Tag! You're it!

by Tom Yamaguchi

Last week, Alex tagged me on Facebook with a challenge called "25 Random Things About Me. Here are the rules:

"Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you."

Always willing to accept a writing challenge, I made my list, posted it as instructed, and tagged 25 more Facebook friends who I wanted to know more about.

This is my list:
1. I have lived in the same house in West Berkeley for almost 28 years.
2. I generally can't cook, but I love to make pesto.
3. I love watching animated cartoons, especially Tex Avery and Chuck Jones.
4. Once, when I saw the Kinks at the Concord Pavilion, I was one of the fans who got to shake Ray Davies' hand.
5. One thing I miss about San Diego is OB People's Food.
6. I came out as a gay man at age 40.
7. I was adopted at age 19.
8. One of my favorite places to visit as a kid was the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
9. I wish society had a more positive attitude about homosexuality when I was a teenager.
10. I was trained to write functional resumes and have assisted several hundred homeless people looking for jobs.
11. I am disappointed that I have not been able to maintain a close friendship with my ex-wife.
12. I have ridden my bicycle several times up Mount Madonna.
13. Though I am not a strict vegetarian, I am not really into steak or hot dogs.
14. I used to help run a food buying club and am now a member of the CoG coop grocery.
15. I regularly contribute to the Radio Bolo blog.
16. My first bicycle commute was from Ocean Beach to Kearny Mesa in San Diego during the seventies.
17. My first full time job as a political activist was gathering signatures to get Bill Press' Tax Big Oil initiative on the ballot in 1980.
18. I edit the monthly newsletter for Strawberry Creek Friends Meeting and help update the website.
19. I have one thing in common with Barack Obama. I'm left-handed.
20. I spent the first 13 years of my life in South Jersey.
21. i was originally named after my father, Thomas Francis Campbell.
22. I am really concerned for the environment and the future for my two daughters.
23. I wish I had done more traveling when I was younger, but now I feel guilty about airplane travel.
24. I do love riding trains, even though I get frustrated when they are delayed.
25. I wish they had Macintosh computers when I was in elementary school.

After posting, I realized I wanted to add another thing to the list. There is a picture of me on the streets views of Google Maps. Last summer, a friend reminded me of a previous encounter we had near his Emeryville office. Larry, who is an architect, was walking to the corner with one of his co-workers when I came by on my bicycle. I stopped, and we talked for a couple minutes. Then I went on my way. Later, Larry was looking at Google maps in order give a client driving directions. Our previous encounter was now completely recorded in photos, and none of us were aware our pictures were being taken.

So why stop at 26? Here are 25 more random (an not so random) things about me.

26. I am viewable on Google Maps with my bicycle at the southwest corner of 59th and Doyle in Emeryville, CA.
27. My first personal computer was a Commodore 128.
28. My first word processor was SpeedScript, which I typed in Machine Language line by line from a book of Commodore programs and games.
29. My first email account was with QuantumLink, a predecessor to America Online.
30. My first Internet email accounts were with the Well and Peacenet.
31. My previous jobs include dishwasher, janitor, receptionist, personal care attendant, canvasser, signature gatherer, assembly worker, and literacy tutor.
32. During my time as an assembly worker, I was also a failed union organizer.
33. For much of my adult life, I had long hair. When I decide to get it cut, I donated my ponytail to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients.
34. As an opponent of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, I was arrested for trespassing.
35. The anti-nuclear activists I stayed in jail with included Jackson Browne, Wavy Gravy, and Robert Blake.
36. Listening to Dr. Steven Chu helped me change my position on nuclear power, along with the help of a friend who teaches high school science.
37. I attended the 1988 Democratic Party convention as an attendant for a delegate who uses a wheelchair.
38. During the Democratic Convention, I stayed with the California delegation at the Atlanta Hilton where the infamous Rob Lowe video was made.
39. I called the Alex Bennett program on a pay phone in the lobby of the Atlanta Hilton. (Who knows, maybe while Rob Lowe was up in his room, making that video.)
40.One of the first things I do each day on the web is read the comics, including Dilbert and Zippy the Pinhead.
41. The most fun I had in San Francisco was visiting Alex Bennett's show and hanging out with some very talented comedians.
42. My favorite drugs are coffee and chocolate.
43. I used to be a part of the nude beach scene at Black's Beach in La Jolla, CA.
44. Every February 9, I celebrate William Henry Harrison's birthday.
45. I am in favor of touch screen voting because I believe people with disabilities have the right to cast a secret ballot.
46. Alex Bennett used many of the letters I sent him for his Letters segment.
47. I did not learn how to drive and get my license until I was 20, which is not typical of young males in Southern California.
48. Although I tend to be a skeptic, I believe in a world where peace is possible.
49. The best quality I find in any person is a sense of humor.
50. I am continually amazed that I meet so many interesting people.

Now, dear reader, consider yourself tagged. Create you own list of 25 random things about you. Share them if you like.

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