The number "Five"

We're in Birmingham today, and for the next several days, visiting my brother. I’ll probably blog once or twice about that in the next few days. I’m so happy to be here and see him and his family, but I’m sad that Ken has to deal with so much pain and discomfort. Cancer – and the stuff we do to kill it – is a real crappy deal.

My wife “tagged” me with some blog game. I’ve only done one of these before (Johnny, you know I must like you a lot), and that one was actually kind of fun. This new one was okay, but it sort of seems like the kind of thing that girls would enjoy more than guys. But I love my wife a bunch, so I agreed. I did this yesterday, but didn’t get a chance to post it. Maybe it will be interesting to you, maybe not. Here goes.


What were you doing 5 years ago?
Let’s see… I know I was writing and recording a theme song for Camp Olympia (I do this every year in May). I was probably also getting ready to do camps with then-bandmates, Andy Crawley, Joseph Degelia, and Russell Wedelich. I may have been trying to figure out how to pay my bills, since Grassroots Music had sold 600 of my CD’s and, just before paying me, gone bankrupt (I’m not mad about this, but you asked). I know for sure that I was eagerly awaiting the 5-year anniversary trip to St. Lucia that Staci and I were planning (it ruled, by the way). And, most importantly, I was helping Staci put together all the paperwork for our first adoption (she did most of the work, poor woman).

What are 5 things on your to-do list today (not in any particular order)?
I don’t have “to do” lists. I have informal, only-in-my-head stuff like “I hope I write a hit song today, but if not, maybe I can answer a bunch of emails or eat a really good cheeseburger.” Today I didn’t write any hit songs, but I answered lots of emails. And I played with my kids. No cheeseburger, but there’s always tomorrow.

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
1. Chips and pretty much anything that can qualify as “dip.”
2. Various beverages that are only sinful when consumed in excess.
3. Any ice cream that has the word “pecan” in it.
4. Pistachios.
5. Cheese in any form.

What 5 things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Adopt lots and lots and lots of kids and build a house big enough for them.
2. Pay off the debt of everyone I know, even the stingy people.
3. Build houses for all of my friends, right next to mine, so that we could have a hippy commune thing, only without any mind-altering narcotics, polygamy, or goat herds.
4. Pay a ninja master to teach me the ways of the ninja.
5. I don’t know what I’d do with the rest. I’d give it to my church and let them decide what to do with it. We might end up with a whole army of Jesus-loving ninjas, but more likely they’d start an orphanage or something like that.

What are 5 of your bad habits?
1. Talking too much.
2. Interrupting people.
3. Cussing too much.
4. Looking up myself on the internet to fill up holes in my soul that only God can fill.
5. Being too honest when asked to list my 5 bad habits.

What are 5 places you have lived?
This one is really boring because, aside from 3 months in 1994, I’ve always lived in Bryan/College Station. Believe me, I’ve tried to leave, but this place is like some kind of magnet.
1. My parents house. B/CS
2. A ratty apartment. B/CS
3. The house on Sandpiper. B/CS
4. T Bar M Sports Camp in New Braunfels.
5. The house we live in now. B/CS

What are 5 jobs you've had? (only 5?)
1. Sno-cone salesman.
2. Food delivery driver.
3. Janitor/maintenance man.
4. Video store manager.
5. Cotton picker/field hand

What 5 people do you want to tag?
None of these guys will probably do this, but I’m going to play along anyway…
1. Thad (his will be interesting and funny if he'll do it, but he won't)
2. Johnny (his will be, I'm sure, filled with tons of surprises, if he'll do it, but he won't)
3. Joe (his will be dry as a butterless biscuit, but hilarious, and he actually might do it)
4. Michael (he'll do it, and his will be humble and thought-provoking, because that's just him)
5. My brother (the only blog he has is the one that he uses to update people about his cancer, but maybe this will give him something fun to do instead of writing about rashes and chemo and such; but he won't do it)