Answers, give us answers...

1. Nicotine is not my real name

True. Believe it or not, Nicotine Jones is not my real name. Maybe I should have a contest for people to figure out my real name, but then it would be known, and I kinda like some anonymity. The name comes from a story/comic book that a friend and I cooked up about 20 years ago. When I first got on the internet around 1992 or 3, I used that name for my email and now, it's too late to change.

2. I have never purchased a PC

True. This was kind of a trick question. I've received many laptops to use for my job as a pharmaceutical rep that are windows compatible, but the only computers I've purchased have been Macs. I hate Windows, though I use one everyday (and truthfully, they aren't as bad as they used to be).

3. My first job after getting an MBA was delivering pizza

True. I delivered pizzas after getting my MBA. I got free pizza and learned a lot about interacting with people. It allowed me time to interview for a "real job". And it was fun. The other employees ranged from high school kids to management types and I enjoyed the experience.

4. I was the youngest in my high school graduating class of 314

True. I started school in another state (Pennsylvania) where the cutoff date for school was the end of January (which I made by a few days). When we moved to Ohio, I would have missed the cutoff date (September 30), but since I was in 2nd grade, they allowed me to remain in the same grade. Therefore, by the time I graduated from high school, I was still the youngest (by a few days, I think).

5. I once met Chevy Chase

False. Though I would enjoy meeting him, I actually have met Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, and Tom Hanks. But not Chevy. The only one I really interacted with was Bill Murray.

6. I drew a comic strip while in college

True. My freshman year, I drew a comic strip a few times a week for the school paper. This was a very large school (one of the largest) and so it was seen by 50-100 thousand people every time. Kind of cool...If I come across an example, I'll post it. It isn't great, but I had fun.

7. I have run in 3 marathons

True. The last time was 1988, but I ran in the Columbus Marathon 3x. I never trained properly, so that's probably why I've had one knee surgery and probably will need more down the road...But it was amazing to run with so many people. I think it took 15 minutes just to pass the starting line from where I was in the pack.

8. I bowl weekly in a Sunday morning league

True. My father bowled in it when I was a kid - and I tagged along. Now that I'm in it (for over 10 years, I think), my daughter tags along and so the cycle continues...It a 2 man team league and we even won one year. We don't really care about the winning, though. We just have some fun. The nice thing about bowling on Sunday mornings is that there's no smoke, no booze, no people. It's relatively quiet for a bowling alley.

9. For my honeymoon, we went camping

False. The last time I went camping was in 1989 for whitewater rafting in PA or WV. I am not a big fan of roughing it, though I understand why people like it. For our honeymoon, we went to Hawaii.

10. I've never broken a bone

False. Aside from knee problems, my senior year in high school I broke my middle finger. I had to have it in a splint of some kind that kept it extended. It was a lot of fun, giving certain teachers the finger. But that's about the only time I broke anything.

11. My new hobby is listening to audiobooks on my iPod

True. I never thought I'd want to listen to a book, but since I drive about 4000 miles/month now for work, I started loading library loaned audiobooks onto my computer, downloading them to my iPod, playing them through the FM in my car. More interesting than I thought...

12. I see a psychiatrist

False/True. I don't see one for my personal problems. I see 8-10/day for work. That's my job, calling on Psychiatrists as a drug rep. So a trick question - both answers are right.

13. I was married once before

False. Though, when I started dating my now wife, someone told her they thought I was married with a few kids. A few weeks later, she asked me if that was true, even though we had been inseperable for the entire time we were dating. Now, it's still a joke - "oh, that must've been your first wife"...

14. I am very unobservant

True. I've been told that I am, and I was convinved that I'm oblivious to certain important things recently. I sat in on an interview for a potential new hire. I was trying to listen to the content of what this person was saying and did not look at her clothes. But, later I was told that she was not dressed up at all and that made an impact on how the others there viewed her. I didn't catch it, but realized that they were right...

15. I was very overweight as a child

False. I weighed 125 when I graduated from high school (at 5' 10"). When I finished college, I was at about 140 (possibly less). Until recent years, I was too skinny...had a "runners body"...

16. I once went on a cruise with a total stranger

True. My first cruise, I didn't know anyone to go with, so I went as a single. The cruise company matched me up with another single (male) to share a room. Luckily, it was a very nice guy from NYC. He was travelling with about 12 other folks, mostly from Columbia (the country) or NY. Many times, I had no idea what we were talking about since only a few spoke English (including my roommate), but they took me under their wing. And no, there were no drugs. It was a nice family who owned a chain of car repair places...

17. My first job after college was on Park Avenue in NYC

True. After my family moved to NJ, about the same time I graduated from undergrad, I went with them and finally found a low paying job in NYC in the magazine industry. I worked for a company owned by Rupert Murdoch (media mogul) and met many nice people. They encouraged me to get a better job and eventually, I did. But it was cool taking the bus into the city, walking across town, passing the Empire State building, and working on Park Avenue. Almost made up for the ridiculously low pay.

18. I have been to Disney World 5 times

True, though it's more like 30+ times. Most of the drug companies have meetings in Orlando since it's an easy place to get low prices. So I'd usually go early and hit Disney. On top of that, my family always went almost every year to visit relatives and would take a trip there. And, my wife and daughter enjoy it too.

19. I have 4 sisters and 2 brothers

False. I have one younger sister.

20. I am an expert marksman

False. The only time I've ever shot a "real" gun was on a award trip with my company. We went skeet shooting and I couldn't hit one to save my life. I'm not a fan of guns, though I don't care so much if others have them (as long as they've been trained to use one). But, I'll never own one, most likely. If I feel the need to shoot, I'll play a video game...

And there you go. Did you learn anything interesting? I believe I should tag someone and since only Sippy and Tara read the original post, and Sippy tagged me, I'll tag Tara. So, if you find the time to try this, you might enjoy it!

Nicotine Jones
Cleveland OH
11-19-2005