TAGGED

Thanks Liz, for the Tag. Even though it was a hesitant tag(?), it was enough.

So, according to the original Tag, I'm supposed to write eight things that people don't know about me, but Liz wrote 10, so I'll keep to that. Here goes:

1. When I have to go up a dimly lit stairwell, be it at home, at a friend's house, a hotel, or at work, I run. I run fast. I take three steps at a time. Because who knows when someone or something could be sneaking up behind you...?

2. I REALLY like my family. As in, I like to hang out with them. Family vacations, watching the ball game, going out to dinner, chatting, getting together for family parties, barbeques, movies, etc. I love it all. My biggest fear is that they don't like me. But I'm pretty sure I'm everyone's favorite...but just in case, I remind them very frequently just how awesome I am.

3. When my brothers and I were younger, we used to pass time in sacrament meeting playing your usual church games--the "Line-Box-X" game, "M*A*S*H," Hangman, etc. However, one day, Timmy (younger) and I decided to tease my little brother, Mikee (youngest). Now, in those days, Mikee was firmly entrenched in his awkward phase. Acne, big head, big nose, big hair (thanks, East High!), etc. And, unfortunately, he was quite...gaseous. Actually, noxious might be the best word for it. One of his Sunday School teachers dubbed him "The Gas Man." On top of all that, being the youngest, Mikee had four older siblings who took every chance they could to get back at him for being the caboose. Thus, on these dry Sunday afternoons seated on the third bench of the chapel, center section, Timmy and I created our adolescent masterpiece: "The Life and Times of Mikee." The Life and Times was a serial published weekly on the back of the ward program and distributed amongst our family members. It became a weekly tradition, and usually involved Mikee, surrounded by the fumes he...generated, getting into some kind of silly situation which, while outlandish, often hit very close to home (like the time his face practically exploded after getting hit by a baseball--get it? His zits popped). Some of the greater episodes included Mikee's birth--shrouded in mystery, he was found in a stinky shoebox on the front porch; Mikee's dear friendship with a housefly named Travis; Mikee's love of Pokemon, and the creation of his own alter-ego Poke-character: Mikeachu; and the most tender moment of all, Travis' funeral at the age of 89. To his credit, Mikee took it all in stride, and even seemed to enjoy the attention. Thus, for your enjoyment, below are two pages from our 10-page Birthday present to Mikee this last year: "The Mission Years."

Note: Mikee is in Mexico

4. I'm an email/communications addict. If I have to go 2 hours without being able to check my email, my collar grows a little bit tighter, and a thin line of sweat starts to pepper my brow. Don't even get me started on the phantom vibrations I feel when my phone's not in my pocket.

5. I once let fly what Mikee used to call a "pharphignugen" in the middle of a Young Men/Young Women activity. I don't know if the stars aligned, if the fates had conspired against me, or if the very devil himself had a hand in it, but this outburst occurred during an awkward pause in all conversation, and at an impressive decibal level. In one of my proudest moments (also one of my most shameful moments) I turned to my good friend, Curtis Reese, and said, disgustedly, "Dude! Curtis!!!" To my eternal shame, the ruse worked. I often wonder how our lives could have been different had this event never transpired. Curtis, if you're reading this: sorry dude. Really.

6. I don't like water skiing much. Don't get me wrong, at the time, it's awesome: speed, control, rush, glassy water, mountains in the distance, good friends, good times. But every time I go, I get a massive headache afterwards. Pounding, light-hurts-my-brain, pulsing, painful headaches. The older I get, the less willing I am to make this trade-off.

7. Looking at everyone else's blogs, their links to my blog often make me feel lonely. While each and every other blog seems to be that of a happily married couple, mine is...just that: mine. Not "ours." ;*( My favorite example--for a long time, the Cotters had their links set up with the last names of the couples, i.e., "The Thorntons," "The Roberts," etc. My link read "The Eric Vogeler."

8. I firmly believe that my watching a sporting event has a significant impact on the outcome of a game. I cite the folllowing examples: whilst on my mission in Brazil, I didn't watch a single BYU football game. They sucked. Now that I'm home, they're playing pretty darn well. Also, I don't think the University of Utah has ever lost a football game that I've attended. Except for last year's BYU game, but that just proves my point. I also blame the Jazz' recent loss in the Western Conference Finals wholly on my inability to catch the games down here in Brazil. (P.S. Try watching a game on Yahoo.com's updated "Game Channel." It's a written play by play of the game. To "watch" a game this way is like reading the sports page as its written. Yep, it's as boring as it sounds). To those heart-broken Jazz fans, I'm sorry. I promise to stay in the states next summer. Or at least in a country where I have easier access to ESPN.

9. I cannot stand cheese popcorn. When I was about six, I watched Back to the Future 2 with my brothers and sisters while eating Orville Redenbacker's Microwave Cheese Flavored Popcorn. I spent a good amount of that night riding the porcelain bus or recovering on the bathroom floor. To this day, the smell of that fake cheddar makes me shudder.

10. My dream is to become an English Professor or write the next Great American Novel. So far, though, the closest I've gotten to either is BYU Law School and this Blog. Hmmmm....

ALMOST FORGOT TO TAG BACK:

1. David and Kristin

2. Annie and Jeff

Consider yourselves tagged.