ario's digital detritus - 25 things (facebook meme)

1. Even though I may come off as social, my favorite people are those I can be quiet around... just listening to music, reading, staring out the window on a car ride, etc. It takes awhile to get to that kind of comfort level with someone, but I really like it once I hit that point with a person.

2. Staying up until ungodly hours of the night playing records for (or with) a friend is one of my most favorite things in life.

3. Even though I like listening and exposing people to new music, I won't be satisfied creatively until I'm able to create songs of my own.

4. My biggest pet peeve is feeling like I've had my time wasted. I try to keep mindful of my own behavior in this regard when interacting with others.

5. Things I wish I had learned as a kid: how to write Farsi, rock climbing, surfing. They seem much harder to learn as an adult.

6. I look fondly back on my time growing up in Houston and going to public school. Aside from my parent's influence on me, I feel like a big part of who I am comes from growing up in the south and wouldn't trade it for anywhere else in the world.

7. My favorite instruments to hear in songs: piano, xylophone, saxophone, santour, Spanish guitar. If I hear a song with one of these elements, I will probably like it.

8. I have a bit of an accessory fetish when it comes to women... cute glasses and cool sneakers. If a girl can rock these, it'll definitely grab my attention.

9. I wish I could magically take every fundamentalist religious person and have them live in the culture they hate for awhile... just long enough for them to see how wrong their preconceptions were.

10. I want to live in Iran for at least a year at some point in my life. If the political climate changes there towards more freedom in the future, I could see myself wanting to stay even longer.

11. I think kids are amazing. Sure, there are some that are downright evil... but happy, well-behaved kids are so much fun to be around... so full of energy, curiosity, positivity, and creativity.

12. On the same token, kids growing up in really sheltered suburbs where the internet is their main outlet for entertainment and socializing scare the hell out of me in terms of what our society will become with them at the helm.

13. While I love SF, the perpetually nice weather here has been horrible in terms of my working on creative projects. I can clearly see why towns like Detroit and Sheffield became these burgeoning scenes for music... a certain amount of discomfort, frustration, and boredom is key for making something new.

14. If I could have one super power, it would be the ability to go up to anyone in the world and talk to them without it being weird or awkward.

15. Another huge source of joy for me is connecting people who don't know each other and finding the thing in common that they share. This should explain #14.

16. Whenever I get stressed out or think I have a big problem ahead, I say to myself, "remember Pluto." That helps to quickly remember how infinitesimally small the "problem" is in the big scheme of things.

17. I take pride in being a really quiet sleeper. Having been around snorers before, it seems like some sort of great natural gift to be able to sleep without making a sound.

18. My first name is short for "Ariobarzan," a famous Persian hero and my last name should actually be "Mazandarani," but my great grandfather changed his last name to the one I have now for some unknown reason. I'm contemplating changing it back at some point.

19. If you want to see me at my happiest, see me when I'm traveling to a new place. Learning the quirks of the city, finding the good places to eat, chatting with locals, and soaking up as much culture as possible... I love it. I always leave these experiences feeling like a new person and with a renewed outlook on life.

20. I feel incredibly lucky and have this ongoing fear that my luck will run out at some point.

21. Thinking about my own death for even a few minutes really does my head in. I try to quickly think about something else if I'm ever reminded that one day, I won't be here.

22. The deaths of Bill Hicks, Aaliyah, and Mitch Hedberg made me very sad. All gone way before their time.

22. I try to be a conscientious omnivore. If the food is tasty and not typical corporate fast-food crap (like McDonalds) then I'll give it a try (particularly if a friend or local encourages me to taste something). I try to eat mostly veggies, but when I do eat animals, I try to pick places that use meat from responsible farms, but know that isn't always the case (especially if I'm eating abroad). I have many vegetarian friends that disagree with me on this and I respect them, but I've never felt empathy for commonly eaten animals on a level that would forbid me from eating them.

23. I'm fascinated by touch. I like feeling the texture of things and using my hands. I'd like to take some massage classes in the future and think the power of human touch and body work is heavily underestimated in most of western society.

24. I've never done an extended cross-country road trip, but have always wanted to. I think it'd be fun to go to the remote parts of the US and get into random adventures in small towns. Perhaps I can do one to the Grand Canyon or Niagra Falls one day with a friend or two.

25. I never want to stop learning. As long as I'm able to read and learn from others, getting older will never bother me.