Here are some things you probably never could have guessed…
– I was the first kid in my elementary school to be in the science fair as a kindergartener. It was only for grades 5-8, but I talked them into letting me in.
– I was a waiter and bartender in college and waited on Mickey Rooney, the Landers Sisters (Fantasy Island), pro golfer Hal Sutton, and brought nachos to Donny Osmond.
– In grad school I was paid to write funny greeting cards, write for a nationally visible comedian, and ran a website development company.
– In college I was a national finalist in competitive speech and debate, finishing 3rd in an event where persuasive topic was delivered using humor as a major vehicle.
– In 2012 I won the bronze medal in kumite (sparring) at the USA National Karate Association national tournament, Masters level over 45 years old.
– I have one leg 3/4″ longer than the other
-After September 11, 2001 there were threats against Muslim women in grocery stores and in public where I lived. I was so angry that hate inspired hate, that I volunteered to accompany them if they felt threatened. I mention it because I’m proud of that decision.
-I took a CPR class in a local hotel ballroom, only to use it in the same ballroom on someone two years later after getting accidentally invited to a lunch meeting by an errant email.
– In college I played in a band called Insane War Tomatoes and we had an elaborate stage show with homemade pyrotechnics that probably would get us on terrorist watch lists today.