20 Questions for My Only Brother-in-Law

I first met my only brother-in-law in January 2007. We actually spent a whole afternoon alone together with our mutual father-in-law (meaning without our wives) and I was struck at the time by what my brother-in-law had to say about that. I appreciate his subtle humor and the words he chooses. He's one of the most easygoing and polite people I know. He teaches math so he's very smart in my book. When he and my sister-in-law came out to San Diego to honeymoon, he immediately tried surfing. I've lived in San Diego for five years and I haven't tried surfing, so he gets points for physical daring too. I worry a lot about what kind of an example I'll be to his child and any future nephews or nieces I may have, but I would totally trust him with my son. I hope you enjoy getting to know him a little bit here as I have:

1. How many brothers and sisters do you have and where are you in ascendancy? I have one younger brother, and he's about 20 months younger than me. When we were younger people would ask us if we were twins. That one always confused us. Now when we're together people tend to think he's the older brother - maybe because of his beard... or my immaturity.

2. What is your first memory? I have a very vague recollection of being in a hospital. As it turns out, I was in the hospital when I was around 9 months old with a double hernia. I'll be honest - I'm not sure if it is a real memory or a recurring dream, but it always felt real to me.

3. What's your zodiac sign and what does it mean to you? I'm an Aquarius, and I know it has something to do with water, and... ummm... stuff. I don't know that much about astrology.

4. Before you got married, how many kids did you want? I've always thought having 2 kids was a good number. Having three kids was also good. Any more than that just seemed unruly.

5. How long did you wait to call your wife after you met for the first time? I think I was too excited/nervous to remember the exact timeline of events (it's not often that one meets someone they feel they connect with instantly and I didn't want to mess it up), but there was an exchange of emails when we met and I emailed her a day or two later. We were talking shortly after that and have been together ever since!

6. What was your first paid job? My first paid job was working for McDonald's at the Skydome (Toronto's baseball stadium, now called the Roger's Centre). I worked in the kitchen preparing the food for the vendors who sold it out in the stands. Even though I was holed up in a room with no windows, I still managed to see some games and concerts - including a Rolling Stones rehearsal. It was a pretty good gig.

7. If you could go back in time and see either of your parents at any age, which would you choose, at what age, and why? If I could go back and visit one parent at any age I'd like to visit my dad when he was in his mid to late twenties. His buddies have stories of how he was such a gifted athlete when he was younger. Growing up, I only knew him as a recreational athlete and I think I'd really enjoy seeing him at his fully competitive best.

8. Which TV channel do you watch most and why? There isn't a particular channel that I watch, per se. I do, however, download plenty of TV shows and some of my favourites come from (but are not limited to) HBO. Entourage and The Wire have been recent faves, but I've also enjoyed Angel, Battlestar Galactica and now both my wife and I are into Boston Legal.

9. Who was your childhood hero and why? Being an avid comic book reader when I was younger, I always admired Spider-man. I felt like I could relate to Peter Parker - the quiet, intelligent, geeky guy, and his ability to step up and face danger and all sorts of challenges while still being true to himself was something to aspire to.

10. What's the first thing you notice about people? I don't focus on one feature and compare it with everyone I come across, such as hands or eyes. What I tend to notice is the individual element that makes that person unique.

11. Do you still have your tonsils, and if not, how long has it been? Yes, I still have my tonsils. There was actually a time when I was young that I had hoped to have them removed so that I would get some time off school and get to eat plenty of ice cream and jello. After a friend of mine had them removed and I heard how much his throat hurt after the surgery I decided the operation wasn't worth it.

12. Which would you prefer - a mountain hideaway or a beach house, and why? I would prefer a mountain hideaway over a beach house. I prefer being in the woods and the hills over the sandy beach that has limited shade. I'm just not much a sun/heat person. I don't do well when I'm hot - I get lethargic and cranky. I also like a view of the varied terrain over the vast expanse of the ocean/lake. And lastly, to be honest, I tend to get bored at the beach.

13. What's your favorite sport and why? My favourite sport is baseball. It was the sport my dad, brother and I would play when I was growing up. We would go out on the street and play catch, or go to the park and hit the ball around. We also went to baseball games the most over hockey and football and I would follow the Blue Jays really closely. I developed a strong attachment to the game. Through that I learned to appreciate how it's played and the strategy involved (I grew up wanting to be a pitcher), and I've also learned how to ignore those people out there that say it's boring!

14. If you knew you could try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt? I would love to be successful rock star -like Bruce Springsteen!

15. If you were invisible, where would you go and why? Ah, to be invisible! Every teenage boy's fantasy! It would be interesting to find out how a guy's response changes with age. I'm sure that if I was 15 I'd say 'girls change room', but now I think it would be really interesting to sit in on a confidential meeting of some sort - political, corporate, or even gangsters. Imagine being a fly on the wall of Enron meetings, or the meetings of the strategists who managed President Clinton's affairs or President Bush's foreign plans. I think it would be amazing.

16. What was the last movie you watched and what did you think about it? Unfortunately, the last movie I saw (just last night) was Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was a terrible movie. The plot wasn't believable and the acting was weak. Worst of all, it just wasn't entertaining. I'm not against romantic comedies and have enjoyed some of them (Four Weddings and a Funeral, for example), but there just doesn't seem to be any good ones coming out lately.

17. Do you prefer your toilet paper to roll over or under and why? The toilet paper has to roll over! Under is just unacceptable! I just don't understand how people can handle the t.p. rolling under - it's so inconvenient. Once you tear off what you need, and it turns out you need more, then you have to go searching for it. It's fine if it were something that occurred once in a while, but I just couldn't handle searching for the t.p. all the time. What a waste!

18. Would you karaoke in front of coworkers and why (or why not)? I suppose I would karaoke in front of coworkers. As I'm a terrible, terrible singer it would make for a good laugh, and I've found that it helps coworkers connect when they have something to laugh about. My singing is definitely something to laugh about. I even joined in a skit with a bunch of other teachers for the holiday (Christmas) show in front of the whole school. It was a silly 2 minute skit and we did some singing (I lip synced) and some dancing. It was a hoot! And the kids liked seeing their teachers doing something other than teach. So if something like that will help us connect with our students, then I assume karaoke will help the staff to connect as well. I'm going to finish this off by saying a few drinks prior to my set would definitely help.

19. What countries have you visited? U.S. (Florida, New York, Philly, San Diego, Hawaii), England (London), Israel, Italy, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, China, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic

20. Did you ever read Watchmen all the way through, and if so, what did you think? Actually, I've only recently read Watchmen and I thought it was very well done (although a bit pretentious at times) - now I understand all the hype surrounding it. As dark as it was, I really liked how the heroes were all given more depth to their characters - they seemed more human/believable than most comic book characters.