I don't often participate in these blogging meme-ish things, but it has been a while, and Devyl asked so nicely that I decided to make an exception. I never promised to be prompt, though.

So now I'm supposed to tell you all five interesting and/or fun facts about myself. This becomes difficult when you've been operating a personal site for over eight years. You people know rather a lot about me already, and if you don't, then you can find out with a stroll through the archives. So here are five stories I've not yet told on Hidden City.

1. I've only had one significant physical injury in my life so far (unless you count things like a tiny stroke and a ruptured gall bladder). It was a high school roller-skating injury, a broken wrist caused by a coerced attempt at a trio skate. Yes, even in my teen years women were tearing me apart.
2. The first woman I planned to marry went insane, and eventually started tearing pages from the Bible and mailing them to me, marked up with purple Flair pen.
3. I do not like the sound of my speaking voice, although other people seem to enjoy it. Some people have seemed to really enjoy it, if you catch my drift. In spite of this, and of my years of musical experience, I cannot sing. In fact, my singing is so relentlessly awful that people who love me dearly shush me when I start.
4. For many, many years I was a specialist in emotional triage. Most of my relationships — and many of my friendships — were based around helping to heal the emotional damage suffered at the hands of other people. I've recently given that up, but finding a workable balance between my innate empathy and my tendency to ignore my own needs was more difficult than I would have guessed. I think I have it now.
5. I love the creative arts: writing, films, music, art, dance, theater, whatever. I am not a genre snob in either direction (although I do have a weakness for the fantastic and surreal): my only criteria is that the work be created honestly, and and for the sake of expression and communication, not to exploit a demographic niche market. This makes it difficult to answer the question "What kind of music do you like?"

And at this point in a meme I am supposed to "tag" other people to answer these questions. No. If you are interested, feel free to run with it, and if you let me know I'll happily read your interesting and/or fun facts. For that matter, use the comments if you are so inclined.