The “25 Random Things” meme has been sweeping across Facebook for a week or two. It’s become prevalent enough that I’ve actually read pro and con articles about it in the mainstream media. I’m always surprised that some people share things that may be best left, er, unshared, but it’s interesting nonetheless. So here’s my attempt to share some random tidbits, without sharing things that, say, my boss wouldn’t want to know.

• 1. I have walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in the snow.
• 2. I lived on a sailboat for a year. It was sort of like camping, since I had to walk up the dock to the shower building each morning to bathe, and I didn’t have a fridge. I did get to visit different harbors around San Francisco Bay.
• 3. I’m always working to improve my communication skills.
• 4. I write nearly every day.
• 5. I’ve worked for many different companies in San Francisco, CA, and sometimes walk around downtown and think, “I’ve worked in that building and that building and that building and that building…”
• 6. I’m fascinated by people and their stories, but I don’t like listening to those who complain all the time.
• 7. I like Linux. I want to get a netbook.
• 8. I own a sewing machine and kind of know how to use it; I am fascinated with magical way it winds the thread around to make the stitches.
• 9. I have several “armchair” hobbies that I like to read about but don’t have the time, money or actual inclination to do for real.
• 10. I’ve become much more patient than when I was younger.
• 11. I don’t own a car, on purpose. I prefer walking, public transit or occasionally using carshare.
• 12. I really like Muni, I really dislike BART.
• 13. Once, when I was a teenager, I parked my Dad’s car in the wrong place and it got towed away. I had to borrow money from a friend to get it out and I didn’t tell my Dad until years later.
• 14. I don’t own a TV, on purpose. I watch movies on the computer and some shows on Hulu.
• 15. I don’t like clutter and I have a rule that if something new is coming into my apartment, something old should go out. Cleaning makes me feel calm. I like doing laundry, but not folding it.
• 16. One of my close friends from high school was killed in the Iraq debacle. The high school stadium is now named for him.
• 17. I wish people were less afraid to discuss sex and sex education and I think abstinence-only education is tantamount to lying to kids about information they desperately need to know the truth about.
• 18. I’d pick cheese over chocolate, IKEA over DWR, walking over driving, rubber over leather.
• 19. I am a huge fan of the San Francisco Public Library.
• 20. I believe in the “San Francisco values” of diversity, open-mindedness, acceptance, personal responsibility and social/environmental consciousness.
• 21. I think consenting adults should be free to choose whatever partners or relationship styles they want.
• 22. My friendships and relationships are very important to me.
• 23. I cried when I watched “Rent.” I know that a year has 525,600 minutes. I have “Seasons of Love” on my iPod.
• 24. I admire my Grandma so much for everything she accomplished, all her hard work and sacrifices and everything she did for my sisters and me.
• 25. I used to ride a motorcycle but I never really felt like a “motorcycle guy.”