Sam at Book Chase and Gentle Reader at Shelf Life tagged me for the “8 Things” meme. Let’s see what I can come up with…
The rules –
1: Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2: People who are tagged, write a blog post about their own 8 random things, and post these rules.
3: At the end of your post you need to tag 8 people and include their names.
4: Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
1. I was born with a heart murmur, which in my case meant I had a small hole in one of my valves. It closed up around the age of 12. Some children have to have surgery, but mine was small enough I didn’t have to.
2. Sticking with the medical theme: my lung collapsed when I was 20. A small bubble on my left lung popped leaving a hole for air to escape. I spent a week in the hospital recovering from the collapsed lung and the subsequent surgery.
3. My father was in the Air Force, so I guess that makes me a military brat. I was born in Texas, lived in California twice, Ohio and spent my teenage years in the Seattle area where my parents still live. I now live in Salt Lake but hope to someday make it back to Seattle.
4. I’m a bit of a recreational cyclist. I ride my bike a few days a week and will be riding in the MS 150 in June. It’s a charity ride for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. I’ll be riding a century or 100 miles.
5. I enjoy building model airplanes of the plastic variety although it’s taken a backseat to some other interests like reading lately.
6. This is my third attempt at a blog, and the first at a lit blog. My other two didn’t last much more than a week so this one is going much better.
7. I make maps for a living. Maps of Salt Lake County and all sorts of different things within the county.
8. Last, and most definitely not least, I have a beautiful wife and an adorable baby daughter.
Let’s see how many people I can tag now that haven’t already been tagged, I’m kind of new to this blogging thing so I don’t know too many bloggers yet:
Marydell at BookBlog
Tara at Books and Cooks
Kate at Kate’s Book Blog
Stephanie at So Many Books
Iliana at Book Girl’s NightStand
Well, I could only come up with 5 that haven’t already been tagged, sorry to let the “8 things” meme down… Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me!
A Variety Of Words 
Hey Matt–having the same problem you are–had no idea you were tagged when I tagged you today! Sorry! Well, I’m happy you did the meme anyway, and I got to learn 8 new things about you. I’m really glad about your #8–my #9 would be that I have a wonderful husband and two fabulous sons, and an adorable baby daughter. She’s actually a toddler, but she’s the baby of our family and will probably be called “the baby” for the next 20 years or so 🙂
By: gentle reader on May 15, 2007
at 11:21 pm
Gentle Reader – No problem! I did notice late last night that you had tagged me also and decided I would mention in my post that you had tagged me. Made the update this morning!
By: Matt on May 16, 2007
at 7:43 am
Thanks, Matt, for your list. Map-making sounds like an interesting profession. I have a friend who collects old maps from previous centuries and I find those things to be little pieces of art in every sense of the word. I only wish that I could afford the hobby…they don’t come cheap.
By: Sam Houston on May 16, 2007
at 1:26 pm
I also should have mentioned that mapmaking sounds really interesting to me, too. I want to hear more about what that’s like!
By: gentle reader on May 16, 2007
at 3:59 pm
Matt, great list. I hope to one day ride in the MS 150. But first I have to tackle the 30/60. I just began riding with any kind of consistency last year, expanding beyond my short commuter bike ride to work and have never ridden more than 15 miles at a stretch. I’m determined though!
By: Stefanie on May 16, 2007
at 6:32 pm
Matt, I live cycling as well.
Re Maps: I find books with a heavy emphasis on locale confusing. I usually give up trying to picture my way around the place- even if they provide a map (Lord of The Rings comes to mind). I’m assuming this is not a problem with you and have you ever done a map for a novel you were reading?
By: John Mutford on May 16, 2007
at 6:49 pm
Sam and Gentle Reader – Making maps may sound more interesting than it is. 🙂 I would try to explain a little more about it, but I think the comments section is not quite the place, it would take up too much room. Maybe I’ll write a post about it sometime!
Stefanie – I used to ride to work but then moved further away so I no longer do it, although I might drive part way and then bike the rest. I rode the MS 150 for the first time last year and hadn’t ridden more than 55 miles before doing 100. This year I hope to get to 60 before the MS ride. Keep working at it, it gives a pretty awesome sense of accomplishment going 30 or 60 miles.
John – You must be tougher than me, I don’t like to ride outside if it’s much below 60 degrees and I know where you live it’s much colder than that! I have never made a map for a novel, although I do like to study maps such as the one in Lord of the Rings, but recently reading White Noise and Killing Floor I distinctly remember trying to place the towns in the book in my head and in Google Maps, unfortunately neither town actually exists!
By: Matt on May 16, 2007
at 7:19 pm
While in Rankin Inlet (actually colder than Iqaluit), I rode my bike to work every single day (yes, even some below -60). You dress warm, you survive. And the snow freezes so hard, you just ride above it. However, your tires go flat quickly in the cold! I don’t actually ride as much here. It’s much, much hillier and therefore more dangerous. Rankin was quite flat.
By: John Mutford on May 16, 2007
at 9:31 pm
Hello
Great book. I just want to say what a fantastic thing you are doing! Good luck!
Bye
By: tovorinok on July 5, 2007
at 6:26 am
i hope to be there with you next April
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at 2:27 pm