Who is this steelbuddha?
There are probably 100 things people who read this site (even if they are close friends) don’t know (about me, the site, etc.) and might want to. This will probably be a rotating feature somewhere at some point. And I will likely edit and edit this as I get sick of my own description. For now, due to low creativity and passion, it will be a simple post.
1. The name, steelbuddha, is a forcing together of the names of two heroes. STEEL is a nickname (currently under debate) used for me by a certain group of friends. Buddha was just a really cool guy.
2. I am 6′ 3″ tall. I do not know what that translates to, metrically.
3. I am not sure whether I spelled metrically correctly, but I am pretty sure it deserves that ‘al’ even if I did not.
4. I attended University of Wisconsin-Parkside for English Literature, but just as I finally became interested in really learning from someone, he retired. I did not graduate.
5. My grandfather asks about that a lot.
6. I work as a web programmer, knowledgeable in HTML, Javascript, and CSS. I am not much of a designer, nor am I versed in backend or database programming, and this specialization, while valuable to my company, makes me a little nervous about job security.
7. I am currently heavier than I have ever been, despite my being in considerably better physical condition than a year ago.
8. I have in the past been instructed in the martial arts by Master Paul Chay, and I reached high brown belt over the course of eleven years of study (on and off).
9. I once taught stage combat to high school students for the yearly Madrigal Feaste at my alma mater.
10. I have a friend that I have known since grade school that I rarely speak to anymore, but we still consider ourselves good friends. We kissed once when I was in college, but I think we were both just very lonely.
11. I used to entertain notions of becoming a professional writer or editor, but I think I read too little to do either.
12. Blogging is my way of getting back into the habit of writing on a regular basis to sharpen my skills.
13. I’m not sure that it is working.
14. I have written and submitted 2 articles to GameGrene. I intended to write more.
15. I have had three girlfriends who I was with long enough to be called so. Maybe four, depending on your definition.
16. Some of the women with whom I have had short, mostly sexual relationships are still my friends. The others left on good terms.
17. My best friend was shocked to hear me refer to one of these women as a “fuck buddy,” despite the fact that it was mostly true and mutual.
18. I was genuinely in love with my last girlfriend.
19. That girlfriend was married when I fell in love with her. Her ex-husband may still believe that I attempted to steal her away, when that is simply not true.
20. At every physical I have been given, the doctor has been impressed with my cholesterol and blood pressure and given me a glowing bill of health.
21. I wear glasses, but right now I am stuck with contacts.
22. Building websites makes me feel like I am accomplishing something, but also feels so immaterial that I wonder why I bother.
23. I do a fair amount of freelance web work, some of it for free.
24. I built a mini-site focusing on Thing 9, but I think no one involved has seen it.
25. What frustrates me most is misrepresentation through miscommunication.
26. I am willing to work out strenuously several times a week if it means I can eat whatever I want.
27. I try not to eat whatever I want.
28. On average, I do not work out strenuously several times a week.
29. I have declared bankruptcy, and I am not ashamed of that fact.
30. I helped Raggedy Android start her own business focused on two of her passions: wild, futuristic, cybery fashion and games mostly of the role-playing variety.
31. I haven’t played a role-playing game in weeks, unless you count computer games.
32. Not too long ago, I would play more than one role-playing game on a weekly basis, but I had a sort of game falling out with several people I played with. We stick mostly to computer games and movies as social activities now.
33. I have circles of friends that could never intersect, so different are their personalities.
34. I attended Tai Chi classes for almost a year before returning to Tae Kwon Do. I now attend yoga.
35. Had I more money and time, I would learn all of them. Mostly more money.
36. Raggedy Android’s name is Clare. I honestly think that is the most beautiful word in the world.
37. My singing voice is a solid baritone, but my range goes well into tenor. I can’t get much lower than baritone.
38. I have been asked to be lead singer in two bands.
39. I have been drummer in the same two bands.
40. I have met and played with several talented musicians, but I consider myself technically and emotionally lacking in the area of music.
41. I played baritone (euphonium) throughout six years of schooling. I never practiced at home.
42. My jazz band instructor in Junior High thought I could be an excellent jazz trombonist if I learned the instrument. I played jazz baritone instead because I was lazy. I still got the first trombone parts.
43. I sometimes wish I had joined choir instead.
44. I thought I hated the girl who played the other baritone in band class. When we graduated from high school, I realized I did not. I think she even came to my graduation party. She apparently was a lifeguard, as she wore a red one-piece bathing suit to the pool party which had the appropriate patches. I didn’t ask.
45. I think I have the story confused a bit as a girl I had a crush on throughout junior high came to my graduation party and was a lifeguard. They were both lifeguards, I found out somehow, but I don’t think the baritone player came to my graduation party. I did not invite her.
46. I had a joint graduation party with three other guys that I was close with. We themed it as a Lord of the Flies party. We had a bonfire, painted people’s faces as they came in, and played games in my friend’s parents’ 3 acre wooded property.
47. That was my idea.
48. I had a lot of good ideas in high school for which other people received an undue amount of credit.
49. Looking back, I was quite the pushover in high school.
50. Of my current friends, I am among the only ones who were not beat up for being weird when they were younger. Picked on, yes, but never beat up.
51. I’m still considered weird by many people.
52. I favor the mistaken identity Buddha, Hotei, to the real thing.
53. I resemble Hotei more.
54. I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000, and I was glad to see that my vote counted, but am *very* disappointed in the results.
55. I voted for John Kerry in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008, hoping for the best.
56. Politically, I am relatively well informed.
57. I care for people, but I am a bit of an elitist when it comes to intelligence.
58. For example, I am prejudiced against those who watch, however ironically, reality television.
59. That is not to say I *hate* them, only that I consider them less intelligent than I normally would for at least the length of one conversation.
60. I was raised Catholic. I was an altar boy for many years. I thought about becoming a priest, until puberty.
61. I do not go to church even at Christmas and Easter, any more.
62. I still sometimes talk to God, whether he listens or not, whether he cares or not, whether he exists or not. It’s comforting.
63. I sometimes get unreasonably jealous when I see women that I once took interest in, and who may once have fancied me, laughing at someone else’s jokes.
64. I am affected emotionally by music (who isn’t?), and am offended when people play theirs out loud in public, rather than as a personal experience. Even if it is a song I love, I would rather not hear it right at this moment, thank you. This applies to work environments and cars mostly and does not apply to live music played outdoors, including street musicians.
65. I have been guilty of driving around with my windows down playing something obnoxiously loud.
66. I once was singing in my car with the windows down, oblivious to the world around. I finished a song at a red light, and some teenage girls walking nearby applauded and whooped. I took sheepish pleasure in that, even if they meant to make fun. I am now cast in leads in musicals.
67. I was involved in one online romance. It was a mistake, but not as big a one as my friends make it out to be.
68. Once, in a large group of women who were describing signs that a man is gay, I fit all the criteria. When I said so, one responded, “But you’re clearly not.”
69. I was not as sure.
70. I am now.
71. I miss being young and crazy, but I do not think I am likely to have a midlife crisis.
72. Some of my friends who have known me for some time still consider me crazy, but, really, I’ve slowed down.
73. I wanted this to be more amusing than it is. Still, perhaps truth is better.
74. I entertain fantasies of becoming a real-life superhero quite often.
75. I occasionally entertain detailed fantasies of committing the perfect crime, but only because I want the money to then become a superhero.
76. I do not know how to respond when someone asks me about my religion. I do not subscribe to any, but I haven’t even a clue what I’m closest to.
77. I cannot be a real Buddhist because I do not like to think about my world without my computer. I horde data in the form of movies, pictures, music, and games, and while they take no physical space, it is still essentially materialism.
78. The closest person to being Buddhist that I know is BB, who does pretty well for an American. Obviously, people who live in less materialistic societies stand a better chance.
79. I have several t-shirts with Buddha on them, which sort of proves my point.
80. My wardrobe consists almost entirely of different colored, clever phrase-emblazoned, T-shirts and jeans.
81. I was once known for my ability to retain comedy material I’ve heard and produce it on demand.
82. I think this came from some psychological need to always have something entertaining on hand at any point, in case I get bored. I intentionally tried to undo this trait, and now being an actor, wish I hadn’t.
83. I like the spotlight, but I try not to hog it.
84. I may be too lazy to pursue am pursuing a dream of performing in stage plays or as a voice actor, and friends have encouraged me along that path.
85. Raggedy Android thinks of me whenever she hears Weezer. This comes from a vacation to Florida where I insisted on playing a lot of Weezer in the rented car.
86. I used to be a tremendously loyal Tori Amos fan, but her last few albums have sounded very repetitive to me. I have purchased some of them anyway, but I think I am over my fascination with her music.
87. Apart from the desire of man for *every* woman, I have never lusted or crushed after her. I sincerely loved her music and hearing her speak.
88. As I was writing this, Elizabeth chimed in that one of my hundred things should be that I dance well.
89. I do dance well, but other than club dancing and a sort of mockery of boy bands, breakdancing, and that Russian deep-knee thing, I can only waltz.
90. I have dressed in many costumes, even when not in a play and not on Halloween. I was the Argentinian from Moulin Rouge for Halloween in 2002 and Heihachi Mishima from Tekken last year. Both costumes were painstakingly handcrafted by Raggedy Android with a little help from me.
91. Some consider me a romantic, but I do not honestly consider myself one. I think poetry and flowery compliments were just my best chance of impressing a woman, and I have some talent with words.
92. I am impressed by people who use a large vocabulary well. I am unimpressed by those who use a large vocabulary poorly.
93. It took me about an hour and a half to write this, and I did it at work.
94. I am a slacker when bored, but I have a strong work ethic when there is actual work to do.
95. Until recently, I would not have considered myself someone who had good “follow-through.” I have made a conscious effort to change that.
96. I call my stepfather “Dad”; he adopted me at age 11. He adopted me mostly for convenience in legal matters, but I believe he loves me like his son.
97. My stepfather and mother were divorced when I was 17. My father and mother were divorced probably before I could see past my own hands; I never knew him and do not care to.
98. I have a half-sister who is suffering from a genetic disorder that hinders her ability to communicate (the child of my mother and stepfather) who is 13 years younger than me and a half-brother who is 14 years younger than me. I only refer to them as “half” for simplicity when explaining.
99. I chose a pretty late number to get into that.
100. I am done now.
You suck Chris
Comment by Ripley — 11/19/2005 @ 8:52 pm
Just Kidding. You Rock!!!!!!!!!
Comment by Ripley — 11/19/2005 @ 8:54 pm
What is it about these “100 things” lists? No matter how boring the person writing it thinks it is, I always get caught up in them.
Maybe I’m just damn nosy.
Comment by Sherri — 1/25/2006 @ 3:25 pm
In all honesty, you shouldn’t worry about the weight thing. I know you know muscle weighs more than fat, and if you’re in the best shape of your life, your weight is going to be higher for your size than it ever was before.
KNOWING this information is one thing, BELIEVING it is something else. This I know. Still, I thought I’d mention it, as it’s possibly the one useful comment I can make in relation to this whole list. :)
Very honest, very informative, very touching, and very you, my friend.
Comment by Skip — 1/29/2006 @ 3:07 pm
PS: You’re 6’3″? Because I’m 6′, and I didn’t think our heights had THAT much difference… well, maybe it’s my perception…
Comment by Skip — 1/29/2006 @ 3:08 pm
I tend to wear shoes with flat soles, I have no hair on top of my head, I slouch, and I’ve somehow learned to take up less personal space then someone of my height. But I am 6′ 2.75″ or so.
As for the weight thing, I’m not too terribly concerned; just thought I’d mention it for the sake of physical description. Still, dealing with other people for stunts and the like, it pays to be lighter for the sake of everyone’s safety. Plus, you can jump higher. =)
Comment by steelbuddha — 1/30/2006 @ 9:54 am
That was really interesting! You’re such an interesting person (in the good way), no wonder I miss fencing… but don’t worry I’ll be back. ; )
Comment by Dread Pirate Roberts (Gally) — 7/22/2006 @ 2:20 am
Hi Chris,
I just had to let you know how much I’ve been missing you at hd. Even though they tried to hire a guy to replace you who looks just like you, it’s not the same. I just realized I don’t have an email address to reach you–or Travis either, for that matter–so I can remind you to check out stuff like Sacha Baron Cohen’s interview on NPR
How’s it going??
–Kathy
Comment by Kathy Yanoff — 3/12/2007 @ 9:37 am
Wow, it was great to read this list. I never noticed the link before. I’m glad I found it today.
Thank you for the great read, my illustrious host.
We should get together again for drinks or something.
Comment by Lane — 10/17/2007 @ 10:28 am