i really should be doing my assignments
but instead i saw this childhood memory questionnaire:
1. What was the first car your family had?
My mom had a yellow Suburu station wagon when I was growing up, which got traded in for a grey Oldsmobile sedan when my sisters were born which lasted until I was old enough to inherit it.
2. What was the name of your first pet and why?
I don't remember any of the names of my fish, which was my first experiment in pet care. The next was a hamster named Chucky (after the doll in Child's Play) which died when my mom neglected to care for it (out of malice for its odor I have always assumed) while I was away for a week at camp.
3. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I went through several phases: I wanted to be a judge, but not a lawyer; then an astronaut, but not in the air force; then video game designer in 3rd grade was the last I fully remember.
4. What was the name of your elementary school? Clyde F. Brown Elementary...I played him in our historical Town of Millis school play in 5th grade.
5. Who was your first best friend?
Ryan Oakes: he lived across the street and I met him at the bus stop on the first day of kindergarten.
6. Are you still friends today, and if not, what happened?
Not really, although I doubt he's doing fantastic things now...we grew apart when I started being more open about being gay and i think he felt uncomfortable at least.
7. What was your favorite board game?
Clue...I always liked the tinfoil hat idea that you could win if you knew what really happened.
8. Did you play house or other make believe games?
Yeah...my favorite with my of my friends was to go into the abandoned construction project behind my house or the nearby woods and pretend we were on some military mission or espionage survival adventure, even making maps with landmarks creatively relabeled as awesome physical impasses and terrifying beast lairs.
9. Were you a Dungeons and Dragons geek?
Although it was one of my favorite early cartoons growing up, I never really got into role-playing until high school and looking back I wish I hadn't been so negative towards it.
10. Did you sleep with stuffed animals as a kid?
yeah...I had an insanely full bestiary at one point which I gave to my sisters. The two I kept were a puppy and lion to which I was too attached to.
11. Do you still sleep with stuffed animals?
No..the only one I have is a stuffed lion with a huge penis that I got at a pride parade years ago.
12. Who was the first person you looked up to when you were younger?
Sean Oakes, my best friend's older brother. He wsa very cute and a skateboarder back when nobody outside of California skateboarded.
13. Who was your favorite relative?
Hmm...I never really had a favorite relative. Outside of my immediate family, there is no one in my extended family who is my favorite any more. So I guess it would be my maternal grandfather, Gus, who had a stroke when I was 2 and with whom I would spend hours trying to commincate non-verbally with him.
14. Were you short or tall in elementary school
I was always on the tall end in elementary school.
15. Were you teased in school?
yeah for various differnt reasons at various times. I was spared the hell of total ostracism but I was still very much of the periphery of the high school popularity scene. I never felt physically threatened or intimidated after elementary school so it was no trouble.
16. What was the name of your favorite teacher?
In elementary school it was Mrs. White(2nd grade), middle school Mrs. Baseman the art teacher; and high school was a tie between Mrs. Russ my Brit Lit teacher and the inspirational Mr. Dooling, got me into Psychology and also taught me Sociology and Driver's Ed while cajoling me to sign up for a Gay/Straight Alliance when no one knew I was gay.
17. What was the name of your least favorite teacher?
Hmm...in elementary school it was Mrs. Hoffman, one of the other kindergarten teachers who alone it seemed had issues with me and called me (and me again alone) "Bucko". I hated my first principal in high school, but I adored his female replacement, who let me call her Judith.
18. What was your best subject in school?
Anything to do with language...still is.
19. What was your worst subject in school?
Algebra II, not even Math on the whole is a bad as this course for me. I have tried to squish it into my head multiple times to no avail.
20. Did you do well in Physical Education?
i liked the before and after parts to PE, but the actual education stuck me as mindless at worst and tedious at best. I liked individual rather than competitive sports, but there were far more games of lacrosse and bombardment than archery or shot-put.
21. Were you clumsy when you were younger?
Yeah I think there was a time where I had grown too fast for my coordination to keep up.
22. Who was your favorite band as a kid?
I remember my first CD was Warrant's Cherry Pie which was taken off a list of CDs i would like to go with my brand-new CD player. I didn't really like Warrant and I never really had a favorite band.
23. What was your favorite movie as a kid?
The first movie I remember being really obsessed with and saw multiple times was Batman. Although we had tapes around the house that would be watched over and over again, like Splash and Lady and the Tramp.
24. Did your parents read to you?
They never really had too. I was reading billboard when I was 6 months old and by the time I was in second grade I was reading to the other students.
25. Did you have a favorite book?
i loved any and all books growing up. Other than encyclopedias I got when I was really young (3) it's hard to think of early classics inmy personal canon. Most children's lit is crap and I recognized that even at that age. Being said, in that pre-Harry Potter era i really liked Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary and Stephen King, but also any kind of Choose Your Own Adventure or speculative fiction.
26. What was your favorite restaurant as a kid?
Friendly's in Medfield. Mom would take me there every Wednesday after pre-school.
27. What TV or movie star did you have a crush on?
Leonardo DiCaprio on Growing Pains haha
28. Do you now wonder what you were thinking?
Why? I remember what I was thinking...I was there.
29. Who was your first crush in school?
The first boy I remember having a crush on was Tommy Gibbs from down the street when I was 8. He was the tough but angelic looking white trash boy who liked to change his clothes in front of me. First girl I had a crush on was Susan Wallace, who of course had no thought for me.
30. As a child, what kind of car did you want when you grew up?
I had so many boxes of matchboxes cars. Growing up my favorite cars were the Ferrari, the IROC-Z and the Mustang. But most of all I wanted a DeLorean with gull-wing doors.
31. Did your parents spank you?
Yeah, mostly out of frustration and not after I told them I would have no choice but to tell somebody in authority as instructed by my school. I didn't know that this was because my crazy aunt had told the rest of my mother's family that my dad beat us (which is not true) until much much later.
32. Did your parents fight a lot when you were a kid?
Sure, over trivial stuff like wallpaper patterns and cabinet designs, never really anything that wasn't totally laughable outside of this contest of will and vision.
33. Did your parents get divorced or stay married?
Still together...30th anniversary this year i think.
34. If they got divorced, how old were you when it happened?
...
35. Did you ever run away from home?
Not really, although i considered it carefully.
36. How old were you when/if you first got glasses?
When I started to drive, so around 16. But I only ever wore them in the car until college.
37. Did you need braces or a retainer?
Yes, and I resented it the whole time. Now I have straight but not white teeth.
38. If you're male, how old were you when you had your first wet dream?
I was 12 and I woke up in a total panic until I realized just what the hell that was.
39. Both sexes when did you start shaving?
Really young...so young my mother laughed when I told her I would need shaving cream and thought I was doing coke or something crazy because why would I need razor blades?
40. Girls when did you start wearing a bra?
...
41. What was your first kiss like?
A total surprise...but I got used to it quickly.
42. What did you do on your first date?
With a girl? Went to see Deep Impact, afterward she wanted a kiss but in the light her acne grossed me out. Just as well. First real (blind) date i went on with a guy was with Stewart. We ended up at Bickford's on the Dedham-Norwood line and hit it off really well. Afterwards, it was midday so we couldn't think of anything to do so we parted ways. Then we both got home and he invited me for another date that night at his Dad's house (who was away on vacation).
43. How old were you when you first drank?
My relatives let me try wine and beer on family occasions, for ha-ha's, but I never took to the taste until I was about 15 and I blacked-out after drinking way too much of a combination of Hawaiian punch and a handle of cheap vodka at a friend's house.
44. Where was your first house?
At 408 Village Street in Millis near the Medway border behind Norfolk Airport. Once a small plane crashed across the street and my Dad, just coming home from work, saw it go down and helped pull passengers from the wreckage.
1. What was the first car your family had?
My mom had a yellow Suburu station wagon when I was growing up, which got traded in for a grey Oldsmobile sedan when my sisters were born which lasted until I was old enough to inherit it.
2. What was the name of your first pet and why?
I don't remember any of the names of my fish, which was my first experiment in pet care. The next was a hamster named Chucky (after the doll in Child's Play) which died when my mom neglected to care for it (out of malice for its odor I have always assumed) while I was away for a week at camp.
3. What did you want to be when you grew up?
I went through several phases: I wanted to be a judge, but not a lawyer; then an astronaut, but not in the air force; then video game designer in 3rd grade was the last I fully remember.
4. What was the name of your elementary school? Clyde F. Brown Elementary...I played him in our historical Town of Millis school play in 5th grade.
5. Who was your first best friend?
Ryan Oakes: he lived across the street and I met him at the bus stop on the first day of kindergarten.
6. Are you still friends today, and if not, what happened?
Not really, although I doubt he's doing fantastic things now...we grew apart when I started being more open about being gay and i think he felt uncomfortable at least.
7. What was your favorite board game?
Clue...I always liked the tinfoil hat idea that you could win if you knew what really happened.
8. Did you play house or other make believe games?
Yeah...my favorite with my of my friends was to go into the abandoned construction project behind my house or the nearby woods and pretend we were on some military mission or espionage survival adventure, even making maps with landmarks creatively relabeled as awesome physical impasses and terrifying beast lairs.
9. Were you a Dungeons and Dragons geek?
Although it was one of my favorite early cartoons growing up, I never really got into role-playing until high school and looking back I wish I hadn't been so negative towards it.
10. Did you sleep with stuffed animals as a kid?
yeah...I had an insanely full bestiary at one point which I gave to my sisters. The two I kept were a puppy and lion to which I was too attached to.
11. Do you still sleep with stuffed animals?
No..the only one I have is a stuffed lion with a huge penis that I got at a pride parade years ago.
12. Who was the first person you looked up to when you were younger?
Sean Oakes, my best friend's older brother. He wsa very cute and a skateboarder back when nobody outside of California skateboarded.
13. Who was your favorite relative?
Hmm...I never really had a favorite relative. Outside of my immediate family, there is no one in my extended family who is my favorite any more. So I guess it would be my maternal grandfather, Gus, who had a stroke when I was 2 and with whom I would spend hours trying to commincate non-verbally with him.
14. Were you short or tall in elementary school
I was always on the tall end in elementary school.
15. Were you teased in school?
yeah for various differnt reasons at various times. I was spared the hell of total ostracism but I was still very much of the periphery of the high school popularity scene. I never felt physically threatened or intimidated after elementary school so it was no trouble.
16. What was the name of your favorite teacher?
In elementary school it was Mrs. White(2nd grade), middle school Mrs. Baseman the art teacher; and high school was a tie between Mrs. Russ my Brit Lit teacher and the inspirational Mr. Dooling, got me into Psychology and also taught me Sociology and Driver's Ed while cajoling me to sign up for a Gay/Straight Alliance when no one knew I was gay.
17. What was the name of your least favorite teacher?
Hmm...in elementary school it was Mrs. Hoffman, one of the other kindergarten teachers who alone it seemed had issues with me and called me (and me again alone) "Bucko". I hated my first principal in high school, but I adored his female replacement, who let me call her Judith.
18. What was your best subject in school?
Anything to do with language...still is.
19. What was your worst subject in school?
Algebra II, not even Math on the whole is a bad as this course for me. I have tried to squish it into my head multiple times to no avail.
20. Did you do well in Physical Education?
i liked the before and after parts to PE, but the actual education stuck me as mindless at worst and tedious at best. I liked individual rather than competitive sports, but there were far more games of lacrosse and bombardment than archery or shot-put.
21. Were you clumsy when you were younger?
Yeah I think there was a time where I had grown too fast for my coordination to keep up.
22. Who was your favorite band as a kid?
I remember my first CD was Warrant's Cherry Pie which was taken off a list of CDs i would like to go with my brand-new CD player. I didn't really like Warrant and I never really had a favorite band.
23. What was your favorite movie as a kid?
The first movie I remember being really obsessed with and saw multiple times was Batman. Although we had tapes around the house that would be watched over and over again, like Splash and Lady and the Tramp.
24. Did your parents read to you?
They never really had too. I was reading billboard when I was 6 months old and by the time I was in second grade I was reading to the other students.
25. Did you have a favorite book?
i loved any and all books growing up. Other than encyclopedias I got when I was really young (3) it's hard to think of early classics inmy personal canon. Most children's lit is crap and I recognized that even at that age. Being said, in that pre-Harry Potter era i really liked Judy Blume and Beverly Cleary and Stephen King, but also any kind of Choose Your Own Adventure or speculative fiction.
26. What was your favorite restaurant as a kid?
Friendly's in Medfield. Mom would take me there every Wednesday after pre-school.
27. What TV or movie star did you have a crush on?
Leonardo DiCaprio on Growing Pains haha
28. Do you now wonder what you were thinking?
Why? I remember what I was thinking...I was there.
29. Who was your first crush in school?
The first boy I remember having a crush on was Tommy Gibbs from down the street when I was 8. He was the tough but angelic looking white trash boy who liked to change his clothes in front of me. First girl I had a crush on was Susan Wallace, who of course had no thought for me.
30. As a child, what kind of car did you want when you grew up?
I had so many boxes of matchboxes cars. Growing up my favorite cars were the Ferrari, the IROC-Z and the Mustang. But most of all I wanted a DeLorean with gull-wing doors.
31. Did your parents spank you?
Yeah, mostly out of frustration and not after I told them I would have no choice but to tell somebody in authority as instructed by my school. I didn't know that this was because my crazy aunt had told the rest of my mother's family that my dad beat us (which is not true) until much much later.
32. Did your parents fight a lot when you were a kid?
Sure, over trivial stuff like wallpaper patterns and cabinet designs, never really anything that wasn't totally laughable outside of this contest of will and vision.
33. Did your parents get divorced or stay married?
Still together...30th anniversary this year i think.
34. If they got divorced, how old were you when it happened?
...
35. Did you ever run away from home?
Not really, although i considered it carefully.
36. How old were you when/if you first got glasses?
When I started to drive, so around 16. But I only ever wore them in the car until college.
37. Did you need braces or a retainer?
Yes, and I resented it the whole time. Now I have straight but not white teeth.
38. If you're male, how old were you when you had your first wet dream?
I was 12 and I woke up in a total panic until I realized just what the hell that was.
39. Both sexes when did you start shaving?
Really young...so young my mother laughed when I told her I would need shaving cream and thought I was doing coke or something crazy because why would I need razor blades?
40. Girls when did you start wearing a bra?
...
41. What was your first kiss like?
A total surprise...but I got used to it quickly.
42. What did you do on your first date?
With a girl? Went to see Deep Impact, afterward she wanted a kiss but in the light her acne grossed me out. Just as well. First real (blind) date i went on with a guy was with Stewart. We ended up at Bickford's on the Dedham-Norwood line and hit it off really well. Afterwards, it was midday so we couldn't think of anything to do so we parted ways. Then we both got home and he invited me for another date that night at his Dad's house (who was away on vacation).
43. How old were you when you first drank?
My relatives let me try wine and beer on family occasions, for ha-ha's, but I never took to the taste until I was about 15 and I blacked-out after drinking way too much of a combination of Hawaiian punch and a handle of cheap vodka at a friend's house.
44. Where was your first house?
At 408 Village Street in Millis near the Medway border behind Norfolk Airport. Once a small plane crashed across the street and my Dad, just coming home from work, saw it go down and helped pull passengers from the wreckage.