Hi, my name is Andy, and this is my blog. Yeah, it’s been a while. Been a busy but good week with three different Thanksgivings and various other stuff. I figure it’s about time to cook up some more random facts, so here goes:

1. I’m a big fan of the Coen brothers’ films, particularly No Country for Old Men and The Big Lebowski. I just watched their excellent remake of True Grit. I don’t quite have the right words to explain their films’ appeal. They just feel like high-quality, well-made films. Their dialog in particular is always sharp. Somehow it’s much more interesting than the conversations you hear every day, yet it still sounds realistic.
2. I worked a party as a DJ once. It was my sister’s birthday party, maybe age 12 or 13. I brought my home stereo, which had decent-sized speakers for home use but didn’t quite have the power for a dance party in a large room. One of her friends came over to warn me that one of my speakers was about to blow out.
3. I went to Baylor as a conservative Republican with a very conservative take on Christianity. I graduated from Baylor as a fairly apolitical agnostic. Now I’m mostly a liberal Democrat with a progressive view of Christianity. Life is funny, isn’t it?
4. I want to go see Lady Gaga in concert the next time she comes to town. My wife won’t go with me. Although she likes some of her music, she says Gaga is too odd for her.
5. My bicycle crosstraining is working well. I ran seven miles on Thursday with no knee pain. I sure felt it afterward in my quads, though.
6. It makes me self-conscious (more so than normal, I mean) to be with my kids around other people. My kids always divert my attention when I’m with them because I’m trying to think about what they need and want and how I should respond. If other people are around, I’m thinking about those things PLUS what the other people think about the situation – do they approve of what I’m doing? Am I being too strict? Too lenient? Am I teaching them good manners and handling disputes well and keeping them from hurting themselves or breaking other people’s stuff? I suspect most parents do this to some degree, although maybe not to the extent that I do. So if I seem stressed or distracted around you when I’m with my kids, it’s because I am. Now you know why. And it’s not your fault, so please don’t take it personally.
7. I fiddled around with a guitar a while back. It was actually my mother-in-law’s guitar because she’s cool like that. I learned a few chords, including a modified version of the main one from the Black Crowes’ “She Talks to Angels”. I realized quickly that I lacked the discipline and motivation to work hard enough to become a good guitar player. The experience gave me a deeper appreciation for the Slashes and Eddie Van Halens of the world who do work hard enough to play well.
8. It still feels a bit weird to be the dad driving his wife and kids to see the family for Thanksgiving, especially when we go up 287 to Wichita Falls.
9. I’ve been interviewed on the local news twice. The first time was in 2002 or 2003 for a story about mail theft in apartment complexes. Our apartment put gigantic padlocks on the mailboxes as a deterrent. The second was in 2005 or 2006 for a story about the gas well down the street from our first house. Both times the reporter seemed to want me to be really concerned about the situation in question, but I wasn’t. It almost seemed like she was trying to invent a story. I didn’t have good answers, but they aired my segment anyway. I’ve pretty much decided that the next time a reporter asks if he/she can ask me a few questions on camera, the answer will be no.
10. If I had to go back to school for another degree, I’d probably get a bachelor’s in either meteorology or economics.