Shane Life

So I’m not sure about how this will work since there are many people who read this blog that I’ve actually never met IRL, but it’s such an interesting concept that I thought it would be fun. I first saw it on Rachel’s blog and then Alli did it and put her responses to comment on there, so I figured I would return the favor and answer her question, which was:

“on a scale of 1-10, how much do you hate that I am a vegetarian?”

At first, it was an 8. It was a hassle, particularly because it severely encroached on my meat-eating. You’ve always been very good about making stuff for me, but preparing food for one is a pain and I’d much rather eat together than eat separate food. Lately though, as I’m realizing that I’m healthier and my weight is coming off easier, it’s more like a 5. Do I wish you weren’t a vegetarian? Absolutely. But I understand your reasoning and I support you.

Now for the rest of you…here’s how this works.

Comment on this entry, and I will:

1. Tell you why I am friends with you.
2. Associate you with something - fandom, a song, a color, a photo, a word etc.
3. Tell you something I like about you.
4. Tell you a memory I have of you.
5. Ask something I’ve always wanted to know about you.
6. In return, you must post this to your own journal/blog.

For those of you I’ve never met, I’ll do my best.

Chimpotle

1. I read your blog because the title is absolutely genius and you are funny.
2. I associate you with the site Kissing Suzy Kolber because your shared items always appear in my Google Reader feeds.
3. I like that you were the first person to donate to my Heifer project.
4. I’ll say your favorite post of recent Yelp review of In-A-Tub. Made me laugh. Very Hard.
5. I’ve always wanted to know what you actually do all day long.

sirfwalgman

1. You’ve been a feed reader of mine since 2006 and you like poker.
2. I associate you with poker and a weird name.
3. I like that you come from nowhere to comment on my blog and I haven’t a CLUE who you are.
4. A memory I have of you was the first time I found you were reading my site. I was still using Bloglines and you could see the people subscribing to your feed. I saw you on there and I thought…who is THIS guy?
5. I’ve always wanted to know where you found my blog.

Alli, my loving beautiful wife

1. I am friends with you because you are my emotional equal. We have different interests and talents, but we communicate well and we work. Our conversations can be stupid or deep and I always love them.
2. I always have and always will associate you with Georgia O’Keeffe. I didn’t know about her before you and now I will never forget the beauty of her art.
3. If I had to pick one thing I like about you it would be how you smile with your soul and also how you encourage me to be the best version of myself.
4. Man, there are too many memories to count. One of my favorites from the past year was sitting in the sunbeam that shone through the oculus of the Pantheon in silence in Rome.
5. I have always wanted to know: “If you ever managed to meet Gwyneth Paltrow, what would you say to her?”

Jen

1. I have known you since childhood. We have gone to the same church for well over 20 years and our friendship has certainly grown in adulthood.
2. I associate you with the clarinet. You’ve played for so many years, but I’ve only recently come to appreciate just how wonderful it is and how much I wish I played an instrument.
3. I love how you parent Katie. She dotes on you and that’s totally obvious.
4. A memory that I have of you was sitting with you before church a month or two ago on that small bench in the foyer and talking. It’s one of the best one-on-one conversations I’ve ever had with you. Let’s do that again.
5. I’ve always wanted to know what it was that drew you to science.

Brother Jake

1. I am friends with you because you are my brother, my business partner, and my buddy. You make me laugh and you interrupt my days with random six degrees challenges.
2. I associate you with poker. You may be better than me, but the last time we were heads up, I won. So I still have scoreboard.
3. I like after 27 (almost 28!) years of living with you, being annoyed by you, fighting with you, ignoring you, that you haven’t held a grudge against me for the way I mistreated you as a little brother and you and I are now best friends.
4. Our 21st birthdays. Even though they occurred 3 years and 3 months apart and I remember them for very different reasons, they were both memorable because of you. Your multi-national rendition of Happy Birthday made me laugh harder than just about anything I’ve ever laughed at in my life.
5. I’ve always wanted to know what your favorite songs of all-time are. Perhaps non-311…

Brian D

1. I am friends with you because your brother told me I should be friends with you. We like the same stuff. We’re both nerds. We both blog. If we lived in the same city, we’d hang out.
2. I associate you with two things: curling and Washington DC
3. I like your commitment to a financially secure future. It seems like a really boring thing to like about someone, but we need more people like you that are vigilant about their finances and don’t rely on Washington politicians to bail them out of the debt they put themselves in.
4. A memory that I have of you is really around the first time that we started reading each other’s blogs. I remember that I just started one day and you started one day and there was no introduction. We just kind of became friends from the start.
5. I’ve always wanted to know who exactly where you work. I for some reason think that you work for the State Department and can’t tell me. But I wanted to ask.

KC Sponge

1. I am internet friends with you because you linked to me before you’d even commented. That was cool.
2. I associate you with blogger meetups, even though I have never been to one.
3. See the reason I’m internet friends with you. I remember reading your post about my blog and thinking…wow…this is pretty cool. You also contributed to my Heifer project, which is pretty cool.
4. My memory of you involves the YouTube video you posted of the kids you teach hip hop to. That was sweet.
5. I’ve always wanted to know what kind of law you plan on practicing. And can you get me out of my ticket I got a couple months ago?

Laura

1. My friendship with you goes back to Graceland, but really took root after we got married and were attending the Olathe congregation (with it’s incredible new website) on a regular basis.
2. I associate you with singing in church. When I was growing up, my dad’s voice was the only voice I could ever distinguish when hymns were being sung. With him being gone so much, I’ve found that I can hear you. And that makes me happy.
3. I like that you and I have matching computers now. Wonder Twin Macbooks UNITE!
4. Provocative. Shane. Need I say more?
5. I’ve always wanted to know what your favorite movie of all-time is.

Mike D

1. I am friends with you because when we were 17 and you were 18, your volleyball team took it easy on us at a tournament and we spent some time together in Iowa playing ball and being nuts.
2. I associate you with Chicago. No matter how long you live here, I will always associate you with the Windy City.
3. I like that you came to my wife’s art show. And I like your volleyball swing. I always have. You have the single best volleyball swing that I’ve had the fortune of playing with.
4. FFB. Thanks for that. You suck.
5. I’ve always wanted to know what it was like being Mr. Mom.

Christy

1. I was initially friends with you because we lived in the same neighborhood and thus went to the same schools, etc. I think we became better friends through theater and I reconnected with you thanks to Heidi’s blog
2. I associate you with…duh…YOGA. I am determined to come to one of your classes once you start teaching again, but I am completely terrified.
3. I like that I have known you for over 20 years, but my first memory of you is similar to my last one. You’ve always had a strong sense of self and I think that’s really cool.
4. The last time I saw you was when you came to Alli’s art show. That meant so much to her and so it meant a lot to me. Your appreciation of my wife’s art is something I will absolutely always remember.
5. I’ve always wanted to know what your favorite theater role you played was.