it there.
• I like waking up in the morning during winter and seeing everything covered in snow. White, untouched. And then going back to bed.
• My kids never let me sleep in.
• I believe that I have a duty to do what is right.
• I've owned four sailboats in my life.
• I'm not a fan of the American sports basketball, baseball, or football. I do love most Olympic sports, however.
• I love the wind (it brings good luck).
• I love coming back home and being welcomed as if I was missed.
• I read about 10 books at a time and only keep reading the ones that hold my interest.
• Daisies are my favorite flowers. They grow where-ever they please.
• I sometimes tickle my children too much. Still, they always come back for more.
• My oldest boy is autistic. He is very innocent and has a unique and fun perspective on life.
• If I look at my alarm clock and see the same number all over: 1:11, 2:22, 3:33 etc... I make a wish.
• I qualified as an Olympic Hopeful for the 1992 Barcelona Games in the Pole Vault.
• I've broken 9 pole vault poles in my career. The last one I broke was from a skate board being pulled by a bungee cord.
• I'm very careful when starting new projects.... since it is very important to finish what I start.
• I often spend the whole night working, because during the day I prefere doing something else. Night keeps me concentrated.
• I'm the only one in my immediate family without hearing loss or eye glasses.
• I have never had problems falling asleep. You give me 5 minutes and I'm sleeping.
• Solutions to problems come to me in my sleep. Most of my ideas came out in those moments.
• I'm also an avid photographer.
• I have two beautiful older sisters.
• When I was a kid I used to think I was destined for greatness. I didn't know what that would be exactly, but I knew it was important and special.
• I hate to be in a place full of smoke. It stinks.
• I find people pretending they know what they are talking about quite annoying.
• I love to rock climb and miss it terribly.
• I sometimes snore, but I have to be really tired and it wakes me up.
• I was on a gymnastics team for a while. I can still walk on my hands.
• If I could I would be travelling all year round.
• I love music. And I usually have a theme music playing in my head when I walk around.
• I always want to know how things work. And why and where and when...
• I think quality is better than quantity. In any case.
• I wish I could be more honest with myself, sometimes.
• I like to be among happy people. Some people spend most of their time looking bored and angry and they think this makes them somehow better. I don't get it.
• My dad and I restored a 1969 Dodge Superbee to mint. It belonged to my grand parents.
• I've wanted to live in Alaska since I was a child.
• I love trampolines.
• When I was young I didn't enjoy science fiction, but now I do.
• I hate walnuts and pecans.
• I once jumped from 100+ foot cliff at Lake Powell (not recommended).
• My first memory is climbing up a book shelf and jumping off to the couch.
• The first time my wife said she loved me was in Inupiaq in an igloo.
• I've lived in the Philippines for two years and speak Tagalog.
• I've played the classical guitar since I was small.
• Day care for my oldest boy was with a wildlife photographer, in a Suzuki Samari, cruising for polar bears.
• I've required stitches 11 times and broken 6 bones. My right had is contantly the offender to my left.
• I prefer dogs to cats. Currently we own a German Shepard and she is wonderful.
• My wife tells me I can't have my mid-life crisis till I'm 44.
• My daughter's middle name is "River". I was really hoping it would be her first.
• Favorite book: Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
• I have never done an illegal drug or even smoked a cigarette.
• I don't drink alcohol.
• I can be obsessive compulsive, sometimes.
• I was in a car that rolled over once. I wasn't driving and it was a good lesson in what seat belts are for.
• I am an optimist.
• I tend to play devil's advocate in almost every situation.
• Stars in the desert night sky makes me feel really small.
• I once heard the aurora borealis. I have witnesses.
• I was a volunteer fire fighter for three years.
• Hicham El Guerrouj picked up our first born during his victory lap and kissed him after running the fastest outdoor mile ever on U.S. soil, clocking three minutes 49.92 seconds at the Prefontaine Classic.
• I was the scarecrow in my 4th grade play and had to sing, "If I only had a brain" in front of the whole school.
• My dad broke my high school's pole vault record before I did just showing me how it was done. He was 50 years old at the time.
• I've done flips into the pool at the Olympic Training Center in Park City off one of the larger jumps.
• I had red hair as a child, light brown as a teenager, and now it is almost black. I suppose gray is next.
• My wife thinks I'm a dreamer.
• I can type over 100 words a minute on a good day.
• I can't go with out my internet connection. I might go insane.
• When I was little, I always knew that I would move far away.
• I love the ocean.
• Ravens are my favorite bird. They make the most interesting sounds.
• I'd like to go back in time and fix some things that I did.
• It rained the day I got married. Just a little.
• Having three kids is much harder than having two. But it is so much more fun!
• I think most music got worse after 1994.
• My parents are very nice people, and they will be married 50 years in 2007.
• I'm essentially a very happy person.
• I went to the 1996 Olympics just to watch the pole vault.
• I do love a good story and a good laugh.
• Indecision is my biggest pet peeve.
• I was on a swim team for many years in my youth. I've spent many early mornings in a cold swimming pool.
• I've kept a journal in some form since I was 12.
• I used to work in an amusement park as a ride operator.
• I believe that happiness is a choice that need not depend upon our circumstances.
• I believe in a higher power and that my faith is not in conflict with science (or vise-versa).
• I thrive on creativity.
• I occasionally fight lost causes.
• I love living in small towns.
• I believe those who claim they have "no regrets" in life are not living large enough.