100 Things About Jim

by Jim Walczak

Betchya Didn’t Know…

I lived in the same neighborhood as Brian Piccolo in South Florida.
Have an eye for creative marketing and advertising campaigns.

Drug of choice: Jeeping!
Prefer listening to Pandora on my computer rather than watching television.
Spend most of my time doing PR and marketing for motorsports teams (IHRA and NHRA drag racing).

A creature of habit – I always stop at the exact same rest stops and gas stations anytime I’m traveling long distances in the car.
Taught myself about computers and website design.
Diehard sports fan – NHL hockey (Nashville Predators), NFL football (Miami Dolphins and whatever team Jonathan Quinn is playing for), MLB baseball (Cleveland Indians).

I’d rather be hot than cold.
Wannabe youth football coach (or assistant coach)… again. Had to leave the job behind when I moved.
I was on the staging committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame when I lived near Cleveland, Ohio.

Horrible speller (“there” and “their”; “your” and “you’re”… who cares?!)
I was there for Doug Flutie‘s “hail mary pass” – one of the biggest upsets in college football history. It was Boston College vs University of Miami game in the 1984 Orange Bowl.
Addicted to Quicken and online billpay… I get a charge from watching the little check marks appear on the computer screen when you download the latest transactions and they actually match up with my check register.

I have the uncanny ability to make conversation with just about anyone!
I get most of my work done between the hours of 11PM and 3AM.
When I need a break, I can usually be found playing Pacman or Tetris on the computer (or Chess or Euchre on Pogo).

Don’t like to have my baked potato sliced into with a knife. Instead, I prefer to “smoosh” it together so it erupts like a little potatoey volcano pile.
Owned my own printing & publishing company when I was only 24 years old.
Have nearly 400,000 points from playing NTN Trivia that I don’t know what to do with!

I never leave the pump unattended when I’m pumping gas. (One time I did, and the nozzle fell out, spewing gasoline everywhere!)
Favorite TV show: “Bad boyz, bad boyz. Whatchya gonna do?”… COPS!
In 7th grade I sold newspapers as my first job. I sold them in person and via cold calls on the telephone. No one else my age was doing anything like that. I saved the money I made and bought tickets to a Miami Dolphins game to see AJ Duhe (#77) play. He influenced my decision to be #77 in high school football. Coincidentally, my senior year I worked out at the gym where AJ Duhe also worked out.

Obsessive about the weather and road conditions, I always make sure I leave at a time that will avoid driving in snow/ice or during rush hour traffic.
I love my country – I fear my government.
Prefer landscapes of mountains and valleys rather than oceans and lakes.

Won’t be caught dead wearing anything “pink”… or anything with stripes. (I just started allowing “orange” to enter into my wardrobe though.)
I quantify everything – life is one big math equation to me.
I’ve always wanted a house with a barn… and a streetlight out back.

I always have to sauce things up: ketchup on my eggs, mayonnaise on my steak, even ketchup on my chicken!
Enjoy helping others figure out how to do things on their computers.
I’ve always been intrigued by investing and financial planning.

Get motion sickness on amusement rides and cruise ships. (In all our cruise and wedding pictures, I’m wearing 1-inch thick gray sweatery wristbands. They did the trick though – I never got sick, while others in our group did!
If I walk into a music store or video rental store, I’m getting 2… not just one.
I enjoy riding in those NASCAR simulator race cars — like at Opry Mills Mall.

A problem-solver by nature, I’m always using deductive reasoning.
I hit the snooze button on the alarm clock exactly 3 times every morning.
Born a Floridian. Tried to be a North Carolinian for awhile. Became a Buckeye before I was eventually called to be a Floridian again. Now I’m proud to be a Tennessean living in Franklin, TN.

I hate doctors. Won’t go to one unless I’m on my death-bed. (Or Lynnette makes the appointment.)
Enjoy cooking, but don’t do it much anymore since Lynnette took over in the kitchen.
I was on the Duval County Republican Committee in Jacksonville, Florida.

My favorite vacations are those which center around Spring Training baseball games each year.
I’ve never been snow skiing, nor do I have any real desire to.
As a youngster, I had to have my tongue clipped because I couldn’t breathe right.

I enjoy jumping in the car Jeep, with a map and a compass, and exploring new roads.
If someone calls me & doesn’t leave a voicemail message, I have to call them back to see what they wanted or if it was a wrong number.
Clothes shopping is like pulling teeth for me… Since my brother is a haberdasher, I notice how “cheap” the clothes in stores are …and all the imperfections.

Thrifty with money… until I start to spend it. Then I spend BIG chunks of change. I won’t nickel & dime you to death, but I’ll put you in the poor house in a hurry!
I’m non-confrontational.
Really admire Vince Lombardi and Jerry Kramer — I’d like to learn under him… football and life attitudes.

I can’t go 24 hours without checking my e-mail or my online banking statement.
On weekends, showering, shaving (and sometimes even brushing teeth) are optional.
Talk about embarrassing… On “shoulder pads day” in high school someone pulled my pants down & all I had on was a jock strap!

The world’s best software program I use every day: Photoshop CS.
I’m a storm watcher… There’s nothing better than watching a weather storm brewing from your front porch or patio.
My favorite outfit is a comfy gray hooded sweatshirt that’s 2 sizes too small, and a pair of matching bottoms with holes in the knees. (With the hood cinched real tight around my face, I look like Rocky.)

You know you’re a grown-up when… you worry about how much money you spend at a bar!
If doing it once every 3 years constitutes that you’re a golfer, then I’m a golfer.
Would like to go to a taping of Saturday Night Live.

I get a rush from the nitrous oxide fumes at every drag-racing event I go to.
Favorite food: my mom’s potato salad.
Least favorite food: my mom’s potato soup.

Early fall is my favorite time of year because it reminds me of Homecoming and the start of football season — a time to let loose and have fun.
Love that “crazy bird”… Wild Turkey & (diet) coke. Gobble, gobble!
Biggest regret: turning down that Vanderbilt football scholarship because it was “too far from home.”

My favorite magazines are PC Magazine, Inc., and Sports Illustrated.
Prefer to have a house with a porch, preferably a wrap-around porch.
I won’t put your phone number in the phonebook on my cell phone unless I talk to you more than 5 times a month and for more than 2 months in a row.

I can survive just fine on 4 hours of sleep a night.
No kids… yet. Though it’s not for lack of trying!
I know that’s not 100… I’m workin’ on it!

Something only Lynnette could tell you about Jim…

He is incredibly patient when helping someone learn something new.

He is amazingly talented at learning by doing…nothing intimidates him in the computer world.

He uses the kitchen silverware as household tools.

He plays the guitar all the time, but doesn’t know ONE song all the way through!… It’s kinda strange at campfires to break out the guitar, then not be able to play any songs that anyone can follow along with. So there’s no singin songs around OUR campfires! But there sure is a lot of “hmmmm… wonder what song that’s supposed to be…”

He can’t keep a secret! No way. No how.

He can live in a house for over 5 years and still not remember which light switch goes with which light fixture.

His idea of “picking up around the house” is moving his shirt & shoes from the floor of the living room to the floor of the bedroom (…because it’s actually closer to the hamper!)

Whenever someone asks how long we’ve been married, he always says the correct number of years, then adds “plus one!” (because we lived together for an entire year before we were married).

He can’t parallel park (…usually ends up with one wheel on the curb… and he leaves it that way!)

He doesn’t know when to stop. He can’t tell someone no. He can’t stop plugging away at a project into the wee hours of the morning — even when it will take him weeks to complete.

He loads up his baked potatoes so much with extra sour cream and extra butter that you can barely see (or taste) any potato in there.My favorite thing about Jim: He’s so laid back and easygoing, he keeps me from getting too bogged down in all the details of life. (He reminds me to slow down and live in the moment!)