{"id":103,"date":"2004-04-14T12:02:39","date_gmt":"2004-04-14T16:02:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=103"},"modified":"2004-04-14T12:02:39","modified_gmt":"2004-04-14T16:02:39","slug":"inevitable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=103","title":{"rendered":"Inevitable."},"content":{"rendered":"

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.
\n
\n1. 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.
\n2. I am 6′ 3″ tall. I do not know what that translates to, metrically.
\n3. I am not sure whether I spelled metrically correctly, but I am pretty sure it deserves that ‘al’ even if I did not.
\n4. 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.
\n5. My grandfather asks about that a lot.<\/p>\n

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.
\n7. I am currently heavier than I have ever been, despite my being in considerably better physical condition than a year ago.
\n8. I am instructed in the martial arts by Master Paul Chay<\/a>, and have reached brown belt over the course of ten years of study (on and off). I test again in May.
\n9. I teach stage combat to high school students for the yearly Madrigal Feaste at my alma mater.
\n10. 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.<\/p>\n

11. I used to entertain notions of becoming a professional writer or editor, but I think I read too little to do either.
\n12. Blogging is my way of getting back into the habit of writing on a regular basis to sharpen my skills.
\n13. I’m not sure that it is working.
\n14. I have written and submitted 2 articles to GameGrene<\/a> and intend to write more. One has been published on the web and I am currently behind on my deadline for the third.
\n15. I have had only two girlfriends that I was with long enough to be called so. Maybe three, depending on your definition.<\/p>\n

16. Some of the women with whom I have had short, mostly sexual relationships are still my friends. The others left on good terms.
\n17. 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.
\n18. I am genuinely in love with my girlfriend. I refrain from using “current” as a descriptor as it would imply a transcience to our relationship.
\n19. My 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.
\n20. 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.<\/p>\n

21. I wear glasses, but right now I am stuck with contacts.
\n22. Building websites makes me feel like I accomplished something, but also feels so immaterial that I wonder why I bother.
\n23. I do a fair amount of freelance web work, some of it for free.
\n24. I built a mini-site focusing on Thing 9<\/a>, but I think no one involved has seen it.
\n25. What frustrates me most is misrepresentation through miscommunication.<\/p>\n

26. I am willing to work out strenuously several times a week if it means I can eat whatever I want.
\n27. I eat whatever I want.
\n28. On average, I do not work out strenuously more than twice a week.
\n29. I have declared bankruptcy, and I am not ashamed of that fact.
\n30. I am helping Most-Honoured Girlfriend start her own business focused on two of her passions: wild, futuristic, cybery fashion and games mostly of the role-playing variety.<\/p>\n

31. I haven’t played a role-playing game in weeks, unless you count computer games.
\n32. 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.
\n33. I have circles of friends that could never intersect, so different are their personalities.
\n34. I attended Tai Chi classes for almost a year before returning to Tae Kwon Do.
\n35. Had I more money and time, I would take both. Mostly more money.<\/p>\n

36. Most-Honoured Girlfriend’s name is Clare. I honestly think that is the most beautiful word in the world.
\n37. My singing voice is a solid baritone, but my range goes well into tenor. I can’t get much lower than baritone.
\n38. I have been asked to be lead singer in two bands.
\n39. I have been drummer in the same two bands.
\n40. I have met and played with several talented musicians, but I consider myself technically and emotionally lacking in the area of music.<\/p>\n

41. I played baritone (euphonium) throughout six years of schooling. I never practiced at home.
\n42. 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.
\n43. I sometimes wish I had joined choir instead.
\n44. 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 party which had the appropriate patches. I didn’t ask.
\n45. 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.<\/p>\n

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.
\n47. That was my idea.
\n48. I had a lot of good ideas in high school for which other people received an undue amount of credit.
\n49. Looking back, I was quite the pushover in high school.
\n50. 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.<\/p>\n

51. I’m still considered weird by many people.
\n52. I favor the mistaken identity Buddha, Hotei, to the real thing.
\n53. I resemble Hotei more.
\n54. I voted for Ralph Nader in 2000, and I was glad to see that my vote counted, but am *very* disappointed in the results.
\n55. I will likely vote for John Kerry in 2004, despite myself.<\/p>\n

56. Politically, I am not well informed.
\n57. I care for people, but I am a bit of an elitist when it comes to intelligence.
\n58. For example, I am prejudiced against those who watch, however ironically, reality television.
\n59. 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.
\n60. I was raised Catholic. I was an altar boy for many years. I thought about becoming a priest, until puberty.<\/p>\n

61. I do not go to church even at Christmas and Easter, any more.
\n62. I still sometimes talk to God, whether he listens or not, whether he cares or not, whether he exists or not. It’s comforting.
\n63. 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.
\n64. 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.
\n65. I have been guilty of driving around with my windows down playing something obnoxiously loud.<\/p>\n

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.
\n67. 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.
\n68. 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.”
\n69. I was not as sure.
\n70. I am now.<\/p>\n

71. I miss being young and crazy, but I do not think I am likely to have a midlife crisis.
\n72. Some of my friends who have known me for some time still consider me crazy, but, really, I’ve slowed down.
\n73. I wanted this to be more amusing than it is. Still, perhaps truth is better.
\n74. I entertain fantasies of becoming a real-life superhero quite often.
\n75. I occasionally entertain detailed fantasies of committing the perfect crime, but only because I want the money.<\/p>\n

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.
\n77. I cannot be a real Buddhist because I do not like to think about my world without my computer.
\n78. The closest person to being Buddhist that I know is BB<\/a>, who does pretty well for an American. Obviously, people who live in less materialistic societies stand a better chance.
\n79. I have two t-shirts with Buddha on them, which sort of proves my point.
\n80. My wardrobe consists almost entirely of different colored, clever phrase-emblazoned, T-shirts and jeans.<\/p>\n

81. I am known for my ability to retain comedy material I’ve heard and produce it on demand.
\n82. I think this comes from some psychological need to always have something entertaining on hand at any point, in case I get bored.
\n83. I like the spotlight, but I try not to hog it.
\n84. I may be too lazy to pursue a dream of performing in stage plays or as a voice actor, though friends have encouraged me along that path.
\n85. Most-honoured Girlfriend 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.<\/p>\n

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.
\n87. 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.
\n88. As I was writing this, Elizabeth<\/a> chimed in that one of my hundred things should be that I dance well.
\n89. 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.
\n90. I have dressed in many costumes, even when not in a play and not on Halloween. I was the Argentinian from Moulin Rouge<\/a> for Halloween in 2002 and Heihachi Mishima from Tekken<\/a> last year. Both costumes were painstakingly handcrafted by Most-Honoured Girlfriend with a little help from me.<\/p>\n

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.
\n92. I am impressed by people who use a large vocabulary well.
\n93. It took me about an hour and a half to write this, and I did it at work.
\n94. I am a slacker when bored, but I have a strong work ethic when there is actual work to do.
\n95. Until recently, I would not have considered myself someone who had good “follow-through.” I have made a conscious effort to change that.<\/p>\n

96. I call my stepfather “Dad” since he adopted me at age 11. He adopted me mostly for convenience in legal matters, but I believe he loves me like his son.
\n97. 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.
\n98. I have an autistic half-sister (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.
\n99. I chose a pretty late number to get into that.
\n100. I am done now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p73iP8-1F","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":106,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=106","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":0},"title":"Simple name.","date":"4\/16\/2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Everyone I know could probably use a little time with this card game, but Czelticgirl most of all. Be sure to check out the \"art.\"","rel":"","context":"In "For the geek in you"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":417,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=417","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":1},"title":"My conservative friends probably won’t like this…","date":"11\/4\/2005","format":false,"excerpt":"...and it is admittedly heavy on the \"Republicans evil, Democrats good\" nonsense. (John McCain is not bad. It follows that probably at least a few other Republicans in office who are not.) Still, it is funny and mostly true. To paraphrase the ever-loving David Cross, I would never say that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":459,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=459","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":2},"title":"I don’t believe in isms…","date":"1\/4\/2006","format":false,"excerpt":"A friend emailed me this, but rather than pick and choose who to send it to and flood inboxes, I put it on my blog, where it probably belongs. -- Change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to a whole bunch of people including\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Self-service"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":946,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=946","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":3},"title":"De-lovely?","date":"2\/16\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"So, because I don't really list all the links I find, I wanted to make a little mini-blog over there --> You'll find a list of my most recent links on delicious.com. Some of it sucks. But better that it suck in the sidebar. The main focus of this site\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ennui"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=31","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":4},"title":"Let me be the first to welcome…","date":"1\/26\/2004","format":false,"excerpt":"...my friends to the blogging community. Although they might not be posting too many linky items, I did think it was a cute idea to have a \"wedlog\" to keep people informed about the happenings surrounding their wedding. I can't help it. I get all jazzed when I put up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Self-service"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":498,"url":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/?p=498","url_meta":{"origin":103,"position":5},"title":"Be faster with the patent stamp.","date":"2\/10\/2006","format":false,"excerpt":"These guys did a swell job cleaning up Neil Gaiman's site. Part of why I wasn't reading it as much as I would have liked was due to the sort of slapdash, haphazard old design. I do have to complain, though, in three stages. The first is that I should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "For the geek in you"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.steelbuddha.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}