A Few Things About Me

I don't know if I mentioned this already, but a friend of mine recently confessed to me that although he reads my blog on occasion, he didn’t see much of me in it. I know that my blog, which focuses heavily on my beliefs and observations about art and politics, is not as personal as other blogs. So in an attempt to make my blog a bit more personal, I am posting

69 things about me that my profile won’t tell you
(in somewhat random order):

1. I am perpetually tardy.
2. Throughout grammar school, my teachers consistently gave me poor “conduct” marks.
3. One of my teachers (whose parents lived across the street from us) explained to my mother that the poor grades were because I could never stay in my seat and that I was a “social butterfly.”
4. I never understood why that was a bad thing.
5. I’m a bit of show-off.
6. I came out shortly after my 26th birthday.
7. Within less than a year, I met my partner, Joe.
8. Joe and I wear each other’s clothes all the time.
9. I am Greek on both sides.
10. I mean my mother’s side and my father’s side, not my front and back.
11. My mother’s family were from the island of Lesbos.
12. My mother hates it when I tell my friends that her mother was a Lesbian.
13. My father’s family were from the Peloponnese on the Greek mainland.
14. But both my front and back are Greek too.
15. I never knew either of my grandfathers. They both died before I was born.
16. I have an older sister.
17. I am godfather to her firstborn.
18. I have a very good relationship with both my immediate and extended family.
19. There is one not so notable exception to the above.
20. I started playing the sandouri in 1995.
21. I currently play in a small Greek folk ensemble.
22. When I was a kid, I used to play the accordion.
23. I have lived in Greece on two separate occasions.
24. I occasionally teach classes on Greek folk dance.
25. I’m a pretty good belly dancer (most gay Greek men are).
26. The first time I lived in Greece was right after college and every Sunday I used to travel an hour-and-a-half north from the town where I was living to attend a Protestant church.
27. I used to be pretty religious and was part of an evangelical, non-denominational Christian fellowship all through college.
28. Now I am highly critical of evangelical Christianity.
29. I am not a member of any church nor do I attend church on a regular basis.
30. I guess I’m an agnostic.
31. I think that the Historical Jesus was pretty cool though.
32. I am ever so slightly agoraphobic.
33. I get hurt very easily.
34. It is difficult for me not to hold a grudge.
35. I have never attempted to go vegetarian.
36. I’m a pretty good cook.
37. I don’t care for red wine or beer at all.
38. I enjoy white wine, but only if it’s on the sweeter side.
39. I also love ouzo.
40. I never drink coffee. Only tea.
41. I was once taken to the top of the MIT dome by a hacker. I think he wanted me to kiss him up there, but I was too shy.
42. I enjoy being naked.
43. I used to bite my fingernails, but went cold turkey after arriving in Greece in the fall of 1991 for a year-long stint as an English teacher.
44. I used to work at the House of the Seven Gables.
45. I’ve only done drag once in my life and thought I made a pretty homely chick.
46. I’m a terrible procrastinator.
47. I don’t really hate America.
48. I enjoy flirting.
49. I bathe less than the average American.
50. I have never done hard drugs.
51. I fear death on occasion.
52. I’m working towards a degree in historic preservation.
53. I grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts.
54. I’m pretty sure I’m a Marxist.
55. I’d like to be a more consistent Marxist, however.
56. When I was a kid, I attended Greek school for five years before getting expelled for fighting.
57. Sometimes I think I understand Italian better than I understand Greek.
58. I dislocated my shoulder nine years ago while diving into a swimming pool, but because I managed to pop it back in on my own, I never did anything about it.
59. As a result, sometimes my shoulder pops out when I’m performing simple and innocuous tasks around the house.
60. I’m pretty much a horndog.
61. I have a thing for red heads.
62. and guys with curly hair.
63. I have visited 14 countries.
64. The farthest east I have ever been is either Kherson, Ukraine, or Safranbolu, Turkey. Without knowing their respective longitudes, it’s difficult to say which is farther east.
65. The only bone I have ever broken is the middle toe on my right foot.
66. I am hot-tempered.
67. I am also very fidgety.
68. I am at my most productive in the evenings and at night.
69. I love the beach.